Creative Staff
Story and Art: Chihiro Harumi
Translation/Adaptation: Jay Davidson and Klaus Gorman
What They Say
Just when Shin thinks he’s finally cast off the chaos and stress of his bizarre relationship with Kanoko, he’s plunged into even greater darkness. Kanoko, at last unmoored from her world of empty luxury, seeks to uncover her family’s horrifying secrets. The two will need each other more than ever to cast off the gloom and carve a new future for themselves. The intrigue, romance, and conflict all come to a touching conclusion in the finale of Velvet Kiss!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
I’ve always enjoyed Velvet Kiss for Chihiro Harumi’s art and many of the erotic scenarios within. I did not realize how emotionally attached I was to the characters, however, until I had finished this volume. Something about seeing Shin and Kano at their most intimate must endear them deeply to the reader, because in this conclusion, the “game” is brought to an end that is both optimistic and emotionally devastating.
The less said the better: Better to read the series yourself and see all of the emotional threads Harumi was weaving together, around and within the sex scenes. Where previously, the plot seemed languorous and unfocused, we see that this was, in a way, mirroring Kano’s own lifestyle, and when she is ultimately pushed to make choices, the plot forges ahead like a rocket.
Kano finally finds her life of idle luxury empty without the companionship of Shin. Shin, meanwhile, is fired from his job when pictures of he and Kano out on the town are leaked to his boss. Those same pictures as used to discredit Kano with the executives of her father’s company, where she would have previously been next in line to succeed. Their relationship was designed to discredit them both, and with that accomplished, Rumi, the woman hired to lure Shin away from Kano, disappears as well. A relationship between Shin and Kano was made and destroyed to ruin them both, and the puppet master is none other than Kanoko’s stepmom.
This pulp drama is nontheless played out with searing emotional honesty, and the angry sex scene in which Kano and Shin consummate their mutual need and hatred threatens to leave nothing of the manga but ash. Kano returns to her father’s company seeking revenge and her birthright.
In Summary
Before Velvet Kiss, I never would have thought eromanga would have had such a profound emotional effect on me. The payoff to each characters’ emotional arc hits all at once with incredible force, leaving only the bittersweet ending to try and comfort you. It’s sad, but it’s inevitable and beautiful. Pulp melodrama should all be this affecting.
Content Grade: A+
Art Grade: A-
Packaging Grade: A-
Text/Translation Grade:A
Age Rating: 18+ Adult
Released By: Project-H Books
Release Date: September 11th, 2013
MSRP: $17.95
