Cantarella volumes 4-6, by You Higuri
The art is still gorgeous. The incest is still disturbingly hot, and there was a surprise heterosexual and as far as we know now, non-incestuous affair that was both hot and sweet. The plot, which featured an evil hand and crystal wings of demonic D00M, is so deliciously insane that I ended up live-blogging them to oyceter over email.
Click here to buy or feast your eyes on the exquisite cover art: Cantarella Volume 5 (Cantarella (Graphic Novel)) (v. 5)
Cantarella Volume 6 (Cantarella (Graphic Novel)) (v. 6)
Volpe: If that is so, then I have already been violated by the poison that is you. The sweet poison that is you. My life and my death belong to you!'>
In volume 4, Lucrezia realizes her forbidden passion for Cesare when she spots some other brother and sister having sex. Her husband attempts to rape her to consummate their relationship. Chiaro rescues her and sparks of mutual longing for Cesare fly, but she asks him to take her to a nunnery. Meanwhile, a woman named Sancia seduces both Cesare and his brother Juan in an attempt to gain some power denied to women other than in their relationships with men.
In volume 5, Cesare Juan kidnaps and tortures Chiaro, who looks every bit as pretty suffering this torment as one would expect (REALLY PRETTY.) Cesare freaks out when he finds Chiaro apparently dead. Cesare's dead step-mother Vanozza, who has been resurrected as a demon-possessed zombie harpy, appears and has sex with him. This was not disturbingly hot, but merely disturbing - especially as it was voyeured by both the awakened Chiaro and Mothiavelli.
Juan poisons Cesare, but Cesare is immune to poison (of course) and Juan drops dead when he is splashed with Cesare's poisoned blood.
And all that was but a run-up to the glory that was volume 6! At that point I began emailing Oyce:
Rachel: Cesare (I almost typed Cain) just poisoned his brother to death with his own blood!!!
I have added a tag, eviscerated intestines. Sadly I apparently never wrote up Godchild 7, which earned that tag more than any manga ever.
Oyce: YES!!!! did you get to the crystal wings of EVIL yet?
Rachel: No! But I am about to sit down and read v 6. Maybe they're in that!
In the last volume, Chiaro has the classic line, "It's OK! We can trust him! Oh by the way, I should warn you that he's a moth."
Rachel: OMGWTFTOTALLYLITERALCRYSTALWINGSOFD00M?!!!!!!!!!
[Cesare grew giant demonic crystal wings after killing Juan.]
Rachel: OMG111 AND HE RIPPED THEM OFF111 And Mothiavelli is there doing color commentary!
Oyce: YES! YES!!!! YES!!!!!! SEEEE!!!! THEY ARE CRYSTAL WINGS OF EVIL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I WAS NOT KIDDING!!!!! IT IS SO AWESOME!!!!!!
Rachel: And then he fainted so Chiaro could tenderly cradle him and say he weighs less than a little girl!
And then Juan came back to life! But I think he's dead again now.
Rachel: Did Volpe just LICK Cesare's wound?! Dude! His blood is poison! Not just poison - it is CANTARELLA!!!
Oyce: YES! YES! I forgot about the tender cradling! And the blood licking!
I think Yuki Kaori totally should have made Cain's blood literal poison as well!
I forget if the completely psychotropic weather is before or just after this!
Rachel: Chiaro has collapsed at Lucrezia's conveniently located nunnery. The two of them are so sweet together. They should have displacement sex thinking of Cesare.
Anyway, presumably feverish Chiaro flashed back to a kindly priest from his childhood... whom his father assassinated! And then the priest tried to kill Kiddie!Chiaro to save his soul before he got old enough to assassinate in his father's footsteps! And then Kiddie!Chiaro killed the kindly priest!!!
Oyce: Yes! (Btw, has there been non-wing limb loss yet?)
Rachel: Not of anyone important. Some random soldier's hand flew through the air.
Oyce: I love how the female corner of the love triangle here is actually part of the triangle, as opposed to being a way the two guys angst about each other without being overtly homoerotic.
Rachel: Yes, I like that too! Lucrezia just beat up and sat on Chiaro when he tried to escape. She is awesome.
Meanwhile, Cesare was actually concerned about Chiaro! Concerned enough to stop broodily brooding!
Oyce: I can't believe I forgot about the kindly priest!
Rachel: Dude, Chiaro and Lucrezia kissed! That was hot!
But that was swept from my mind by the fact that now that Chiaro's gone, Cesare's left hand turned into an EVIL HAND. AN EVIL DEMON HAND. And then there was psychotropic weather.
Also, Volpe is insane. I mean, even by Cantarella standards.
[Volpe: An existence that transcends humans, evil, God... All of it... A master who wields absolute "power" is the true king that I am searching for. Even if you were to hand over your body to Hell as compensation, I would consider that move the correct one.]
Rachel: Finished v 6! AWESOMESAUCE.
Cesare tried to cut off his EVIL HAND, but psychotic Volpe wouldn't let him. And Chiaro and Lucrezia made sweet sweet love. Awww. I think maybe historically she gets pregnant at that point? She and Chiaro ought to make a pretty baby, if so.
Alfonso is very interesting! Is he and Sancia the incest couple you like? The relationships need a diagram!
Oyce: Yeees! I am sadly in love with Alfonso/Sancia and pretty sure it will not end well! Although I am rooting for Sancia/Lucrezia as well, not that that is canon, sadly.
Click here to buy or feast your eyes on the exquisite cover art: Cantarella Volume 5 (Cantarella (Graphic Novel)) (v. 5)
Cantarella Volume 6 (Cantarella (Graphic Novel)) (v. 6)
Volpe: If that is so, then I have already been violated by the poison that is you. The sweet poison that is you. My life and my death belong to you!'>
In volume 4, Lucrezia realizes her forbidden passion for Cesare when she spots some other brother and sister having sex. Her husband attempts to rape her to consummate their relationship. Chiaro rescues her and sparks of mutual longing for Cesare fly, but she asks him to take her to a nunnery. Meanwhile, a woman named Sancia seduces both Cesare and his brother Juan in an attempt to gain some power denied to women other than in their relationships with men.
In volume 5, Cesare Juan kidnaps and tortures Chiaro, who looks every bit as pretty suffering this torment as one would expect (REALLY PRETTY.) Cesare freaks out when he finds Chiaro apparently dead. Cesare's dead step-mother Vanozza, who has been resurrected as a demon-possessed zombie harpy, appears and has sex with him. This was not disturbingly hot, but merely disturbing - especially as it was voyeured by both the awakened Chiaro and Mothiavelli.
Juan poisons Cesare, but Cesare is immune to poison (of course) and Juan drops dead when he is splashed with Cesare's poisoned blood.
And all that was but a run-up to the glory that was volume 6! At that point I began emailing Oyce:
Rachel: Cesare (I almost typed Cain) just poisoned his brother to death with his own blood!!!
I have added a tag, eviscerated intestines. Sadly I apparently never wrote up Godchild 7, which earned that tag more than any manga ever.
Oyce: YES!!!! did you get to the crystal wings of EVIL yet?
Rachel: No! But I am about to sit down and read v 6. Maybe they're in that!
In the last volume, Chiaro has the classic line, "It's OK! We can trust him! Oh by the way, I should warn you that he's a moth."
Rachel: OMGWTFTOTALLYLITERALCRYSTALWINGSOFD00M?!!!!!!!!!
[Cesare grew giant demonic crystal wings after killing Juan.]
Rachel: OMG111 AND HE RIPPED THEM OFF111 And Mothiavelli is there doing color commentary!
Oyce: YES! YES!!!! YES!!!!!! SEEEE!!!! THEY ARE CRYSTAL WINGS OF EVIL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I WAS NOT KIDDING!!!!! IT IS SO AWESOME!!!!!!
Rachel: And then he fainted so Chiaro could tenderly cradle him and say he weighs less than a little girl!
And then Juan came back to life! But I think he's dead again now.
Rachel: Did Volpe just LICK Cesare's wound?! Dude! His blood is poison! Not just poison - it is CANTARELLA!!!
Oyce: YES! YES! I forgot about the tender cradling! And the blood licking!
I think Yuki Kaori totally should have made Cain's blood literal poison as well!
I forget if the completely psychotropic weather is before or just after this!
Rachel: Chiaro has collapsed at Lucrezia's conveniently located nunnery. The two of them are so sweet together. They should have displacement sex thinking of Cesare.
Anyway, presumably feverish Chiaro flashed back to a kindly priest from his childhood... whom his father assassinated! And then the priest tried to kill Kiddie!Chiaro to save his soul before he got old enough to assassinate in his father's footsteps! And then Kiddie!Chiaro killed the kindly priest!!!
Oyce: Yes! (Btw, has there been non-wing limb loss yet?)
Rachel: Not of anyone important. Some random soldier's hand flew through the air.
Oyce: I love how the female corner of the love triangle here is actually part of the triangle, as opposed to being a way the two guys angst about each other without being overtly homoerotic.
Rachel: Yes, I like that too! Lucrezia just beat up and sat on Chiaro when he tried to escape. She is awesome.
Meanwhile, Cesare was actually concerned about Chiaro! Concerned enough to stop broodily brooding!
Oyce: I can't believe I forgot about the kindly priest!
Rachel: Dude, Chiaro and Lucrezia kissed! That was hot!
But that was swept from my mind by the fact that now that Chiaro's gone, Cesare's left hand turned into an EVIL HAND. AN EVIL DEMON HAND. And then there was psychotropic weather.
Also, Volpe is insane. I mean, even by Cantarella standards.
[Volpe: An existence that transcends humans, evil, God... All of it... A master who wields absolute "power" is the true king that I am searching for. Even if you were to hand over your body to Hell as compensation, I would consider that move the correct one.]
Rachel: Finished v 6! AWESOMESAUCE.
Cesare tried to cut off his EVIL HAND, but psychotic Volpe wouldn't let him. And Chiaro and Lucrezia made sweet sweet love. Awww. I think maybe historically she gets pregnant at that point? She and Chiaro ought to make a pretty baby, if so.
Alfonso is very interesting! Is he and Sancia the incest couple you like? The relationships need a diagram!
Oyce: Yeees! I am sadly in love with Alfonso/Sancia and pretty sure it will not end well! Although I am rooting for Sancia/Lucrezia as well, not that that is canon, sadly.