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Loveless (manga)

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Loveless is a shoujo manga with overt shōnen-ai overtones by Yun Kouga serialised in the monthly magazine Zero Sum published by Ichijinsha, though it began in 2002 in GFantasy published by Square Enix. As of 2006, six compilation volumes have been released. A 12 episode anime tv series adaptation has been made by J.C.STAFF, broadcast in a post-midnight slot on TV Asahi and ABC from April 2005 to June 2005. It has been licensed for US release by Media Blasters and released in a set of 3 DVDs in early 2006. The most immediately striking aspect of the story is that many characters are kemono, but rather than the conventional catgirls, the protagonists are catboys. Those who no longer have the animal features are differentiated by society as "adults," illustrating an underlying theme about the role of sexuality in a societal context.

(Note: Some may be offended by the questionable shotacon content.)

Contents

Summary

[Spoiler warningSpoiler warning]: Plot and/or ending details follow.

On his first day at his new school, 12-year old Aoyagi Ritsuka meets a mysterious 20-year old man named Agatsuma Soubi. He claims to be a good friend of Ritsuka's brother, Seimei, who was recently murdered, and the suspicious organization called the 'Seven Moons' (ななつの月 nanatsu no tsuki) may be responsible for the death. As Ritsuka quickly finds out, Seimei and Soubi acted as a pair involved in spell battles. Now Soubi is Ritsuka's fighter, and Ritsuka his 'sacrifice'. Together, they challenge the organization to find out the truth behind Seimei's death and the reason for Ritsuka's amnesia.

Spoilers end here.

Characteristics

Catpeople

In the world of Loveless, everybody is born with cat ears and tails, which disappear after they have engaged in some form of sexual intercourse. This becomes a telltale sign about the love lives of various characters, such as the 23-year-old teacher, who still retains her cat features.

Fighting and pairings

The fighting style in the series is also unique; fighting can only occur between couples (with a few exceptions), where the one is the Sacrifice, who receives all damage, and the other the fighter, who attempts to attack the enemy couple. The pairing system is cleverly used by the author to add homosexual romance, as well as heterosexual romance, between the two people in each couple. The special kind of battle used in Loveless is called a spell battle, since attack and defense mechanisms are activated by pronouncing certain words -- spell words -- which have a special ability or meaning in battle context. Fighters and sacrifices are united by their names which are given to them beyond their control, possibly before birth. A few examples of pairing names include "Beloved", "Loveless", "Zero", and "Sleepless." Those who go against their name to battle alongside a person of a different name suffer ridicule from other teams and a large loss in battle strength. It is suggested that people are born in pairings and that they don't form a pairing after they meet, therefore the naming system; the bond between two persons is something that is decided for them before they have the ability to make a different choice - a slight hint referring to homosexuality.

Cast of Main Characters

Aoyagi Ritsuka

Ritsuka is twelve years old, and the protagonist of the story. His "true name" is Loveless. Two years ago, he had an abrupt change of personality that was nearly the opposite of his former self. Along with the personality change, he suffered a loss of all his memories. The cause of these drastic changes is still unknown, although he has regular therapy sessions to determine why.

Ritsuka is first approached by Agatsuma Soubi on his first day at his new school. Soubi confuses him with his sudden intimacy and mysterious claims that he was Seimei's fighter. As Ritsuka discovers, Seimei's will says that Soubi shall "become Ritsuka's" upon his death. Ritsuka is devoted and admiring of Seimei, and to discover a whole other side to his brother comes as a great shock. It further poisons his difficulty in trusting others, particularly Soubi.

Despite his young age and inexperience due to his amnesia, Ritsuka is very intelligent and approaches things with startling maturity. The circumstances of his life encourage his lack of innocence; however, there have been notable incidents that bare his still-strong naivete, particularly in sexual love and dating. He has firm opinions and unrelenting ideas, especially about love and violence. It is these opinions that clash dramatically with adults and authority figures around him, most notably Soubi. Ritsuka is a pacifist, and strongly opposes violence under any circumstance. Soubi has remained fairly silent on the issue, but it is clear he doesn't object to pain and punishment under certain circumstances.

Love is an uncomfortable subject for Ritsuka. He is wary of compliments, and doesn't like hearing the words "I like you." Early on in the series, Soubi says "I love you" frequently, which Ritsuka doesn't believe is true. Because of Ritsuka's cynical reaction, Soubi stops saying it altogether after volume 2 of the manga. Still, Ritsuka's inner conflict over whether he believes what Soubi says becomes a source of great tension and bitterness in their relationship.

Agatsuma Soubi

Soubi is twenty years old, and an art student. He is a former student of Shichisei Gakuen (often translated as Academy of Seven Voices), a school for fighters where Minami Ritsu was his teacher. His "true name" is Beloved, which he shares with Aoyagi Seimei.

As ordered, Soubi contacted Ritsuka after Seimei's death. He introduced Ritsuka to the world of fighters and sacrifices, and told Ritsuka he would be his fighter. Although Soubi's "true name" is Beloved and Ritsuka's is Loveless, they fight as a pair. As a result of the mixed names, Soubi's marking on his neck bleeds in every fight. Their names do not match, and when they betray them, Soubi suffers physically and in a loss of strength. Other pairs are disgusted with Ritsuka and Soubi fighting together, and say that Soubi should have died along with Seimei. Since meeting Ritsuka, Soubi doesn't accept that he is not the true Loveless fighter, and no longer operates under the Beloved name.

Soubi seemingly knows much more about Seimei and his cause of death than he lets on. Despite Ritsuka's insistence that he tell him everything he knows, Soubi refuses. In volume 4 of the manga, he even says, "Seimei is my God." He lives his life by Seimei's orders.

Many readers and characters in the story itself label Soubi as a masochist. He is extremely contradictory, and says conflicting statements such as, "I don't like pain," "Pain -- I like that word," and "I only like my master's orders." A popular theory among readers is that Soubi is selective, and only desires punishment from those he deems worthy and strong such as Seimei and Ritsuka. This theory is further supported by his shunning of Ritsu's offers to control his life.

In addition to the masochist label, Soubi is often described as having the shotacon complex. Despite the clamoring to label him as such, there is no evidence within canon.

Cast of Minor Characters

Aoyagi Seimei

Aoyagi Ritsuka's older brother. He was seventeen when he was found murdered, although he died under mysterious circumstances and could only be identified by his dental records. He is also the sacrifice of the Beloved pair.

When Ritsuka lost his memory, Seimei stepped in and became an extremely important figure in his life. He protected Ritsuka from their abusive mother, Misaki, and was a great source of comfort and trust. As a result, Ritsuka was hit hardest of all by the news of his brother's death. He is very bitter and vengeful towards those who may have been involved in the killing of his brother. Though, ironically, in the anime finale Ritsuka has a dream that everyone is killed, including himself, at the hands of Soubi because Seimei apparently ordered him to.

His personality is subject of great debate, and many readers have very different interpretations of his actions. To make things more confusing, the characters in the story themselves clash with their different beliefs and experiences. Ritsuka, Soubi, and Misaki claim Seimei was a kind, gentle, loving person. In contrast, everyone else has the very opposite idea: they say he was cruel, merciless, and hateful. They claim Seimei acted strangely and would be close to no one, and go so far as refusing to eat in the presence of anyone else. Ritsuka denies all of this; however, in recent chapters published in spring 2006 he has some startling flashbacks that show a more disturbed, obsessive side of Seimei, and even sometimes borderline incestuous behavior towards Ritsuka.

In flashbacks in later manga chapters, it has become increasingly clear that Seimei suffers from mysophobia, a fear of contamination of dirt or germs, although it is largely reader speculation based off his obsessive behaviour about cleanliness and such innocent items such as homemade food being "dirty."

[Spoiler warningSpoiler warning]: Important character developments follow

Although he was assumed dead for much of the series, Seimei made a comeback in volume 5. Along with the shocking revelation of Seimei being alive, he also acquired a new fighter to replace Soubi: Akame Nisei. The reasons for his "death" -- and replacement of Soubi -- are highly speculated, but as of June 2006 there have been no reasons revealed so far, although Nanatsu no Tsuki's previous intention to execute him is often cited.

Spoilers end here.

Hawatari Yuiko

A classmate of Ritsuka's. Despite her dumb, bubbly exterior, she is sharp and goodhearted. On Ritsuka's first day in school, she immediately is overcome with awe and fascination. At the prodding of her mean-spirited classmates, she befriends him, although he is very reluctant. As Ritsuka overcomes his initial impressions of her and realizes she is rather smart, they become good friends.

Yuiko and Ritsuka's friendship greatly irritates their classmate, Yayoi. He had been recently rejected by Yuiko, although rather sorrowfully, claiming she only dated boys taller than her. Much to Yuiko's dismay, Ritsuka insists their friendship is platonic and it indeed remains that way. However, in two separate confessions to Shinonome Hitomi, Yuiko professes her love and devotion to Ritsuka. Their relationship is close, but Yuiko's seems to be a one-sided obsession. One incident of Ritsuka actually demonstrating care for Yuiko is in volume 2 of the manga and episode 4 of the anime, when she is bullied by her 'friends', whom Ritsuka fittingly said were using her. Because she had brought Ritsuka some homemade strawberry jam, they went so far as to smash the jar in front of her, and demanded she apologize for breaking school rules. Ritsuka came to her aid and stated that they were 'less than human'. This may have spurred on her love for him. Though, sadly for her, a notable scene in volume 4 depicts Ritsuka abandoning Yuiko abruptly to go to Soubi's aid, and Yuiko sadly recalls her efforts to become good friends with Ritsuka, but never achieving any results.

As the series progresses, a rather unusual yet harmonious friendship is struck between Yuiko and Soubi. Although it seems their personalities would clash, they have a unique understanding of each other.

In an early 2005 interview in Japanese magazine Pafu, Kouga Yun stated: "She emerged when I wondered, 'What kind of girl would it take for Ritsuka to be happy?' While she was created to match Ritsuka, she changes from meeting him...with some injection of intelligence (laugh). She honestly wants to change to become worthy of Ritsuka because she likes him. So if Soubi wasn't around, they'd make a great couple (laugh)."

Kaidou Kio

A friend and classmate of Soubi's. They are both art students, and many references are made throughout the series that Kio is Soubi's only friend. It is all but explicitly said that Kio is homosexual, and most of his early dialogue is filled with flirtations and passes at Soubi, despite being gently ignored or indirectly rejected each time.

Despite his early presence as a character who exists solely to create a lighter atmosphere among a very dark story, he gradually gains depth and justifies his existence as the story progresses. He becomes a loud voice that champions pacifism and self-worth. This contrasts strongly against Soubi's submissive nature that willingly accepts violent treatment and strongly desires to be completely controlled, albeit from only very certain people. More significantly, Kio's views are shared by Ritsuka. Together, they provide a very black-and-white atmosphere that allows only one line of thinking.

Shinonome Hitomi

Ritsuka's teacher. She is very sweet, naive, and innocent. She is greatly troubled by Ritsuka's mother and the injuries he substains from her, and greatly desires to involve herself in the situation to make a change, despite her fears and her colleagues' dissent.

At twenty-three years old, she is teased and ridiculed for retaining her ears to such an age. She is visibly embarrassed, but as the story progresses, she gains confidence and pride over making her own choices.

Soubi and Shinonome
Enlarge
Soubi and Shinonome

Her very caring and naive nature clashes spectacularly when confronted with Soubi. He brusquely rejects her and says he doesn't care for older women, despite the fact she never made a romantic move towards him and that she is only three years his senior. One might mention, however, that Hitomi had some feelings for Soubi, due to the fact in volume 2 of the manga (episode 8 of the anime), she burst into tears and brooded over him. His brash actions are mysterious, but understood a bit more when you consider his undiscerning hatred towards teachers as a result of his experiences with Ritsu-sensei.

Although he has rejected her, it can be noted that Soubi enjoys tormenting Shinonome Hitomi to some degree. In their first meeting, he takes pleasure in confronting her uneasily face to face. In episode 6 of the anime, he repeats this routine and manages to hold her unresponsive body rather intimately despite knowing her feelings for him. This is interesting to note because there are only two characters he physically interacts with in the entire series, one being Hitomi and the other Ritsuka.

Reasons for this awkward behavior towards Hitomi may be stemmed from jealousy. It is interesting to note that Soubi refers to Hitomi as childish despite her being three years older than he is. Yet he still respectfully calls her "Shinonome-sensei." The only way he degrades her is by her sexuality, possibly because Hitomi has remained a virgin while he may have lost his ‘ears’ at a much earlier age, unwillingly. In volume 2 of the manga and episode 6 of the anime, Soubi also 'saves' Hitomi from two male Zero. They threatened to get rid of her ears, despite the Zeroes being very young themselves, and she protested immensely. Although she is grateful for Soubi's protection, it only embarasses her more. Soubi also keeps this in comparison with his extreme dislike of his own teacher figure, Ritsu, but still manages to treat Hitomi as a subordinate, constantly belittling her. Ultimately, their relationship highlights traditional sexual tension, complementing the major same sex pairings and adding interest and variety to the story.

Aoyagi Misaki

The mother of Seimei and Ritsuka. She is has an important influence over her sons. She has very little grip on reality, and often hallucinates, particularly after certain events in volume 5. She is abusive and violent, and blames Ritsuka's personality change for the reason Seimei "left." To many readers, she is seen as a cruel villain, but in volume 5 she has inner dialogues of her own at last, and you see a much more human, fragile side to her behaviour that she cannot control.

Shioiri Yayoi

Another classmate of Ritsuka's. He is shown as being socially awkward and with low self esteem, and feels great jealousy towards Ritsuka. Yayoi admits that he loves Yuiko, but when he confessed to her he was rejected. Yuiko claims her reason was that she only dates boys taller than her, but the truthfulness of that statement is called into question when it is painfully obvious she loves Ritsuka, who is just as short as Yayoi.

Despite his jealousy of Ritsuka's close friendship with Yuiko, he is encouraged by Ritsuka's adamant claims that their relationship is purely platonic. He makes a firm statement he will not give up on Yuiko, and spends more time with her than ever.

It is notable that in the manga, Yayoi has a rather small role. He is absent for large parts of the story, and has only a small amount of dialogue. In the anime, they utilized his character much more to enhance the would-be love triangle of Yayoi + Yuiko + Ritsuka, and to inject comic relief into a dark story.

7

7 (ナナ, Nana) first appeared in volume 3 of the manga and Episode 12 in the anime. The strange coded message that Ritsuka receives from SLEEPLESS is from her. Ritsuka meets her in a special area of an MMORPG called Wisdom Resurrection several times to discuss Nanatsu no Tsuki and Seimei. Her mission as stated in volume 5 is to determine whether Seimei really faked his death. She is a member of Nanatsu no Tsuki, although her role in the organization (outside of the previously described mission) is unclear. Often described as a hikikomori, 7 has admitted she has no friends other than Nagisa.

Sagan Nagisa

A young, quick-to-anger woman who conducts experiments with creating humans who cannot feel physical pain. Her age, background, and organization are unknown. Her over-the-top behaviour and strange lifestyle (such as being seen in a gothic lolita like costume) leaves her alone and alienated. She befriends 7, and shamefully confesses that she is her only friend.

Her relationship with Ritsu is an intriguing one. She puts up a front of hating him deeply, and wishing for nothing more than to see him fail. However, there are small moments that reveal possibly deeper feelings, as she blushes deeply whenever he is near her or touches her, though she steadfastly denies caring for him. Starting in volume 3 and finished in volume 4, she makes a bet with Ritsu that her older Zero pair, Yamato and Kouya, can beat Ritsu's Soubi. Ultimately Yamato and Kouya are defeated, and Nagisa's sibling rivalry-like attitude towards Ritsu continues.

Minami Ritsu

Ritsu is Soubi's former teacher, and held a very influential role in Soubi's life when he was still his teacher. The extent of their master/slave relationship is left unknown, but it is clear that Ritsu misses those days. In the few times they have made contact within the current timeline, Soubi acts very brusque and treats him with disgust, in a way that almost recalls the dynamics of a parent-child relationship.

Despite the assertions of many readers, Ritsu is not a member of Nanatsu no Tsuki. In volume 5, when Ritsuka and 7 meet in Wisdom Resurrection, she also brings Ritsu and Nagisa. When Ritsuka says, "Seimei was part of Nanatsu no Tsuki, wasn't he? If you kill your associates, I can't forgive you!" Ritsu responds, "I wasn't a member, so don't be angry with me." Nagisa nods in agreement, saying, "Me neither."

Akame Nisei

Nisei first appeared in the manga in volume 5. Although his character is largely a mystery, he appears to be very devious. He is Seimei's new fighter. He helps Seimei keep track of Ritsuka by spying on him and reports the information back to Seimei by cellphone. He and Soubi meet in volume 6 and from then on, Nisei stops spying on Ritsuka. By the June 2006 chapter of Loveless, he and Seimei are currently heading to Goura, the location of Shichisei Gakuen (often translated as Academy of Seven Voices).

His role in volume 5 was a pivotal one: he was first introduced as "Seimei," although he was only masquerading as Seimei to gain the trust of Misaki. It is unknown if it was carried out by Seimei's orders, but Nisei ended up drugging Misaki and trying in vain to convince her to murder Ritsuka, on the promise that Seimei would come back for good. Misaki rejected the idea, saying she loved both her sons, and couldn't do such a thing.

Due to the fact he effectively replaced Soubi, they have great animosity between each other. In volume 6, Soubi expresses his deep desire to murder Nisei at any cost.

List of teams

See: Cast of Main Characters and Cast of Minor Characters for more detailed information on the member status of Beloved and Loveless.
Team name Fighter Sacrifice
Beloved Agatsuma Soubi Aoyagi Seimei
Loveless Unknown Aoyagi Ritsuka
Breathless Myoushin Ai Arai Midori
Sleepless Kinka Ginka
Zero (male) Sagan Natsuo Sagan Youji
Zero (female) Sakagami Kouya Nakano Yamato
Fearless Mei Mimuro

Manga volumes

Volumes released in Japan

Volumes released in the U.S.

DVD releases

Japan DVD release

U.S. DVD release

Episode titles

Trivia

External links

Official Sites Non-official Sites

 

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