Loveless
Reviewer: Kiori [email]Overall Rating: A+
Media Reviewed: Digital fansub
Creator: Yun Kouga
U.S. Licensed: Yes
Released by: Media Blasters
Run time: 12 episodes
BL Content: Ambiguous (touching, ambiguous emotions, kiss)
Genre:? Drama, Modern Fantasy, Supernatural
Other media: English-licensed manga [review]
To be honest, watching Loveless was a spur of the moment action, but after about five minutes, I was glued to the screen.
Right off the bat, it is important to mention that in this world, everyone has a pair of cat ears and a tail until they have sex for the first time. So, this anime centres around a twelve year old cat boy named Ritsuka who is dealing with the death of his brother and a psychotic mother (who even stabs him with a fork at one point). Shortly after the murder of his brother, Seimei, a strange man by the name of Soubi appears in his life, claiming immediatly to love him. Ritsuka is, at first, a little dubious as to Soubi's intentions, but he claims to have known Ritsuka's brother. Soubi then informes him that he is a "fighter" and that Ritsuka is his "sacrifice". You later discover that Soubi was Seimei's "fighter" previously. The anime follows Ritsuka's quest to discover information of his brother's murderers, his deepening relationship with Soubi and the battles they fight. One of the perks of this anime is that when Soubi and Ritsuka battle other fighters and sacrifices, Ritsuka often has to kiss and lick Soubi to give him extra power. Yum!
The art for this anime is absoulutly beautiful. Yun Kouga's (who also brought us Earthian) style is consistant and stunning. Soubi is definitely drool worthy.
Ritsuka's character is spunky and cute, although sometimes he can get a little too angsty. Not that that's a bad thing though. Soubi, on the other hand, is soft spoken and suave. He also sports the name "Beloved" carved into his chest (which gets explained later on). In the anime, he is often accused of being a pedophile and hentai, to which he always replies "Ore wa hentai janai"- I am not a hentai. For some reason, that greatly amused me.
I do, however, have a few minor beefs with the anime.
You discover that Ristuka is in the sixth grade and that Soubi is nineteen. After this realisation, "Shotacon Shotacon!" kept nagging at the back of my mind. But you quickly forget this in the face of all the cuteness.
The end of the series is also a bit lacking. That's not to say that it is bad, but it left me with more then one unanswered question. Even after watching it a second and third time, I was at times confused towards the end.
The only other problem I have with this anime is the character Yuiko. She is a pink haired cat girl monstrosity in Ritsuka's class that falls 'in love' with him from the moment she sees him. Her voice is shrill and annoying and her constant crying and attempts to get Ritsuka irritated me to the extreme. You just want to drag her to one side and explain that she should leave the boys alone with each other.
Small issues aside, Loveless is a great anime. The plot is intricate (sometimes a little too intricate for dumb me) and the art is great. The characters are both loveable and relatable, not to mention the loads of eye candy. I would highly recommend adding Loveless to your collection.
