Loveless
Reviewer: Summer Queen [email] [website]Overall Rating: D
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]
I had high hopes for Loveless when I first started watching it. I had seen the manga when I was subscribed to Zero Sum three years ago, and liked the character designs very much. So after watching the first episode, I was convinced I had something to fill the void left by the end of the Sukisho TV series.
Alas, those hopes were dashed very quickly, for while there are seeds of an interesting story and intriguing characters, LoveLovelessless falls flat on its face when it comes to delivering. I finished the series only out of a sense of obligation . . . well, more like a gawking onlooker observing a train wreck, wondering how much worse it could get before the pain ended.
Much worse, apparently.
Before I dive into Loveless' shortcomings, let me clarify something once and for all: I do NOT consider this to be a Boys Love series, despite appearances. It runs in a plain ol' non-BL monthly that's also home to other girl-friendly titles like Saiyuuki Reload, Saint Beast and Weiss Side B, but is in no way a BL title, despite fan insistence that it has to be.
The basic premise of the series is that two years ago, now twelve year old Aoyagi Ritsuka lost his older brother Seimei under mysterious circumstances. Something also apparently happened to Ritsuka, and both he and his violently distraught mother are convinced he's no longer the boy he was, but a different person completely. As a result, Ritsuka is in therapy, and carries a camera nearly everywhere, capturing memories of the current time, in case he loses this self as well. For reasons that may or not be significant in the manga, individuals in this world have cat ears and tails until such time as they lose their virginity. While it's a cute character design, and good for a chuckle when you realize at least one character wears false ears, it's completely irrelevant to the plot, such as it is.
Enter into Ritsuka's life a beautiful stranger, Agatasuma Soubi, a college student in his late teens, who claims to have known Seimei very well. Ritsuka, poster child for "I need a friend," finds himself pulled into Soubi's -- and presumably Seimei's -- world. A world where Soubi was a Fighter called Beloved, and Seimei was his identically named Sacrifice, fated to take the damage for Soubi in magical battles. It's unheard of for a Fighter to swap Sacrifices, but that's just what Soubi does, replacing the dead Seimei with Ritsuka, who becomes Loveless. Why are there Fighters and Sacrifices? We're never told. We do get glimpses into the bureaucratic structure behind them, but no explanations are ever given as to who they really fight for, or why.
Cue a series of magical battles pitting Ritsuka and Soubi against other pairs, most of which serve to beat home the point that Ritsuka isn't properly bonded to his Fighter, which could prove deadly to Soubi. And causing us to witness repeated scenes of Ritsuka ordering Soubi not to fight, Soubi agreeing he must bow to Ritsuka's wishes and Soubi then fighting behind Ritsuka's back. All of which gets very repetitive and boring while not really advancing the plot beyond a couple of teasing hints that the opponents know what happened to Seimei (it's worth noting that Soubi doesn't seem terribly concerned about what happened to his original Sacrifice).
And so the show meanders for most of its short twelve episode run. The cast of characters is fleshed out by Ritsuka's annoying classmates Yuiko (a pneumatic young lass if ever there was one, who has a major crush on Ritsuka), Yayoi (who has a crush on Yuiko) and their teacher (who still has her ears, and who Soubi seems to enjoy tormenting). We also meet Ritsuka's therapist, who has a serious ethical problem, given she wants to date her much younger patient (creepy!) and Soubi's roomie, who's actually a likable fellow.
The major drawback to this show, beyond the stultifying plot, is the Soubi-Ritsuka relationship. The writers have done all they can to sexualize it without progressing them beyond a kiss. Remember what I said about Ritsuka being twelve? Soubi is nineteen. That, coupled with Soubi's blatant abuse of Ritsuka's desperate need for platonic affection, just makes Soubi creepy beyond belief. Their relationship isn't erotic: it's illegal. And for someone like me, easily old enough to be Ritsuka's mother, it's a turn-off of the highest degree. Yuiko is annoying, but at least she's Ritsuka's age, and honest about her feelings, unlike Soubi's emotional subterfuge. There's an attempt in one episode to "explain" Soubi by treating us to his mentor training him through the extensive use of a whip. Have to admit, it was certainly visually appealing, but didn't make me like Soubi any more than I already did, which was not at all.
The sole redeeming things about Loveless are the haunting opening and closing songs; the character designs, which are beautiful; Ritsuka himself, who is sweetly portrayed by female voice actor Minagawa Junko; and episode twelve. In that final episode, which is highly surreal and dreamlike, we get plot. Real plot. We get hints of what's to come later (in the manga, presumably -- I hate it when ongoing series are animated) and who's behind the recent events. And arguably the series' most important character, besides Ritsuka, is actually introduced. And Soubi even has a moment of genuine, if blunt, emotion. All in time for the closing credits to roll one last time.
There are rumours of a second season. Out of morbid curiosity, I'd probably watch it, but I can't in good conscience recommend the Loveless anime to anyone. It's just plain inferior. If you want genuine cute Boys Love with a hint of mystery, skip Loveless and go watch Sukisho.
Reviewer's Coda:
I don't tend to revisit past reviews, but the sheer volume of email
I've received on this one has brought me back 'round to it. I've fixed
my misspelling of Yuiko's name, and corrected my mixup of the
Soubi-Seimei Fighter-Sacrifice relationship. But beyond that, if you
think I'm changing one iota of my negativity: forget it. I've since
read the first two volumes of the manga in English, which did little
more but reinforce my intense dislike of this series. And no amount of
hate mail (and there is rather a lot of it) is going to sway me away
from that opinion. I may not be the target audience for this show, but
it is still my opinion Ð and yes, believe it or not, I'm entitled to
one, even if I'm not thirteen and enamoured of catboys Ð that I find
Loveless underwhelming. It is pretty, but unappealing to me on oh so
many levels.
Please feel free to continue to email me, but do understand that I am unlikely to respond to vitriol, and future threats of bodily harm will be reported posthaste to your ISP or other appropriate authorities. It is, after all, just an anime, folks.
