Loveless (Manga)
| Loveless | |
|---|---|
| Original title | ラ ブ レ ス |
| transcription | Raburesu |
| genre | Shōnen Ai , drama, fantasy |
| Manga | |
| country |
 Japan
|
| author | Yun Koga |
| publishing company | Ichijinsha |
| magazine | Zero Sum |
| First publication | July 2002 - ... |
| expenditure | 13 |
| Anime television series | |
| Country of production |
Japan
|
| original language | Japanese |
| year | 2005 |
| Studio | JCStaff |
| length | 25 minutes |
| Episodes | 12 |
| Director | Yū Kō |
| music | Masanori Sasaji |
| First broadcast | April 7 - June 30, 2005 on TV Asahi |
| Light novel | |
| country | Japan |
| author | Aya Natsui |
| illustrator | Yun Koga |
| publishing company | Ichijinsha |
| First publication | July 19, 2008 |
| expenditure | 1 |
Loveless ( Japanese ラ ブ レ ス , raburesu ) is a manga series by Yun Kōga , which was also made into an anime series. It can be assigned to the Shōnen-Ai genre, is a romantic drama and takes place in today's Japan .
action
The student Ritsuka Aoyagi ( 青 柳 立夏 ), who has not yet come to terms with the death of his brother Seimei, is entering a new class. He behaves in a dismissive manner towards his classmates, but in the course of the plot he becomes friends with his lively classmate Yuiko Hawatari ( 羽 渡 唯 子 ) and the teacher Hitomi Shinonome ( 東 雲 瞳 ). In front of the school he meets a man who introduces himself as Sōbi Agatsuma ( 我 妻 草 灯 ) and claims to be a friend of Ritsuka's late brother Seimei. Seimei asked Sōbi shortly before his death to stand by Ritsuka in future conflicts.
In the world in which the story takes place there are people who are particularly deeply connected to one another and are therefore able to cast powerful spells. These couples can fight each other in so-called spell battles . Sōbi and Seimei were such a couple, whose common name was "Beloved". Ritsuka tries to follow in his brother's footsteps and becomes Sōbis Sacrifice . The pair consists of a sacrifice and a fighter , with the fighter fighting, but the sacrifice suffering pain. In return, the fighter obeys the sacrifice completely. Ritsuka's own name is "Loveless". Sōbi and Ritsuka have different "names" which is why they are not properly connected. However, their attachment manifests itself over time. It is also characteristic of the manga universe that all persons who are still “innocent” wear cat ears and tails. For example, when Ritsuka met Sōbi for the first time, he was shocked by the fact that he no longer had ears and was therefore an adult.
Ritsuka finds out that the Seven Moons organization was responsible for his brother's death and is now targeting him too. Ritsuka is melancholy, withdrawn and unsure whether to trust Sōbi. He feels left alone after the death of his brother, which is why he seeks contact with his mother, who has psychological problems and abuses her son. A woman contacts Ritsuka about a computer game, suspecting that his brother is still alive. The suspicion is manifesting more and more that Seimei was only the friendly, open young man to his brother Ritsuka, but that he was outwardly regarded as a cruel, sadistic hygiene fanatic.
After the woman, who calls herself “7”, pointed out that Sōbi knew of all previous events, in particular Seven Moons and Seimei's murder, Ritsuka asked Sōbi to bring him to Seven Moons . So the two set off with Kio, a fellow student of Sōbi, to the school of fighters . Director Ritsu Minami is Sobi's foster father and teacher, and it turns out that he raped Sōbi as a teenager. Ritsuka discovers that Seven Moons consisted of seven people, one of which - Seimei - is now missing as the other six decided to kill him.
During a combat exercise at school, Seimei, who only faked his death to avoid execution, breaks into the school with his new fighter Nisei Akuma, seriously injures principal Minami, and is finally locked in the library by 7 and Nagisa. Ritsuka and Sōbi finally find him there. Ritsuka is happy to see his older brother again, but is put to the test by him, as Seimei demands his unreserved loyalty. Ritsuka is overwhelmed by the situation, and his brother's demeanor confuses him, which is why he doesn't answer the question. Seimei finally flees with Sōbis help, as Sōbis still has to obey his orders, but has an extremely guilty conscience. Meanwhile, Nisei is arrested. On his escape, Seimei decides to kidnap Kio in order to have a hostage.
The next day, it turns out that another member of Seven Moons has disappeared. Ritsuka and Sōbi then take up the fight against the couple "Bloodless" who have locked Kio and guard Seimeis on orders. Eventually the two defeat the kidnappers and exchange their hostage Nisei for Kio, who is very grateful for his release.
Publications
Loveless has been published in Japan since July 2002 in individual chapters in the manga magazine Zero Sum . The Ichijinsha publishing house has published these individual chapters in twelve anthologies so far. The series, along with other of her works, was also featured in Yun Koga's artbook Your Eyes Only from August 2005.
Egmont Manga publishes the Manga series in German; 13 volumes have appeared so far. The series has also been translated into English, Polish, Portuguese, Chinese and French.
Adaptations
Anime
The JCStaff studio produced a twelve-part anime series on the manga, directed by Yū Kō. The character design was done by Kazunori Iwakura and the artistic director was Rie Ota . The 12-part anime was broadcast weekly on the Japanese TV channel TV Asahi from April 7th to June 30th, 2005 (after midnight and thus on the previous television day ) . ABC and Nagoya TV followed within a week . In addition, a special episode was created that contains prologue scenes. The anime adaptation is very close to the original. However, a new, open ending has been designed for the anime as the manga is still ongoing.
The anime was released in German on three DVDs by Tokyopop . The first DVD was released in November 2007 with some delays due to problems in the anime area of Tokyo. The series has also been translated into English.
synchronization
The German version was produced by TV + Synchron Berlin .
| role | Japanese speaker ( seiyū ) | German speaker |
|---|---|---|
| Aoyagi Ritsuka | Junko Minagawa | Konrad Bösherz |
| Agatsuma Sōbi | Katsuyuki Konishi | Karlo Hackenberger |
| Hawatari Yuiko | Kana Ueda | Rubina Kuraoka |
| Hitomi Shinonome | Mamiko Noto | Giuliana Jakobeit |
| 7 (Nana) | Aya Hisakawa | |
| Aoyagi Seimei | Narita Ken | Robin Kahnmeyer |
| Dr. Katsuko | Emi Shinohara | Arianne Borbach |
| Aoyagi Misaki | Wakana Yamazaki | Sabine Mazey |
| Yayoi | Jun Fukuyama | Fabian Hollwitz |
| Kaidō Kio | Ken Takeuchi | Rainer Fritzsche |
| Kinka | Hiroki Takahashi | Jesco Wirthgen |
| Ginka | Yui Horie | Julia Blankenburg |
| Yōji | Hiroyuki Yoshino | Sebastian Schulz |
| Natsuo | Mitsuki Saiga | Raúl Richter |
| Mr. Ritsu | Takehito Koyasu | Alexander Doering |
| Nagisa | Sanae Kobayashi | Uschi Hugo |
| Yamato Nakano | Yumi Kakazu | Julia Meynen |
| Kōya Sakagami | Rie Kugimiya | Marie-Luise Schramm |
| Ai | Ami Koshimizu | Maria Koschny |
| Midori | Motoki Takagi | Ricardo Richter |
music
The music for the series was composed by Masanori Sasaji , Yuki Kajiura was also involved . Both orchestral and digitally created melodies are used, as well as piano pieces. The opening title Tsuki no Curse comes from Okina Reika. The end credits were accompanied by the songs Michiyuki by Kaori Hikita and Tsuki no Curse by Okina Reika.
Light novel
In July 2008 Ichijinsha published the light novel Loveless - Ephemeral Bonds for the Manga in Japan . It was written by Natsui Aya and illustrated by Yun Kōga.
CDs
Geneon Entertainment published several radio play series in Japan based on the manga and the anime. The first radio play series based on the anime was released in 2005 in four parts. At the end of 2007, a five-part series followed that builds on the manga. In 2008 two more radio plays based on the anime were released on CD. In addition, the entire soundtrack of the television series appeared on several CDs.
reception
In the United States, the new volumes consistently made it into the top 10 best-selling manga volumes of the week. Some assign the work to the Shotacon because of the relationship between Sōbi and Ritsuka , the series is therefore quite controversial, even if the relationship between the 12- and 20-year-olds always remains platonic. At IGN, however , Jessica Chobot describes the portrayal of the relationship as low-key and appropriate. The reader is "almost convinced that this is not a bit perverse." She immediately adopted the plot for the manga and the drawings, "smooth, fresh and never overloaded" , are phenomenal. The battle scenes would convey the characters' feelings and their dangers well without overwhelming the reader. Overall, the series has that certain something, is a must for every fan of Shōnen Ai and the best title of the genre that was released in the USA until 2007 - better than series like Gravitation or Yami no Matsuei . Jason Thompson, on the other hand, finds the story frustratingly lengthy, gloomy and introverted. The fight scenes are too static and fail in their metaphorical content. The dissolution of the secrets happens slowly and clumsily - the basic idea of the cat ears and tails, which symbolize innocence, is, however, an attractive metaphor and pretext for cute anthropomorphic figures. He also describes the drawings as successful. Same-sex relationships are suggested again and again, but never really shown. The Anime Encyclopedia calls the use of Kemonomimi symbolizing the innocence of some characters clever and compares the ratio of fighters as Sobi to the Sacrifice as Ritsuka with the constellation of characters in Utena. Revolutionary girl . The surreal world of the manga with the animal attributes symbolizing maturity and the resulting sexual tension was transferred well into the anime.
The German AnimaniA praises the manga for the clever combination of Shōnen Ai and fantasy. The fights are exciting and the subtle relationship between the two protagonists contributes significantly to the entertainment value of the series. The series primarily addresses young female readers with its themes: Ritsuka's submissive dependence and love for Sōbi, growing up as a teenager, bullying and other everyday problems. While drawing to have Yun Koga compared to shape significantly improved, the drawings are clearly detailed. The anime series is also called visually high-quality, it offers rich colors and good CGI effects, which unfortunately only fit in mediocre into the overall picture. The close focus on the “attractive style” of the template ensures “a constant fire of cuteness” and “intoxicating play of colors” . The viewers are offered many bishons , but “feminine feasts for the eyes” also occur. The music of the series is "extremely atmospheric" , but the opening credits are far less successful than the credits. The German dubbed version was also well done.
Web links
- Entry in the Incomplete Manga Guide
- Manga and Anime on Anime News Network (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ AnimaniA 06/2006, p. 68 f.
- ↑ a b c d AnimaniA 12/2007, p. 22 ff.
- ↑ References Synchron. TV + Synchron, archived from the original on August 13, 2009 ; Retrieved January 19, 2012 .
- ↑ see reports on Anime News Network .
- ↑ Dru Pagliassotti: GloBLisation and hybridization: Publishers 'Strategies for Bringing Boys' Love to the United States . Intersections: Gender and Sexuality in Asia and the Pacific Issue 20, April 2009.
- ↑ Jessica Chobot: Loveless Vol. 1 Review. February 6, 2006, accessed April 25, 2015 .
- ↑ Jason Thompson : Manga. The Complete Guide . New York 2007, Del Rey. P. 194.
- ↑ Jonathan Clements, Helen McCarthy: The Anime Encyclopedia. Revised & Expanded Edition . Berkeley 2006, Stone Bridge Press. Pp. 193, 378.
- ↑ AnimaniA 06/2006, p. 58.