Loveless (manga)
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| Loveless | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Genre | fantasy, mystery, shōnen-ai |
| Manga | |
| Authored by | Yun Kouga |
| Publisher |  Ichijinsha Tokyopop |
| Serialized in | Monthly Comic Zero Sum |
| Original run | May 2002 – Ongoing |
| No. of volumes | 7 |
| TV anime | |
| Directed by | Yuu Kou |
| Studio | J.C.STAFF |
| Network | TV Asahi |
| Original run | April 2005 – June 2005 |
| No. of episodes | 12 |
Loveless is a shōnen-ai fantasy manga by Yun Kouga. It is currently serialized in the monthly magazine Monthly Comic Zero Sum published by Ichijinsha. Seven compilation volumes have been released. The manga is licensed for US release by Tokyopop, with four volumes released as of February 2007. A 12 episode anime television series adaptation was made by J.C.STAFF, broadcast in a post-midnight slot on TV Asahi and ABC from April 2005 to June 2005. The anime series was licensed and released in the US by Media Blasters in a set of 3 DVDs in early 2006.
The most immediately striking aspect of the story is that many characters are kemonomimi, 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.
Contents |
[edit] Summary
On his first day at his new school, 12-year old Ritsuka Aoyagi meets a mysterious 20-year old man named Soubi Agatsuma. 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 is his 'sacrifice'. Together, they challenge the organization to find out the truth behind Seimei's death and the reason for Ritsuka's amnesia.
[edit] Characteristics
[edit] Neko
In the world of Loveless, everybody is born with cat ears and tails, which are shed after they have engaged in some form of sexual intercourse, thereby making the ears and tail a metaphor for virginity. 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.
[edit] Fighting and pairings
The fighting style in the series is also unique; fighting can only occur between couples (with a few exceptions), where one is the Sacrifice, who receives all damage, and the other is the fighter, who attempts to attack the enemy couple. The pairing system is used by the author to add 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", "Breathless", "Sleepless", and "Zero". 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.
[edit] Cast of main characters
[edit] Ritsuka Aoyagi
Ritsuka Aoyagi (青柳立夏 Aoyagi 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 and became the opposite of his former self. Before, he was a popular, average grade student; now, he doesn't get along with his classmates, but he gets perfect scores. 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, on his first day at his new school, meets Soubi Agatsuma for the first time. Soubi confuses him with his sudden intimacy and puzzling claims that he was Seimei's fighter. As Ritsuka discovers, Seimei's impromptu will dictates that Soubi shall "become Ritsuka's" upon his death. Ritsuka deeply admired and idolized Seimei, and to discover later there were many things kept secret came as a great shock. It further poisoned 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 naiveté, particularly in sexual love and dating. Despite this, he still has firm opinions and unrelenting ideas about those subjects. 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; however, he seemingly 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 phrases such as "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. More recent developments in the series revealed Soubi as the BELOVED imposter. Even after having knowledge of this, Ritsuka still insisted on remaining as Soubi's sacrifice. Ritsuka mentioned that he had always suspected this much about Soubi considering that Soubi constantly refused to disclose any information about himself and Seimei.
[edit] Soubi Agatsuma
Soubi Agatsuma (我妻草灯 Agatsuma Sōbi?) is a twenty year old art student. He is a former student of Shichisei Gakuen (often translated as Academy of Seven Voices), a school for fighters where Ritsu Minami was his teacher.
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, which is considered taboo. There is also a severe loss of strength, and in Soubi's case, his marking bleeds in battle. Since meeting Ritsuka, Soubi doesn't operate under the Beloved name, and effectively abandoned it altogether.
Soubi appears to know much more about Seimei and his cause of death than he will divulge. 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 openly declares that he lives his life by Seimei's orders, but still says he obeys Ritsuka's every order.
Many readers and characters in the story itself label Soubi as a masochist. He is extremely contradictory, and says conflicting things on pain and control, making his true feelings unclear. 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. In support of this theory, Soubi shuns Ritsu's offers to control his life.
In addition to the masochist label, Soubi is often described as having a shotacon complex. Despite the clamor to label him as such, it is also claimed by some there is no evidence of this within the canon. Though, at least in the anime, it must be noted that Soubi is recurrently fondling and kissing the 12 year old Ritsuka. It is difficult to explain the sexual connotations of their behaviour without resorting to a shotacon-relationship; at the very least one can say their relationship is sexually ambiguous. Whether this is part of a broader complex, is unknown, though in the anime, Soubi also showed a certain infatuation with the male Zero's.
In the latest Zero-Sum Magazine chapters, Soubi has been revealed to be the Beloved spell fighter imposter. Ritsu referred to Soubi as a "Spare Fighter", meaning he can be paired with any sacrifice.
[edit] Cast of minor characters
[edit] Seimei Aoyagi
Seimei Aoyagi (青柳清明 Aoyagi Seimei?) is 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. We later learn that Seimei had faked his death, but who was the person that died in his place has not yet been revealed. He is also the sacrifice of the Beloved pair. Soubi was given to Seimei (mostly at Seimei's request) as a fighter when Seimei was only 14 years old. It is speculated by fans that there is some kind of rivalry between Seimei and Ritsu over Soubi and perhaps over other things, but there's no information in the series that confirms these speculations.
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.
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."
Currently, he and Nisei, the true Beloved fighter, have traveled to Goura and has infiltrated the Academy of Seven Voices. His reasons for this infiltration has not yet been revealed. He betrayed Nisei by refusing to assist him in a two vs. one spell battle with Ritsuka and Soubi. This kind of action is very much consistent with the many negative beliefs that most of the characters in the series have about Seimei.
[edit] Yuiko Hawatari
Yuiko Hawatari (羽渡唯子 Hawatari Yuiko?) is Ritsuka's classmate. Despite her ditzy, 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)."
[edit] Kio Kaidou
Kio Kaidou (海堂貴緒 Kaidō Kio?) is a friend and classmate of Soubi's. They are both art students, and in volume 6 Kio tells Ritsuka, "I'm probably Sou-chan'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.
[edit] Hitomi Shinonome
Hitomi Shinonome (東雲瞳 Shinonome Hitomi?) is Ritsuka and Yuiko's teacher. She is very naive and innocent, and painfully aware of these characteristics. At twenty-three years old, she is teased and ridiculed for retaining her ears (and therefore her virginity) to such an age. She is visibly embarrassed, but as the story progresses, she gains confidence and pride over making her own choices.
Hitomi is greatly troubled by Ritsuka's mother and the injuries he sustains from her, and greatly desires to involve herself in the situation to make a change, despite her fears and her colleagues' dissent.
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 no more than three years older than him. Despite his cold treatment, Hitomi seems to have 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 Minami.
Although he has rejected her, it can be noted that Soubi enjoys tormenting her to some degree. In their first meeting, he takes pleasure in confronting her uneasily face-to-face. In volume 2 of the manga (episode 6 of the anime), he holds her closely when she faints. This is notable 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, perhaps unwillingly. In volume 2 of the manga and episode 6 of the anime, Soubi also 'saves' Hitomi from the male Zeroes, Youji and Natsuo. 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 embarrasses her more. In comparison with his extreme dislike of his own teacher figure, Ritsu, Soubi 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.
[edit] Misaki Aoyagi
Misaki Aoyagi (青柳美咲 Aoyagi Misaki?) is the mother of Seimei and Ritsuka. She has an important influence over her sons. Being emotionally and mentally weak, Misaki 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", claiming that she wants her former little Ritsuka back as she hits him. 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 behavior that she cannot control.
[edit] Yayoi Shioiri
Yayoi Shioiri (塩入弥生 Shioiri Yayoi?) is 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.
[edit] 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 The Seven Moons and Seimei. Her mission as stated in volume 5 is to determine whether Seimei really faked his death. She is a member of The Seven Moons, 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.
[edit] Nagisa Sagan
Nagisa Sagan (目渚 Sagan Nagisa?) is a young, quick-to-anger woman who conducts experiments with creating humans who cannot feel physical pain. Her age, background, and organization are unknown. We only know that she had a sister, but what has become of her sister is not yet known. She created Youji after the image of her little sister, perhaps as an attempt of remembrance or to erase a pain in her heart, but reasons are still unknown. Her over-the-top behaviour and strange lifestyle 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 finishing 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.
Recently in the series, she was the first to notice that Ritsu took Soubi's virginity, which she states was disgusting and immoral considering Soubi's extremely ripe age (fans speculate that he was 13, roughly congruent to Ritsuka's current age). Her dislike of Soubi or constant attempts to portray him as unspecial is mostly stemmed from jealously. Some fans speculate that Soubi is Nagisa's romantic rival.
[edit] Natsuo Sagan
Natsuo Sagan (目奈津生 Sagan Natsuo?) is the fighter of the male Zero pair. He is one of Nagisa's experiments, and presumably the second generation of Zeros. He first makes an appearance in volume 2, when he and Youji corner Soubi when he's alone. When Soubi wins the battle, Natsuo tells him that he and Youji have no place to return to if they lose a battle. Soubi offers to let them live at his apartment, and Natsuo warily accepts.
[edit] Youji Sagan
Youji Sagan (目瑤二 Sagan Yōji?) is the sacrifice of the male Zero pair. He is the more cruel and brutal of the two; however, they are both rather blunt and cold towards others. A good example of this is in volume 5, when Ritsuka rushes home after curfew, and Soubi remarks that Ritsuka will probably get a "beating". Natsuo and Youji are both amused by this, and say, "A mother abusing her child! That's the best!" while grinning happily.
Nagisa is unashamedly biased towards Youji, often ignoring Natsuo. According to Youji, this is because he bears a significant resemblance to Nagisa's younger sister.
[edit] Kouya Sakagami
Kouya Sakagami (坂上江夜 Sakagami Kōya?) is the fighter of the female Zero pair. Until they met, both pairs believed they were the only Zero pair to exist. Both teams are experiments created by Nagisa at different times, and the female pair is presumably the first generation. Despite their unusual background, both Kouya and Yamato attend high school, although different ones.
In an interesting demonstration of the series' fictional world's rules and expectations of society, Kouya wears fake cat ears despite not being a virgin. Yamato often teases her about it, particularly because Yamato doesn't try to hide her status.
[edit] Yamato Nakano
Yamato Nakano (中野倭 Nakano Yamato?) is the sacrifice of the female Zero pair. In contrast to Kouya's solemness, Yamato has an outgoing, vivacious personality. Their relationship is the focus of a mini-arc in volume 4.
The relationship Yamato has with Kouya is a passionate and dedicated one that becomes unexpectedly stressful for Yamato in volume 4. Her marking, which she interprets as physical proof of her relationship with Kouya, slowly fades without warning. In a blatant reference to the homosexual nature of their relationship, both girls' markings -- a 0 with a line through the middle -- are on the same place: their breast.
[edit] Ritsu Minami
Ritsu Minami (南律 Minami 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 The Seven Moons. In volume 5, when Ritsuka and 7 meet in Wisdom Resurrection, she also brings Ritsu and Nagisa. When Ritsuka says, "Seimei was part of The Seven Moons, 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."
In the latest chapter of the Zero-Sum Magezine, Ritsu has been revealed to be the one who took Soubi's ears (virginity). The reasons for this, as Nagisa believes, was that Soubi was a sexual substitute for his mother whom some fans speculate was Ritsu's pairing fighter and love interest. Some fans believe that this was Ritsu's way of getting revenge against Soubi's mother for betraying his love by marrying another man.
In the February chapter of Zero-Sum, the story picks up on what occurred between Seimei and Ritsu during the duration of Soubi and Nisei's spellfight. He is seen carried away on a stretcher, evidently beaten up and his eyes apparently gouged out. Seimei used Ritsu's blood to write the message "Ritsuka, I'm back."
[edit] Nisei Akame
Nisei Akame (赤目二世 Akame Nisei?) first appeared in the manga in volume 5. Although his character is largely a mystery, he appears to be very devious. He helps keep track of Ritsuka by spying on him and reports the information back to a mysterious boss. He and Soubi meet in volume 6 and from then on, Nisei stops spying on Ritsuka, but his presence is still near.
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.
Due to his smug demeanor and malicious behaviour towards Ritsuka, Nisei and Soubi have great animosity between each other. In volume 6, Soubi expresses his deep desire to murder Nisei at any cost.
There is a strong belief among fans that Nisei is a psychopath, judging by his actions and the way he says he can't experience feelings such as love or desire.
In the latest chapter of the Zero-Sum magazine, Soubi and Ritsuka defeated Nisei in a two vs. one spell battle after Nisei and Seimei infiltrated the Academy of Seven Voices. Nisei attempted to contact Seimei for help, but Seimei purposefully ignored his calls stressing that he had more important things to do. After Nisei's defeat, he was painfully struck with the shock of Seimei's abandonment
[edit] 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 | Akame Nisei | Seimei Aoyagi |
| Loveless | Soubi Agatsuma (After Seimei's Death) | Ritsuka Aoyagi |
| Breathless | Ai Myoujin | Midori Arai |
| Sleepless | Kinka | Ginka |
| Zero (male) | Natsuo Sagan | Youji Sagan |
| Zero (female) | Kouya Sakagami | Yamato Nakano |
| Fearless | Mei Hotarubi | Mimuro |
[edit] Manga volumes
Serialized since 2002 in Monthly Comic Zero Sum, there have been approximately 53 chapters published as of October 2006 and still ongoing. Roughly every 10-12 months, these chapters are then collected and released in compilation volumes. At Anime Expo 2005, Tokyopop announced they acquired the English license. They have since published the first three volumes in 2006, with more to follow.
Volumes released in Japan
- Volume 1 (released July 2002; ISBN 4-7580-5002-3)
- Volume 2 (released December 26, 2002; ISBN 4-7580-5011-2)
- Volume 3 (released June 25, 2003; ISBN 4-7580-5034-1)
- Volume 4 (released June 25, 2004; ISBN 4-7580-5077-5)
- Volume 5 (released February 25, 2005; ISBN 4-7580-5120-8)
- Volume 6 (released December 24, 2005; ISBN 4-7580-5198-4)
- Volume 7 (released November 25, 2006)
Volumes released in the U.S.
- Volume 1 (released February 7, 2006; ISBN 1-59816-221-7)
- Volume 2 (released June 13, 2006; ISBN 1-59816-222-5)
- Volume 3 (released October 10, 2006; ISBN 1-59816-223-3)
- Volume 4 (released February 13, 2007; ISBN 978-1-59816-224-0)
- Volume 5 (releases May 8, 2007)
- Volume 6 (releases August 7, 2007)
- Volume 7 (releases November 13, 2007)
[edit] Anime
A 12-episode anime adaptation was made by J.C. STAFF, and first aired in Japan from April 2005 to June 2005. The episodes covered approximately volumes 1-4, due to production starting in August 2004 -- about 4 months before volume 5 was published. Because the source material hadn't finished its serialization, and with a limit of 12 episodes, the anime adaptation has quite a few differences. The most notable is the series finale, which was written specifically for the anime and left the storyline open to the possibility of a future sequel.
[edit] Episode titles
- Episode 1: BREATHLESS
- Episode 2: MEMORYLESS
- Episode 3: BONDLESS
- Episode 4: FRIENDLESS
- Episode 5: SLEEPLESS
- Episode 6: PAINLESS
- Episode 7: TEARLESS
- Episode 8: TRUSTLESS
- Episode 9: SKINLESS
- Episode 10: NAMELESS
- Episode 11: WARLESS
- Episode 12: ENDLESS
[edit] DVD releases
There are 12 episodes total, and released across 6 DVDs for the R2 market, but only 3 DVDs for the R1 market. Both markets got the entire series, but due to different sorting methods, the R2 DVDs have 2 episodes each, while the R1 DVDs have 4 each. Additionally, the first DVD for the R2 market was sold with a special frame that displayed a photo of Soubi and Ritsuka, but the R1 market DVD did not come with this item.
Japan DVD release (R2)
- Loveless 1 (released July 22, 2005)
- Loveless 2 (released August 26, 2005)
- Loveless 3 (released September 23, 2005)
- Loveless 4 (released October 28, 2005)
- Loveless 5 (released November 25, 2005)
- Loveless 6 (released December 23, 2005)
U.S. DVD release (R1)
- Loveless 1: Lost and Found (released February 14, 2006)
- Loveless 2: Soul of Chains (released March 28, 2006)
- Loveless 3: Hope on the Run (released April 25, 2006)
[edit] Seiyuu
- Ritsuka Aoyagi : Junko Minagawa
- Soubi Agatsuma : Katsuyuki Konishi
- Yuiko Hawatari : Kana Ueda
- Seimei Aoyagi : Ken Narita
- Kio Kaidou : Ken Takeuchi
- Hitomi Shinonome: Mamiko Noto
- Yayoi Shioiri : Jun Fukuyama
- Ai Myoujin : Ami Koshimizu
- Midori Arai : Motoko Takagi
- Misaki Aoyagi : Wakana Yamazaki
- Ritsu Minami : Takehito Koyasu
- Youji Sagan : Hiroyuki Yoshino
- Natsuo Sagan : Mitsuki Saiga
- Kouya Sakagami : Rie Kugimiya
- Yamato Nakano : Yumi Kakazu
- Nagisa Sagan : Sanae Kobayashi
- Kinka : Hiroki Takahashi
- Ginka : Yui Horie
- Goddess (7/Nana) : Aya Hisakawa
- Katsuko : Emi Shinohara
[edit] Music and drama CDs
[edit] Trivia
- The seiyuu of Seimei Aoyagi (Ritsuka's older brother) is Ken Narita, who also voices Sesshomaru in InuYasha. The seiyuu of Hitomi Shinonome (Ritsuka's teacher) is Mamiko Noto, who also is the voice of Rin in InuYasha.
[edit] External links
Official sites
- (English) Official English page for the manga
- (Japanese) J.C.STAFF Loveless anime site
- (Japanese) Kouga Yun's official site
Unofficial sites
