Loveless
Overall Rating: 
Publisher: Media Blasters
Type of Anime: TV
Watched Subbed/Dubbed: Dubbed
I’m not usually into Shonen-ai, but there’s just something about Loveless that I adore. Based on the manga by Yun Kouga, which is still being released, Loveless follows Ritsuka Aoyagi, a sixth grade boy who feels lost and alone in the world.
Two years ago, Ritsuka’s older brother Seimei was murdered. Seimei’s body was found charred and sitting in Ritsuka’s seat at his elementary school. No one knows exactly what happened, but Ritsuka is determined to find the person responsible for his brother’s death as Seimei was the only person Ritsuka ever felt he could trust.
It was also around that time that Ritsuka suffered a bout of amnesia and his personality completely changed. He went from being extremely popular and getting mediocre grades to an introvert that got the highest grades in school. Unfortunately, Ritsuka’s abusive mother also noticed the change and for the last two years has punished him for not being the kid he used to be.
On Ritsuka’s first day at his new school, he meets 20 year-old Soubi, who claims he was an old friend of Seimei’s. Intrigued, Ritsuka asks him to hang out and the two snap pictures of one another – pictures are important to Ritsuka because they serve as the only proof he has that his memories are real. As they are enjoying themselves, a fighter team interjects and Ritsuka soon finds himself in the middle of a spell battle between he and Soubi and another team named Breathless.
Loveless tackles a number of heavy themes in its twelve episode run. First, there’s Ritsuka, whose real name is Loveless. True to his name, Ritsuka avoids establishing a meaningful connection with others. Instead, he focuses his attention on the past, hoping that one day he’ll rediscover the boy he was two years ago and win back his mother’s love. He spends his days depressed that he can’t be the person he’s supposed to be but bitter that he should mold himself to meet other people’s expectations.
Second, there’s the issue of sexuality. In Ritsuka’s world, sexuality is a visible feature. Children retain cat ears and tail until they have sex for the first time. When Ritsuka first meets Soubi, one of the first things he notices is that Soubi is a grown up who no longer has ears. The anime contrasts Soubi with Ritsuka’s teacher, Hitomi Shinonome, who is 23 yet still has her ears.
Finally, there’s the battle system. Fighting occurs between couples made up of a Sentouki (a fighter) and a Sacrifice (the one who takes damage). The couples each share one name and there is a special, often romantic, bond between the pairings. In the mythology, there is only one Sentouki and one Sacrifice that share the same name and when the two fight together, they increase one another’s powers.
Soubi was formerly Seimei’s Sentouki and the two were called Beloved. When Seimei died, he asked in his will that Soubi find his younger brother and become Ritsuki’s Sentouki. Because of that, other fighting groups ridicule Soubi for going against protocol and allowing his Sacrifice to die while he continued living. Soubi complied with Seimei’s wishes, but because he and Ritsuka don’t share the same name, their bond isn’t as strong as other couples. Soubi often gains power by touching or caressing Ritsuki.
Loveless dwells on the concept of love, loneliness and sexuality through a variety of relationships. As Soubi learns more about Ritsuka, he becomes more of a protector and older brother and while there are a fair number of sexual innuendoes, Soubi repeatedly mentions he’s not a pervert and you get the idea he doesn’t want to sleep with Ritsuka (well, at least not while Ritsuka’s only in 6th grade). He does, however, tell Ritsuka he loves him, which makes Ritsuka extremely uncomfortable.
To lighten up the anime, there is also a love triangle between Ritsuka and two of his classmates. Pink haired Yuiko is in love with Ritsuka and tries her best to befriend him. Meanwhile, Yayoi is in love with Yuiko. He’s already asked her out once, only to be rejected, but he refuses to give up. In addition, Ritsuka must also deal with his classmates, who can deliberately be mean, so while Soubi is a main character, the focus of the anime is really how Ritsuka deals with overcoming his loneliness and connecting with others.
The Loveless anime was originally created in 2005 and it’s obvious that they had a tight production budget. There are a number of pan shots and still scenes throughout the anime, but the high quality artwork captures the moody feel of the anime extremely well. The color palette is primarily softer, cooler colors that, coupled with the artwork, give the anime a dreamlike feel – as if you’re in Ritsuka’s head at times.
Loveless tackles a lot in twelve episodes and can be confusing at points. I found myself so curious to know what happened that I picked up the manga, which is now, thankfully, much further along than when the anime was originally made. The ending is bizarre, and a complete deviation from the manga, but it does manage to wrap up many of the loose ends. I strongly recommend that if you like the anime, you move on to the manga, which makes a lot more sense. That said, I loved the anime and am hoping (though I’m not holding my breath) that they’ll do a second season now that more material has been published.
Category: Anime Reviews
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