Loveless, Volume 8

What happens when misfit teenagers with catlike features and sexual ambiguities are thrust into an adolescence overstuffed with murder, mayhem, and manipulation? If you haven't guessed, Loveless is an acquired taste, and decidedly not for younger readers, though it is a richly textured, beautifully drawn, diabolically compelling narrative full of pathos and resonance, sadness, and (we hope) redemption. When 12-year-old Ritsuka--real name "Loveless"--suffers the gruesome murder of his older brother Seimei, he transfers to a new school, is promptly branded a playground freak, and is then (not that this helps the whole "freak" thing) drawn into a questionably appropriate relationship with an older man, Soubi, and a shadowy world of spells, phantasmagoric battles, and code names. Battles are launched with word spells (Get it? Words are weapons!), with Ritsuka and Soubi forming a sexually charged combat unit. Soubi is the aggressor in these battles, while Ritsuka provides his mentor defense, absorbing their opponents' pain and damage. Think Hamlet by way of My Own Private Idaho, with a touch of Pokemon. If the bare bones of Yun Kouga's cute-meets-subversive story are not provocative enough, Loveless' characters are kemonomimi, humanoids with animallike qualities--in this case, virgins with feline ears and tails that are shed when they've lost their virginity. Allusions, and sometimes more, to bondage, homosexuality, and pedophilia are prevalent, marking this as an adult title. Kouga's Loveless is a sumptuous contemporary fairy tale, a shojo, or young women's, phenomenon in Japan, and a wild success for U.S. publisher TokyoPop, due largely to her sweeping, dreamlike artwork, crisp plotting, and smart dialogue. Kouga finds the vulnerabilities and charms in her characters, rendering them instantly identifiable despite their formidable eccentricities. Ritsuka is one of manga's most vibrant, memorable protagonists, drenched in teen angst, but also alive with curiosity and a burgeoning power and awareness. Too, Kouga's attention to heady themes like the power of words in creating our reality, the meaning of memory, the strength of family, and the loss of innocence lend a solid, bona fide literary air to the proceedings. -- J. Rentilly

I have loved this manga for quite a while, waiting for new volumes to come out has been daunting. It was over a year before volume 8 came out and it seems that it will be another year before volume 9 is out. This is so sad because Americans are just now delving into the manga explosion and would just love to have it become more available sooner. Us Americans tend to lose interest rather fast. Oh well, my attention span is a little broader and can wait a little longer but hope to have volume 9 out by the year 2010.

Finally book 8 comes out translated! Read the rest of the series first. Warning Yaoi! Which translates to Boy Love. If this offends or insults you do not purchase this book!! Now i can't wait until #9 is translated.....

Reading the latest volume of Loveless, I fell in love with the story and the drawings all over again. This latest volume delves deeper into Soubi's backstory, with flashbacks to his youth, when he first met his teacher, when he lost his ears, and when he first met Semei. The stories are told succinctly, and the drawings are delicate and bursting with feeling, as always, and sometimes pages read as if they flow along a river of subtle emotions. I love this manga precisely because it always had an unifying emotion through its pages, its drawings and narrative style projecting a sort of wistfulness that hints at the deep love that binds the tortured main characters. There is much sadness in the story, but there's hope and love and beauty too in the way the characters move and interact with each other, and sometimes one word and one look can surprise the reader with its painful emotional impact. In spite of the disturbing hints of incest and obvious references to torture and rape, I think this latest volume more than any others before it hints strongly at the redemptive power of all kinds of love, love among friends, love among families, love between teacher and student, and gives one hope that even in the darkest hours, a warm hand and a comforting embrace can give meaning to the loneliest of souls.

Loveless is my absolute, no hesitation, favorite manga series ever! (I read a lot of it, too). I am not ashamed to admit that I'm obsessed. Yun Kouga's style is unique and stunning. I simply LOVE her characters. So far there are 8 volumes in this series and I'm pacing waiting for the next one. Until it comes out I have to be satisfied reading and re-reading the previous volumes...which isn't necessarily a bad thing since I love it more each time I read it. Or I can watch the anime which is AMAZING! I highly recommend that too! Now to this volume itself... Seimei is back! He's gorgeous, powerful, and intimidating. Ritsuka is stunned to see him. Ritsu is forced to choose between the older brother he desperately loves (but who is EVIL) or Soubi (the mysterious man at his side whose alliance is questionable). There is a lot of tension in this volume. Words and sparks fly!! I don't want to give anything away so you'll just have to read it! Go ahead, you won't be disappointed! The bonus short stories at the end are cute too. Highly recommended!!! I LOVE LOVELESS!!