Loveless (manga)


Loveless is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yun Kōga. It is serialized in the Japanese magazine Monthly Comic Zero Sum by Ichijinsha and collected in thirteen tankōbon as of July 2017. Kōga plans to end the manga at fifteen volumes.
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 noticeable aspect of the story is that many characters are —cat-like features are universal from birth, so there are as many catboys, including the protagonist, as there are catgirls. People in the Loveless universe lose their animal features when they lose their virginity. Those who no longer have animal features are differentiated by society as "adults".

Plot

In his first day at his new school, a then twelve-year-old Ritsuka Aoyagi meets a mysterious twenty-year-old male named Soubi Agatsuma. Soubi claims to be a good friend of Ritsuka's brother, Seimei, who was murdered 2 years earlier. Upon the inspection of Seimei's abandoned computer files, Ritsuka discovers that an organization called 'Septimal Moon' was responsible for Seimei's death.
As Ritsuka quickly discovers, Seimei and Soubi acted as a pair involved in spell battles invoked by carefully selected words. Now Soubi is Ritsuka's 'sentouki', or Fighter Unit, and Ritsuka is his 'Sacrifice'. Together, they challenge Septimal Moon to find out the truth behind Seimei's murder and the reason for Ritsuka's amnesia, and form an intimate bond as they unravel the mystery.

Characters

Main characters

;Ritsuka Aoyagi
;Soubi Agatsuma

Minor characters

;Yuiko Hawatari
;Kio Kaidou
;Hitomi Shinonome
;Misaki Aoyagi
;Yayoi Shioiri
;Nagisa Sagan
;Natsuo Sagan
;Youji Sagan
;Kouya Sakagami
;Yamato Nakano
;Ritsu Minami

Manga characters

;Seimei Aoyagi
;Nisei Akame
;7
;Nakahira
;Osamu Kimizuka

Themes

Loveless focuses on "the power of words in creating our reality, the meaning of memory, the strength of family, and the loss of innocence".

Media

Manga

Written and illustrated by Yun Kōga, Loveless appears as a serial in Japanese magazine Monthly Comic Zero Sum, where it has been serialized since May 2002. The chapters are collected into tankōbon and published by Ichijinsha. Thirteen tankōbon have been released so far, with the first being published on July 1, 2002, and the thirteenth released on July 25, 2017.
Tokyopop licensed Loveless for an English-language release in North America. The first volume was published on February 7, 2006, and the eighth was released on September 1, 2008; Tokyopop then went out of business. In October 2011, Viz Media announced that they had acquired the license and would continue publishing the series from volume 9. Volume 13 is available for pre-orders online and is set for a June 12, 2018, release. The series is also licensed in Australia and New Zealand by Madman Entertainment, in France by Soleil Manga, in Germany by Egmont Manga & Anime, in Italy by J-POP, in Russia by Comics Factory, and in Brazil by NewPOP.

Volume list

Light novel

A light novel Loveless – Ephemeral Bonds written by Natsui Aya and illustrated by Yun Kōga. It was published last July in Iris magazine, published by Ichijinsha, the original Loveless publisher.

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 four 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. The opening theme music was "Tsuki no Curse" and the ending theme was "Michiyuki"; both were composed by Yuki Kajiura and arranged by Masayuki Sakamoto, and performed by Kaori Hikita. Media Blasters licensed and released an English subtitled version in early 2006. On April 26, 2011, Media Blasters re-released the series with an English dub titling it as "Loveless: Vocal Collection". The series is also licensed in German by Tokyopop.

CDs

published multiple Loveless drama CDs. It re-released five drama CDs based on the manga from October 24, 2007, to December 2, 2007. Four drama CDs based on the anime adaption were released from May 25, 2005, to September 22, 2005. Another set of drama CDs based on the anime adaption, Hairless and Actless, were released on April 23, 2008, and May 23, 2008, respectively.
Five character drama CDs were released from May 25, 2006, to September 22, 2006.
Geneon Entertainment also released the soundtrack to the anime on June 24, 2005. The CD included the beginning and ending themes and fifteen background tracks. On September 8, 2006, a vocal album featuring songs performed by Konishi Katsuyuki, Junko Minagawa, and Jun Fukuyama was released.

Reception

Some readers of Loveless regard the relationship between Soubi Agatsuma and Ritsuka Aoyagi as shotacon. IGN considers the relationship between Soubi and Ritsuka to be handled tastefully, despite their large age gap. Yun Kōga stated that she doesn't "consider it as yaoi" manga, although her "fans do".
Julie Rosato of Mania regards the art as beautiful, saying that she would read the story for the art alone, but fortunately the storyline is complex and dark.
The Book Report's Robin Brenner liked the art, describing it as "breathtaking --- fluid, dark, and full of slicing edges". Brenner also commented that the series is "the kind of manga that startles a reader with just how close it treads to taboo lines without ever crossing over into true transgression."
T.A. Noonan describes the plot as "a nuanced tale of love, identity, self-discovery, and the power of language".