louandlife's review against another edition
3.0
This review will be full of spoilers. Summary of review: incredibly problematic with a romance between an 11 year old boy and a 20 year old adult man, and domestic abuse of an 11 year old boy. Yet it does have a good storyline and world which makes it hard for me to decide how to rate this book and if I will continue on with the series.
My conflict comes from the fact that I did enjoy the plot, and I think the world is incredibly unique and I love Ritsuka's friendships. What's hard for me is to judge not only what to give it because if I were to take out the problematic aspects, I would have really enjoyed the book, but also if I want to continue on with the series. I do want to continue reading the series to find out what happens but I am also worried that the series will become even more problematic in the later volumes. I won't unhaul the books for now, and in the future I will see if I want to continue once my feelings have settled. I wouldn't recommend this series though.
Spoiler
This manga is one of the weirdest things I've read... and probably one of the most problematic but I also find it intriguing and I think I may end up buying the rest of the series to see what will happen... but then there is sort of like an inner war with myself because of the problematic aspects of this book. This book is problematic because the book focuses on the relationship between a 10-11 year old boy (the book states Ritsuka is in the 6th grade), and a 20 year old adult male. I felt very creeped out when the characters kissed and when there were hints at erotic things because I'm like... he's a child... And What I think makes it worse is the fact that Soubi (the 20 year old) used to be a fighter for Ritsuka's older brother. In this world you have fighters and sacrifices. Fighters fight and sacrifices take all the damage inflicted on the pair. If you're a fighter, you also end up being in a servant-like role to the sacrifice. Ritsuka is a sacrifice which is makes it so weird. Before Ritsuka's older brother is murdered, Soubi gets commanded to look after Ritsuka after he dies. Soubi does this, but he's also always declaring his love and wanting kisses from Ritsuka. It's very weird. On top of this Ritsuka is being domestically abused by his mother as Ritsuka suffers from a form of amnesia and he can only remember like the past two years of his life, and his mother cannot come to terms with that and so takes it out on Ritsuka. In addition, because Ritsuka's older brother is no longer alive, no one is there to stop Ritsuka's beatings.My conflict comes from the fact that I did enjoy the plot, and I think the world is incredibly unique and I love Ritsuka's friendships. What's hard for me is to judge not only what to give it because if I were to take out the problematic aspects, I would have really enjoyed the book, but also if I want to continue on with the series. I do want to continue reading the series to find out what happens but I am also worried that the series will become even more problematic in the later volumes. I won't unhaul the books for now, and in the future I will see if I want to continue once my feelings have settled. I wouldn't recommend this series though.
roxanamalinachirila's review against another edition
4.0
This is the second time I started reading "Loveless" (and incidentally, the second time I write this review, because Goodreads ate the first version). The first time, I was really confused by the art - there were things like the main character's hair being drawn alternately light and dark on the same page, and that sort of thing. Now, maybe due to familiarity, I'm fine with that.
"Loveless" is a really weird manga even so - and it's the sort of story that can only come from Japan, where you can pretty much assume that if you write about the quasi-romantic relationship between a 12 year-old and a 21 year-old, your readership will be pretty much fine with that and you can build up the weird from there.
So. Ritsuka is a 12 year-old who can't remember anything about his life prior to the age of 10. For some unknown reason, 2 years before the start of the manga, he changed from an outgoing, happy kid with average grades, to an academically brilliant but cold and aloof kid.
His mother went a bit insane because of this, often reproaching Ritsuka for not being himself and hurting him because of it.
And not long before the manga starts, Ritsuka's brother, Seimei, is murdered and his corpse is left in Ritsuka's seat at school, causing him to transfer.
When the manga starts, 21 year-old Soubi appears and tells Ritsuka that he's been sent by Seimei to love Ritsuka and be his fighter - and it's interesting that, despite all the psychological clusterfuck this series has going on in the background, it's still written like a fight-happy story for middle school kids (or a boy's love manga, I assume, or both), with the emphasis on fighting and figuring out who killed Seimei, rather than the darker themes.
It's a strange one, that's for sure.
"Loveless" is a really weird manga even so - and it's the sort of story that can only come from Japan, where you can pretty much assume that if you write about the quasi-romantic relationship between a 12 year-old and a 21 year-old, your readership will be pretty much fine with that and you can build up the weird from there.
So. Ritsuka is a 12 year-old who can't remember anything about his life prior to the age of 10. For some unknown reason, 2 years before the start of the manga, he changed from an outgoing, happy kid with average grades, to an academically brilliant but cold and aloof kid.
His mother went a bit insane because of this, often reproaching Ritsuka for not being himself and hurting him because of it.
And not long before the manga starts, Ritsuka's brother, Seimei, is murdered and his corpse is left in Ritsuka's seat at school, causing him to transfer.
When the manga starts, 21 year-old Soubi appears and tells Ritsuka that he's been sent by Seimei to love Ritsuka and be his fighter - and it's interesting that, despite all the psychological clusterfuck this series has going on in the background, it's still written like a fight-happy story for middle school kids (or a boy's love manga, I assume, or both), with the emphasis on fighting and figuring out who killed Seimei, rather than the darker themes.
It's a strange one, that's for sure.
roxanamalinachirila's review against another edition
3.0
The weirdness continues! The series keeps on using the tropes of teenage action manga, complete with magic battles that nobody else seems to notice, while in the background everything is a mindfuck.
Have I mentioned that, in this world, kids have ears and tails which they lose when they first have sex? And people without tails and ears are seen as adults, creating an odd situation for people like Ritsuka's teacher, who's obviously still a virgin at 23 and is still seen partly as a kid? Yeah. It feels... uncomfortable to think about it, to say the least.
While neither the magic system, nor the world are explained (at least, not yet), some things are hinted at. As I mentioned in the review for the first "Loveless" omnibus volume, people fight in pairs in this universe. Half of the pair is the fighter, who wields magic through words, and the other half is the sacrifice, who gives the orders and bears the brunt of the enemy's attack, feeling the pain and the restriction inflicted. People don't get to choose who they pair up with - it's destiny, and destiny writes the name that both members of the team will bear somewhere on their bodies. For example, Soubi, the main character's fighter, has the name "Beloved" written on his neck.
Ritsuka, the main character, bears the name "Loveless" - although it doesn't seem to be written on him yet. He's a sacrifice, but he has no fighter - until Soubi shows up as a sort of gift from Ritsuka's brother, Seimei.
At this point, we have no idea how fighters learn to fight - there seems to be a school of fighting somewhere, which Soubi attended, but we don't know much about it other than that his teacher was a complete psycho who whipped him in order to teach him to withstand pain (and maybe worse).
Also, there's an organization called "Septimal Moon" which is made up of people who are into this fighting thing - one of them seems to be doing genetic experiments to create stronger pairs. She's manipulated genes to create individuals who can feel neither pain, nor temperature and who can therefore fight without wavering until their bodies collapse. Their names are always "Zero", and thus half a pair can be replaced if the other dies.
In this volume, two pairs of Zeroes come to attack Soubi (and Ritsuka, perhaps) - one is a pair of young brats, one of whom loves causing pain (perhaps because he can't feel it) and who don't seem very experienced. The other is a pair of seasoned warriors, two young women in love (who no longer have their ears and tails) and who would do anything for each other, even if their creator treats them like objects, rather than people.
It's sweet and twisted and messed up and probably not everyone's cup of tea.
Have I mentioned that, in this world, kids have ears and tails which they lose when they first have sex? And people without tails and ears are seen as adults, creating an odd situation for people like Ritsuka's teacher, who's obviously still a virgin at 23 and is still seen partly as a kid? Yeah. It feels... uncomfortable to think about it, to say the least.
While neither the magic system, nor the world are explained (at least, not yet), some things are hinted at. As I mentioned in the review for the first "Loveless" omnibus volume, people fight in pairs in this universe. Half of the pair is the fighter, who wields magic through words, and the other half is the sacrifice, who gives the orders and bears the brunt of the enemy's attack, feeling the pain and the restriction inflicted. People don't get to choose who they pair up with - it's destiny, and destiny writes the name that both members of the team will bear somewhere on their bodies. For example, Soubi, the main character's fighter, has the name "Beloved" written on his neck.
Ritsuka, the main character, bears the name "Loveless" - although it doesn't seem to be written on him yet. He's a sacrifice, but he has no fighter - until Soubi shows up as a sort of gift from Ritsuka's brother, Seimei.
At this point, we have no idea how fighters learn to fight - there seems to be a school of fighting somewhere, which Soubi attended, but we don't know much about it other than that his teacher was a complete psycho who whipped him in order to teach him to withstand pain (and maybe worse).
Also, there's an organization called "Septimal Moon" which is made up of people who are into this fighting thing - one of them seems to be doing genetic experiments to create stronger pairs. She's manipulated genes to create individuals who can feel neither pain, nor temperature and who can therefore fight without wavering until their bodies collapse. Their names are always "Zero", and thus half a pair can be replaced if the other dies.
In this volume, two pairs of Zeroes come to attack Soubi (and Ritsuka, perhaps) - one is a pair of young brats, one of whom loves causing pain (perhaps because he can't feel it) and who don't seem very experienced. The other is a pair of seasoned warriors, two young women in love (who no longer have their ears and tails) and who would do anything for each other, even if their creator treats them like objects, rather than people.
It's sweet and twisted and messed up and probably not everyone's cup of tea.
roxanamalinachirila's review against another edition
4.0
This is good stuff, for a given value of "good". I mean, I'm enjoying it, but it's probably not everyone's cup of tea. There's a helluva lot of psycho in this series - and more of it shows up here.
Ritsuka's brother Seimei got killed not long before the beginning of the manga series, and Ritsuka's been looking for the murderer all along. However, while he remembers a wonderful, loving older brother who was always with him, who supported him and who spent a lot of time with him, everyone else seems to have a different memory of Seimei - a cold person, aloof, who disliked being touched and who was just weird.
And somebody takes the opportunity of Ritsuka being out of the house to mess up his mother even more and tell her to kill Ritsuka so her dead son can finally come home.
This series is a mess and I love it.
Ritsuka's brother Seimei got killed not long before the beginning of the manga series, and Ritsuka's been looking for the murderer all along. However, while he remembers a wonderful, loving older brother who was always with him, who supported him and who spent a lot of time with him, everyone else seems to have a different memory of Seimei - a cold person, aloof, who disliked being touched and who was just weird.
And somebody takes the opportunity of Ritsuka being out of the house to mess up his mother even more and tell her to kill Ritsuka so her dead son can finally come home.
This series is a mess and I love it.
esw's review against another edition
I am so disappointed. I had three volumes on my shelf for years thinking this was a good series once I'd get around to it. Picked it up just now and...no. This is so incredibly problematic that I at least have a little more respect for Black Butler because at least Sebastian and Ciel weren't official canon meanwhile random ass stranger adult man is making out with 12 year old kemonomimi by page 10. This is grooming: the manga. Main guy isn't even likeable in the first few pages because he's just a dick to people around him for no reason and I'm supposed to root for him? Maybe when I was 12 I might have liked this but no, its aged terribly and I'm an adult enough now to say this ain't it.
At least I have space now for more better written manga on my shelf now.
At least I have space now for more better written manga on my shelf now.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship
cyanide_latte's review
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
*Read as part of the 25 Days of Manga challenge for December 2020.*
If you would like to read my more in-depth review of the Tokyopop edition of volume 1 of this series, I reviewed that one separately, look it up! I do recommend it, since I'll mostly be focusing on the second half of this volume in this review. From here on out however, as I work on collecting these omnibus editions, I'll be doing total volume reviews after this. I originally had been given the first several volumes of the Tokyopop editions of the series from a friend who no longer wanted them, but I also parted with those volumes in favor of collecting the omnibus release, since Tokyopop never fully released the series while Viz did.
Additionally, we learn that the Sacrifice-and-Fighter team from the first volume has since been taken off of the pursuit of Ritsuka and Soubi, and they attempt to be more cordial with Ritsuka when approaching him, despite refusing to answer his questions about Septimal Moon and the death of his brother. Another team, named "Sleepless" makes an attempt on Ritsuka and Soubi and gets trounced pretty soundly, as Ritsuka being more...eh, I'll use the word "attentive" here, but I don't feel quite right about it, to Soubi kicks him into high gear. Some panels later on imply their failure to capture/subdue Ritsuka and Soubi gets them executed by higher-ups in the Septimal Moon ladder. A third team, called "Zeroes", is introduced toward the end of the volume, and damn if they aren't creepy, implying they'd rape Ritsuka's teacher purely for fun. Soubi takes them on by himself, and we're kind of left with that cliffhanger.
There's also a fairly nice bit of character development between Ritsuka and Yuiko as she gets bullied in her attempts to do nice things for him, and he stands up for her. To say nothing of a little more focus on Yayoi beginning to creep in, and plenty of focus on the teacher, Ms. Shinonome. This is also the volume where, at the end of the fight with the team "Sleepless", Ritsuka receives another clue regarding the death of Seimei, but for the life of me, even I can't recall what the coded message is meant to mean. It's been a little too long.
Generally speaking, while I don't have much in the way of vested interest in Soubi as a character (really, he's a bit bland-ass boring so far when you get right down to it; he's not even quantifiable as a Gary-Stu with his traits, because at least a GS would have more personality than he does,) the intrigue and secrecy surrounding Septimal Moon and Seimei, the family drama of the Aoyagis, and the growth of the preteen characters is what I'm here for. It's honestly the reason I continue to stick with the series and want to read it through to the end as an adult.
Let's be real, this isn't going to be everyone's cup of tea, especially in this day and age. And it's not a series that I feel like I can recommend to anyone now that I'm an adult, unless I know someone else was reading BL manga back around the same time I was in high school as well. (I feel like the tolerance level of older, seasoned BL readers who were around back when Tokyopop was publishing this along other titles such as Gravitation and FAKE is higher than newer inductees. Most of us have seen how bad and problematic some of this shit can be as we've gotten older, but being vets of series such as Loveless or the aforementioned leads to that tolerance level, whether or not we condone the worst of the content.) Heck, even if you're not a seasoned BL reader and you feel like you can overlook the problematic content, I would caution you before going into this anyway. The level of domestic violence and abuse alone is enough cause for concern, so I repeat: please, please be aware of that.
One final note, a nice little addition to these omnibus volumes is a lot of the bonus content that was included in them that didn't make it into the initial Tokyopop translations. None of these are exactly necessary to the story, but it's just nice to see some of these side stories, notes, rough drafts and type-ups anyway.
If you would like to read my more in-depth review of the Tokyopop edition of volume 1 of this series, I reviewed that one separately, look it up! I do recommend it, since I'll mostly be focusing on the second half of this volume in this review. From here on out however, as I work on collecting these omnibus editions, I'll be doing total volume reviews after this. I originally had been given the first several volumes of the Tokyopop editions of the series from a friend who no longer wanted them, but I also parted with those volumes in favor of collecting the omnibus release, since Tokyopop never fully released the series while Viz did.
Spoiler
As mentioned in my review of volume 1, we continue to see that abuse Ritsuka suffers at the hands of his mother in this volume, and we start scratching at the surface to see just how far that abuse extends. It's pretty clear his mother is severely unwell, and his father just continues to evade or ignore the issues of the household. We still haven't covered much on what caused Ritsuka to lose his memories or change his personality, though we do learn he is seeing a doctor regarding the situation. (What sort of doctor seems vague and unclear; he just goes to a hospital of some kind once a week and talks with this doctor about his situation...allegedly.) But it's evident that this continues to be a huge issue with his mother and it contributes to her already unstable sense of reality and rapid switches between behavior. I bring this up predominantly because it continues to be something that really snatches at my focus while reading.Additionally, we learn that the Sacrifice-and-Fighter team from the first volume has since been taken off of the pursuit of Ritsuka and Soubi, and they attempt to be more cordial with Ritsuka when approaching him, despite refusing to answer his questions about Septimal Moon and the death of his brother. Another team, named "Sleepless" makes an attempt on Ritsuka and Soubi and gets trounced pretty soundly, as Ritsuka being more...eh, I'll use the word "attentive" here, but I don't feel quite right about it, to Soubi kicks him into high gear. Some panels later on imply their failure to capture/subdue Ritsuka and Soubi gets them executed by higher-ups in the Septimal Moon ladder. A third team, called "Zeroes", is introduced toward the end of the volume, and damn if they aren't creepy, implying they'd rape Ritsuka's teacher purely for fun. Soubi takes them on by himself, and we're kind of left with that cliffhanger.
There's also a fairly nice bit of character development between Ritsuka and Yuiko as she gets bullied in her attempts to do nice things for him, and he stands up for her. To say nothing of a little more focus on Yayoi beginning to creep in, and plenty of focus on the teacher, Ms. Shinonome. This is also the volume where, at the end of the fight with the team "Sleepless", Ritsuka receives another clue regarding the death of Seimei, but for the life of me, even I can't recall what the coded message is meant to mean. It's been a little too long.
Generally speaking, while I don't have much in the way of vested interest in Soubi as a character (really, he's a bit bland-ass boring so far when you get right down to it; he's not even quantifiable as a Gary-Stu with his traits, because at least a GS would have more personality than he does,) the intrigue and secrecy surrounding Septimal Moon and Seimei, the family drama of the Aoyagis, and the growth of the preteen characters is what I'm here for. It's honestly the reason I continue to stick with the series and want to read it through to the end as an adult.
Let's be real, this isn't going to be everyone's cup of tea, especially in this day and age. And it's not a series that I feel like I can recommend to anyone now that I'm an adult, unless I know someone else was reading BL manga back around the same time I was in high school as well. (I feel like the tolerance level of older, seasoned BL readers who were around back when Tokyopop was publishing this along other titles such as Gravitation and FAKE is higher than newer inductees. Most of us have seen how bad and problematic some of this shit can be as we've gotten older, but being vets of series such as Loveless or the aforementioned leads to that tolerance level, whether or not we condone the worst of the content.) Heck, even if you're not a seasoned BL reader and you feel like you can overlook the problematic content, I would caution you before going into this anyway. The level of domestic violence and abuse alone is enough cause for concern, so I repeat: please, please be aware of that.
One final note, a nice little addition to these omnibus volumes is a lot of the bonus content that was included in them that didn't make it into the initial Tokyopop translations. None of these are exactly necessary to the story, but it's just nice to see some of these side stories, notes, rough drafts and type-ups anyway.
malloytasticbooks's review against another edition
dark
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Loveless (2-In-1) Vol. 3 is complicated for me to review.
I really want to love this manga, but the ultra slow pacing is just bringing both my enjoyment and the scores I give the omnibuses. The story is still interesting and the characters and artwork are both still really good. In fact, we get some interesting information in this omnibus. Sadly though, the rest of the volume is pretty slow. I’ll read the rest (of what’s currently out) and I’ll watch the anime, as the manga has made me want to watch it. But Yun Kouga should really speed up the pace of the story sometime soon.
Overall, I give Loveless (2-In-1) Vol. 3 a 4.25 out of 5. Pretty slow, but there’s some interesting reveals that makes the Loveless manga worth continuing.
I really want to love this manga, but the ultra slow pacing is just bringing both my enjoyment and the scores I give the omnibuses. The story is still interesting and the characters and artwork are both still really good. In fact, we get some interesting information in this omnibus. Sadly though, the rest of the volume is pretty slow. I’ll read the rest (of what’s currently out) and I’ll watch the anime, as the manga has made me want to watch it. But Yun Kouga should really speed up the pace of the story sometime soon.
Overall, I give Loveless (2-In-1) Vol. 3 a 4.25 out of 5. Pretty slow, but there’s some interesting reveals that makes the Loveless manga worth continuing.
malloytasticbooks's review
dark
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Ah, Loveless. How it took so long for me to get to you at long last.
One of my friends told me about this manga, and I was interested. Now that I have all the Viz Media volumes loaned from that same friend, I can give an option on Loveless. It’s interesting!
The storyline of Loveless is very interesting and intriguing. While this omnibus doesn’t answer that much, it still kept me interested throughout the 2 volumes. Also, the art is very good, so props to Yun Kouga! The characters were also pretty good as well. This omnibus definitely got me interested in checking out the rest of Loveless.
I’ll give this a 4 out of 5. Interesting start, with pretty good art to boot.
One of my friends told me about this manga, and I was interested. Now that I have all the Viz Media volumes loaned from that same friend, I can give an option on Loveless. It’s interesting!
The storyline of Loveless is very interesting and intriguing. While this omnibus doesn’t answer that much, it still kept me interested throughout the 2 volumes. Also, the art is very good, so props to Yun Kouga! The characters were also pretty good as well. This omnibus definitely got me interested in checking out the rest of Loveless.
I’ll give this a 4 out of 5. Interesting start, with pretty good art to boot.
amarieb's review against another edition
2.0
I had this in my TBR pile for years. And maybe that worked against me. I had added it because I had watched the anime so long ago and I though tit might be fun to pick up the manga. In the end, I think I am just no longer into the genre and found myself confused/bored by the story. Shame because I remember liking the anime. I understand the story centers around a mystery and the characters grow as they unravel the pieces but overall the relationships felt off. I pushed myself through it in hopes that it would pick up my interest but that didn't happen unfortunately. Not for me anymore, but I am sure other readers might like the magical battle aspects and the hinted at yaoi vibe.
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