Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Soubi-saaaaaaan!
Well, I seem to have found Loveless. Took me long enough. For the uninitiated: 12-year-old boy Ritsuka Aoyagi loses his older brother to a brutal murder; his brother's best friend, Soubi Agatsuma, comes into the picture and saves him from being taken by an occult group. We learn that both Soubi and Ritsuka are destined to be magical warriors, ones that can cast spells with words. Not only that, but this occult group, "Septimal Moon," is behind the death of Ritsuka's brother.
These magical warriors can only fight in pairs, and must share a deep bond of love. Soubi was originally paired up with Ritsuka's brother (Seimei), and before he died, he commanded Soubi to become Ritsuka's fighter. Shotacon ensues.
Rather than making me go further into it, go and buy the book (volume 3 coming out soon!) or read the freakin' Wikipedia article. What's getting me so riled up is that this manga is damn good, one of the best I've seen. I want to see what happens next so bad I've gone so far as to import the Japanese version. The art isn't as cluttered as a lot of other manga (hello, CLAMP), the characters are beautiful, the storyline intriguing.
It's also made me notice one of the major differences between Japanese manga and Western comics - the Western stuff focuses more on justice, while the Japanese seem to care a lot more about love. The Japanese ideals of love seem to be a lot stronger, as well - pure devotion, the desire to sacrifice one's own life for one's beloved. I don't feel the same kind of conviction from Western stuff (though, I must admit, I've read relatively little of it).
Also, to anyone who objects to Soubi's and Ritsuka's union: grow up. It's nothing like NAMBLA. Soubi fell in love with Ritsuka because he was ordered to (a concept with its own questions) and without him, Ritsuka would be in a lot of trouble. In Soubi's words, too: "I can't get excited for a child, Ritsuka." Love <> sex, hard as that may be to imagine. :P
(And to clarify, the excerpted image is a case of Soubi teasing his roommate, Kio. Taking stuff out of context is fun!) ¶ 11:06 PM
Well, I seem to have found Loveless. Took me long enough. For the uninitiated: 12-year-old boy Ritsuka Aoyagi loses his older brother to a brutal murder; his brother's best friend, Soubi Agatsuma, comes into the picture and saves him from being taken by an occult group. We learn that both Soubi and Ritsuka are destined to be magical warriors, ones that can cast spells with words. Not only that, but this occult group, "Septimal Moon," is behind the death of Ritsuka's brother.These magical warriors can only fight in pairs, and must share a deep bond of love. Soubi was originally paired up with Ritsuka's brother (Seimei), and before he died, he commanded Soubi to become Ritsuka's fighter. Shotacon ensues.
Rather than making me go further into it, go and buy the book (volume 3 coming out soon!) or read the freakin' Wikipedia article. What's getting me so riled up is that this manga is damn good, one of the best I've seen. I want to see what happens next so bad I've gone so far as to import the Japanese version. The art isn't as cluttered as a lot of other manga (hello, CLAMP), the characters are beautiful, the storyline intriguing.
It's also made me notice one of the major differences between Japanese manga and Western comics - the Western stuff focuses more on justice, while the Japanese seem to care a lot more about love. The Japanese ideals of love seem to be a lot stronger, as well - pure devotion, the desire to sacrifice one's own life for one's beloved. I don't feel the same kind of conviction from Western stuff (though, I must admit, I've read relatively little of it).
Also, to anyone who objects to Soubi's and Ritsuka's union: grow up. It's nothing like NAMBLA. Soubi fell in love with Ritsuka because he was ordered to (a concept with its own questions) and without him, Ritsuka would be in a lot of trouble. In Soubi's words, too: "I can't get excited for a child, Ritsuka." Love <> sex, hard as that may be to imagine. :P
(And to clarify, the excerpted image is a case of Soubi teasing his roommate, Kio. Taking stuff out of context is fun!) ¶ 11:06 PM
