Review: Loveless
July 14, 2008
It’s rare that a series leaves me at a complete loss for words, and I really don’t mean that in a good way. I’ve managed to gathered the words now though, and here they are:
Loveless
STORY - …What story? Seriously, at what point is anything in this series explained? (Hint: never!) There are problems presented, sure — Seimei, Ritsuka’s older brother, was killed and he wants to find out who did it and why. Not really that intriguing or original, but it works, right? Additionally, Ritsuka has amnesia and is a “completely different person” than he was two years prior, but he doesn’t know what happened. Also not that original, but still acceptable. Unfortunately, the series doesn’t seem to focus very well on either problems and instead teases you by presenting a lot of leads that seem like they’re going somewhere, but never do. Soubi, who should serve as Ritsuka’s connection to Seimei refuses to say anything on the matter. In fact, as far as Rituska’s troubles go, Soubi’s pretty worthless for plot progression even if he does defend him from mysterious attackers (who are never explained). And his creepy shotacon ways seem like far, far too shameless an attempt to wind up the fangirls. I like shounen-ai well enough, and while I don’t really care for shota, I can swallow it if it’s done well. Well, this wasn’t done well at all.
The story’s only redemption may be that Ritsuka’s social anxieties are addressed gradually throughout the series, and the subplot concerning his personality change and memories does see some progress. In fact, it might even be considered a good storyline if we ever got to find out what happened to him, but we don’t! Does that even count as a spoiler? The fact that ultimately, nothing happens? The plot with Seimei seemed like it had potential at times — all of the vague, unexplained hints did seem like they were going somewhere, and if you cocked your head sideways, you might have even been able to pick up clues to the mystery. The last episode seemed like it was trying to explain what was going on, but it was so garbled and nonsensical that it’s almost impossible to draw any kind of conclusions from it, and in the end, there’s nothing but a big, gaping void where all your answers should be.
The battle system in this series is something else that seemed to have potential. The concept of a Fighter and a Sacrifice is actually pretty interesting, though I think they would have survived without all the gratuitous bondage. Unfortunately, the actual fighting is never explained, and it’s difficult to deduce where exactly anyone derives their power or how the mechanics of the fighting works. I really don’t know why all of these things were sidestepped; it really doesn’t seem like it should have taken that much time or effort to explain something that was so central to the whole Seven Moons and Seimei’s murderers madness.
I haven’t read the manga, but I get this distinct feeling that it’s probably ten times better than this anime, because certainly it can’t be worse. Like I said, the wisps of story here and there seemed to have potential, and it was just frustrating to see that almost none of them have a definite conclusion. It seems like this should have been a twenty-six episode series instead of twelve, or they should have spent more time on actual plot progression instead of random shota fluff and molestation. In the end, I think I just wasted four hours of my life watching this series, and that’s about it. And even though I’m sure the manga is better, I’m left so frustrated with the series that I’m not sure I even care enough to go read it.
Addendum: The anime was apparently produced when only volumes 1-4 of the manga was out (the series is 8 volumes long), so they had limited source material. Still, I think they could have done a much better job — certainly things like the fight system could have been addressed better anyway. And while they supposedly left the “ending” open for a possible sequel, there still could have still been an actual conclusion of some sort. But really, unless it’s one of those long running shounen series, I don’t think there’s any reason to ever produce an anime for an unfinished series. It just leads to unpleasant bullshit like this and X/1999. :|
CHARACTER - Ritsuka is probably the best character in the series, though that isn’t really saying much. In any case, he seems to be the only character that goes through any significant change throughout the series. His turmoil at the beginning of Loveless is very understandable, what with a crazy mother, no memories, and a dead brother. The sessions with his psychologist summed up his development pretty well, though it did kind of seem like a cheap way to present everything to the audience. His relationship with his friends moved up in a classic line graph as he was somewhat sporadic and inconsistent in the beginning and steadily progressed up towards “real friendship.” His relationship with Soubi… I guess it really wasn’t that bad; his reaction to Soubi’s advances were realistic: his indignation, disgust, and eventual worry. You could see his feelings change slowly as the series went on, and the relationship did contribute to Ritsuka’s overall personality progression, so to that end, I guess it was all right.
Soubi is probably a much more multi-faceted character than the Loveless anime allowed him to be; I could tell by watching, but that didn’t change the fact that he didn’t end up being explored all that much. Because so little is revealed about his past, with Seimei or otherwise, you never know what his motivation for anything is, which was immensely irritating and frustrating. He tells Rituska some things, but then establishes a steady history of lies, so anything he says is questionable, even if they sound like they might, or even should, be true. Whether or not he really cares for Ritsuka always seems to be questionable, and his masochistic complex complicates the matter further — not to mention it makes things ridiculously awkward. I think, in the end, you’re supposed to gather that he’s changed a little (for the better) since his days with Seimei, but it’s really not that convincing at all.
All of the other characters were pretty generic, and a lot of them seemed pretty damn pointless too. Rituska’s school friends seemed like they could have been plucked out of any other anime Japanese school ever. Sure, they contributed to the plot and Ritsuka’s development, but they really weren’t that interesting to watch. Kio, Soubi’s roommate? Classmate? Random friend? (Ex-)boyfriend? I have no idea what their relationship is because, surprise, they never explained, but he was only fun because he addressed some of my thoughts on Soubi, namely his apparent raging perversion and pedophilia (though Soubi consistently denied these accusations). But other than that, another generic support character? Yeah. The same goes for Ritsuka’s teacher and his psychologist, and the fact that both of them were randomly in love with one of the protagonists seemed like more pointless fanservice. All of the fighter pairs sent from Seven Moons were flat and boring — they were sent to fight, yippee. Did they have their own goals or aspirations? Who knows? Subplot with the lesbians? Seemed like a lame ploy to allow for a convenient winner of that fight. Complete lack of intrigue.
Finally… this was the original reason I had no interest in watching this series. What the hell is the point of the cat ears? What does this contribute to anything at all? It just seems like a silly gimmick to invite giggles from the audience (fangirls think about this stuff anyway, do we really need to encourage them?), and to allow for lots of suggestive dialogue in the show. The only reason I could think of for this is to have “proof” that Soubi isn’t randomly raping Ritsuka (’cause it sure seems like it sometimes). Here’s an idea — if your character is so inappropriate that you have to have a lame gimmick to prove his innocence, how about not writing him to be so outrageous in the first place? Certainly Soubi didn’t need to make out with Ritsuka in the middle of every battle.
ARTWORK & ANIMATION – Resoundingly average. Ritsuka was cute and Soubi was your run-of-the-mill bishounen. All the other characters were similarly plain, and the backgrounds don’t really invite rounds of praise either. None of it was bad, but none of it was great either. The animation was about the same, though I really thought the effects for the fights were unimpressive and cheap.
MUSIC - I’d actually heard the opening theme, “Tsuki no Curse,” long before I saw this series because it was composed by Yuki Kaijura. Unfortunately, I wasn’t too impressed with it then, and I remained unimpressed with it in the series. I’m not really sure what it is about it, but it just doesn’t stand up against most of Kaijura’s other work. The end theme by Kaori Hikita was similarly plain. The music throughout the series actually surprised me by how random it seemed. Most series, even if they don’t have particularly great music, still manage to get tracks that are appropriate for their scenes: sad tracks for sad scenes, energetic tracks for fights, etc. Loveless is probably the first series where I’ve been confused at their music choices for various scenes… They had weird, mecha-style battle tracks that were far, far too exciting for the scenes they were in, and then strange, melodious tracks that conflicted with conversation-heavy scenes. Occasionally, they had some nice, soft vocal tracks that seemed to fit okay, but they weren’t prominent enough to balance out the other randomness.
VOICE ACTING - Average.
OVERALL - I think the best way to watch Loveless is to treat it as a drinking game. Take a shot of vodka every time Soubi says “suki da yo” (“I like you” or “I love you” depending on context and translator). You’ll be mad drunk by the second episode (seriously, he’s a broken record) and will thus be too wasted to realize that the entire series has little substance, never answers any of your questions, has no ending, and is ultimately unsatisfying. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go bash in the brains of the person who recommended this series to me.
This is not written specifically as a comment to your entry, but it was inspired by the likes of such opinions of Loveless. I take your point about the lack of plot in the anime, but I do not agree with it. I’m not going to cite the argument of its being created at a time when the manga was incomplete – because I think there was a plot, and a message. So here was something that I wrote at a time when I finished watching Loveless for the third time, and it will address the themes and plots that are revealed through the story.
So far I have watched Loveless (the anime) for three times. It is an exceptional work, in that it can create the most powerful mood despite… well, everything: that all the characters seem a little perverted in some way (even the psychiatrist!), that the plot was jumpy and ambiguous, that many things seem incomplete on the whole. Despite all this, I find it deeply moving, and that it can stir something deep in your heart. And somehow even though the character relationships had so many unhealthy elements in them, they remain extremely sweet and sensational.
The last episode was very conclusive despite leaving many unanswered questions and loose ends. The last line of Semei suggested that it was about the struggle between Ritsuka’s will to live and his fate. Throughout the show, there is the continuous mention of Ritsuka’s present two-year-old self, and the old self. At the beginning, Ritsuka was content that one day his present self would die, and he will be replaced by the Ritsuka that his mother was always waiting for. He had to make memories by taking photos, because one day he will disappear. And he did not know how to love others, and hated it when someone said such things to him.
Episode 11 and 12 both focused on how Ritsuka came to learn to love his friends and Soubi, which seems contradictory to his name “Loveless”, which was to be his fate. He even had so much fun that he forgot to take photos, which used to be of such importance to him. When he could do without photos, it was already hinted that he longer believed in, or longed for his disappearance as much. Finally, in the dream in episode 12, he was given the choice: to give up his present self and become his “true” self (which does not seem to be his “old” self from two years ago anymore, but “Loveless”, one without love). The deaths in the dream are highly symbolic, because as Loveless he will lose his newfound love for those people. In the end he denied the choice, which was to deny his fate.
The fact that Semei’s “ghost” seemed to have put the test to him is significant. Semei, despite being absent, was central to the story by his influence on both Ritsuka and Soubi. Semei’s “ghost” was hinted to have sent the code-message to Ritsuka (as Ritsu disclaimed the fact). He lured Ritsuka into the dream with the incense, and directed Soubi to cause the deaths in the dream (since Soubi was “ordered”, and he would not have taken an order from anyone but Semei). In other terms, he presented the choice to Ritsuka: to accept his fate or not.
When Ritsuka refused, “Semei” disappeared. Symbolically, it might mean that at that moment that Ritsuka could somehow finally let go of Semei’s death. He was shown to be obstinate about it all along, and it was also tied with his identity: he believes that he had to find out the truth before “disappearing”. But if he were not to disappear, could he finally accept the truth about Semei’s death? (I acknowledge only the story as presented in the anime: I am aware that Semei did not truly die in the manga. I believe the anime, in order to stand on its own, had quite a different message, and therefore the two can be treated separately.)
At the same time, the struggle against “fate” was evident in other characters. The “change” in Soubi that Kio addressed, brought about by Ritsuka, was significant, as it shows that Soubi was also able to finally let go of Semei’s death. At the end, when he says that he would die if he were ordered by Semei to kill Ritsuka, it clearly indicates a small triumph in his struggle against fate: for to follow Semei’s orders were his fate. Therefore, when Ritsuka denied his fate in the dream, Soubi also disappeared (initially – before Semei): that was the Soubi who, in the dream, followed Semei’s orders to kill, despite not wanting to. Through Ritsuka’s triumph in denying his fate, Soubi was also freed from his strict obedience in Semei’s orders, even if not entirely. By that I mean he could not disobey Semei, but by choosing his death over the order, he triumphs against fate.
In fact, Soubi was shown to be in a deep struggle throughout the entire show, and not only in the final episode. He lived under the shadow of Semei, and despaired at not being able to find the master he looked for in Ritsuka, which he expressed explicitly after he saved Hitome-sensei. The former was evident through his obeying Semei’s orders despite his absence (such as in the case of taking Youji and Natsuo home), while the despair would have led him to his self-destructive ways (through fighting alone and deliberately getting hurt – as he gave up on the fight against Yamato and Kouya). It was made evident from the start that Semei’s orders were absolute while Ritsuka’s weren’t, as he frequently broke his promises to Ritsuka, and would never override Semei’s orders if they contradicted with Ritsuka’s (such as when he consistently refuses to tell Ritsuka about Semei’s death or the Seven Moons). However, in the battle against Kouya and Yamato, he obeyed Ritsuka’s order to abandon the fight despite that Semei would have done otherwise: this shows a certain change in him, even if subtle.
There are many things that remained unclear, but instead of hindering the story, they contribute to a tone that is powerful and mysterious, and beautiful at the same time. The symbolism is very strong: for example, Soubi frequently chooses needles to be the attack of choice, a reference to the needles that Ritsu used to pin his butterfly collections. Butterflies are of course a recurrent imagery that persists throughout: in Soubi’s paintings, earrings, the fact that they made Ritsuka think of him, and that they appear randomly everywhere. I think of them more as a beautiful imagery than one of a significant symbolic meaning, though they do reveal something about Soubi, when he said that he hated them for being beautiful and vulnerable at the same time. It also symbolizes his association with Ritsu, which he abhorred, but could not help its being an inseparable part of him and something that changed him greatly.
The line that appeared in the episode “Skinless” was intriguing: “The skin that separates you and me is a nuisance.” It was assumingly said by Soubi when he leaned forward and kissed Ritsuka. It was entirely incomprehensible to me when I saw the episode for the first time, but I think it could have referred to the skin on which the “true name” was written – then it may be interpreted that the fact they did not have the same name was hindering their bond.
Another symbol, or element that recurs often is, of course, “pain”. Pain was said to be quite essential – those who could feel pain would win against those who could not, even though common sense says otherwise. Soubi’s comments on “pain” are especially interesting. He said he did not mind pain, and that he liked the word. Pain was very much associated with his submissive nature to his Sacrifice, as it was how Ritsu taught him. This seems to correlate with the instances in which he deliberately sought pain: when he asked for the piercing from Ritsuka, believing that the pain would become a bond between them; and when he endured unnecessary pain from the Zero’s by choosing to fight without Ritsuka. Ritsuka was “a small child” and could not be like Semei, and he could only retrace his role as the submissive Fighter through pain.
Likewise, Ritsuka discovered that “pain might change something”, when he specifically ordered Soubi to administer pain to Kouya and Yamato without physical injury. Zero’s are not made to feel pain. The pain from that battle, resulting from Yamato’s fading name, alerted them of their fate: that the Sacrifice would be replaced when they were not longer useful to the Fighter. In the end they triumphed over their fate as well, coherent to the recurrent theme of the show.
Even though it was the third time for me to watch Loveless, there was much to discover, re-discover, and pondered upon; but in the end, what makes me love Loveless is not that it provides room for thought, but that it moves me deeply, and has a great power over me every time I watch it.