Loveless Volume 1: v. 1 Paperback – 14 Feb. 2006

This series is an absolute must for all shonen-ai, yaoi and romcom manga lovers.Ritsuka meets Soubi (a mysterious twenty year old) on his first day at school. Claiming to be a good friend to Risuka's recently murdered brother, the pair grow close. The world thy live in is different to ours in the way that the young have cat-like features which disappear once they lose their 'innocence'.There is also the whole spell fighting business. Without trying to cause too much confusion, each fighter unit requires a sacrifice, and naturally Ritsuka become a fighter-sacrifice unit. Together hey uncover more about the apparent death of Ritsuka's brother.Ritsuka is lovable character. His problems with trust put a strain on the growing feelings he has for Soubi as hs friend often acts secretive and myserious.Soubi's character is beautifully created. I think h is my favourite in the series.This series is a real gem. It's captivating and gave me butterflies in my tummy.IF you havn't already, read this book! It's simply gorgeous.

The story opens as we're introduced to Ritsuka Aoyagi, transferring into his new school. But there's something strange about Ritsuka. He suffered a strange episode a couple of years ago, where his personality completely changed; and recently his elder brother was murdered. Both big changes for a young child of twelve - but he seems to be just fine; a bit antisocial, a bit precocious, but otherwise pretty normal.At the end of his first day at school, however, Ritsuka runs into his brother's unexpected legacy - a man named Soubi Agatsuma, who says he belongs to Ritsuka, and describes himself as a weapon. Although he doesn't suspect it, Ritsuka has been pulled into a parallel life of paired spell battles and murderous intrigue, where knowledge is the key to survival. But how can Ritsuka survive, when he doesn't even know himself?The world Yun Kouga creates in "Loveless" is a fascinating one. It's set in a sort of parallel Japan (where everyone looks surprisingly European, but let's not worry about that) where all children have cat or dog ears and tails. Gender roles have a rather intriguing fluidity in this world, as do relationships between various age groups, and the roles expected of elder and younger persons in an interaction. I'd strongly recommend reading the epilogues of each story, as they tend to go into a lot of detail about some of the concepts being dealt with in the manga itself.I would recommend this series if you enjoy exploring or questioning concepts of gender, dominance, truth, and morals. It asks some fascinating questions, and sometimes answers them, although most of the time the reader is left to make their own decisions.

Don't be put off reading this excellent manga by what you might have heard about it, I know it does sound a bit of a strange plot line and a little disturbing, and it is, but this is a good thing (honest ^^) this manga is wonderful and is utterly unique. it has beautiful drawings and lovable characters and is both touching, funny and addictive. I would definitely recommend it.