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Ai no Kusabi Review (OAV) by Emerald Based on a novel by Rieko Yoshihara, Published on Shousetsu June, Fansubbed by Lupin Gang Anime
Rating: NC-17, for sexual yaoi themes/scenes Description: Sensuously angsty Rabid yaoi fanatics MUST know this. It is, after all, just one of the most popular YAOI anime out there, as based on a novel by Rieko Yoshihara. Unfortunately, this is only available in Japanese. The OAV was obviously targeted to the 'Ai no Kusabi reading' audience. I, not having read the novel, had a difficult time understanding the entire thing. A word of advice: Pay attention to the background provided by the fansubber (Lupin Gang). But I, having a not-so-good memory, could not grasp the entire concept at one read. I was lucky to find websites which provided some background on it. (I have been reading these even before I watched the OAV) Here are some useful websites: |Alex's Ai no Kusabi|Aestheticism: An article on Ai no Kusabi|Tanagura.org| Many have asked me this: "Is Ank porn?" My answer? Definitely not. Sure there are sex scenes, even BDSM if you will, but all these are quite important to the plot and characterization.They are fairly graphic, but not explicit as the *very* private parts are obscured one way or another. Do remember that this is not for purely hentai-ish purposes. The art is fairly good. The characters' builts might be a bit too masculine for my tastes, but I can say that the anime is populated with a number of bishounens. There are some angles when they look, well, weird. But I guess that these could be reasonably overlooked. I have to give the author credit for the so-called universe of Ank. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that it is a novel and fresh idea. The whole concept --- from the caste system to the little gadgets that can be found throughout the story is a burst of creativity from the author. I loved how Yoshihara-san managed to weave such a world to that of what it is now. The continuous discrimination and social injustices are reflected, at the same time establishing a struggle between two characters who have, what people consider, a forbidden relationship. The dialogue is fantastic. Almost poetic, very rich in meaning and emotion. To put it in another way, there are many "quotable lines" in the script. Katze says such lovely words, and Riki's: "...at least I could curl up by your feet" at the last part is too ironic and sad to be ignored. Of course, the seiyuus could have something to do with that as well. The music ranges from sensuous to sad to depressing to tragic. The same goes for the emotions. This drama-angst-romance could very well make you shed a tear or two. I did.
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