Manga Review: Loveless, Omnibus 2 (Vols 3-4), by Yun Kouga

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: VIZ Media

Release Date: January 2013

Volumes: 12+

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. Powells. RightStuf.

Volume: Omnibus 1 (Vols 1-2). Omnibus 3 (Vols 5-6).

Goodreads Synopsis:

The long-awaited continuation of the best-selling series, a masterpiece tale of intrigue and innocence lost.

Reads R to L (Japanese style) for teen audiences.

When his beloved older brother is brutally murdered, Ritsuka is heartbroken but determined to search for answers. His only lead is Soubi, a mysterious, handsome college student who offers him an intimate link to his brother’s other life: a dark and vibrant world of spell battles and secret names. Will Ritsuka’s relationship with Soubi ultimately lead to the truth or further down the rabbit hole than he imagined possible?

Review:

I am really, really enjoying this series. I remembered this series being good, yaoi-like, but confusing. Now I’m reading it with a more mature mind, with more focus, so it’s a lot less confusing (although there are still some things…).

It’s also a lot better than I remember. For instance, I really like Ritsuka. I feel bad for him for certain things, like his mother, and I understand and sympathize with his confusion, his not knowing what’s happening or what he wants. I really like how he’s dealing with it, and watching him figure things out and try to take charge. I’m looking forward to seeing him grow up more, to mature.

I like Soubi, too. He’s fun, although sometimes frustrating and saddening with what he’s doing with Ritsuka, and what he’s not telling Ritsuka. I feel like there’s more to Soubi, and I want to know what it is.

Then there are other, more minor, characters, and they’re all really good, and really easy to like. I love how the relationships are building, how the plot is forming around them. It’s really enjoyable to read.

On that note, I am still unsure where the yaoi elements are going. Because they’re quite apparent between Soubi and Ritsuka, but maybe they’re not thinking of them quite like that, or something? I don’t know, I feel like I’m missing something there. Then there’s the age different, which I guess isn’t as big as it seems. Ritsuka is younger than he looks, and Soubi is a lot younger than he looks, and that just messes me up. Ritsuka looks like he should be sixteen, maybe, and Soubi like twenty-five, maybe, and yet they’re twelve and, I think, (around) seventeen. It messes me up every time I remember.

Then there’s the whole game and spell-fighting thing, which is a confusing blob that is slowly starting to make sense. A good amount was explained here, but I’m still not sure of the logistics, or the reason for why. Or how they can fight and then be amicable afterward. It’s just not clicking with me yet, but I hope it will soon.

I’m loving the buildup of everything, though. Seeing the characters develop and grow, watching the plot expand and reveal itself, and I’m definitely looking forward to reading more, to figuring more out.

Also, as a sidenote: I love the nice, big, color-paged editions of this book. They’re just so pretty, the color-pages are so nice. I don’t have many big, colored editions of books, so I like looking at these ones.