Manga Review: Loveless, Omnibus 3 (Vols 5-6), by Yun Kouga

Rating (Out of 5): ~4.5

Publisher: VIZ Media

Release Date: April 2013

Volumes: 12+

Spoilers?: No.

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

Volume: Omnibus 1 (Vols 1-2). Omnibus 2 (Vols 3-4). Omnibus 4 (Vols 7-8).

Goodreads Synopsis:

The long-awaited continuation of the best-selling series, a masterpiece tale of intrigue and innocence lost.Ritsuka Aoyagi is alone in the world—never fitting in at school and alienated from his own past by a fragmented memory. When his beloved older brother is brutally murdered, Ritsuka is heartbroken but determined to find 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.
Ritsuka’s determination to find answers brings dire consequences. While he’s confined to a chair at home by his abusive mother, Soubi uncovers a truth so shocking that it completely shatters his fragile sense of self. *Contains volumes 5 and 6 of the series, along with never-before-seen bonus comics, artist commentary, and interviews.
Reads R to L (Japanese Style) for teen audiences.

Review:

This volume got me. It got me so hard, too.

I was enjoying this series a lot, it was good, but I wasn’t obsessed or anything. But now I am. It was in volume six, mostly, where it suddenly hit me and now I’m just gone. I need the next one, like, last week.

Ritsuka is such a sweetheart and he’s really patient, and he’s really trying with everything he’s been given. With his mother, particularly, who is kind of horrible. With Soubi, who isn’t telling him enough. And with what happened to his brother. I understand him, and I feel for him, bad.

There are a lot of other characters, too, that I really like. Particularly Natsuo and Yuoji, the two who were staying with Soubi. I like them a lot, and I like their interactions with Soubi and Ritsuka. Which means that I really don’t like what’s going on with them, although I have hope that it’s not going to last.

Then there’s Soubi. Who’s the one that got to me this volume. He’s never really seemed like a submissive to me, although I was starting to get it, and then it just clicked in volume six. And now I get it. And I understand. Cause there was this big scene with him and some other people and then him and Ritsuka in this book, and it kind of made me want to cry a little. Because I feel so bad for him. And I love him now. It was so sudden, but I do.

Then there’s this whole plot with Seimei, and I had no idea! I was totally in agreement with Ritsuka, believing in him completely, but we were wrong! I mean, I had a clue, because it was suggested, and of course that would make everything more interesting. But I wasn’t expecting this! I can’t believe it! It leaves so many more questions!

Everything is getting so much more interesting now and I can’t believe it. And now I’m really craving the next book, damnit.