Jealousy makes the career go round.
Creative Staff
Story/Art: Yun Kouga
Translation: Ray Yoshimoto
Adaptation: Lillian Diaz-Przybyl
What They Say
With Soubi coerced back into his relationship with Seimei and now missing, Ritsuka becomes determined to reclaim the strange man who changed his life from the brother he once adored. Meanwhile, Nagisa reveals information about the past of Seven Voices Academy and the painful origins of old loves lost.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
It’s been a long time, Loveless. So long I’d forgotten how strange this series and its premise are, even for manga. There’s a four-year publication gap and I had to go back and heavily skim the previous volumes to remember what had been going on and where we’d left off. Somehow I’m still here reviewing it and somehow the translation team is still in place.
So, what happened and why the slow release pace? Well, the health of manga artists is a fragile thing. Kouga apologizes in an extra comic at the end and says she’s taking better care of herself now. One can only hope.
Jumping back into this series after such a long gap is difficult because trying to remember the relationships between all of the pairs is a struggle. Ritsuka is strangely cheerful and determined to get Soubi back, who is still at Seimei’s beck and call. Seimei seems determined to take on all challengers, but what I really want to know is how Seimei became so broken to begin with. I suppose it could have been his mother’s doing, she isn’t mentioned in this volume. So much of the plot in this series is built around unhealthy relationships, and it doesn’t help when the one character pursuing a healthy relationship is the butt of jokes from everyone else.
That would be the teacher, Hitome Shinonome. This volume opens with her and goes back to her at several points throughout the story. He friends can’t understand why she would want a lifelong career and her students barely respect her. The fact that this is a universe where people wear their virginity on their head it makes it appear that Hitomi is a late bloomer and people mistake that for childishness. She wants to know what’s wrong with wanting a career and doesn’t like the implication that she can’t have both a boyfriend/husband and a career. The Japanese societal pressure struggle for women is real, folks.
Plus, she’s still pining for Soubi without being a party to the madness that are names and partners and word battles. She is certainly looking for love in all the wrong places with that one.
The major plot movement in this volume comes from an explanation from Nagisa about why she hates Ritsu. (Not Ritsuka, Ritsu. Yeah, I know, it’s confusing.) There’s some tragedy and jealousy entwined in that messy baggage, which isn’t surprising in this series. What is surprising is that there is life after a defeat for many of these fighters and sacrifices, if they can escape the battle and the strange life that they’ve been roped into.
This volume ends is a fluffy side story which has Soubi and Ritsuka during happier times.
In Summary
After a long hiatus Loveless returns, but it doesn’t feel like this volume makes much meaningful progress. Is this volume a bit of a let down after the long gap because of it? Quite frankly, yes. Ritsuka is resolved to find his brother, challenge him, and get Soubi back. That won’t solve the problems with an abusive mother and controlling brother though. My recommendation for Loveless fans is to go back and reread the previous volumes before tackling this one. The publishing gap has not been kind to the memories of this manga reader, and this series has a ton of characters to keep track of. I hope it won’t be another 4 years before the next volume.
Content Grade: B –
Art Grade: A –
Packaging Grade: B +
Text/Translation Grade: A
Age Rating: Teen
Released By: Viz Media
Release Date: June 12, 2018
MSRP: $9.99 US / $12.99 CN / £6.99 UK
