Loveless

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Loveless is not a shounen-ai. It is not BL. It is not yaoi.

I mean this in the aspect of the genre, where thousands of manga that resemble each other and are very typical and romantic exist. This is why I mean Loveless isn't a shounen-ai. You could argue that there is romance, but I would say that there isn't if we're going by the relationship of the two main characters. A relationship of a twelve year old and a twenty year old. Their relationship is not easy, it is complicated and developing. The only reason this is considered shounen-ai is because they are both ... male. It is categorized as a shounen-ai so I'll still refer it to one, but it truly isn't.

Most people know this manga, and the reason it became so popular, from the cat ears that show people are virgins. That is completely secondary to the plot apart from making certain characters look cute.

Loveless holds a special place in my heart as one of the first "shounen-ai" manga I ever read. I went from gushing over Ritsuka and Soubi's relationship until the manga got to complicated. I was young.

I decided to re-read it, fully. I couldn't put it down. Loveless pulls you in and leaves you wanting more. Imagine how hard it is to be so focused on the story and it being on hiatus. The pain is real.

Loveless is a mystery. It focuses on Ritsuka and how he grows up, his relationship with Soubi, as he looks the reason of his existence. Years ago the manga was about Ritsuka searching for his brother's killer, and that has definitely change.

Loveless focuses on relationships, that is the main aspect of the plot. There's all types, from romantic, platonic and abusive ones. It is a story that deals with child abuse, rape, murder and identity in intricate manners without being explicit. Everything is implied but nothing is shown, and it works beautifully since we are essentially seeing the point of view of Ritsuka.

The art style is beautiful and one of my favorites.

I believe everyone should at least give it a try even for fear of it having no ending.

I put off reading Loveless for ages due to its 'ongoing' status but just a couple days ago had nothing to read and shrugged myself into reading it.
It wasn't long before I'd really been captured by the story. It started off with Aoyagi Ritsuka being just the most adorable, smart and overall great character he was. The thing that really interested me to start with was his desperation to create memories with people and not be forgotten due to whatever happened two years ago.
He was just the first of many good elements though.
The story was really interesting and unique, the idea of having sacrifices ... and fighters and not knowing if you could really trust people. Character interactions could go between funny and cute to strangely intense and scary.
Soubi and Ritsuka are really fun to read about and their development is emotional and sweet. Usually I would've been worried about the character's ages but despite all the closeness between them it didn't seem weird or unwanted and there wasn't really a sexual element to it (despite the kissing). Soubi in fact had stated a few times in the series that he wasn't going to be interested in a little kid that way and it always seemed very close due to the sacrifice and fighter dynamics.
There were a lot of other interesting characters that were quite original and added a lot to the series. The artwork was beautifully done, simple in the right places and complicated during times that it should be.
I had a great time reading Loveless and upon catching up to the latest chapter wanted to reread it and find other people who liked it as much as I do.
The only reason this didn't get a 9 or 10 score was the annoying filler chapters that were constantly springing up out of nowhere and the shortness of the chapters. It's one of the first manga I've read that have done such a small amount of pages and it honestly just pissed me off that they spent that small amount on things that had nothing to do with the story.
But overall, Loveless is definitely worth reading, if only to watch Ritsuka develop and grow as an amazing main character.

Story - 10
Art - 9
Character - 7
Enjoyment - 7
Overall - 4

I know, I know, you probably ask me why overall is 4? At first, I loved this manga, I also loved anime. Loved the idea "how to tell if you're still a virgin", something quite new, and was absolutely necessary in this manga. Because of that and some awkward situations, a few times I got goosebumps. At first I got the feeling, that this manga will satisfy me, that something like "boom" is coming up. But then, at around 40-45 chapters, I just couldn't understand what is going on anymore. At one point there's a ... fight, feelings just flowing from the characters, and the other page is like a totaly different scene. I thought it's just for awhile, maybe author is feeling not so good. But it just continued, and continued, and continued.... Apart from this thing I really enjoyed it.. But I just couldn't give more than 4 overall, because I know, that this manga could've been much, much more better.