Loveless

(manga)

Loveless
Loveless is a shōnen-ai fantasy
manga by Yun Kouga. It is
currently serialized in the monthly
magazine Monthly Comic Zero
Sum published by Ichijinsha.
Seven compilation volumes have
been released. The manga is
licensed for US release by
Tokyopop, with six volumes
released as of August 2007. A 12
episode anime television series
adaptation was made by J.C.Staff,
broadcast in a post-midnight slot
on TV Asahi and ABC from April
2005 to June 2005. The anime
series was licensed and released in
Demographic Shōjo
the US by Media Blasters in a set
Genre Fantasy, Mystery, Shōnen-ai
of 3 DVDs in early 2006.
Manga
Author Yun Kouga
The most immediately striking
Ichijinsha
aspect of the story is that many Publisher
Tokyopop
characters are kemonomimi, but Serialized in Monthly Comic Zero Sum
rather than the conventional Original run May 2002 – Ongoing
catgirls, the protagonists are Volumes 8 (ongoing)
catboys. Those who no longer have TV anime
the animal features are Director Yuu Kou
differentiated by society as Studio J.C.Staff
"adults," illustrating an underlying Network TV Asahi
theme about the role of sexuality in Original run April 2005 – June 2005
a societal context. Episodes 12

Summary
On his first day at his new school, 12-year old Ritsuka Aoyagi meets a mysterious 20-year
old man named Soubi Agatsuma. He claims to be a good friend of Ritsuka's brother, Seimei,
who was recently murdered, and the suspicious organization called 'Septimal Moon' (なな
つの月 Nanatsu no tsuki?) may be responsible for the death. As Ritsuka quickly finds out,
Seimei and Soubi acted as a pair involved in spell battles. Now Soubi is Ritsuka's fighter,
and Ritsuka is his 'sacrifice'. Together, they challenge the organization to find out the truth
behind Seimei's death and the reason for Ritsuka's amnesia, but end up forming an intimate
bond with each other as they unravel the mystery.
Characteristics
Neko

In the world of Loveless, everybody is born with cat ears and tails, which are shed after
they have engaged in some form of sexual intercourse, thereby making the ears and tail a
metaphor for virginity. This becomes a telltale sign about the love lives of various
characters, such as the 23-year-old teacher, Shinonome Hitomi, who still retains her cat
features. It is entirely possible that touching one another's ears or tail is considered taboo
unless they are lovers, seeing as it was only done once in the anime series between the
female Zero pair and likewise between Ritsuka and Soubi in the manga.

Fighting and pairings

The fighting style in the series is also unique; fighting can only occur between couples
(with a few exceptions), where one is the Sacrifice, who receives all damage, and the other
is the fighter, who attempts to attack the enemy couple. The pairing system is used by the
author to add romance between the two people in each couple. The special kind of battle
used in Loveless is called a spell battle, since attack and defense mechanisms are activated
by pronouncing certain words -- spell words -- which have a special ability or meaning in
battle context. Fighters and sacrifices are united by their names which are given to them
beyond their control, possibly before birth. A few examples of pairing names include
"Beloved", "Loveless", "Breathless", "Sleepless", and "Zero". Those who go against their
name to battle alongside a person of a different name suffer ridicule from other teams, also
both Fighter AND Sacrifice will suffer damage if there is no connection between the two. It
is suggested that people are born in pairings and that they don't form a pairing after they
meet, therefore the naming system; the bond between two persons is something that is
decided for them before they have the ability to make a different choice.

Characters
Main characters
Ritsuka Aoyagi (青柳 立夏 Aoyagi Ritsuka)

Ritsuka Aoyagi
Voiced by: Junko Minagawa
Born on the 21st of December, he is twelve years old, and the
protagonist of the story. He was named after the lunar day "Rikka"
which lands around March 5th. This is supposedly because that
was around the time he was conceived. His "true name" is
Loveless. Two years ago, he had an abrupt change of personality
and became the opposite of his former self. Before, he was a
popular, average grade student; now, he doesn't get along with his classmates, but he gets
perfect scores. Along with the personality change, he suffered a loss of all his memories.
The cause of these drastic changes is still unknown, although he has regular therapy
sessions to determine why.
On his first day at his new school, Ritsuka meets Soubi Agatsuma for the first time. Soubi
confuses him with his sudden intimacy and puzzling claims that he was Seimei's fighter. As
Ritsuka discovers, Seimei's impromptu will dictates that Soubi shall "become Ritsuka's"
upon his death. Ritsuka deeply admired and idolized Seimei, and to discover later there
were many things kept secret came as a great shock. It further poisoned his difficulty in
trusting others, particularly Soubi.
Despite his young age and inexperience due to his amnesia, Ritsuka is very intelligent and
approaches things with startling maturity. The circumstances of his life encourage his lack
of innocence; however, there have been notable incidents that bare his still-strong naiveté,
particularly in sexual love and dating. Despite this, he still has firm opinions and
unrelenting ideas about those subjects. It is these opinions that clash dramatically with
adults and authority figures around him, most notably Soubi. Ritsuka is a pacifist, and
strongly opposes violence under any circumstance. Soubi has remained fairly silent on the
issue; however, he seemingly doesn't object to pain and punishment under certain
circumstances.
Love is an uncomfortable subject for Ritsuka. He is wary of compliments, and doesn't like
hearing phrases such as "I like you." Early on in the series, Soubi says "I love you"
frequently, which Ritsuka doesn't believe is true. Because of Ritsuka's cynical reaction,
Soubi stops saying it altogether after volume 2 of the manga. Still, Ritsuka's inner conflict
over whether he believes what Soubi says becomes a source of great tension and bitterness
in their relationship. More recent developments in the series revealed Soubi as the
BELOVED impostor. Even after having knowledge of this, Ritsuka still insisted on
remaining as Soubi's sacrifice. Ritsuka mentioned that he had always suspected this much
about Soubi considering that Soubi constantly refused to disclose any information about
himself and Seimei.

Soubi Agatsuma (我妻草 灯 Agatsuma Sōbi)

Soubi Agatsuma
Voiced by: Katsuyuki Konishi
He is a twenty year old art student. He is a former student of
Shichisei Gakuen (often translated as Academy of Seven Moons),
a school for fighters where Ritsu Minami was his teacher. He also
has a strange love for Ritsuka and there for kissed him.
As ordered, Soubi contacted Ritsuka after Seimei's death. He
introduced Ritsuka to the world of fighters and sacrifices, and told
Ritsuka he would be his fighter. Although Soubi's "true name" is Beloved and Ritsuka's is
Loveless, they fight as a pair, which is considered taboo. There is also a severe loss of
strength, and in Soubi's case, his marking bleeds in battle. Since meeting Ritsuka, Soubi
doesn't operate under the Beloved name, and effectively abandoned it altogether.
Soubi appears to know much more about Seimei and his cause of death than he will
divulge. Despite Ritsuka's insistence that he tell him everything he knows, Soubi refuses. In
volume 5 of the manga, he even says, "Seimei is my God." He openly declares that he lives
his life by Seimei's orders, but still says he obeys Ritsuka's every order.
Many readers and characters in the story itself label Soubi as a masochist. He is extremely
contradictory, and says conflicting things on pain and control, making his true feelings
unclear. A popular theory among readers is that Soubi is selective, and only desires
punishment from those he deems worthy and strong such as Seimei and Ritsuka. In support
of this theory, Soubi shuns Ritsu's offers to control his life.
In addition to the masochist label, Soubi is often described as having a shota complex.
Despite the clamor to label him as such, it is also claimed by some there is no evidence of
this within the canon. Though, at least in the anime, it must be noted that Soubi is
recurrently fondling and kissing the 12 year old Ritsuka. It is difficult to explain the sexual
connotations of their behavior without resorting to a shotacon-relationship; at the very least
one can say their relationship is sexually ambiguous. Whether this is part of a broader
complex, is unknown, though in the anime, Soubi also showed a certain infatuation with the
male Zero's.
In the latest Zero-Sum Magazine chapters, Soubi has been revealed to be the Beloved spell
fighter impostor. Ritsu referred to Soubi as a "Spare Fighter", meaning he can be paired
with any sacrifice. In Volume 7 Chapter 2, it is revealed that Ritsu is indeed responsible for
taking Soubi's ears and therefore his virginity.

Minor characters
Seimei Aoyagi (青柳清 明 Aoyagi Seimei)

Seimei Aoyagi
Voiced by: Ken Narita
He is Ritsuka's older brother. He was seventeen when he was
found murdered, although he died under mysterious
circumstances and could only be identified by his dental records.
We later learn that Seimei had faked his death, but who the person
was that died in his place has not yet been revealed. He is also the
sacrifice of the Beloved pair. Soubi was given to Seimei (mostly
at Seimei's request) as a fighter when Seimei was only 14 years
old. It is speculated by fans that there is some kind of rivalry between Seimei and Ritsu over
Soubi and perhaps over other things, but there's no information in the series that confirms
these speculations.
When Ritsuka lost his memory, Seimei stepped in and became an extremely important
figure in his life. He protected Ritsuka from their abusive mother, Misaki, and was a great
source of comfort and trust. As a result, Ritsuka was hit hardest of all by the news of his
brother's death. He is very bitter and vengeful towards those who may have been involved
in the killing of his brother.
His personality is subject of great debate, and many readers have very different
interpretations of his actions. To make things more confusing, the characters in the story
themselves clash with their different beliefs and experiences. Ritsuka, Soubi, and Misaki
claim Seimei was a kind, gentle, loving person. In contrast, everyone else has the very
opposite idea: they say he was cruel, merciless, and hateful. They claim Seimei acted
strangely and would be close to no one, and go so far as refusing to eat in the presence of
anyone else. Ritsuka denies all of this; however, in recent chapters published in spring 2007
he has some startling flashbacks that show a more disturbed, obsessive side of Seimei, and
even sometimes borderline incestuous behavior towards Ritsuka.
However, it has recently been confirmed that Seimei does indeed have a violent personality,
or destructive behavior at the very least. Flashbacks show him branding Soubi with Beloved
using a knife, and recently he morbidly wounded Ritsu, writing "Ritsuka, I'm Back" on a
wall in Ritsu's blood. It has also been suggested that Seimei possesses powers beyond that
of a normal sacrifice. He has been described as unhuman by Soubi and others, and just by
saying the word "I" he creates a destructive impact.
In flashbacks in later manga chapters, it has become increasingly clear that Seimei suffers
from mysophobia, a fear of contamination of dirt or germs, although it is largely reader
speculation based off his obsessive behaviour about cleanliness and such innocent items
such as homemade food being "dirty."
Currently, he and Nisei, the true Beloved fighter, have traveled to Goura and has infiltrated
the Academy of Seven Moons. His reasons for this infiltration has not yet been revealed. He
betrayed Nisei by refusing to assist him in a two vs. one spell battle with Ritsuka and Soubi.
This kind of action is very much consistent with the many negative beliefs that most of the
characters in the series have about Seimei.

Yuiko Hawatari (羽渡唯子 Hawatari Yuiko)

Yuiko Hawatari
Voiced by: Kana Ueda
She is Ritsuka's classmate. Despite her ditzy, bubbly exterior, she
is sharp and goodhearted. On Ritsuka's first day in school, she
immediately is overcome with awe and fascination. At the
prodding of her mean-spirited classmates, she befriends him,
although he is very reluctant. As Ritsuka overcomes his initial
impressions of her and realizes she is rather smart, they become
good friends.
Yuiko and Ritsuka's friendship greatly irritates their classmate, Yayoi. He had been recently
rejected by Yuiko, although rather sorrowfully, claiming she only dated boys taller than her.
Much to Yuiko's dismay, Ritsuka insists their friendship is platonic and it indeed remains
that way. However, in two separate confessions to Shinonome Hitomi, Yuiko professes her
love and devotion to Ritsuka. Their relationship is close, but Yuiko's seems to be a one-
sided obsession. One incident of Ritsuka actually demonstrating care for Yuiko is in volume
2 of the manga and episode 4 of the anime, when she is bullied by her 'friends', whom
Ritsuka fittingly said were using her. Because she had brought Ritsuka some homemade
strawberry jam, they went so far as to smash the jar in front of her, and demanded she
apologize for breaking school rules. Ritsuka came to her aid and stated that they were 'less
than human'. This may have spurred on her love for him. Though, sadly for her, a notable
scene in volume 4 depicts Ritsuka abandoning Yuiko abruptly to go to Soubi's aid, and
Yuiko sadly recalls her efforts to become good friends with Ritsuka, but never achieving
any results.
As the series progresses, a rather unusual yet harmonious friendship is struck between
Yuiko and Soubi. Although it seems their personalities would clash, they have a unique
understanding of each other.
In an early 2005 interview in Japanese magazine Pafu, Kouga Yun stated: "She emerged
when I wondered, 'What kind of girl would it take for Ritsuka to be happy?' While she was
created to match Ritsuka, she changes from meeting him...with some injection of
intelligence (laugh). She honestly wants to change to become worthy of Ritsuka because
she likes him. So if Soubi wasn't around, they'd make a great couple (laugh)."

Kio Kaidou (海堂貴緒 Kaidō Kio)

Voiced by: Ken Takeuchi

He is a friend and classmate of Soubi's. They are both art students,
and in volume 6 Kio tells Ritsuka, "I'm probably Sou-chan's only
friend." It is all but explicitly said that Kio is homosexual, and
most of his early dialogue is filled with flirtations and passes at
Soubi, despite being gently ignored or indirectly rejected each
time. He is also a closet pervert.
A Zero-Sum character booklet also states that Kio's family consists
of his grandmother, mother, wife, and daughter, although none of these individuals have
shown up in the manga as of yet. [1] The presence of such a family, would, however, explain
the ease and speed with which Kio is able to interact and bond with Ritsuka.
Despite his early presence as a character who exists solely to create a lighter atmosphere
among a very dark story, he gradually gains depth and justifies his existence as the story
progresses. He becomes a loud voice that champions pacifism and self-worth. This contrasts
strongly against Soubi's submissive nature that willingly accepts violent treatment and
strongly desires to be completely controlled, albeit from only very certain people. More
significantly, Kio's views are shared by Ritsuka. Together, they provide a very black-and-
white atmosphere that allows only one line of thinking.

Hitomi Shinonome (東雲瞳 Shinonome Hitomi)

Hitomi Shinonome
Voiced by: Mamiko Noto
She is Ritsuka and Yuiko's teacher. She is very naive and
innocent, and painfully aware of these characteristics. At twenty-
three years old, she is teased and ridiculed for retaining her ears
(and therefore her virginity) to such an age. She is visibly
embarrassed, but as the story progresses, she gains confidence and
pride over making her own choices.
Hitomi is greatly troubled by Ritsuka's mother and the injuries he sustains from her, and
greatly desires to involve herself in the situation to make a change, despite her fears and her
colleagues' dissent.
Her very caring and naive nature clashes spectacularly when confronted with Soubi. He
brusquely rejects her and says he doesn't care for older women, despite the fact she never
made a romantic move towards him and is no more than three years older than him. Despite
his cold treatment, Hitomi seems to have had some feelings for Soubi, due to the fact in
volume 2 of the manga (episode 8 of the anime), she burst into tears and brooded over him.
His brash actions are mysterious, but understood a bit more when you consider his
undiscerning hatred towards teachers as a result of his experiences with Ritsu Minami.
Although he has rejected her, it can be noted that Soubi enjoys tormenting her to some
degree. In their first meeting, he takes pleasure in confronting her uneasily face-to-face. In
volume 2 of the manga (episode 6 of the anime), he holds her closely when she faints. This
is notable because there are only two characters he physically interacts with in the entire
series: one being Hitomi and the other Ritsuka.
Reasons for this awkward behavior towards Hitomi may be stemmed from jealousy. It is
interesting to note that Soubi refers to Hitomi as 'childish', despite her being three years
older than he is. Yet he still respectfully calls her "Shinonome-sensei." The only way he
degrades her is by her sexuality, possibly because Hitomi has remained a virgin while he
may have lost his ‘ears’ at a much earlier age, perhaps unwillingly. In volume 2 of the
manga and episode 6 of the anime, Soubi also 'saves' Hitomi from the male Zeroes, Youji
and Natsuo. They threatened to get rid of her ears, despite the Zeroes being very young
themselves, and she protested immensely. Although she is grateful for Soubi's protection, it
only embarrasses her more. In comparison with his extreme dislike of his own teacher
figure, Ritsu, Soubi still manages to treat Hitomi as a subordinate, constantly belittling her.
Ultimately, their relationship highlights traditional sexual tension, complementing the major
same sex pairings and adding interest and variety to the story.

Misaki Aoyagi (青柳美咲 Aoyagi Misaki)

Voiced by: Wakana Yamazaki

She is the mother of Seimei and Ritsuka. She has an important influence over her sons.
Being emotionally and mentally weak, Misaki has very little grip on reality, and often
hallucinates, particularly after certain events in volume 5. She is abusive and violent, and
blames Ritsuka's personality change for the reason Seimei "left", claiming that she wants
her former little Ritsuka back as she hits him. To many readers, she is seen as a cruel villain,
but in volume 5 she has inner dialogues of her own at last, and you see a much more
human, fragile side to her behavior that she cannot control.

Yayoi Shioiri (塩入弥生 Shioiri Yayoi)

Voiced by: Jun Fukuyama

He is another classmate of Ritsuka's. He is shown as being socially awkward and with low
self esteem, and feels great jealousy towards Ritsuka. Yayoi admits that he loves Yuiko, but
when he confessed to her he was rejected. Yuiko claims her reason was that she only dates
boys taller than her, but the truthfulness of that statement is called into question when it is
painfully obvious she loves Ritsuka, who is just as short as Yayoi.
Despite his jealousy of Ritsuka's close friendship with Yuiko, he is encouraged by Ritsuka's
adamant claims that their relationship is purely platonic. He makes a firm statement he will
not give up on Yuiko, and spends more time with her than ever.
It is notable that in the manga, Yayoi has a rather small role. He is absent for large parts of
the story, and has only a small amount of dialogue. In the anime, they utilized his character
much more to enhance the would-be love triangle of Yayoi + Yuiko + Ritsuka, and to inject
comic relief into a dark story.

7 (ナナ Nana)

Voiced by: Aya Hisakawa

She first appeared in volume 3 of the manga and Episode 12 in the anime. The strange
coded message that Ritsuka receives from SLEEPLESS is from her. Ritsuka meets her in a
special area of an MMORPG called Wisdom Resurrection several times to discuss The
Seven Moons and Seimei. Her mission as stated in volume 5 is to determine whether Seimei
really faked his death. She is a member of The Seven Moons, although her role in the
organization (outside of the previously described mission) is unclear. Often described as a
hikikomori, 7 has admitted she has no friends other than Nagisa.

Nagisa Sagan (目渚 Sagan Nagisa)

Voiced by: Sanae Kobayashi

She is a young, quick-to-anger, woman who conducts experiments, and creates humans who
cannot feel physical pain. Her age, background, and organization are unknown. We only
know that she had a sister, but what has become of her sister is not yet known. She created
Youji after the image of her little sister, perhaps as an attempt of remembrance or to erase a
pain in her heart, but reasons are still unknown. Her over-the-top behavior and strange
lifestyle leaves her alone and alienated. She befriends 7, and shamefully confesses that she
is her only friend.
Her relationship with Ritsu is an intriguing one. She puts up a front of hating him deeply,
and wishing for nothing more than to see him fail. However, there are small moments that
reveal possibly deeper feelings, as she blushes deeply whenever he is near her or touches
her, though she steadfastly denies caring for him. Starting in volume 3 and finishing in
volume 4, she makes a bet with Ritsu that her older Zero pair, Yamato and Kouya, can beat
Ritsu's Soubi. Ultimately Yamato and Kouya are defeated, and Nagisa's sibling rivalry-like
attitude towards Ritsu continues.
Recently in the series, she was the first to notice that Ritsu took Soubi's virginity, which she
states was disgusting and immoral considering Soubi's extremely ripe age (fans speculate
that he was 13, roughly congruent to Ritsuka's current age). Her dislike of Soubi or constant
attempts to portray him as unspecial is mostly stemmed from jealously. Some fans speculate
that Soubi is Nagisa's romantic rival.

Natsuo Sagan (目奈津生 Sagan Natsuo)

Voiced by: Mitsuki Saiga

He is the fighter of the male Zero pair. He is one of Nagisa's experiments, and presumably
the second generation of Zeros. He first makes an appearance in volume 2, when he and
Youji corner Soubi when he's alone. When Soubi wins the battle, Natsuo tells him that he
and Youji have no place to return to if they lose a battle. Soubi offers to let them live at his
apartment, and Natsuo warily accepts.
Youji Sagan (目瑤二 Sagan Yōji)
Voiced by: Hiroyuki Yoshino
He is the sacrifice of the male Zero pair. He is the more cruel and brutal of the two;
however, they are both rather blunt and cold towards others. A good example of this is in
volume 5, when Ritsuka rushes home after curfew, and Soubi remarks that Ritsuka will
probably get a "beating". Natsuo and Youji are both amused by this, and say, "A mother
abusing her child! That's the best!" while grinning happily.
Nagisa is unashamedly biased towards Youji, often ignoring Natsuo. According to Youji,
this is because he bears a significant resemblance to Nagisa's younger sister.

Kouya Sakagami (坂上江夜 Sakagami Kōya)

Voiced by: Rie Kugimiya

She is the fighter of the female Zero pair. Until they met, both pairs believed they were the
only Zero pair to exist. Both teams are experiments created by Nagisa at different times, and
the female pair is presumably the first generation. Despite their unusual background, both
Kouya and Yamato attend high school, although different ones.
In an interesting demonstration of the series' fictional world's rules and expectations of
society, Kouya wears fake cat ears despite not being a virgin. Yamato often teases her about
it, particularly because Yamato doesn't try to hide her status.

Yamato Nakano (中野倭 Nakano Yamato)

Voiced by: Yumi Kakazu

She is the sacrifice of the female Zero pair. In contrast to Kouya's solemness, Yamato has an
outgoing, vivacious personality. Their relationship is the focus of a mini-arc in volume 4.
The relationship Yamato has with Kouya is a passionate and dedicated one that becomes
unexpectedly stressful for Yamato in volume 4. Her marking, which she interprets as
physical proof of her relationship with Kouya, slowly fades without warning. In a blatant
reference to the homosexual nature of their relationship, both girls' markings -- a 0 with a
line through the middle -- are on the same place: their breast.

Ritsu Minami (南律 Minami Ritsu ) ?

Voiced by: Takehito Koyasu

He is Soubi's former teacher, and held a very influential role in Soubi's life when he was
still his teacher. The extent of their master/slave relationship is left unknown, but it is clear
that Ritsu misses those days. In the few times they have made contact within the current
timeline, Soubi acts very brusque and treats him with disgust, in a way that almost recalls
the dynamics of a parent-child relationship.
Despite the assertions of many readers, Ritsu is not a member of The Seven Moons. In
volume 5, when Ritsuka and 7 meet in Wisdom Resurrection, she also brings Ritsu and
Nagisa. When Ritsuka says, "Seimei was part of The Seven Moons, wasn't he? If you kill
your associates, I can't forgive you!" Ritsu responds, "I wasn't a member, so don't be angry
with me." Nagisa nods in agreement, saying, "Me neither."
In the latest chapter of the Zero-Sum Magezine, Ritsu has been revealed to be the one who
took Soubi's ears (virginity). The reasons for this, as Nagisa believes, was that Soubi was a
sexual substitute for his mother whom some fans speculate was Ritsu's pairing fighter and
love interest. Some fans believe that this was Ritsu's way of getting revenge against Soubi's
mother for betraying his love by marrying another man.
In the February chapter of Zero-Sum, the story picks up on what occurred between Seimei
and Ritsu during the duration of Soubi and Nisei's spellfight. He is seen carried away on a
stretcher, evidently beaten up and his eyes apparently gouged out. Seimei used Ritsu's blood
to write the message "Ritsuka, I'm back."

Nisei Akame (赤目二世 Akame Nisei ) ?

Nisei Akame
He first appeared in the manga in volume 5. Although his
character is largely a mystery, he appears to be very devious. He
helps keep track of Ritsuka by spying on him and reports the
information back to a mysterious boss. He and Soubi meet in
volume 6 and from then on, Nisei stops spying on Ritsuka, but his
presence is still near.
His role in volume 5 was a pivotal one: he was first introduced as
"Seimei," although he was only masquerading as Seimei to gain
the trust of Misaki. It is unknown if it was carried out by Seimei's orders, but Nisei ended
up drugging Misaki and trying in vain to convince her to murder Ritsuka, on the promise
that Seimei would come back for good.
Due to his smug demeanor and malicious behaviour towards Ritsuka, Nisei and Soubi have
great animosity between each other. In volume 6, Soubi expresses his deep desire to murder
Nisei at any cost.
There is a strong belief among fans that Nisei is a psychopath, judging by his actions and
the way he says he can't experience feelings such as love or desire.
In the latest chapter of the Zero-Sum magazine, Soubi and Ritsuka defeated Nisei in a two
vs. one spell battle after Nisei and Seimei infiltrated the Academy of Seven Moons. Nisei
attempted to contact Seimei for help, but Seimei purposefully ignored his calls stressing that
he had more important things to do. After Nisei's defeat, he was painfully struck with the
shock of Seimei's abandonment.

List of teams

Team name Fighter Sacrifice

 Beloved Akame Nisei Seimei Aoyagi

Loveless Soubi Agatsuma (After Seimei's death) Ritsuka Aoyagi

Breathless Ai Myoujin Midori Arai

Sleepless Kinka Ginka

Zero (male) Natsuo Sagan Youji Sagan

Zero (female) Kouya Sakagami Yamato Nakano

Fearless Mei Hotarubi Mimuro

Manga volumes
Serialized since 2002 in Monthly Comic Zero Sum, there have
been approximately 53 chapters published as of October 2006
and still ongoing. Roughly every 10-12 months, these chapters
are then collected and released in compilation volumes. At
Anime Expo 2005, Tokyopop announced they acquired the
English license. They have since published the first six
volumes, with more to follow.

Volumes released in Japan

• Volume 1 (released July 2002; ISBN 4-7580-5002-3)

• Volume 2 (released December 26 2002; ISBN 4-7580-5011-2)
• Volume 3 (released June 25 2003; ISBN 4-7580-5034-1)
• Volume 4 (released June 25 2004; ISBN 4-7580-5077-5)
• Volume 5 (released February 25 2005; ISBN 4-7580-5120-8)
• Volume 6 (released December 24 2005; ISBN 4-7580-5198-4)
• Volume 7 (released November 25 2006)

Volumes released in the U.S.

• Volume 1 (released February 7 2006; ISBN 1-59816-221-7)

• Volume 2 (released June 13 2006; ISBN 1-59816-222-5)
• Volume 3 (released October 10 2006; ISBN 1-59816-223-3)
• Volume 4 (released February 13 2007; ISBN 1-59816-224-0)
• Volume 5 (released May 8 2007; ISBN 1-59816-225-7)
• Volume 6 (released August 7 2007; ISBN 1-59816-864-8)
• Volume 7 (releases November 13 2007)

Anime
A 12-episode anime adaptation was made by J.C. STAFF, and first aired in Japan from
April 2005 to June 2005. The episodes covered approximately volumes 1-4, due to
production starting in August 2004 -- about 4 months before volume 5 was published.
Because the source material hadn't finished its serialization, and with a limit of 12 episodes,
the anime adaptation has quite a few differences. The most notable is the series finale,
which was written specifically for the anime and left the storyline open to the possibility of
a future sequel.

Episode titles

• Episode 1: BREATHLESS
• Episode 2: MEMORYLESS
• Episode 3: BONDLESS
• Episode 4: FRIENDLESS
• Episode 5: SLEEPLESS
• Episode 6: PAINLESS
• Episode 7: TEARLESS
• Episode 8: TRUSTLESS
• Episode 9: SKINLESS
• Episode 10: NAMELESS
• Episode 11: WARLESS
• Episode 12: ENDLESS

DVD releases

There are 12 episodes total, and released across 6 DVDs

for the R2 market, but only 3 DVDs for the R1 market.
Both markets got the entire series, but due to different
sorting methods, the R2 DVDs have 2 episodes each,
while the R1 DVDs have 4 each. Additionally, the first
DVD for the R2 market was sold with a special frame
that displayed a photo of Soubi and Ritsuka, but the R1
market DVD did not come with this item.

Japan DVD release (R2)

• Loveless 1 (released July 22 2005)

• Loveless 2 (released August 26 2005)
• Loveless 3 (released September 23 2005)
• Loveless 4 (released October 28 2005)
• Loveless 5 (released November 25 2005)
• Loveless 6 (released December 23 2005)

U.S. DVD release (R1)

• Loveless 1: Lost and Found (released February 14 2006)

• Loveless 2: Soul of Chains (released March 28 2006)
• Loveless 3: Hope on the Run (released April 25 2006)

External links
Official sites

• Official English page for the manga

• (Japanese) J.C.Staff Loveless anime site

Unofficial sites

• Loveless (anime) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia

• A Loveless Fansite
• A Loveless Fan Community
• Fansite For Loveless