Ai No Kusabi

Ai No Kusabi, written by Rieko Yoshihara, is one of the most popular yaoi mangas out there. If you believe yourself a yaoi fan all the way I hope you have at at least heard of it. Well, it was first serialized in Shousetsu June between 1986 - 1987 and released in a hardbound novel in Japan in the 90's. 

Wikipedia:
"The novel was partially adapted into a two-episode original video animation by Anime International Company, with the first episode released in August 1992 and the second in May 1994. In November 1993, an audio drama entitled Erogenous Dark was released focusing on a time period left unexplored in the original novels. A new thirteen episode OVA adaptation, also from AIC, was scheduled to begin releasing in Japan in the spring of 2010, but was cancelled for financial reasons. The project was picked up again and is scheduled to release in January 2012.

The novel is licensed for an English language release in North America by Digital Manga Publishing which published the novel over a eight volume series, with the first released in November 2007 and the sixth in July 2009, with the final volumes scheduled for release in summer and winter of 2012, respectively."

 Here's a little AMV I found to get me all hyped up for the remake however I'm sure it'll end just the same as the first one TT3TT (Just a small warning: this is Yaoi). 

Setting: 

Ai no Kusabi takes place on the world of Amoi, which is ruled by a computer named Jupiter. Jupiter has introduced a number of strict social rules to society. Among them, social status is determined by hair color, blonde being the highest, down to black or dark brown as the lowest. The Blondies, genetically engineered by Jupiter, are the highest social class and occupy the capital city of Tanagura. They travel to the satellite pleasure city of Midas, which has an independent slum area called Ceres. Under Jupiter's restrictions, the Blondies are sterile and forbidden from indulging in sexual activities. They keep "pets" (adolescents in their late teens) for about a year, for purely voyeuristic purposes, before discarding them. Further emasculation is seen in the "Furniture", adolescent boys who serve the Blondies.

Contrary to popular belief, the hair-color caste system only applies to those working in Tanagura and not in Ceres. The true separation is between those genetically created in a lab (those in Tanagura) and the "mongrels" formed the natural way (those in Ceres). However it was written in the novel that Tanagura manipulated even the natural births of Ceres, ensuring that its population did not grow by restricting the number of female births to 1 in 10.


Summary:
Riki the Dark, a slum mongrel without an ID number, leader of the gang Bison and therefore considered the lowest of the low, one day meets Iason Mink, a Tanagura elite Blondie, the most powerful man in the city and Jupiter's favorite. Iason saves him from being killed by a gang and Riki tries to pay his debt by offering his body to Iason. Instead, Iason makes him his pet and takes him from the slums to live with him. Riki leaves his gang behind without an explanation.

Iason keeps Riki, who is bound to Iason with a penis ring, as his pet for three years. This causes a lot of rumors and commotion amongst the other Blondies. Not only is Riki considered too old to be a pet but he is a human mongrel, which is frowned upon. The other Blondies question Iason and his motives, yet Iason refuses to give up Riki whom he has grown very attached to. Iason's friend, Raoul, warns him that Jupiter does not approve of this relationship but Iason refuses to listen.

Riki hates his new position, having formerly been a proud leader, and begs Iason for his freedom. Iason grants him a year of freedom and allows him to go back to Ceres, the slums. Riki is welcomed back into Bison and returns to a normal life. He has changed, however, and is unable to forget the time he spent as Iason's pet.

(Spoiler alert )

When the year passes, Iason decides he wants Riki back. Through his former furniture Katze, who is now a black marketeer, Iason arranges for Kirie, a young member of Bison, to set a trap and catch the gang. This ends with Bison being arrested. Riki is freed and told to return to his master.

After Riki returns to Iason, he learns of the taboos Iason has broken to keep him and of how Iason has protected him from the fate of former pets which end up being sold to brothels. Iason even decides to grant Riki a bit of further freedom by allowing him to work with Katze in the black market.

Guy, Riki's best friend and former pairing partner from Bison, finds out about Riki's position as Iason's pet and becomes enraged. As a result, Guy decides to get Riki back from Iason. He kidnaps Riki to Dana Bahn. Riki tells Guy that he will never be free of Iason as long as he wears Iason's pet ring. Guy therefore removes Riki's pet ring by giving him a penectomy.

Guy contacts Iason and arranges to meet him in Dana Bahn. Iason, thinking Riki is in Dana Bahn because of the tracer in the pet ring, meets Guy there. Iason tries to get Riki back but finds out what Guy has done. After attacking him, Guy sets off bombs that he had planted in Dana Bahn with the intention of killing Iason to set Riki free. Riki appears to stop Iason from killing Guy and get them all out of Dana Bahn. Reluctantly Iason helps Guy and they head towards the exit.

As they approach the front gate, an explosion wrecks Dana Bahn. The gates collapse and slice Iason's legs off just above the knee. Riki is forced to leave him there while he takes Guy out of Dana Bahn. Riki sees Katze, who has been waiting outside after Riki contacted him, and tells him to help Guy while he returns to Iason.

Iason is surprised to see Riki come back, despite what he had done to him as a pet. Riki sits down next to Iason and offers him a poisonous Black Moon cigarette that Katze had given to him, and they both perish in Dana Bahn together, much to everyone's grief.

Picture found on Google.com*
Summary and information found Wikipedia.com*
AMV made by LovelessAloisFujoshi and found of Youtube.com*

Ai Yori Aoshi

     No, way;I remember this manga/anime~! I can't believe I found this on Funimation's channel on Youtube.com uploaded this ^^ I just wanted to share really quick because I haven't posted anything in a while.

Ai Yori Aoshi  is a Japanese seinen manga written and illustrated by Kou Fumizuki and serialized from 1998 to 2005 in Hakusensha's Young Animal. It is a love story between two characters who haven't seen each other in years but were once childhood friends. (Wkipedia.com)

Genres: Romance, Comedy, Drama, Harem

Summary: 
 
Kaoru Hanabishi appears to be an average university student, but in reality, he's the eldest son of Yūji Hanabishi, the head of the Hanabishi Zaibatsu, and was set to take over the zaibatsu after his father retired. His mother, Kumi Honjō, and his father never married, making life difficult for both him and his mother. Kaoru's father died when he was five years old. Since then, Yūji's grandfather, Gen'ichiro Hanabishi, took Kaoru under his wing and began educating him for the eventual succession. Yet Kaoru never felt at home in the Hanabishi family and left to live alone in self-imposed exile after his mother died. Day by day he felt alone, thinking that he was living life with no reason pushing him on.
There was, however, a person who loved Kaoru so much that she had to do whatever was necessary to be with him.

Her name is Aoi Sakuraba. Aoi is the only daughter of the owner of the Sakuraba Kimono (Dry Goods in the manga) Store (later renamed to Sakuraba Department Store). Kaoru's family and Aoi's family had accepted for Kaoru to marry Aoi, but after Kaoru walked out, the marriage was canceled. Both families had a friendly relationship and Aoi had been in love with Kaoru from the start, which Kaoru was unaware of. The Sakuraba family had already been searching for someone suitable, but Aoi was unwilling to marry someone else and walked out, chasing Kaoru.

Both were freed from their families' affairs, but did not know how to make their living. Miyabi Kagurazaki, who had been looking out for Aoi, offered the two a way. Aoi and Miyabi would live together in a grand western style summer house owned by the Sakuraba family and Kaoru would live in a house for servants next to it. This would prevent a scandal, much like the one that had made Kaoru's life difficult, as the two would be living separately. But soon, Kaoru's friends, who just happen to be attractive females, took residence in the house, and it quickly became a dormitory. Very soon, Aoi became a landlady of the dormitory.

(Spoiler for some who haven't read/watched this manga/anime) 

Kaoru eventually comes to terms with his painful past by confronting the Hanabishis. Later, Kaoru's half brother attempts to gain control of the Hanabishi Zaibatsu by marrying Aoi, but Kaoru meets her father who accepts Aoi's relationship with him, foiling his half-brother's plan. The series ends with Kaoru and Aoi having their long awaited wedding.

Ai Yori Aoshi on youtube

Picture found on Google.com*
Summary found on Wikipedia.com*
Link to Funimation on Youtube.com*

Tenchi Muyo!

Tenchi Muyo! by Masaki Kajishima and Hiroki Hayashi is an all time favorite, hands down. It brings back such great memories of when I used to watch this along with other shows on Toonami (which was sadly "killed" in 2008, however on Wikipeda.com it states: It is set to be revived starting on May 26, 2012 as part of Cartoon Network's Adult Swim block. Which means tomorrow! But this may all be completely wrong so  don't get your hopes up -_-).
      If you have no idea what "Tenchi" is then you must have been living under a rock for some years.

WIKI:

The original series began with a six episode OVA called Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki released in Japan on September 25, 1992. The series was released by Pioneer LDC in the United Kingdom on 1994. As its popularity grew, it spurred a seventh episode titled Tenchi Muyo! Special: The Night Before the Carnival  and a stand-alone Mihoshi Special. The second OVA series was directed by Kenichi Yatani and released on 1994, featuring episodes 8–13. The third OVA series was also directed by Kenichi Yatani was released on 2003, featuring episodes 14-19 followed by a special twentieth episode.
A twenty-six episode TV anime series called Tenchi Universe was released on 1995 retelling and expanding upon the original six-episode story, documenting in an alternate timeline the adventures of the cast as well as changing the back stories of some characters. Tenchi in Tokyo is another alternate version, chronicling Tenchi Masaki's move to Tokyo. Additionally, there are spin-off series (such as Magical Girl Pretty Sammy, Tenchi Muyo! GXP,  ), as well as adapted into manga. The franchise has also spawned soundtrack CDs and other merchandise released both in Japan and in the United States.

 Movies:

An anime film titled Tenchi the Movie: Tenchi Muyo in Love created by Hiroshi Negishi is a continuation of the Tenchi Universe TV series. A film titled Tenchi the Movie 2: The Daughter of Darkness was created by Naoko Hasegawa. A third film titled Tenchi Forever! The Movie is the sequel to Tenchi Muyo in Love and was adapted into a manga titled Tenchi Muyo! In Love 2: Eternal Memory.

Manga:

The Tenchi manga consists of two series written by Hitoshi Okuda: Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-oh-ki and Shin Tenchi Muyo! (which has no connection to the aforementioned Shin Tenchi Muyo TV series). They have been released in English as No Need for Tenchi and The All-New Tenchi Muyo!. It is based on OVA series 1 and 2. Since the manga originally began in Japan before the release of OVA 2, the OVA 2 elements are not introduced immediately at the beginning.
 
 (I was too lazy to reword that :P) 


Genre: Adventure, Action, Fantasy, Harem
  
Summary: 

Tenchi Muyo! follows the adventures of Tenchi Masaki, an ordinary teenager whose quiet life in the mountains of Okayama is shattered by the arrival of a diverse group of alien girls. Although having a bunch of beautiful women living at home might sound like no bad thing, Tenchi soon discovers the downside to this arrangement when the girls start using their special powers to fight for his affections! 
 
Watch it here on Youtube.com* 

Picture found on Google.com*
Summary found on TV.com*
Information taken from Wikipeda.com*

Cat Planet Cuties: Sneak Peek

It has definitely been a while but sadly I haven't read any manga for a couple of weeks now. But while I had a minute to myself I stumbled upon this funny sneak peek to a FUNimation DVD/BD Combo called Cat Planet Cuties. Personal I can't wait to see the rest of it, lol.

Asobi ni Iku yo!(Let's Go Play!) by Okina Kamino 

 Genres: Action, Comedy, Ecchi, Harem, Romance, Sci-Fi, Seinen


Summary: 

Okinawa, an ordinary high school guy, meets an alien girl who has cat ears and tail who came to Earth so she could learn more about it. In the end he decides to bring her home, though living with such creature might not be as easy as it seems.

Update: Deadman Wonderland

     So, as I was looking through FUNimation's Youtube.com channel a few days ago and I spotted Deadman Wonderland right there with a SUB attached to it~ I have only watched a little into episode one because I don't seem to have the time nowadays but I will eventually - if only to compare the two.

Here is the link: Watch Deadman Wonderland on Youtube.com here~!  ^^

2,000 views~!

     Yay to over 2,000 views~!! Thank you guys so much, it really makes me want to make as many new post as I can ^^

     Lately I have been slowing down on the manga and watching more anime or reading fanfics (which I was playing with the idea of starting a blog for that as well - we'll see~) while trying to get some much needed work done. But worry not, manga is still the love of my life lol. I actually just finished reading a new one - or new to me - that I found while searching up information for a new story idea and will post it up here in no time.

     On a different note, isn't it awful that FUNimation will no longer be available on Fios? I don't know what to do with myself! Yes, I watched a lot of it on Youtube.com but I will miss it on my tv (~_~) I think the letter I got in the mail said it will stop airing on 3/15/12... so sad TT~TT   

     Okay, enough tears. Thank you viewers again~! See you in the next post ^^