Loveless
From Animepedia
Loveless is a shonen-ai manga/anime created by Yun Kouga. Though it originated as manga, starting in May 2002, it was made into a twelve episode anime series by J.C Staff and aired April to June 2005. It has since then been licensed and released in the US, in 2006, by Media Blasters in a three DVD set. The manga is currently licensed by Tokyopop in the US, with four out of a current seven volumes released as of February 2007.
In both the anime and manga, many of the characters are animal humanoid types (otherwise known as "kemonomimi"). Though, catgirls do make an appearance, the series revolves more heavily around catboys. The cat-like physique is based on sexual relations, those who no longer possess their cat ears and tail are considered "adults" in society.
In Loveless, everyone is born with cat ears and a tail which are shed upon engaging in a form of sexual activity. This is a clear sign as to who has, or has not, had such an experience and is expressed to be generally embarrassing for anyone who is passed their teens and still retains their "neko" features.
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Summary
Ritsuka Aoyagi, a twelve-year old boy, meets a strange man named Soubi Agatsuma on his first day attending a new school. Soubi claims to have been a good friend of Ritsuka's, recently murdered, older brother Seimei. Ritsuka quickly finds out that Soubi and his brother were a "pair" in spell battles that use words as attacks. Soubi now "belongs" to Ritsuka as his "fighter" and Ritsuka as his "sacrifice". Ritsuka, not quite understanding anything of the current events, is now determined to find out the person(s) behind Seimei's death and he asks Soubi to assist him in doing so.
Fighting Teams
In the series, the fighting style is presented with detailed rules as to how battles may occur. Fighting may only ensue between couples/teams of two. One of these is called a "Sacrifice", which is the part of the pair that receives all damage from the battle. The other is called a "Fighter", who is the attacker. Though not everyone battles or knows of the existence of said battles, as the viewer discovers by the naivety of Ritsuka when informed of said fighting. The pairing system is used by Yun Kouga to add the aspect of romance between the two people in each team.
Battles in Loveless are brought about by one team "offering" another to engage in battle, upon the term "acceptance" from the team in question, the battle begins. These types of battles are called spell battles, where the attacks and defense are activated by the use of words called spell words. Spell words possess certain meanings or abilities varying of the context of the battle. Teams are composed of two people who share a like name, beyond their individual control, which are given to them possibly before their birth. When united, the team functions at maximum capacity, however, should a team be composed of two who do not share a like name, the teams strength decreases immensely and will suffer the ridicule of other teams.
It is propositioned in the series that these pairings are formed by fate and that they don't form a pairing after they have met. It is then concluded that the naming system and bond between two persons is formed outside the realm of choice for them and that it cannot be changed.
