he’s really just a magnet for them huh. narratively i can understand soubi but what the FUCK is up with that therapist man jesus christ ahjdfkakdjfj
ok one thing i wish i’d mentioned in the last volume but continues on here is the fact that i really like how contradictory a lot of ritsuka’s feelings are, especially pertaining to his relationship with soubi + general reactions to people showing him affection. like i like that he was able to consciously and very thoughtfully recognize the fact that he isn’t responding to supposedly positive statements of people saying they like him in the way that he feels like he’s supposed to, that’s a really nice bit of emotional nuance
in general ritsuka is just very well written in this story, and i appreciate how much depth and thought is given to his character, both internally in terms of his emotional thought process and externally in terms of how he’s viewed by others. in media like this w/ child/teenage protagonists there is often a question of how “correctly” a certain Age is being portrayed, and while i don’t usually like getting into those debates, here i have to admit that i think ritsuka is being written really well for a tween right on the edge or start of puberty. the story does a really good job at balancing his internal depth and complexity while also being able to take a step back and recognize, often through others’ eyes (soubi’s, but other adults too) just how vulnerable and immature and childlike he still is. it’s a really nice mix, and quite impressive to me writing-wise— both validating ritsuka, and recognizing his own weak points and blind spots.
also, i dunno when this was written (?), but i really like the side story about him looking for the phone charm he got from yuiko… very cute development, i like that he’s actually warming up to her as a friend eheheh that relationship is endearing me way more than i initially thought it would :3
i feel like there weren’t tooooo many soubi developments this volume but i do have more thoughts on him. in particular, i appreciate the fact that the teacher’s ears and That implication have now been explicitly referenced and talked about in-text, as that’s getting a little more into the social dynamics of the ears and how they are associated with Adulthood™️
because like. it’s just an association, right? just social shorthand to assume Adulthood, even though clearly people may or may not lose their virginities at any particular age. soubi may be lacking his ears and ritsuka’s teacher may still have hers but they’re still 20 and 23, college student versus working adult. and for as flustered as she may be written i think soubi is still immature in ways he may not be fully willing to recognize (similar to ritsuka, actually). even a visible biological virginity like the cat ears isn’t necessarily enough to make a true claim Maturity or Adulthood, even if a lack of ears still somewhat pushes people towards assuming that
if you can’t tell i’ve been holding out waiting for some sort of soubi past-SA thing to either become relevant or otherwise referenced in some way… at this point i still don’t know if the story is quite willing to get into that, or if that’s even the plan for soubi’s character at all, but that “long ago” in reference to his ears being lost keeps getting to me and i’m making the connections anyway ahjffkajjfnf
also the parallels between soubi and ritsuka in terms of a kind of forced early maturity are very interesting. even if ritsuka still has his ears, there’s still a lot of emotional weight in the fact that his personality changed so quickly, to the point where his teacher can pinpoint the exact age when he shifted through his old school notes… what happened to you kid…… :(
still don’t know what to do about the fact that that happened like a full two years before seimei’s death btw. those scenes with his mom are still fucking me up too, the whole “now there’s nobody here to stop me,” what the hell…… get meowtta here
oh and also lore-wise the fact that soubi bleeds from his neck because he’s fighting with the wrong name is kinda metal asf, they really cooked with that character design i can’t lie that’s sick as hell
conclusion: i liked the pacing in this one, this volume felt like it slowed down quite a bit which was kind of a nice transition from the last volume which really threw a whole bunch of ideas at you right at the start ahdkfkskdjfj. the new fighters are nice in making it feel like time is really passing, but i appreciate the focus on the emotional arcs of the characters too. 11 volumes next!! :>
i had basically no preconceptions/spoilers about this story going into it, like i really only knew that it’s popular and has cat people and is somewhat (?) controversial for the age gap lol, so i was a bit caught off guard (in a very pleased way) by how much audrina shit ritsuka is going through even by chapter two
also i am DISAPPOINTED!! that that person with the long hair crushing on yuiko is a boy what the hell. though fuck idk maybe we can still make it happen “Yuiko can’t date guys shorter than her!” crack that egg quick kid live the homura/madoka fantasy of your dreams you can do it
my only big soubi thought at this point is that he looks uncomfortably close to souichi koisuru boukun. why does that particular long blonde hair + small round glasses character design keep Getting me lately fuuuck it’s always the blondies that fucking haunt me orz
also genuinely kinda shocked by how many times they’ve kissed in the first volume alone?? i can see on the covers of the rest of the series that (presumably) ritsuka keeps his ears so i guess they’re not going THAT far but goddamn they sure speedran kissing huh
am i understanding the cat ears thing correct in equating it with virginity? i think i’ve read that concept in a fic before (that was clearly + explicitly stated to have been taking the idea from loveless tbc) but it was so long ago i barely remember my initial reactions other than a vague interest. but like the implications of have a Biological, Visible Virginity are so fucking fascinating, especially considering how that plays into the social dynamics of it all like…
the fact that everybody Knows and can read you and recognize the change Instantly has such fascinating implications, and they’re already being played with in interesting ways e.g. ritsuka mentioning “my mom would Freak if i lost my ears this young,” or soubi’s college buddy or whatever being like “dude he’s still got his ears why tf is he hanging out with a Child,” or even just the underlying Implications coming from the fact that seimei still had his ears up to his death (???) while soubi lost his “long ago” LIKE. THE IMPLICATIONS!!!!!!
it actually really makes me appreciate just how on the nose Creepy soubi is with some of his comments LMFAO “getting bitten on the tongue is quite pleasant” ass statements. like their dynamic is certainly fucked for a Number of reasons right from the start but it’s getting set up in a really interesting way that seems like it’s prepared to really delve into some of the emotional and social implications it’s establishing so!! exciting.
(additionally that book dubcon by milena popova (thx quicktime) has been getting me thinking about the social implications of world building in a very particular way so i’m very on board to start breaking that stuff down :3c YAAAYY 🎉)
i am also still very confused by the fighting but i trust that this is going to be explained more as the mystery unfolds. the verbal aspect is intriguing to me though, as well as the physical aspect of it between the sacrifice/fighter pair and the fact that their relationship seems to influence their abilities? e.g. soubi kissing ritsuka during the second fight almost like a boost to enhance his abilities for a sec. the names themselves are also already Fucked like wdym this kid’s name is “loveless” ig the universe really set him up for that one (and the contrast between that and “beloved.” fucked up, man.)
i hate to make comparisons since i Do wanna judge a work mostly on its own merits but the verbal aspect of the fighting does lowkey remind me of some of the social dynamics of hell in MADK, and the emotional dynamic between soubi and ritsuka also vaguely reminds me of tokyo babylon though idk, maybe that’s just the age gap LMFAO (and also soubi’s whole “commanded to love” thing and that Particular flavor of intense dedication, though it seems like his may be a bit more genuine?? still hard to tell what’s really up with that guy)
the relationship between ritsuka and yuiko is also very funny and i enjoy it. i like his snarky little comment bubbles that only show up when he’s around her, and it’s cute how significant the shift is between when he’s being a brat around her and shit-talking her in his head versus when soubi shows up and he suddenly has the saddest, wettest big brown eyes imaginable ahahahhaha
ultimately: very intrigued, very excited to see where this goes next. this is already right up my alley in the exact ways i expected it to be And more and i am ready to fall into it fully ^__^
Figured out why Tokino bothers me. Not in a negative way, more he's a character who makes me unsettled.
Again, this may be in part of the translation by Viz. No translation is perfect, but in a series like Loveless, the word choices made my characters is crucial.
He says that he knows Mikado is still a little girl who needs his protection. We don't know Tokino's age, but we do know that Mikado is 14. She's only 2 years older than Ritsuka, although he assumes that they are either the same age, or that she's younger than him.
Tokino is very interested in the age difference between Ritsuka and Soubi. When he learns it's nine years, he says "that's about the limit." He then explains that if the age difference is more than ten years, the relationships won't work out. He doesn't bring this up again, but it's notable that it's one of the first things he talks about with Ritsuka.
Tokino becomes very angry at Ritsuka, simply for not listening to or understanding what Mikado is telling him about Seimei. He then threatens Ritsuka, saying Tokino doesn't know what he might do. With "his" little brother being right in front of him.
Later, after Moonless fails to make an alliance with Loveless, we have another scene.
Tokino makes Mikado a parfait with expensive peaches. The way she licks the cream off of his hand always made me get an ick feeling in my stomach. Tokino wasn't the one to cause Mikado to lose her ears; that was Nisei under Seimei's orders.
But I do wonder if part of Tokino's anger towards Beloved isn't centered on them taking Mikado's "innocence." A right that he sees as his own, as her Fighter and, thus, her Protector. He loves to compliment her cuteness, often doting on her appearance and mannerisms like signing her text messages.
Tokino is Mikado's knight; Mikado is Tokino's princess. It's a powerful visual, her safe within the castle. Himself the knight with the sword that will impale Nisei.
Given how important visualizing their spells is for Fighters, it's no wonder that Tokino is such a formidable opponent. Because Nisei is pushed to fight alone, his visualization starts to waver the longer the battle goes on. Because Seimei has given him no instruction other than to win.
When they lose to Soubi, Mikado offers to bandage her Fighter's wounds the next morning. It's a very tender scene right up until Tokino asks her if she wants to fight Beloved again. She gets an intense look on her face, a distinct change in the design of her eyes. Only for her to agree that, yes, she wants to fight them again.
"But not right now." While placing her hands on the sides of Tokino's face. The audience doesn't see the kiss between her and Tokino, but she's definitely leaning in for one.
This stood out to me because it's so similar to the way Soubi touches Ritsuka's face. In Moonless' case, Mikado is the one in control. She's younger than Tokino, but as his Sacrifice, perhaps alongside her "training" at home, she has tipped the scales in her favor.
Even if Mikado is the one who has power in the dynamic of Sacrifice/Fighter, if Tokino is the older one or even the adult in the pair, he makes no move to stop her. Whether in this scene or the one where she sensually licks the cream off his hand.
I really don't know if this body language is meant to be read into as much as I have, but the imbalance is still there for me. The sense that Tokino recognizes that Mikado is a "little girl," but he accepts her advances anyway. Especially in light of the sexual assault she experienced because of Beloved, her betrayal by Seimei.
I wish we could see more of what Moonless' relationship was like before Seimei's betrayal and Nisei's assault. I understand there is a scene where she is sitting shoulder to shoulder with Seimei, while Tokino picks out shoes for her to wear. Thinking of how he will happily clear her white shoes for her.
It's as if Mikado is a doll for him to dress up. A possession of his, while he is also a possession of hers. Focusing on her cuteness, the image of a princess in Tokino's mind, and how to preserve that.
On the other hand, Tokino might be attempting to give Mikado a space in which she can allow herself to be a child. To enjoy frivolous things like getting dressed up to go shopping. Rather than maintaining the etiquette and requirements of her family, whatever they may be. That could be his intentions, and I'm just making the guy out to be a villain because this series has broken my trust in its characters.
I didn't mean for this to go on as long as it did, but I have so so many thoughts about each character in this manga.
i feel like there are so many times characters wear the exact same outfit as someone else i need to compile all of these so we can determine who outmogs them all
soubi dresses Like That in the beginning of loveless because all his childhood ritsu dressed him and then seimei dressed him when they were together and as soon as he got dumped by both of them he knew he had to start showing off his belly button or he'd kill himself
and i'll be honest i do think ritsu was suitmogging baby soubi too but it's really not a fair comparison because we all know ritsu dressed him and ofc he'd never let a child outdress him. also baby soubi is a baby you can't compare him and ritsu properly it's too close of a match bc even if he cant outdress ritsu baby soubi still moemogs him by farrrr
hydrogen bomb vs hydrogen bomb there will be no winners there will be no survivors. easier to just compare adult soubi and adult ritsu so Someone can be the coughing baby. and that baby is soubi by far. *thinks about baby soubi* maybe that's not such a bad thing.....
and i'll be honest i do think ritsu was suitmogging baby soubi too but it's really not a fair comparison because we all know ritsu dressed him and ofc he'd never let a child outdress him. also baby soubi is a baby you can't compare him and ritsu properly it's too close of a match bc even if he cant outdress ritsu baby soubi still moemogs him by farrrr
what the hell? you were in the middle of nap time baby soubi @catboyobsession - Tumblr Blog | Tumgag
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