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I have just a few seconds ago finished watching Ai no Kusabi, but I think I will remain breathless for quite a while.
I was expecting a not too heavy yaoi story involving hot boys in chains, but I got so much more. The story is pretty intense to sit through but its worth it. It has characters whom you actually feel for and a story that fits the old adage of leaving you wanting more.
By the end I was quite taken aback at how good the story was, don't mistake it for a shallow or superficial anime, at its core this is one of the best love stories I've ever seen. Regardless of gender, genre, live action/animation, the story has enough integrity to hold its own as a love story.
The art is very earlier nineties style so its a bit nostalgic but if thats not your thing, try to see past it for the sake of the story.
It's a little slow starting but give it a chance, there are some very hot scenes in this short anime & I'd recommend it to anyone who's willing to watch it.
I am now looking forward to seeing the remake when it comes out. read more

Gay romance in anime is something that one almost doesn’t want to see nowadays. Most anime features homosexuals in way that is degrading. They exist only as drag queen outcast villains for the heroes to defeat. Then you get into the animes which are based on gay romance, and these ones are even worse. If their purpose isn’t to exist as a poorly disguised pornography, most gay romance anime features two men who fall in love one day and are sleeping together the next. These men usually have ridiculous arguments about anything and everything insignificant, and their relationships are a roller coaster of confusion and pointlessness.
Ai No Kusabi is a masterpiece in a genre that is seriously under-developed. For one thing, this anime features real men who have real problems. Instead of being late for class or getting jealous because their boyfriend had a conversation with somebody else, the characters are fighting for their lives against an oppressive government, trying to avoid massive political scandals, or coping with their existences as sex slaves.
Ai No Kusabi means something beyond being a sexual outlet for a perverted manga artist. While sexual themes are present and heavy, they ultimately do not dominate the main message of the story. More important is the way that “mongrels,” the lowest class of Tanagura’s cut-throat society, are stuck in the ghetto-like city of Ceres. Iason, the most elite of the elite, who has a scandalous love affair with Riki the mongrel, is at risk of being ruined because of it. Guy, the mongrel and jealous ex-lover of Riki is so incensed by the way Riki is “stolen” from him by Iason that he sets out on a hopeless quest for revenge.
The story revolves around a violent and strategic love triangle in which all of the involved characters suffer considerably because of Tanagura’s inherent political injustice. It’s a classic Romeo and Juliet styled story of a love between noble and pauper, except the only way for them to be together is for one of them to be a registered “pet,” a sex slave who has undergone years of training to be completely obedient in bed, and have no shame about exposing themselves to others. The pot is stirred even further by the force of Riki’s old friends which include Guy, his ex-lover who is driven mad by Riki’s absence after he left to live within the elite society.
Naturally, Ai No Kusabi has a great number of tragic moments, and it would be wrong to have it any other way. This anime isn’t just an idealistic fantasy or a cheaply made porn flick, it’s a serious story about a ruthless capitalistic society which in some ways very much mirrors our own. Given the way that human society has progressed and is still progressing, it is certainly not unthinkable that the events within Ai No Kusabi could someday transpire in reality. This anime is a stark commentary on humanity’s deepest and darkest desires, and it certainly doesn’t disappoint. Nobody is fit to call themselves a fan of yaoi without having seen this anime, as it is arguably the greatest yaoi anime ever made. read more

Okay, so I literally just finished watching it 5 minutes ago, I just felt this sudden urge to share my thoughts, so here it goes. But bear in mind that this is only my opinion.
I was looking through the recommendation on my Youtube channel, when I saw the latest remake of this. I tried it, but I found it...unsatisfactory. On the related video column, there was this AMV with a song twilight so I watched out of pure curiosity, and it turns out to be this version, 1992, and believe it or not, that mini video caught my interest more than the 2012 version of Ai No Kusabi.
Story -- Absolutely outstanding. On the AMV that I watched, they showed alot of steamy scenes, and I honestly thought it was going to be a plotless Yaoi anime filled with sex sex and sex. To my surprise it was more than that. Oh the ending...I can't even begin to describe how I felt watching the ending...it certainly irked me, to think after all they went through they would get such ending? Don't get me wrong, it was satisfactory, and I thought it fit their character because truth be told, if that ending didn't happen, they wouldn't have been able to be open about their love in public anyway because it was taboo. So I thought, although the ending was sad, and depressing, it fit perfectly.
Art-- I prefer the art in the older version, Iason Mink was much hotter in this than the latest version. But that's just a personal preference. Their character development was also very well done. On the last OVA, towards the end, when Riki asked Iason to take Guy with them, there was hesitation in latter's eyes, but he knew if he refuse, Riki's heart would only be much further to reach. And when they were on that bridge, when the world was literally shattering around them, Iason told Riki to go with Guy because he's legs had been cut off, and although Riki didn't want to leave, it seemed like he felt indebted to Guy, so he saved him, but in the end he went back to be with Iason.
Enjoyment -- I rated this 9 because on the first OVA it was a bit tedious, but also because I was crying my eyes out watching the second OVA.
Overall, I absolutely recommend this because it's an amazing Anime, and it will definitely shock you. The plot is really intense, and the ending isn't the usual 'happily ever after' which I think conveys what love really is. Not everyone get their happy ending, and even more so in that kind of society. Aside from the whole different planet thingy, I think this Anime was very realistic. I mean, not to sound racist, but in the past the white, blue eyed blonde has always been favoured more, and not just that, the world is also infested with racist scums, and those who proclaim themselves as superior compared to everyone else. To find true love, you have to look pass social status, appearance, and skin colour. read more

Usually, I tend to avoid older anime because I don't really prefer the older styles of animation. After seeing the 2012 remake of this, I became curious and naturally decided to watch this next. This was just so inexplicably addicting-- this entire franchise is. In the past 24 hours, I have watched the remake, this original, and read all of the 8 original novels. To put it in simpler words, I'm hopelessly obsessed. Let's get into why.
To begin with, the story was something unique. While dystopias aren't exactly a rare genre, to have a dystopia intertwined with a tragic, twisted romance, smut, and violence is something new. The way this is handled is definitely different. While the time skips and such were a little confusing to me, I found myself loving the way the story played out. It was more realistic than the remake in some ways in terms of character motivation, and the worldbuilding was just as good.
For the time this was produced, the art is very well done. While the 'high tech' in this version is laughable compared to both the 2012 version and present time in general, it was still advanced for the time and it never felt cheesy or lazy. There was clear effort put into it all, and I found myself really enjoying the way it was all done.
The voice actors did a better job than I expected for the era. One of my other main problems with older anime is how terrible some of the voice actors sometimes are. While this definitely isn't across the board, I have come across far too many VAs who say everything in a flat tone that just grates on my nerves. Thankfully, there was none of this, even when voicing Iason, who I would think is a difficult character to play. The background music was entrancing and stunning as well.
The characters are where this anime really wins. Nobody in this story is entirely blameless, and everyone is bound together by this ineffable hopelessness and the need to feel SOMETHING. To some of the characters, it does not matter what this 'something' is, while others try to seek something specific and instead are met with disappointment. I enjoy how humane the characters are despite living in such a fucked up world, and especially since some of them aren't even human. I really enjoyed the dynamics between Riki and Iason as well-- while I'm not well versed in yaoi specifically, I can say that many anime romances that involve even a fraction of this violence quickly shove the main characters together and say they have fallen in love. Riki and Iason are in their own twisted version of love--- nothing about it is pure or gentle, and I love that.
All in all, I'm afraid I enjoyed this much more than I should. Many people told me that I would hate the ending, which was true. It surpassed 'bittersweet' and went straight to being a completely bitter, unsatisifying ending, which is my only real complaint.
I would recommend this if you: like pet play, are into BDSM relationships, like twisted romances that aren't really romances, don't mind old animation, liked the 2012 remake, liked the light novels, are a fan of brat bottoms
I would NOT recommend this if you: didn't enjoy the rest of this franchise, are big on consent, are put off by slight pedophilia (ages aren't discussed, but Iason is said to be immortal and in the beginning Riki is 15), can't stomach rape or violence, like real/pure romance
Have a great day everyone! read more