Ai no Kusabi
is a Japanese novel written by Rieko Yoshihara. Originally serialized in the magazine Shōsetsu June between December 1986 and October 1987, the story was collected into a hardbound novel that was released in Japan in 1990, and eventually expanded on and released in 6 paperback volumes.
This futuristic tale takes place on a planet ruled by a super computer, Jupiter, where its cyborg creations, the Elites, who are assigned various social roles based on their hair color, rule over the human populace. Iason Mink, a high-class "Blondy" elite from the capital Tanagura, runs into Riki, a "Mongrel" from the slums, and makes him his "Pet". This decision was seen as taboo in Tanagura where Pets are a status symbol and are expected to be well-bred, and was also unacceptable to Riki who had his freedom taken away from him. As Riki learns of the dangers Iason faces by keeping him, he finds himself developing feelings for his master. While focusing on the relationship between Iason and Riki, Ai no Kusabi also explores issues of caste systems and social exclusion, as well as the implications of Artificial Intelligence ruling over a human society.
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 Dark Erogenous was released focusing on a time period left unexplored in the original novels. A new twelve-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 was released on January 18, 2012. However, the series was once again discontinued after four episodes.
The novel is licensed for an English language release in North America by Digital Manga Publishing, which published the novel over an eight-volume series.
Plot
Ai no Kusabi takes place on the fictional planet of Amoi, which is ruled by a computer named Jupiter. After initially being a product of unrestricted scientific research, Jupiter gained self awareness, and overthrew its human creators. It banished humans from Amoi's central city, Tanagura, and created its own, improved, version of humanity - the Elites. Elites are cyborgs, their bodies entirely artificial, save for their enhanced, organic brains.The human population was relegated to second class citizens who now lived in Midas, Tanagura's satellite city. Jupiter imposed strict social norms both on the elites and on the humans: Noram, the class system which, based on their hair colour, ranked the elites and assigned them specific social roles, and Zein which controlled and determined every facet of human life in Midas.
Eventually, tired of their lack of freedom, some humans rebelled against Jupiter in what was known as the Ceres Independence Rebellion. Jupiter graciously allowed them this independence without bloodshed, but what seemed to be a victory soon proved to be pyrrhic. Ceres was cut off from the rest of Midas and no longer acknowledged by Tanagura, and was left to fend for itself - a task it failed to do. Eventually, the area descended into chaos and became a slum. Its denizens, now derided as slum mongrels, were viewed as the lowest class, abhorred by the rest of Midas. Ceres was no longer bound by Zein and unlike Midas, practiced natural reproduction, however for reasons unknown to them, the birthrate of boys was much greater than that of girls, which resulted in the skewed ratio where males outnumbered females 9 to 1.
The society of the elites, who enjoyed every luxury possible, put great value on social class. Pets, who were genetically engineered humans bred in various "production centers" in Midas, were kept by the elite for entertainment and served as status symbols. It was expected that the pedigree and rank of the pet would be appropriate to that of its elite owner, with Academy-produced pure bred pets reserved for the highest ranks - the 13 Blondies. As cyborgs with an artificial body, elites themselves had no interest in sex, however the pets were used for voyeuristic entertainment and were made to copulate with each other at so called "mating parties", as the elites observed. They were not viewed as having intrinsic value and were at complete mercy of their owners, to be treated as nothing more than pretty decorations to be discarded once they served their purpose.
Tending to both pets and the elites were "Furniture", castrated, adolescent boys viewed as nothing more than objects. They were "installed" in each elite's domicile and expected to take care of the home as well as their master's and pet's every need.
Characters
Main
;Riki;Iason Mink
;Guy
;Katze
;Raoul Am
;Kirie
Minor characters
;Daryl;Jupiter
;Orphe Zavi
;Gideon Lagat
;Aisha Rosen
;Mimea
;Luke
;Norris
;Sid
;Cal
;Gilbert
;Hubert
;Marcus
;Jeek Leader
;Jeek Lackey
Media
Novel
Written by Rieko Yoshihara, the individual chapters of Ai no Kusabi were serialized in the magazine Shōsetsu June between December 1986 and October 1987. The chapters were collected and published as a single hardbound novel in 1990. The series was later released in a revised and greatly expanded paperback edition from Seibidō Shuppan under their Crystal imprint; however, the Crystal edition is incomplete, covering only six of eight books. The series was then acquired by Tokuma Shoten and a complete edition was published in six volumes under their Chara imprint; the first four are semi-omnibus and the final two are the previously unreleased material. The novel was licensed for an English language release in North America by Juné, the imprint of Digital Manga Publishing. The English edition from Juné was originally based on the Crystal edition, and will have eight volumes. The first volume was released on November 20, 2007 and the sixth on July 28, 2009. After a long hiatus, caused in part by re-negotiation required by the change in Japanese publisher, the remaining two volumes, volume 7 and volume 8, were released on August 29, 2012, and on April 24, 2013, respectively. In June 2009, DMP made the first volume of Ai no Kusabi, Stranger, available as an Amazon Kindle e-book.CDs
The first spin-off from the novels was an audiobook released on May 31, 1989.Five soundtracks were released:
- 間の楔 オリジナル・サウンド・トラック
- 間の楔 SENSE OF CRISIS
- 間の楔 AMBIVALENCE
- 間の楔 SYMPATHY
- 間の楔 Sound Selection of "AI NO KUSABI" 祈り-ORACION-
- 間の楔I 〜DESTINY〜
- 間の楔II 〜NIGHTMARE〜
- 間の楔III 〜RESONANCE〜
Original video animations
Anime International Company created a two-episode original video animation adaptation for the series. The first episode was released in August 1992, and the second in May 1994. Directed by Akira Nishimori and Katsuhito Akiyama, the episodes were based on a screenplay written by Naoko Hasegawa. They featured character designs by Naoyuki Onda and music composed by Toshio Yabuki. The plot slightly differed from the novels' storyline, but kept the main story points intact.Remake
A second twelve-episode anime OVA adaptation, also from AIC, was scheduled to begin releasing in Japan in Fall 2010. Due to financial issues, production was cancelled for a period of time, and it was rescheduled to January 18, 2012, instead. Akiyama directed again and Onda provided the character designs. The screenplay was written by Yoshihara herself. The Blu-ray release of the OVA included a new short story by Yoshihara.Anime licensor Media Blasters announced they licensed the remake's first four OVAs for a North American release in December 2012. However, on November 28, 2012, they notified retailers that it would be delayed until April 23, 2013. On October 11, 2017, Media Blasters announced they would re-release Ai no Kusabi on Blu-ray with an English dub. The Blu-ray was released on December 19, 2017. On September 20, 2018, Toku added Ai no Kusabi to its streaming service, allowing viewers to watch the OVAs in Japanese with English subtitles.
After the fourth episode premiered in 2012, the remake was discontinued for unknown reasons.
Reception
Mania's Danielle Van Gorder felt the prose of the first novel was "florid", and criticized the finishing point of the second novel as anticlimactic. She found the characterization of Iason in the third novel to be realistic and compelling, and felt the theme of the fourth novel was power. Jonathan Clements compared Yoshihara's writing style to "Ranpo Edogawa's sexually charged mysteries" and felt Ai no Kusabi shared themes with Shōzō Numa's science fiction.Patrick Drazen has described the Ai no Kusabi OVA as a "magnum opus" of the genre, and the setting as dystopian, similar to Fritz Lang's Metropolis. Jonathan Clements and Helen McCarthy liken the society of Ai no Kusabi to that of Ancient Greece, where power was restricted to a class and women do not figure significantly. They consider it ironic that Jupiter is a feminine computer, and describe her as being like Ghost in the Shell's Motoko Kusanagi – Jupiter is "a man-made idea of the female in a world run by male elites". Anime News Network's Maral Agnerian praised its interesting, well-developed plot and "fleshed out and complex" work. She also praises it for being one of the few series from its time to contain "actual gay sex in it instead of the usual angsty moping and shoujo-esque sparkly kisses", while noting that the scenes are primarily in the second episode. Anime News Network's Justin Sevakis highlighted the OVA as a "Buried Treasure", calling it "one of the best yaoi anime". He described Riki and Iason as both being "alpha-males", rather than a and pairing, and noted how the costuming was elegant for the higher echelons of society and revealing for the lower classes. He criticized the OVA's adaptation of the story, explaining that it was assumed all viewers would be already familiar with the tale through Shōsetsu June.