Jewel Maze

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1- Themes Essays - Two essays on the two main themes of Loveless: The Power of Words and Relationships and Identity

2- Background Details - A small trivia section

3- Characters and Quotes - Information on every Loveless character with quotes here and there

4- Fighting - Information on the fighting style of Loveless

5- Questions - Questions I possess about the series, answers would be greatly appreciated

6- Links - Links to other Loveless sites and webpages

Warning: major spoiler time for anyone who hasn't read all the volumes released in english so far and watched all the anime.

Themes Essays

The power of words:

Everything in Loveless highlights the importance of words. As the Tokyopop adaptor, Christine Boylan puts it, the story hinges on the fact that thoughts are energy (illustrated by their appearance as a burst of white on a black background) and words are the thoughts manifested in such a way that they affect the speaker and those around them.

The fantasy aspect then comes into play, introducing us to the concept of some people (psychics of some type considering how they communicate without speaking and send out a sort of wave) who are able to use words to change their corporeal environment, inflict physical damage and impinge on themselves and others to a much greater extent.

These people are subject to limitations however, they are (supposedly) not to use their powers outside special battles governed by a series of rules and in these battles their power is greatly reduced if they are not with a compatible partner.

Words are used by and affect the characters in numerous ways inside and outside the battles. The effectiveness of a spell is based on words and their connection to thoughts: the strength of the initial image, the speed of it being converted to words and the variations in the words used.

Spells are categorized into many forms: self-hypnosis, binding, banishment, and into physical and mental attacks. Before a battle takes place, the participating parties have to turn their “sentou system” on and accept or declare battle, all of this is done through speaking the correct words.

When the system is turned on the environment around the pairs seems to change, becoming darker and less detailed, perhaps implying that the battles take place in some area where the mind has a greater influence and so words are more powerful. The environment is also slightly different with each pair.

It is interesting to note that the main form of damage received in a battle is a restraint, suggesting that a key property of words may be their ability to hinder or restrain a person. Furthermore, despite the pain received being great and the environmental damage seeming colossal, only minor cuts are received in battle and the worst injury to the environment is glass being shattered.

Several times, fighters have used wordspells outside the battle area and, while there is less flashiness involved, the effect seems to be just as potent. Though understanding of the uses of wordspells outside of battles is limited due to lack of information about it so far, several facts or suggestions about battles can be gleaned from the instances of it happening and new uses of wordspells are also often displayed in these instances. When Nisei attacks Kio in volume seven, Seimei tells us, “If an opponent does not turn systems on, an attack is impossible.

But he then says there is an exception to this rule, entering “The soul in a one-sided strike” although it is “Invasion, violation.” The fact that the attacker must “enter the soul” and it is an invasion and violation gives further weight to the idea that battles take place in some sort of mindspace of the participants, the fact that an attack is impossible unless the systems are activated also seems to suggest the function of battles; they may have come about as ways for two teams to fairly and consensually test their powers in a controlled environment where the fighters have the minds of the sacrifices backing their own.

In volume two Natsuo and Youji demonstrate the use of wordspells as snares and controllers or hypnosis tools when they capture Ms. Shinonome, it’s interesting to note how they primarily use her name to do this. Soubi then does something similar when he puts Ms. Shinonome to sleep before the battle with the words, “This has nothing to do with you. Go to sleep.”

For Ritsuka, words are used initially to hold him down to his place as the isolated, illegitimate Ritsuka who doesn’t deserve exist with lines such as, “I deserve to be punished,” and “There’s nothing here that belongs to me!.” He is well aware of the strength of words as he considers them to be more hurtful than physical damage due to their lasting effect and seems more damaged by his mother’s words than her attacks.

Like Soubi, Ritsuka also uses words as shields to protect himself from Seimei’s true identity with lines such as “I love Seimei”, “He’d never betray me” and to protect himself from his mother’s abuse by saying, “Mother’s not herself. So this can’t hurt me.” His use of language is quite revealing about his personality also, his hatred of the words, impossible and die for instance are indicators of his determined, pacifist nature.

Soubi also uses words to solidify his position as the emotionless fighter “I am a weapon,” “If you want me to listen to you, order me,” “I want to be governed” and as a defence, for instance, there is a strong suggestion that he is not completely sure if Seimei is actually dead but he staunchly repeats that Seimei is dead whenever Ritsuka asks him, perhaps to dispel his own fears.

Soubi is also good at using words for conveying ideas and emotions for example his usage of “entrancing” words such as “deep” and “bond” to seduce Ritsuka and, following this, his appropriate usage of “sweet words” and the phrase “I love you.” Soubi remembers the two most influential people in his life, Ritsu and Seimei, in words, in the lessons Ritsu gave him and orders Seimei spoke.

As well as considering what they said and how they said it to be an integral part of who they were, “He has a particularly nasty way of saying things” “Seimei’s words always become truth.” Soubi uses words to sum them up, for Ritsu “Punishment, order, cruelty,” and “The only thing he loves is hurting people” and for Seimei, “Coerce, toy absolute” “Seimei is my god.” Through his self-stated like, dislike and usage of certain words, such as “haphazard” and “pain,” the personality of Soubi himself is also revealed.

An interesting note about Soubi is his attitude toward the truth, he doesn’t seem to believe that words should always be honest as opposed to Ritsuka who thinks firmly the opposite. Soubi seems ok with being, technically, a hypocritical liar so long as his words achieve the desired effect i.e. getting Ritsuka to give in to him. By the seventh book his attitude seems to have changed somewhat, he bases one of his spells around truth in his fight against Nisei, making it sound like something he now believes in, “Bearing the name of truth we smite are enemy.”

Seimei being a sacrifice doesn’t use words in a battle context but his language usage still speaks volumes about him. His eloquent speech points toward his calculating and obsessive native and the terms he uses to describe anyone other than himself and Ritsuka, “Cute dogs,” “Pretty birds” and “Beasts” are obvious indicators of his psychopathic tendencies.

Seimei claims he says “Only the most obvious things” and seems fairly comfortable using strong negative words about himself for example when he tells Nisei he is “so insecure” and when he tells Nakahira he is a “weakling and a coward.” His definitions of these words are probably slightly different to Soubi’s however.

Misaki’s use of words is one of the most unambiguous of all the characters. Early on in the series we see how she relies on her own words, uses words as attacks, “You’re a pathetic, miserable man. Seimei was so much stronger than you,” how they affect her mood “Seimei was supposed to protect me and take me away from this place!” and how she uses them to validate her violent behaviour, “There’s no-one to stop me!” Misaki’s other self is brought on by and fought with words, we see her trying to fend off her anger in volume five with the words, “I can’t do this please, stop!” but then her anger overwhelms her, convincing her with words like “A child should listen to his mother right!?”

These sentences built up making her more hysterical, seemingly justifying her behaviour in her mind and escalating into vicious verbal assaults on Ritsuka, “Why can’t you listen to what I say!!” “You’re my mistake, I should’ve cut you out!” Afterward she reassures herself with similar sentences, “Seimei will save me, Seimei will help me, Seimei will stop me. Seimei will protect Ritsuka from me. I’m glad.”

Ms. Shinonome, being quite an emotional character, uses words to both weaken and strengthen her conviction sometimes simultaneously. Her conviction usually pulls through however when she focuses her words on the target of her efforts, “For Ritsuka-kun’s sake…there has to be something I can do for him!” Like Ms. Shinonome, Yuiko is quite emotional and lacking in confidence, this is best shown in volume six when she renders herself unable to do a forward spin with the words, “I can’t do it, its impossible. I can’t do forward spins.”

Yuiko is also an extremely honest and open character and her word use reflects this. She translates Ritsuka’s words into more obvious meanings such as when he says, “I won’t smile anymore, it just makes me tired!” to which she replies “I’m sorry Ritsuka-kun, I don’t understand but it sounds so lonely! I hate being lonely!” and when he says “Look it’s alright, I was wrong,” she responds, “You’ll forgive me?!”

Natsuo and Yoji’s personalities are immediately discernible through their speech, for example, “Nothing is fair.” Their attempts to turn pain and suffering into something frivolous such as with Yoji’s words, “Know what this is? It’s a nail!! You are correct! <3 and Natsuo’s “Oh, what, so we’re abused too? Pathetic. But look, we turned out okay! <3 display their usage of words as shields and removals from their own unhappiness.

Yoji again seems to use words as safeguards when he kisses Ritsuka and declares that Seimei can’t do a thing almost as if he’s trying to reclaim security from when Soubi questioned how much Nagisa really cared for him. Natsuo does this later in volume six telling himself, “I don’t mind. Yoji’s my favourite too,” when reminded of Nagisa’s blatant nepotism toward Yoji. Natsuo also seems kinder toward Soubi having been quite strongly impacted on by Soubi's words as he says “That’s the first time I’ve ever…heard those words. "Will you come home with me,” after Soubi takes the Zero pair home.

The most obvious demonstration the two have of their personal word usage is in the departure from Soubi’s house where both feebly assert their hatred and apathy toward Soubi and Ritsuka, “I hate them all I don’t care that I won’t see them anymore.”

The series accentuates personal definitions to words and the reactions to and meanings to the same words when used by different people. Several times the same words or very similar phrases are used by different characters but the connotations are quite different. For example, early on in volume one, Ritsuka tells Yuiko, “This has nothing to do with you,” to which she replies, “Hey no fair.”

Then when we see Soubi say the same sentence to Hitomi-sensei she is reduced to tears, perhaps due to her sensitivity over being considered immature. The different meanings are used in some cases to contrast two characters for instance Ritsuka and Seimei’s meanings of love. Ritsuka says, “I thought that’s what love meant, fun and security,” when remembering Seimei and in volume seven Seimei tells Nisei, “Love means forgiveness. To accept me for the way I am now and to forgive me for the way I was before.”

As Ritsuka matures he seems to form his own definitions more, “If you should betray me I will forgive you. That’s what it means to believe,” and questions Soubi’s own definitions, “I don’t know what you think you mean,” Something similar happens to Yuiko who tells Ms. Shinonome in volume two, “I’d do anything for Ritsuka-kun,” to which Ms. Shinonome replies internally, “She doesn’t know that is love. She can feel it but she can’t name it.” Then in volume six Yuiko comes to a realisation and openly says, “I love Ritsuka-kun.”

A word frequently used by the characters which exemplifies the difference in definitions is, “idiot.” Natsuo and Yoji use it in volume five, “What an idiot, he should just kill his mum. Letting her hurt him like that. Ritsuka’s such an idiot.” Mei uses it later in the volume, “Nisei can be that way because he doesn’t think anything of you Mimuro. You’re an idiot Mimuro.” In volume six Ritsuka tells Soubi, “You idiot. If it’s just that then I’m happy to do it for you any time,” after Soubi asks Ritsuka to embrace him.

The function of the word varies with all the characters. In Yoji and Natsuo’s case it seems part of their method of turning suffering into frivolity and separating Ritsuka from themselves and their case of abuse while in Mei’s case it seems to function as a comforting mantra and a way of venting her feelings. When Ritsuka uses it in volume six it seems again to function as an expression of emotions and also somewhat as a term of endearment.

Names are central to the world of Loveless. The very first pieces of dialogue in the entire series are, “I’ll tell you my real name. I’ll tell only you. “Beloved.” It means, “Adored one.” This immediately demonstrates names as significant to the relationships between people and name meanings as important.

Utilizing names to imply closeness or distance is prevalent: Yuiko attempts to get Ritsuka to call her by her first name in volume one and he refuses still wanting to be distant from others, Mei attempts to get Mimuro to call her by name which he claims, “Feels extremely unsteady,” as he isn’t interested in a close relationship with her and the first thing Yuiko notices when she meets Osamu is that she calls Ritsuka by first name.

Many of the other characters have no relationship with whoever gave them their names and they therefore embrace their other names while Ritsuka claims disinterest in finding his other name. To him his name seems to be a mark of closeness between himself and his mother, “I like my name. The name that my mother gave me.”

In the first battle Ai shouts “If you think you can name yourself by yourself then go ahead!” to Soubi illustrating again the importance of names to relationships and also the fact that names are considered practically untouchable and unchangeable, as mentioned later mentioned by Ritsu, “Your name is your fate. That which cannot be changed.” Soubi bleeds from his name during battles and when asked why by Ritsuka, he interestingly replies, “Because I’m going against my name,” rather than because he’s fighting with someone other than Seimei.

Name meanings are highlighted on occasions for instance Osamu seems to try to inject meaning into her otherwise non-consequential name by saying, “Ritsuka is the only one allowed to call me Osamu” and “It’s a secret between me and Ritsuka” When Yoji admits he doesn’t know what his name means Soubi says, “You don’t know? That’s why you lose.”

Names are also used frequently by the characters to achieve various ends, Hitomi’s name is used by Natsuo to control her, later Yamato interestingly enquires, “Is it a fool who’s slave to her name?” and Soubi uses Ritsuka’s name to a great extent to instil his sense of identity and to establish their bond.

In battles names are a source of strength, stated and used in a power-up spell when the battle commences and they even appear to glow. The location of names on the bodies of the pair also bear significance, unless the fighter is “blank” they will always be in the same location on both partner’s bodies and the location may suggest the nature of the pair’s bond.

The female zero’s have their names on their chest, close to their hearts for example, the Breathless pair has theirs on the palms of their hands, the Beloved (Seimei and Nisei) has theirs stretching lengthways across the middle of their hands and onto their middle fingers and the Fearless pair has theirs on the backs of their hands.

Relationships and Identity:

In battles, identity and bonds are the main sources of strength yet they are also referred to as constrictors at different times in the story. As previously mentioned, Ms. Shinonome is controlled by her name i.e. identity and Yamato raises the question of it being foolish to be slave to one’s name.

Early on in the manga Ritsuka says during a battle “I can’t move. Is this constriction? Or is it Soubi’s strong arms?” and Mimuro believes in keeping only a distanced relationship with Mei saying, “We decided we’d never be afraid of hurting each other. That we’d never worry about losing each other. That’s freedom, right?”

Although the roles of Sacrifice and Fighter seem to at first be clearly defined, there are numerous attitudes and ideas toward how the relationship should be. Soubi is described as being almost a perfect fighter for being practically empty and lacking in personality while all the impetus is on the sacrifice to have a strong identity.

Ritsuka’s fractured identity is a great hindrance to his initial descent into the role of a sacrifice, Yoji tells him “If you don’t have the courage to show yourself completely… and in total honesty…then you can’t become a sacrifice.”

Soubi at every instance seems to try to nurture Ritsuka’s identity, from his constant repeating of his name to his lines, “Freedom. That’s what you have Ritsuka. Choice. That’s what you must make Ritsuka,” and “Ritsuka…if you would decide to…if you would accept me, Ritsuka. If you would permit me, Ritsuka. If you would want me, Ritsuka. Then I would be yours Ritsuka.”

Loveless also poses the question of what makes up the identity of a person with Ritsuka’s entire personality appearing to have changed through his amnesia and his mother while Soubi’s personality is clearly greatly influenced by Ritsu.

The sacrifice/fighter pairing structure indicates the nature of relationships to be one person leading and one following, one person providing support and the other protection. From what we have seen, the sacrifice tends to be generally the calmer, more composed of the two with the fighter being the more emotional and the superiority of the sacrifices seems quite ingrained, for instance, characters use the word “master” in place of “Sacrifice” several times, fighters are said to be on "auto" if they fight without a sacrifice making them sound like some sort of human operated machine and in volume five Mimuro tells Mei to listen to him saying, “Or else I can’t give you my power.”

Ritsu appears to prefer this type of relationship, giving Soubi almost conflicting orders to submit, be dominated, protect his sacrifice and fight while Nagisa opposes it, thinking that a sacrifice should belong to a fighter and the bonds between them shouldn’t be unbreakable.

Both Seimei and Ritsu look as if they also disregard the bonds, Ritsu claims that Soubi will always belong to him no matter who his master is while the only relationship Seimei wants is with Ritsuka and he thinks of others as animals, most likely considering that their bonds have no importance. However, despite the fact he feels free to change sacrifices and form relationships, he believes his mother is greedy for wanting both him and Ritsuka and he deliberately isolates Ritsuka from other people.

Soubi seems to want a very strong yet unbalanced relationship with physical marks such as piercings, scars or tattoos as symbols and marks of ownership. He responds to Ritsu’s question about his broken bond in volume seven by saying he’d rather have a bond like a thick chain while Ritsu claims a lot can be done with a resilient but subtle relationship describing the bond between two people like this as a “Piano wire.”

Despite his dysfunctional relationships history, Soubi also appears knowledgeable about Ritsuka’s needs as when he offers the phone he says, “It’s so you won’t be lonely Ritsuka. So you won’t feel insecure. With this you can be connected to me.”

Ritsuka’s preferences for a relationship are less openly stated but it seems he wishes for one slightly like a fighter/sacrifice relationship in that there is total trust, although, he also wishes for both partners to be of equal standing claiming (about Soubi)” I’ll be satisfied with as much of yourself as you can give me.”

All of the fighter/sacrifice relationships that have been seen so far are different from Yamato and Koya’s deep bond to the unbalanced, unsteadily-detached relationship between Mimuro and Mei and the more friendship-esque relationship between Midori and Ai.

Yuiko’s relationship with Ritsuka also seems similar to a one-sided fighter/sacrifice relationship, with Ritsuka being her support and hope and while she hasn’t protected him, she has provided him with support and help at many times in the story.

A strong focus is also placed on the relationships between adults and children with many characters having differing opinions. Natsuo and Yoji, through their exposure to Nagisa say “Adults are so thoughtless. They put themselves first, always.”

The more naïve Shinonome-sensei believes “Children need the protection of adults,” similar to Yuiko’s beliefs which are seen when she says to Ms. Shinonome, “I don’t know how to do these things. I want an adult to do the talking!!” Ritsuka on the other hand believes “Not lying is so unlike an adult” yet also believes adults should know more of the answers to important questions.

Ritsuka’s difficulty in coping without relationships is made obvious and people’s aversion to making them is also shown from the scenes of Ritsuka’s attempts to distance others to the apathy of the people around him. Both Katsuko and Hitomi claim that they wish to help Ritsuka with his mother but both are then rebuked by their colleagues who argue that they, “Can’t interfere or “Shouldn’t get personally involved.” and Ritsuka’s neighbours also claim they can’t do anything being “Outsiders.” Soubi is aware of Ritsuka’s predicament but most likely believes he can’t do anything to help although he and arguably Yuiko are the only ones who have tried so far.

A final point to note about the relationships in Loveless is the naming scheme of the fighter pairs. Diverging from the usual idea that a relationship is associated with fulfilment and completeness, Most of the fighter’s names end in “Less” suggesting that they’re all lacking in something. Zero’s name is a bit of a mystery but it may be tied into the fact that all the Zero pairs are unnatural. There are still many unanswered questions in this area though so it's all just speculation at this stage.

Background Details/Things to Notice

Volume 1

Opening illustration

Bandages
Pencils
Plushies of 2 rabbits and a dog - Yamato has a mini rabbit plush of the same design on her bag and there is one on the costume Ritsuka wears in the opening of chapter 7 volume 5. The dog plush is not seen anywhere else but both the male Zero pair and Seimei mention dogs: “We don’t like yapping little dogs,” and "I'd never treat a dog like a human."
1 bottle of capsule pills with some scattered around - These are seen in both Misaki and Ritsu's bedrooms.
1 blister pack of tablets with some scattered around - same as above
A fork
A spoon
Flowers
Notebooks
A duck - Aside from mister duck in volume 5, there's a duck in every bath scene, there's one on Ritsuka's costume in the opening of volume 5 chapter 7 and Both Seimei and Soubi mention birds.
A tagged teddy bear - The anime shows Nagisa as owning a lot of stuffed toys and the Zero pair have teddy bears
A razor
“Loveless” spelt out on blocks
Elephant toys - There's an toy elephant in one of Ritsuka's old photographs and Nana/Seven has an elephant shaped watering can.

Two other teachers have their ears in the staff room despite the claims that it’s unusual for Shinonome sensei to have hers.

Tokyopop blurb error: it says Ritsuka discovered a message indicating his brother was murdered however he already knew Seimei was murdered before he found his will.

Volume 3

Soubi’s hand is dripping blood in Ritsuka’s dream

Volume 4

Soubi knew what Ritsuka was thinking in the battle against the female Zero pair.

Soubi leaves his glasses on in the same fight.

In the opening to chapter 17 Soubi is holding a book that says "Kill."

Volume 7

Nagisa and Ritsu detect Nisei’s battle frequency

In the "Rock, paper scissors" extra story Yuiko’s seen reading Saiyuki!

Episodes 1 & 2

Mistakes: Loneliness is misspelt as Lonliness in the first line of Michiyuki, Ritsuka's name is misspelt as Rikka in the credits

Episodes 11 & 12

Ritsuka’s phone wallpaper is one of Soubi's butterfly paintings.

Characters

Ritsuka:

Ritsuka was born on December 21^st, when his older brother Seimei was aged five. Ten years later he lost all his memories between the 2^nd and 3^rd quarters of fourth grade. His personality changed from outgoing and of average interest in academics to much more reclusive and studious. From then to age twelve he was extremely close to Seimei whom he spent most of his time with, although he still had some other friends. Seimei also protected him from his mother’s attacks, advised him on various topics and accompanied him to his weekly therapy sessions.

After Seimei died he suddenly transferred school, lost touch with his friends and distanced himself from all other people. To him life became “A series of joyless chores” and he grew to be dismissive, apathetic and bitter, more aptly described by Yuiko as “Like an old man,” Later on in the story he becomes a lot less so and is revealed as a much friendlier, more caring person.

Ritsuka is extremely insecure about his identity, even Seimei couldn’t persuade him to think that not being his mother’s Ritsuka is his sin and after Seimei died, he worried continually that Seimei was still alive but not returning because of him.

As a result of this, he is confused when people say they like him and is torn by Soubi’s assertions of love. He also becomes visibly shaken when, while playing Wisdom Resurrection he is asked, “Are you really LOVELESS?” and when challenged by Soubi and Kio the two times he was on the verge on tears his reply is “Who? Who’s crying?!”

He is very resolute and independent, possessing strong opinions about being honest, pacifist and self-confident although this sometimes clashes with his other main desire, his desire to love something or someone absolutely. After his experiences, he is extremely focused on existence, memories and information.

Despite the fact that he claims he is just borrowing the body of the “other Ritsuka” his main fear is that no-one will care if he is gone and he tries to take photos so that there will always be proof of his existence and he won’t be forgotten. His other major fear is oblivion, manifested in both his photograph taking and his preoccupation with facts and reality.

His main focus after meeting Soubi is finding the truth behind Seimei’s death and seems to hold anyone who is knowledgeable in higher regard, he mentions that Seimei always told him things he didn’t know and had “Eyes that seemed to know everything” and one of his main blocks to trusting Soubi is the fact that Soubi isn’t upfront with him about what he knows.

He also mentions many times that there are too many things he doesn’t understand and states that this is “unacceptable” and he claims he is satisfied with his being with Soubi, Yuiko and Yayoi so long as it’s “real.” After the story progresses, due to the influence of Yuiko, he becomes less engrossed with facts and more trusting in his instincts and intuitions.

Quotes-

“Idiots are always so happy”

“I just can’t stand when people worry about me”

“I’m the only one who can become Ritsuka”

“I make my own choices”

“Don’t ask me, just know.”

“I hate people who get used by others”

“More than anything, I fear oblivion.”

“Who? Who’s crying?!”

“I don’t understand. He just speaks my name and tears come to my eyes.”

“I’m going to kill him.”

“I want to know the truth.”

“There are too many things that I don’t understand.”

“Not knowing things is unacceptable. I’m going to decide for myself.”

“The fact that they’re here with me now is real. And that’s enough.”

“Without Seimei, my situation hasn’t changed so I wonder why.”

“It’s not some noble justice. It’s a grudge. Anger at being left so alone.”

“Today you’re going to tell me everything.”

“It was fun when Seimei was around. I was never lonely. I didn’t hate anyone back then.”

“Seimei had a side that I had never seen. I never knew. But that doesn’t matter. That doesn’t hurt me.

Soubi:

One of the main points about Soubi’s character is probably his deep self loathing. He believes he is a very vacillating person and hates butterflies because they are so easily pinned down and made helpless like himself. He is also probably aware of how much of his personality is created by Ritsu and this may be more the reason for his self hatred.

For example, we see he has a habit of saying hurtful things, as does Ritsu and he is reliant on smoking while we see Ritsu seeming to be reliant on sleeping pills. Because of this and because of his rather unsettled past he may have resorted to “becoming a vessel for orders” by way of escapism, he also says in a monologue, “I really hate pain. I’d tear my own soul out if it meant I could stop pain.”

He is a direct contrast to Ritsuka in his desire to forget all his memories but like Ritsuka in his unwillingness to accept part of himself. Soubi’s personality was also directly affected by Seimei who caused him to become very small and unassuming so that he wouldn’t get “left behind.”

Although he doesn’t seem as dependent on facts as Ritsuka, they do seem somewhat significant to him as he uses the attack “Little brats with your little ears. I know things you don’t know” to finish Ai and Midori and after meeting Nisei he pleads with Ritsuka to run away saying, “Otherwise I don’t know what is going to happen.” Despite hating pain he also considers it proof of life and something important that separates him from the Zeros and is therefore unusually interested in the senses and painful ways of bonding with someone i.e. letting them scar you.

Quotes-

“He’s just a manipulator” (Said about Soubi by the Breathless pair.)

“Pain eh? A word I like”

“I like the face you make when you try to bear the pain. It’s almost alive… Almost...sexy.”

“Don’t touch me, you’ll get dirty.”

“I want to be governed. I don’t want to think anymore.”

I’m so weak.”

“Pain is proof that you are alive”

“There must be artistry in victory”

“Everything he says is a lie or a joke.” (Said about Soubi by Natsuo and Yoji.)

“Carried away like a pair of little birds.”

“Your mind is going blank. Feels good doesn’t it?”

“You refuse to lay blame on others. I like that kind of pride”

“When he hurts he paints what he likes to see.” (Said about Soubi by Kio.)

“I hurt badly with needles”

“Otherwise I don’t know what is going to happen.”

“Even though I only want to believe in Ritsuka.”

“I’d like to see him cry.” (about Ritsuka)

Yuiko:

Yuiko is an extremely kind, friendly girl in Ritsuka’s class who is devoted to befriending him from the moment she sees him. Ritsuka repels her initially, thinking she’s stupid after he sees her slightly ditzy personality and her “friends” taking advantage of her.

Despite this she continues her advances and he soon gives in, quickly becoming of aware of the more laudable aspects of her personality such as her perceptiveness and sensitivity. Yuiko soon becomes very attached to Ritsuka and tries to change herself to suit him. However she believes that since the day they met, she hasn’t gotten any closer to him.

Unlike Ritsuka, Yuiko is also extremely open and expressive of her emotions, though this seems to have rubbed off on Ritsuka, he becomes far more open and expressive himself since the days he first met Yuiko. In volume six, Ritsuka likens Yuiko to damaged flowers, possibly as despite her rebuttals and challenges, she continues to persevere and remain hopeful.

He then confesses about her being a source of hope for him claiming, “Even if I were to disappear, Yuiko…Yuiko might not forget about me. Even if there was no proof of my existence. No pictures of me. It might be okay.” Yuiko is relatively unperturbed by the relationship between Ritsuka and Soubi, in one of her first few meetings with Soubi she happily exclaims, “Wow, you’re going out with a college student Ritsuka-kun!” She and Soubi soon become friends, with Soubi treating her much like a younger sister.

Seimei:

To Ritsuka, Seimei was a kindly, gentle and knowledgeable older brother, to the players of Wisdom Resurrection he was an extremely helpful and friendly person, to Kio he was a “violent bastard” and to Soubi and his colleagues of Septimal Moon he was a domineering, obsessive-compulsive sociopath.

He has additionally been described as very polite and calm and always seems to be quite relaxed, seen in instances such as the reading of his will which begins with the greeting, “Yo!” and his responses to Nakahira’s assertions of dislike. The strongest statements made about Seimei are the ones about his more contemptible qualities however, with Yamato describing him as “a really nasty guy,” and Nakahira calling him dangerous.

Seimei is fixated on Ritsuka, believing the both of them to be the only actual people in the world, all other humans being the equivalent of animals. When Seimei was with Ritsuka after his memory loss, he was notably close to him, sharing a bed with him and holding his hand wherever they walked. He also deliberately isolated Ritsuka from his peers and Ritsuka was unnerved by his actions more than once.

Seimei seemed to treat Soubi as little more than an object, we see no conversations between him and Soubi in the flashbacks, only him giving orders and according to Kio, he also beat, cut and rebuked Soubi, then left him behind after he went into hiding, giving him prior instructions to go to Ritsuka and to love him when he died.

Exactly what crime Seimei had committed that caused the other members of Septimal Moon to unanimously agree to execute him is unknown as is the person whose body was found instead. After his alleged murder, he went into hiding in the house of a rich, elderly lady called Chaco and formed a pair with true fighter, Nisei.

During this time two members of Septimal Moon were investigating him; Seven, whose job it was to prove that he faked his death and Four, the member of Septimal Moon whom he’d been closest to and whose job it was to prove he had died. If he is found alive Four is also going to be the one charged with executing him.

Quotes-

“Enough taking. Go now Nisei."

“Ritsuka, it’s me.”

Yayoi:

Yayoi is another sixth-grader in a different class from Yuiko and Ritsuka and a friend of Yuiko. He is in love with her but was turned down when he asked her out, Yuiko using the excuse that she couldn’t date anyone shorter than her.

Although he sees Ritsuka as a sort of rival, having not yet given up on Yuiko and being aware of her and Ritsuka’s closeness, he tries to become friends and find out more about him. Yayoi is quite expressive personality-wise and suffers from some sort of asthma which prevents him from taking part in strenuous activities.

Kio:

Kio is Soubi’s best and only friend who attends the same art course as him. He often makes passes at Soubi, stating that he would be “a pretty fine catch” if it weren’t for his fixation with Ritsuka or “Lolita complex” as Kio puts it. Kio is quite easygoing especially around people but he has a tendency to get fraught whenever Soubi’s behind on his assignments or is spending a lot of time with Ritsuka as Kio has assumed the title of being “basically like his wife.”

He is also, like Ritsuka, a supporter of pacifism and self confidence and so hates Seimei for controlling and abusing Soubi. Kio also works part time as a nude model and his two most distinguishing characteristics are probably his love of chupa-chups lollipops and his fourteen ear piercings, seven on each ear.

Quotes-

“Look, Sou-chan if you’re into the kinky stuff… why can’t it be with me? I’ll brutalise you until you can’t stand anymore.”

“Sou-chan is an idiot”

Misaki Aoyagi:

Misaki is Ritsuka and Seimei’s mentally ill mother. She rarely leaves her bedroom and is sometimes forgets about Ritsuka’s personality change or Seimei’s death. At other times she becomes hysterical, shouting that Seimei is gone and can’t do anything and that the current Ritsuka is not her son. At times like these she can also be very abusive and violent toward Ritsuka and her husband, though Ritsuka is the one who experiences it the most.

In volume five Misaki’s inner dialogues finally show a bit of sanity as we see how she describes her two missing sons as all she has and how she battles with and regrets her attacks on Ritsuka. Ritsuka believes she is normally kind and not herself when she is in hysterics and so refuses to leave her when Soubi asks, saying she would be very lonely if he did. Misaki particularly cared for the Ritsuka of two years ago and says she loved him more than Seimei and her husband.

Hitomi Shinonome:

Hitomi is Ritsuka and Yuiko’s teacher. She still retains her ears at age twenty-three, a trait commented on by more than one character. Hitomi’s personality can come across as a bit childish or naïve since she is quite prone to emotional outbursts and she has a slightly idealised view of her role as a teacher.

She is also a bit timid and anxious, sometimes struggling to keep her class under control and being quite flustered around Soubi. Otherwise though, she is very caring and altruistic, having attempted several times to help Ritsuka yet always being thwarted someway or another.

Ms. Shinonome is somewhat attracted to Soubi, something he seems to have picked up on despite her lack of voicing her feelings and he has none too gently rejected her, saying outright that he doesn’t like older women, calling her a little girl and acting rather cruel to her after he rescues her from Natsuo and Yoji. Soubi’s dislike of Hitomi doesn’t seem to be an abhorrence toward her in general, more of a general contempt toward teachers and an acknowledgement that his and her values and views are completely different.

Their relationship is a lot like the early relationship of Yuiko and Ritsuka, even down to Hitomi lamenting the fact that she can’t get through to Soubi. Soubi finally changes his attitude toward her in volume six, telling her she is unique in respect to other teachers he has known and he could love her if she’s serious about helping Ritsuka.

Ritsuka's dad:

Ritsuka’s dad gets very little mention in the story, he only appears once in volume two and Ritsuka says he works late every night and is seldom at home. He only feebly attempts to prevent Misaki from hurting Ritsuka and seems to have mostly given up trying to fight her when she’s in one of her out of control moods.

Dr. Katsuko:

Dr. Katsuko is Ritsuka’s psychologist at the hospital, tasked with helping him regain his memories. She is markedly fond of Ritsuka, asking him out on a casual date after one of their sessions, telling him he’s “A very lovely child” and saying to one of her colleagues, “If I were twenty years younger I would have made a move on him.” Like Ms. Shinonome, Katsuko has expressed a desire to intervene in Ritsuka’s relationship with his mother but was held back by her colleague’s disapproval.

Most of Katsuko and Ritsuka’s sessions consist of her asking Ritsuka general questions about his wellbeing although hypnosis has been brought up on one occasion; it’s unclear whether it actually was performed however. Katsuko was last seen at the end of volume two in the manga, having just heard of a police visit regarding Ritsuka. In the anime she made appearances all until the last episode and was shown to be known to Kio as well.

Ritsu:

Ritsu is the principal of the Seven Voices Academy and a retired Sacrifice. He is particularly fond of Soubi to whom he gave special training to, the training being advice, brainwashing and constant whipping to get over any fear of pain. He seems to be physically attracted to Soubi as well and believes Soubi will always belong to him as when they meet again in volume seven, Ritsu remarks that Soubi is “so cute” and when given his earrings by Nagisa he says “Can I put it in my mouth?”

Ritsu also believes Soubi is an unbeatable Fighter and disregards any threats made by Nagisa. The one time the female Zeroes won he claimed it was an unfair match as Soubi didn’t have a Sacrifice. Ritsu has quite a cruel, emotionless demeanour, taking pleasure in teasing both Nagisa and Soubi and always acting indifferent to her and Seven. He is also noticeable for having an office full of pinned butterfly specimens in frames and for being an object of loathing for Soubi.

Quotes-

“There’s honour in the rules. There’s kindness”

Ritsu- “That vibrator’s too small.”

Soubi- “It’s not a vibrator, it’s a phone. Why don’t you answer it?”

Nagisa:

Nagisa is a childish, petulant young woman working in or around the Seven Moons Academy. She is the inventor of the Zeroes and views Ritsu as her rival. Despite her loud-voiced claims of dislike toward Ritsu, she is obviously in love with him, a fact poorly concealed by her behaviour.

This may be one of the reasons she hates Soubi and is desperate for her Zeroes to beat him in a battle. She unabashedly claims to hate all Sacrifices and reserves special fondness toward Koya and Yoji (despite his being a Sacrifice) for the reasons that Yoji looks a lot like her younger sister and Koya is her type, “Cute and gloomy” (Ritsuka is also of this type.)

She is unpleasant and negligent toward Yamato and Natsuo and also never told either Zero pair of the other’s existence. Seven is Nagisa’s only friend though it seems she had a sort of “Sibling affection” as Ritsu puts it, with Seimei. Nagisa also dresses childishly, often wearing frilly dresses and having her hair in pigtails.

Seven:

Seven is the seventh member of Septimal Moon and the one with whom Ritsuka most frequently interacts with on Wisdom Resurrection. She works part time creating the security for the academy and is charged with the task of proving that Seimei faked his death and so tries to use Ritsuka for information and to draw Seimei out at one stage.

She appears to live a very “otaku” lifestyle, having an office filled with posters and figurines, subsisting on a diet of junk food and rarely leaving her computer. Seven has no other friends other than Nagisa whom she is quite calm compared to and she has a semi-friendly relationship with Ritsu.

Seven claims to be “no good at fighting” but says to Nagisa in volume seven that she was able to feel what Seimei was thinking every once in a while. She appears in the last episode of the anime on Wisdom Resurrection in an angel costume but she is seen only briefly and her name in the credits is “Megami.”

Quote-

“My body type doesn’t get fat. I wouldn’t mind bigger boobs though.”

Septimal Moon:

Septimal Moon is the mysterious organisation that Seimei was a member of. It is somehow affiliated with the Seven Voices Academy, which one has to pass through in order to reach it. There are seven members with only three having been mentioned so far and it seems the members refer to each other by their number in the group e.g. Seven and Four. Septimal Moon members appear to communicate via the MMORPG Wisdom Resurrection which they are able to control and through a message board called “Love Attack BBS.”

Nisei:

Nisei is Seimei’s current Fighter and the true Beloved Fighter. He seems slightly psychopathic, sadistic and cunning like Seimei, claiming to not understand love and to feel sick at the concept of it, taking great pleasure in hurting Soubi and Ritsuka and yet being extremely polite and friendly toward Mimuro.

He is also a lot more playful and excitable than Seimei, making light of most situations and getting worked up at the thought of causing pain or fighting. Seimei treats Nisei better than Soubi but still expects absolute compliance and threatens to abandon him if he becomes annoying. Soubi utterly loathes Nisei, even saying “There’s an evil smell here” upon discovering his hiding place and promising to kill him soon after they meet.

Quote-

“I kind of hate kids who take whatever gets dished out though.”

Other pairs:

Yamato & Koya (Zero):

The first Zero pair created. Koya was raised by foster parents but little is known of Yamato’s childhood. She and Koya first met when they were both in sixth grade and their names appeared soon after. They currently attend different high schools and keep their relationship secret. Yamato is outgoing and cheerful but also calm while Koya is quieter and gloomier with a greater propensity for erupting with emotion.

Both girls are extremely attached to each other and desert Nagisa after they lose to Soubi in order to stay together. Around the time they met Soubi, Yamato’s name and invulnerability to pain had begun fading for an unknown reason and both disappeared altogether in this last fight. Due to this, Koya forsakes her name as well and both girls decide to begin a new life as “Just plain, ordinary Yamato and plain, ordinary Koya.”

Midori & Ai (Breathless):

Midori and Ai were the first pair sent by Ritsu to retrieve Ritsuka. Both are in sixth grade and are relatively unskilled as a pair since they weren’t expected to have to fight. Ai is the Fighter and the more temperamental of the two and Midori is the Sacrifice and the one who does most of the talking.

Both are very principled in regard to the rules of Fighters and Sacrifices and volunteer to re-attack Soubi and Ritsuka after their first attempt fails since they believe what Soubi is doing to be unforgivable. They both seem to have become friendlier when they meet once again in volume seven, with Ai apologising to Soubi about not realising that his bond was broken.

Natsuo & Yoji (Zero):

The second Zero pair, both around Ritsuka’s age and both quite strong as a Fighter and Sacrifice. In their initial appearances, they seem a lot like Nisei: cruel, remorseless and sadistic yet childishly playful, excitable and smug.

As with Ritsuka, Yoji breaks the mould of being the calm Sacrifice and is actually more spirited than Natsuo.He is also less quick to accept their predicament as he is quite attached to Nagisa despite acknowledging that she neglects them both. After staying with Soubi a while, Natsuo and Yoji become a lot more pleasant and more accustomed to the life than they’d expect.

As well as them both taking an interest in Wisdom Resurrection and the case of Seimei, Natsuo takes a particular liking to Ritsuka whom he finds especially cute. Both Natsuo and Yoji are quite isolated, being pretty lacking in social skills and slow to accept the help or intervention of others but are very close to one another. As of volume seven, they have joined Ritsu’s Academy on the orders of Nagisa and are focused on protecting Nagisa during Nisei and Seimei’s break-in.

Quote-

“I like cutting things up.” -Natsuo

Mimuro & Mei (Fearless):

Mei and Mimuro are the pair sent by Nisei to distract Soubi and Ritsuka in volume five when Nisei goes to talk to Misaki. They, as Nisei puts it, “Don’t belong to anybody,” and it appears Nisei is their only teacher as he is seen asking Mei to review a lesson in volume five.

Mimuro is about eighteen and goes to the same school as Nisei where they are both members of a certain club. He is the Sacrifice of the pair and comes across as rather easygoing but is irritated by Soubi’s all-knowing manner. Although he is very courteous and friendly to Nisei, he describes him as “very nasty” for being able to exploit his weakness to politely-phrased requests and he claims to have not yet worked out his other feelings toward Nisei, the only sure thing so far is that he thinks him to be attractive.

Mei is the Fighter, around Ritsuka’s age. She is unsatisfied with the casual relationship she has with Mimuro as she has a crush on him and she hates Nisei, claiming him to be creepy. Although she wants to be closer to Mimuro, she has a hard time trying to, at one stage inwardly cursing Mimuro for not picking up that Nisei can easily and politely request things of him because he doesn’t think anything about him while she is the opposite.

Because of her uneasiness over their relationship, Mei and Mimuro are not yet properly bonded and she doesn’t obey his commands in battle. Mei is also quite volatile and impetuous and fears that Mimuro is gay, therefore she attempts to dress as a boy to gain his liking. Soubi says during their fight that she may have potential to be a good Fighter as she does most of her attacks by instinct despite not having an adequate vocabulary, Mei and Mimuro have not been seen since the end of volume five after their fight with Soubi.

Kinka & Ginka (Sleepless):

Kinka and Ginka were the second pair sent by Ritsu for Ritsuka. They weren’t expected to win in a battle but were to deliver a message from Seven. Kinka is the Fighter and Ginka is the Sacrifice and they both appear to be in their late teens. Both are relatively confident and Kinka is the more irritable, again following the pattern of emotional Fighters and level-headed Sacrifices. Their names are derived from the words “kin” and “gin” meaning “gold” and “silver.” After their fight, Kinka and Ginka encountered the male Zeroes and have not been seen since then.

Fighting

Fighters initially detect one another through sending out a type of wave which has a frequency characteristic to each fighter and those with a stronger signal and a larger area of interference seem to belong to the more powerful fighters. When the waves of two fighters collide they are alerted to each other’s presence and both experience a ringing noise in their ears.

The waves only extend to a certain radius around the fighter and it possible to create a barrier which prevents the waves from colliding thus hiding the presence of one fighter from another. Fighter/Sacrifice pairs can call out to and communicate with each other silently and a Sacrifice is always aware of their Fighter entering a battle so fights with one pair and one Fighter, while possible, are rare.

One party then has to declare battle and the other must accept before the battle is to begin. Before or after this, Fighters activate their “sentou systems” which seems to bring about a change in the surrounding environment, with the colours and lighting seeming to alter, and which enables the battle to take place. Outside of battle the sentou system may also be activated, Nisei turns it on before talking to Misaki.

The sentou system may make it possible somehow for the attacker to manipulate the other's mind as, with it activated, Nisei is able to make Misaki believe he's Seimei, claiming beforehand, "The human brain allows us to see what it wants us to see, hear what it wants us to hear and in the volume 7 fight against Ritsuka he claims he, "Only let Ritsuka hear what he most feared" in his attack and, since it was a battle, we know he had the sentou system on.

During battle Fighters may attack the Sacrifices with spells which bring about lasting physical damage or those which accumulate as restraints. Restraints are different for each fighter, Soubi and Koya both have bandage restraints while Nisei’s appear to be black shrouds but the most common type seems to be a chain. Fighters also have the option of using spells to attack the opponent’s psyche or attacking the opponent emotionally, entering their mind and restraining them without speaking but it requires the Fighter to be more familiar with or better able to read an opponent and there are ways to prevent it.

Fighters can get restricted as well as Sacrifices but it may be due to a pair not being properly linked or otherwise. Fights can end in a number of ways, the most common being when one pair’s Sacrifice is completely restrained but they can also end with one pair being banished, one pair(only the acceptors of the battle) retreating, one pair forfeiting or one pair simply accepting defeat. Forfeiting a battle is the most uncommon way as it also means never again engaging in a fight. Once the battle is ended, all restraints disappear though the participators may be rendered weak or unconscious.

Questions

Does having a dog tail or a cat tail say something about your personality? Just to sum up who has which: Ritsuka- cat tail, Yoji- cat tail, Midori- cat tail, pretty much everyone else- dog tail.
What’s with volume 1 chapter 4’s opening? “Ritsuka. Soubi + Seimei Loveless…No_00” Who’s speaking?
And who’s speaking in volume 2 chapter 4’s opening? It sounds like Ritsuka but then its like, “Don’t cry like that” and that confuzzled me since Soubi doesn’t cry so it couldn’t be Ritsuka addressing Soubi.
What do you reckon the police said to Katsuko in volume 2?
How did Soubi know Ritsuka understood the note in volume 3 when he rings him up when Ritsuka’s playing Wisdom Ressurrection? And why is the phone call then shown in three perspectives? Plus why does Soubi say “Time?” at the end?
Why are there flowers in the panels when Yoji drinks the milk Soubi gives him in volume 3?
What’s with Volume four’s opening, “The time for games is over”?
What’s the kanji character on Soubi’s face on the volume 4 chapter 19 opening?
Why volume names? Sacrifice, Birth, etc.
What is meantby the words, "Since Ritsuka won't answer the phone...," "Since I couldn't see Ritsuka-kun..." when Soubi meets Yuiko in volume 6?
Why is Ritsuka’s name is scribbled out in volume 6 when Misaki is thinking of what Nisei said while she’s in the supermarket?
“ What did Soubi mean when he told the female Zero pair, "Your feelings are delusions” in volume 5?
Why do all the painless fighters and sacrifices end up named Zero?