Introduction
On the planet Amoi, a person's status is primarily dictated by the color of their hair. This society is run by the AI supercomputer known as Jupiter and its governing board of perfect blondes, referred to as Blondies, living in the capital city of Tanagura. However, the darker-haired humans live out their lives in the golden "pleasure city" of Midas and its outlying slum Ceres. They are known as "mongrels," and most cannot progress out of the slums.
Three years ago, a boy named Riki disappeared from the slums of Ceres. Once the revered leader of the gang Bison, a sudden encounter with an elite Blondie, Iason Mink, forced Riki to abandon everything he had cultivated. The boy was snatched from his home and forced to become Iason's pet. Riki has spent the past three years enduring numerous blows to his pride, his time in Tanagura nothing but a form of torture.
Now that Riki has returned, Bison once again rallies behind him. The risk he finds himself in, however, is much greater than ever before—there is always someone ready to sell him out.
[Written by MAL Rewrite]
Audience reviews
11 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
MickeyMinaj
Timeless & ahead of it's time. It's been more than 30 years since this came out (1992), and no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't force myself to like the 2012 version over this timeless piece of work. You know the shows that don't let the animation alter your thoughts on the plot, characters, acting, and an overall vibe. Ai no Kusabi is exactly that.
Finding solace the non-conventional way, with two men from extreme opposite ends of the society and the journey to feel accepted and sacrifices made to make that happen. It encounters multiple societal issues that we are STILL facing today, racism, colorism, slavery, financial and authority level based on your birth and the fight to be freed from it all.
If you're into BL, this is highly recommended. I keep coming back to watch this…
Read at the sourceSagaiko
It tries to be all deep and meaningful, but it kinda trips over its own feet? The story, with its dystopian backdrop and themes about class differences and relationships, can feel like it's trying too hard. It's got this heavy, dramatic vibe that might be a bit much for some.
Now, where it scores some points is in the looks department. The characters have this cool, distinct design. Buuuut the characters, despite looking cool, sometimes feel a bit cardboard. The focus on their appearances kinda takes away from giving them more depth. And the relationships? Well, they can feel a bit forced, like the story's pushing them rather than letting them naturally unfold.
In the visuals department, this anime is doing its thing, but the storytelling could use a bit more "flavor"
Read at the sourcemataniuschrader
WOW!! Such an awesome story filled with intensity, longing, love, obsession, possession, care, jealousy, and more! This ‘92 version expands upon the story of Iason, Riki, Kitze, Guy, & Raoul compared to the 2012 version and it ends the story unlike the 2012 version too.
I watched both (the 2012 first then this one) and I was super happy that I watched this one second because I got an ending, more story, and greater love scenes. If I were to have watched the 2012 second, I would have been disappointed and left on a sour note because they focused so much on the past that we barely saw anything in the present storyline and future events that would have happened (as depicted in this ‘92 version).
I liked the look of the characters in both ‘92 & 2012 versions but overall I’d pick this ‘92 ve…
Read at the sourceGsarthotegga
I actually watched this one blind, so I had no idea what I was getting into here or that it was a yaoi, which is definitely not something that appeals to me. With that said, I think people who aren't into yaoi would probably be able to appreciate this more than most other titles in the genre, especially those who have a taste for sci-fi and cyberpunk; it helps that the animation is often decent, and the early '90s OVA art is solid. Whatever sexual elements there are tend to be delivered quickly and it's all plot-driven. Unfortunately, to appreciate this to the fullest extent, you'll probably have to be into yaoi, or I suspect your appraisal will be low to middling unless you really adore the setting and themes and like obscure 1990s OVAs. While this isn't without artistic merit, it's still…
Read at the sourceRauLeCreuset
This anime was something else, I actually just discovered "yaoi" anime and this is in fact the second anime that I have seen that has to do with that term. This anime which was an ova ended up being pretty well balanced in the terms of drama, romance, and a bit of action within it. Although, I discovered the 2012 remake of this anime first, I found this one as well. And decided to watch the original anime first. Plus, I like the art style of the 1990s and early 2000s much better then today's anime especially that cel shaded crap. I really don't like that at all, but to each their own I suppose. I am looking forward to watching the remake. Although I am curious to know why they decided to make a remake of an anime in the first place. I enjoyed it. And I never heard of an anime being redone…
Read at the sourcepomegranit
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 wa…
Read at the sourceKissingBunny
Let me first say that I am not at all sobbing my eyes out right now, nope not at all.
Secondly let me say that I originally watched Ai No Kusabi 2012 back in 2014 and thought it was amazing, though slightly confusing as I had no idea where in the time line things were happening and a lot of the back story was lost.
This version of Ai No Kusabi is definitely worth the watch. First looking at it I'm sure you'll think "oh yeah a yaoi and its BDSM, yum." And to be honest thats exactly what I thought when I first watched it. But this is the saddest and most painfully beautiful love story.
I'm not a huge fan of older anime usually due mostly to the animation and old style of the art, but in this I could look past that all. The soundtrack, pulled on my heart strings so hard, just hearing the s…
Read at the sourceNalarueAni
I never expected to find myself watching a yaoi like this one. Ai no Kusabi is about a separation of classes based on hair color. The blondes are in the highest class while the brunettes/black-haired are in the lowest class. The messed up society consists of "pet" auctioning which is the same as human trafficking. Blondies - so they're called - can own a "pet" which they claim by placing a "pet ring" on them. With the pets the Blondies are free to do whatever they want with them.
The entire plot of this anime is disgusting... and yet I enjoyed it. While the show was pretty much about a sex slave, there wasn't THAT much sex in it. The show focused more on the plot rather than sex and I think that made the show a whole lot better.
What I wasn't expecting was the ending, oh god that endin…
Read at the sourceeriksigal
This anime so far regarded as the best yaoi anime, i have other opinion - i don`t like unequal relationship, no matter if it is heterosexual or homosexual - i prefer more light-hearted things like Krepapa, or papa to kiss in the dark, but comparing to real crap like sensitive pornograph(not offence to the ones who like it, i just mean it is not to my personal liking) it is very good, there was done great job in creating sci-fi world, also, ending is great, the only minus for me is relationship master-slave, but it is subjective minus. Also would be better if relationships of other characters will be shown, cause Iason and Riki - according to novelle - wasn`t the only homosexual pair there, and Kirie in novelle was showed more than just stupid brat like it was in anime, in novelle he is cle…
Read at the sourcescareletdragon_
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 th…
Read at the sourcebluebrainfreezy
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…
Read at the source