Ai No Kusabi: The Space Between

This is excellent, but not the full story
I agree with the other favorable reviews. This was extremely well done, very faithful to the books, the art was excellent. I love yaoi & I love this story, these characters, the emotional & psychological interplay, especially between Riki & Iason of course, but also among the others. But somehow I didn't realize it was only the first part of the story when I ordered. I still would have ordered it, but maybe waited to watch until I was able to order the next part. Or not;-) Oh well, I will just watch the 1st part again when & if the 2nd part is released. Unfortunately it's not yet available & understand there are financing problems with producing it. I guess the more of us buy this part, the more they will be able to afford to complete it. Even if, worse case scenario, the 2nd part is never made it's worth it to see this one - it's that good.

Great introduction to the world of Ai No Kusabi
Let me start this review by saying you should buy this DVD if you are a fan of the "Ai No Kusabi" novels. You should also buy it if you are a new fan just starting out. I have two reasons;

The first is for fans to simply support the official release. This OAV set is actually incomplete as AIC hasn't actually set a any date to continue this series because they lack the funds. One of the best ways to help them along is to buy this release so Media Blasters and AIC work to continue and finish this fantastic story. I'm aware that this is available online and for some scenes, I prefer the fansub translation over the official release. However, this is the official release and Media Blasters has expressed and shown interest in licensing BL titles to our domestic market. We as the fans who want this niche market to be easier to access should support them in any way we can. (If anybody doubts that this series has a possibility to continue, just look at the Saint Seiya series. Any...

Prefer the original OVA
First, the animation is pretty damn amazing in the OVA, and the character designs are beautiful. I haven't read the books, but I'm aware that this does follow the first parts of them pretty closely. However, I have to say that I still prefer the old OVAs instead of this one. For one, they cover more of the story (maybe this one will eventually, but it doesn't look likely so far), and two, I enjoy the dynamic between Riki and Iason better in the original. In that version, it feels as if Iason and Riki are victims of circumstance- that their relationship is warped and conflicted and yet there *is* a connection there. Sadly, it's one that never should have been and can never be expressed in a genuine way because of the world they live in and who they are. In this new OVA, the relationship between them seems to be far more one of an obsessive megalomaniac and his dog. Whereas in the original I felt there were glimpses of inner conflict within both RIki and Iason because of a connection...

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