Ai No Kusabi: The Space Between

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.

When I first encountered Ai no Kusabi I watched the old version on Youtube. While I'm usually into this kind of yaoi story line everything was such a disappointmen. The animation stunk and the storyline jumped around so much it wasn't understandable. I might have bought the manga sooner if the first anime was a good as this one. The art is lovely and unlike the old one, the "capabilities of the body" are realistic. In the old one there was the occasional limb bent to unrealistic extreems occasionally. In this version the story makes sense. The Flashbacks are well defined unlike the first version where they were so mixed in you couldn't tell what the present was.

This sensual Yaoi anime release follows the science fiction story of a world called Amoi, in which society is striated by hair color, and rules are enforced by an overlord computer. Though blonde people are at the top of Amoi's caste system, they are forbidden from participating in sexually indulgent activities, so when in the pleasure city of Midas, they keep "pet" adolescent boys for voyeuristic purposes. Usually, the boys are discarded after a year, but soon it becomes apparent that such rigid rules can't contain human nature forever. It's missing an ENDING.....I wish that the other books would be released in a continuation of the DVD series.

Great story. Sad you'll have to see it in a different format to finish the ending of the story. Only first chapter of the story. I had to buy this on blu-ray for a higher price because the dvd wouldn't work.

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 fan of SS can tell you how long the gap between the original series and the Hades Arc OVAs took. They now consistently get Saint Seiya series the last few years.) The second reason is because the animation is not only gorgeous but this follows the novel's story much closer than the 2 old 1990s OVAs. Sure there are some differences like the previous old OVAs such as Riki's eyes being brown rather than black, but this adaptation fleshes out the depth of each character so much more than the old OVA. We also get to see peeks of the day to day lives of the Bison gang members and understand characters like Guy and Kirie a little better as people. They are fully rounded people as anyone who read the novels know. Now we can see it in motion. We also see more of the serious side of Iason before he was overwhelmed by his feeling for Riki. This OVA only covers to the end of the 2nd novel but it's a great credit to the story. Sorry, no explicit sex. It's censored much like the first OVAs leaving much to the viewer's imagination. We do get to see Riki's early Pet training in nearly graphic detail by Iason and Daryl the Furniture's role in that. An important character for Riki that barely made an appearance in the old OVA. All in all, I highly recommend this DVD for any yaoi fans. It's just a great introduction to the story of "Ai No Kusabi" for new fans that are just starting on the series or for fans that have yet to read the books. I did notice that the actual DVD cover is different than the one pictured here on Amazon. My only gripe is that this wasn't a Blu-Ray/DVD combo pack because I'd sure would love to see the beautiful Tanagura and Amoi landscapes in high definition! Sadly no Blu-Ray edition. Who knows? Maybe if this sells well, MB and most hopefully AIC may give us more and actually conclude this dark yet amazing story.

I wasn't sure I'd like this newer version of an old favorite but eh moment I saw the main characters I was hooked. The style is beautiful, and the characters are much more dynamic than they are in the previous one. The story they're trying to go with is much more interesting, and I hope they continue to make this series. As of some time last year this was the only DVD out. It only has a small handful of episodes and it leaves a girl hanging, but even if they do not continue this it is still worth buying.

I've watched Ai no Kusabi online but this version was way different. Is this a remake in a different way of some sort? It wasn't sad like the other I've watched a year ago. It was actually boring if I should say. Still I'm a fan.

せっかく楽しみにしていたのに、何も映りません。どうゆう事ですか？説明して下さい！

Bon article

Unfortunately this old and well loved series will never be completed and the video only gives you a minute insight into the complex mechanisation of this series and leaves you gasping for the more which will sadly never come. However on Utube there are many clips which will take you further and maybe answer some of your many questions.

It was very good. But should indicate, not complete movie. Should change image of DVD cover to the you sell.