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LOVELESS #5

Loveless, Volume 05

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When 12-year-old Ritsuka discovers a message from his brother Seimei that he was murdered, Ritsuka joins forces with Soubi to find Seimei's killer and uncover the truth.

191 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2005

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641 people want to read

About the author

Yun Kouga

128 books213 followers

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5 stars
1,375 (49%)
4 stars
715 (25%)
3 stars
489 (17%)
2 stars
119 (4%)
1 star
65 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
Profile Image for Roxana Chirilă.
1,257 reviews176 followers
March 9, 2017
I still have some trouble telling characters apart sometimes. And the story still feels very random - but that's what drew me to the series in the first place: that it's a random, insane, disturbing thing. With kids!

Interestingly enough, the plot moves forward a bit and some of Seimei's insane machinations are starting to show up, messing with Ritsuka's mother's already messed up brain.
Profile Image for Zibbernaut.
356 reviews5 followers
February 25, 2020
I'm not sure I read this when I was younger. I remember some of it but mostly not... at the very least I didn't own this one so I didn't reread it like the others which I assume is why I don't remember much. But honestly I really don't know if I read it before.

The child that was introduced I really didn't care for and I hope it doesn't show up again later BUT besides that I think this installment was really good. We furthered the plot, learned more backstory, and twists were revealed. Very juicy indeed.
Profile Image for Amanda Hudgins.
393 reviews15 followers
August 11, 2020
TW: child abuse, nonconsensual kissing (underage)

This volume of Loveless is more focused on the child abuse angle of Loveless, which is decidedly a stronger angle than you'd expect of a series that seems to be on the surface to be about child soldiers fighting into psuedo-arenas through poetry (or whatever it is that they're doing).

The kissing in this volume isn't between Soubi and Ritsuka (the adult and his child Sacrifice) but instead between two more age appropriate figures, but it's definitely done without the consent of one of the parties. There's very little in this series that has to do with legitimate affection that isn't somehow colored with consent issues or coercion.

The art and worldbuilding continues to prevail.
Profile Image for Sparrow.
2,283 reviews40 followers
January 17, 2016
The plot thickens.

This volume was just as good as the last one, if not better. I love the finality between Ritsuka and Soubi - he trusts him completely, despite new evidence from Septimal Moon. I also love the entrance of Nisei - he feels like an opposite to Soubi and Seimei, a wonderful juxtaposition. If anything, this volume succeeds in creating so many more questions...
Profile Image for Fatemeh.
377 reviews63 followers
January 10, 2019
I really don't care enough for this manga to continue reading it, but I'm also so very curious to know what happens. What is this dual feeling?
Profile Image for Kathy Wallen.
126 reviews2 followers
August 11, 2025
August 11, 2025

It's the least bad so far, but it's still awful. The artist appears to be allergic to making unique characters because I still can't tell any of them apart.

The plot can't decide whether Seimei is alive or not because he's dead—no, his apparent killers think he isn't—no, Soubi says he is—no, Seimei calls and comes home—wait, he drugs his mother and then calls other people and it might have been a different person pretending to be Seimei. The constant flip-flopping isn't intriguing; it's aggravating.

Yoji drops an F-bomb out of absolutely nowhere, which felt very out-of-place considering that this story's protagonist is a young child, and also kisses Ritsuka on the lips and moves in a suspicious manner to take off his jacket. I have no idea why that's in the story or what purpose it serves at all.

Also, this one random chick says something with which I agree wholeheartedly:
I hate everything about Soubi!! I hate his big face and his stupid voice and just hearing his name makes me want to punch something!!
Best character in the book. Fight me.
Profile Image for Angela Kocheshkova.
360 reviews29 followers
April 8, 2020
i feel like smth bad is about to happen very soon and I just... i don't want Ritska to suffer anymore
also, Sobi, can you fucking made up your mind already! (meaning, forget about Seimei and be on Ritska's side wholeheartedly)

yes, I do know it's just wishful thinking on my part, at least at this point in the story
Profile Image for Sana Burton.
Author 4 books9 followers
October 22, 2020
This is, I think, the volume where Loveless' plot starts to actually come together, and you realise that it isn't actually the murder mystery it was presented as.

Something that I have consistently forgotten in my memory of this series is how utterly fucked up Natsuo and Youji are. Someone get those boys some therapy.
Profile Image for Katie Sapphire-Star.
115 reviews1 follower
October 23, 2024
Some slight explanations but still more questions than answers. I love the art style but some of the characters seem inconsistent which adds to the confusion when there's so many constantly being introduced.
At the end of this manga it mentions there's an anime version. I may try that to see if it's less confusing.
Profile Image for may.
269 reviews
November 21, 2024
“Scream with pleasure every night” hahahaha I love Soubi / Knew that bad boy was maybe still alive… sometimes I think not even Soubi knew him, maybe no one / Ritsuka is too good, srly / the birthday story was cute
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Mosley.
1,451 reviews2 followers
June 29, 2022
I wanted to say that the story was getting better because the plot was moving along but then it just kind of got creepier and I'm still not feeling it.
Profile Image for Gore.
243 reviews3 followers
January 12, 2024
I'm thrilled the plot seems to be moving forward!
Profile Image for Rosa Posa.
50 reviews
May 20, 2024
This volume was a bit more jumbled in the storytelling sense, but the thrilling aspect was enjoyable and so was the character development! Cant wait for the next few volumes !!
Profile Image for Hannah.
5 reviews
August 22, 2019
One of the finest novels in the English language, but unputdownable.
Profile Image for Luru.
177 reviews4 followers
June 24, 2022
2.5 stars.

The story is proceeding, but there are still problems:

All characters are underdeveloped even at this point, and their actions seem irrational, like they're truly messed up in the head (and many of them are, for sure). Part of this is Japanese psychology, of course, but the rest is just hasty writing without focusing on smaller details that might bring some balance into the chaos the volumes are suffering from. This makes everyone seem more or less annoying.

It's an okay read, but nothing I can say I'm truly enjoying, or would read again.
Profile Image for T..
Author 2 books27 followers
December 21, 2012
Kouga's talent knows no bounds. She always keeps her mind on progression of the storyline without ever once sacrificing character depth and conflict, as well as subplots and illustrations. I can sense a minor shift in style in this volume along with a glance into some new characters' lives as well as a token glimpse into the most conflicted character of all's head, Ritsuka's mother. As always, spellbinding and awing.
Profile Image for Jordan.
379 reviews44 followers
May 12, 2017
Oh goodness... it's been a while. I owned this series in middle school and read them over and over again so much the binding nearly desintigrated. I scraped and saved every penny to buy a new volume. Might be time for a reread soon, for nostalgia's sake.
Profile Image for Alice.
603 reviews24 followers
February 26, 2020
I read the first 5 volumes back when this came out. If memory serves, the storyline was an interesting one, at least I really liked it. With manga, you really have to suspend your belief when it comes to some of the content, such as age difference.
Profile Image for Melissa Kidd.
1,308 reviews35 followers
August 10, 2022
The plot is thickening, and the artwork is still slightly above average. I'm still not hooked though. Interested enough to most likely continue reading (I'm half way done anyways) but the rating may not go up. But you never know. Maybe when a new arc starts it will be better than this arc.
Profile Image for Kate.
Author 15 books899 followers
October 9, 2007
Got it in the mail and finished it the same day... I'm very interested to know what happens next!
Profile Image for Holly Clark.
16 reviews
Read
September 28, 2007
this book has awesome art in some places and it an be funny in the whole book if you think with a careless mind.
Profile Image for Shannon (Twilight Sleep).
331 reviews51 followers
May 7, 2009
Bah. Despite the hype surrounding this manga/anime, I had a really hard time getting into it. It didn't hold my attention at all.
Profile Image for Madeeha (D-ha).
31 reviews14 followers
December 9, 2011
I love the art. I admire Yun Kouga. Anyone who loves manga like me should definitely read this book.
Profile Image for Yue.
2,499 reviews30 followers
November 6, 2015
Seimei is a jerk! He finally has a scene. And I cannot like Soubi... he hides too much. Is he a traitor or not? And Ritsuka trusting him... so naiive...
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews

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