Plot Details: This opinion reveals minor details about the movie's plot.
Kizuna (1994) by Kodaka Kazuma
This anime is adapted from the classic YaoiKizuna by Kodaka Kazuma. As a warning Yaoi is a type of manga featuring romances between men. They range from very sweet and innocent (Shonen-ia) to quite racy and explicit.
These graphic novels are designed by Japanese women for Japanese women. The sensibilities are Japanese and exotic, and the art is manga inspired enough to seem fresh, without being cartoony. The story is simple, Samejima Ranmaru is a world class Kendo champion (Japanese Sword Martial Art) when he foils a hit and run assassination attempt against his boyfriend, Kei Enyoji. His competition days are over.
This story is set in the days when Ran is more or less healed, but uncertain about how Enyoji will react. He is a bit hesitant, a bit angsty, a very typical yaoi hero in the Uke mold. (Uke is the term for the more passive partner, the receiver. The Dominant partner is the Seme. American terms Catcher and Pitcher are about right.) The difference here is Ranmaru is a fighter at heart; he is just temporarily off his game.
Enyoji, who is the son of a powerful Yakuza (Japanese Mafia) boss couldn’t care less. He loves Ran, and that is all there is to it. The conflict emerges when Ranmaru is invited out for a drink by his professor. He doesn’t drink, but the professor is insistent, saying he knows a good place, but doesn’t want to go alone. Reluctantly, Ran agrees.
What they end up in is a Host Club (the pretty boys are professionals…not quite hookers, but things can be arranged. Think geisha with out the art, combined with a prostitute.) So Ran is very uncomfortable, and orders a tea. But when the professor puts the moves on him, he has had enough, and gets up to leave, only to discover he has been drugged! (Rufi oolong…)
However, he is saved from a fate worse than death by the timely intervention of one of the waiters, Sagano Kai. Kai was in Kendo too, but dropped out about the same time as Ranmaru’s accident, even though he had earned a berth in the nationals.
Now we learn that Kai only took Kendo to get close to Ranmaru, and his crush has bloomed into full blown obsession!
Here is where it gets soap opera….Kai is Kei’s half brother. Kei Enyoji is the son of the Yakuza by his mistress. A few years younger, Kai is the son of the Yakuza and his wife. Enyoji’s life has been more or less normal, he and his mother had a house, and saw Poppa every once in a while. Kai was raised in the house, more by the hired assassins than by his father, and had the full stigma of being attached to organized crime. Further, his parents’ marriage was loveless, and he blames Enyoji’s mother. By extension, he hates his half brother. So it really is a quite tangled mess with obsessive lovers, vengeful professors, and Ranmaru wandering somewhat obliviously through the middle of it all.
While not graphic, there is no doubt that the lovers occasionally are in the sack together, so, not suitable for the kiddies. The art of the piece is really phenomenal, closely matching the exquisite Yaoi from which it was drawn. The animation is smooth, and excellent with the colours and shading really enriching the overall viewing experience. Even the music is excellent, making this, start to finish, an excellent experience.
The version I have is in Japanese, with subtitles, though a dubbed copy does exist. The whole thing runs about thirty minutes, but continues in Kizuna Volume 2.
This anime has it all, romance, adventure, danger, and steamy sex. What more could one ask for?
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