"No matter what happens, you still get sleepy, and you still get hungry, and the sun still rises."
Semei and
Ritsuka and
Soubi reunite in Loveless Vol. 8. Like most everything in Loveless, it's not a happy occasion.
As readers we've spent a number of volumes believing along with
Ritsuka and
Soubi that
Semei was dead. From
Ritsuka's perspective, we also believed that, when alive, he was essentially a good person,
Ritsuka's savior in times of abuse and neglect. If we only watched the
anime, this image of
Semei essentially never changed. But, the
story arc of the anime ends around the time Vol. 6 of the
manga does, and what we find is a whole other
villainous and possibly mentally ill
Semei lurking just beyond the credits, a cunning sadist who finds self-satisfaction in torturing the ones who are closest to him.
What we get in Vol. 8 is a better understanding of the relationships of all of the players involved. We get a lot of back story and learn more about
Soubi's relationships with
Minami Sensei and
Semei and
Kio. We learn more about
Nigisa and her relationship to
Minami Sensei and Zero as well.
It's implied that
Minami Sensei was the one who "took Soubi's ears" at an abnormally young age, though not shown outright. Whether this was
consensual or not, we don't know, but we do know that
Minami Sensei was in love or hate with
Soubi's mother. We know that he could not stand to look at
Soubi, and he could not stand to look away. "I brought you here to be my slave," he tells Soubi, but in truth, he has simply taught Soubi to be "a" slave. Soubi does not even have the personal power to call some one or some thing his own. We know that
Minami Sensei is a Sacrifice and that his Fighter Unit died, that he could have had
Soubi for his own, because
Soubi was born nameless, but instead he chose to "give"
Soubi to
Semei, who proceeded to abuse him, first by carving his name "Beloved" into
Soubi's neck.
We learn that
Soubi, as physically powerful as he is, is only a secondary fighter unit...whether it's true or not, his self-esteem and sense of personal autonomy have been worn down to nothing by
Semei and by
Minami Sensei (and has only recently begun to heal through his
exposer to
Ritsuka). He has been abandoned and abused and shaped into someone
else's image his entire life. It seems only
Ritsuka is able to treat Soubi like an individual person.
Well,
Ritsuka AND
Kio, his best friend -- a real friend -- a person who seems to be only a minor distraction, but we're learning about the strong bond he shares with
Soubi more and more.
But,
Soubi's self is still very weak. Though he is able to tell
Ritsuka to not believe
Semei's lies, he is unable to ignore them himself. After
Semei blinds
Minami Sensei and generally reeks havoc on the Academy, he orders
Soubi to help him escape by shattering the glass of window in the library.
Soubi does so without hesitation, and though no one blames him -- Zero says it can't be helped: A fighter must respond to his sacrifice -- he can't forgive himself.
Soubi understands that he is
Ritsuka's fighter unit (even if it is at
Semei's orders); he gets it that
Semei is not a good person; he is afraid of what
Semei might be intending for
Ritsuka, but he is still physically and/or mentally ruled by
Semei. He can't let go of what he percieves to be his own betrayl. He goes into a kind of "toddler" state, as
Ritsuka says.
Here we see an example of the role reversal of this pair.
Ritsuka, a twelve year old, who has als been abused mentally and physically most of his life, becomes the adult. Like a parent, he takes
Soubi to task, tells him matter -of
-factly to listen to his own advice:
Semei lies, to not beat himself up (because no one else is) and to go to bed.
Soubi, who in so many ways is still like a child, responds. In the last scene of the main storyline we find him fast asleep next to
Ritsuka and there is something safe and comforting about that scene.
***
Of course the other thing I really love about Loveless are the quieting side stories. The main story is painful and heart wrenching, but
Yun Kouga is able to lend it some levity by showing "normal" episodes in the character's lives. In this edition we find a split story of
Yuiko and her and
Ritsuka's teacher. Both stories take place at home, and they become more firmly grounded as "real" by the end of each.
The second side story is of
Ritsuka and
Soubi on New Year's Eve. It's cute and pedestrian and gentle.
Vol. 8 of the English language edition does not have an essay at the end. Too bad. I really look forward to those.
