Ai No Kusabi The Space Between Volume 1: Stranger (Yaoi Novel) | 
| Author: Reiko Yoshihara
Publisher: Digital Manga Publishing
Category: Book
List Price: $8.95
Buy Used: $4.50
You Save: $4.45 (50%)
Rating:  9 reviews
Media: Paperback
Pages: 152
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 6.6 x 4.3 x 0.7
ISBN: 1569707820
Dewey Decimal Number: 741.5952
EAN: 9781569707821
ASIN: 1569707820
Publication Date: December 4, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
In the future, on a distant star lives a new society. Ruled by a computer system named Jupiter, men are divided into classes based on their hair color. The Blondies, genetically altered by Jupiter, are the highest class and occupy the capital city of Tanagura. Those with black hair, Mongrels, are forced to live in the slums, Ceres. Iason, the leader of the Blondies, encounters Riki, a mongrel, in the streets of Ceres one night and sets out to own him.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 4 more reviews...
 Loved the book June 27, 2008
raqssharqi (USA)
I loved the world created in this novel. I must admit that having watched the anime on-line helped me better understand the story. That said it is worth while and entertaining read.
Finally the book(s) to match the anime! June 21, 2008
SaraFimm (Bullhead City, AZ United States)
I caught the Ai no Kusabi anime on Veoh.com just a few weeks ago and thought it must have been a really old movie since it was obviously a Japanese anime originally on VHS that someone had put onto their computer and subtitled in English. And since most animes are originally mangas or serialized in mangazines in Japan, I did a little digging and found out I was correct by hitting up Wikipedia for a more thorough understanding of what I'd watched. And then to find out that it had finally been released in book form with all the back story--I had to have it!
I'm really not disappointed in anything except the price to quantity ratio. Sure there are the occasional errors, but if you buy yaoi and BL books on a regular basis that just seems the norm right now. So until yaoi and BL become mainstream areas of publishing, I'm willing to give a tiny bit of slack. Still, I have a feeling that someone thinks this is a "cash cow" and I'm not saying that it's only the publisher holding out their hand for the funds.
Unlike many BL and yaoi stories, this isn't just a bunch of sex scenes or a heterosexual story made into a homosexual story. This is an old story that was liked well enough that it was made into a well drawn, quality produced anime for it's fan base. And like old stories that stand the test of time (the anime still stands as a decent piece of work 15 years later), this story will be one that you will return to time and again in the future.
Buy it.
 Not light reading May 25, 2008
Jessee Lyman
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
Coming from a background of not knowing much more than the name "Ai No Kusabi" I'm a little disappointed with this first book. When I picked this up, I was thinking "A nice light read to get me back into novels after reading only manga for a year." Bad choice on my part.
Although this book is the yaoi genre, it's in a different league from the rest of the novels released by June. As mentioned by other reviewers, this series takes on a deeper meaning/philosophical view instead of a romance.
I had quite a problem with the way it was translated. To be fair, I don't have anything to compare it to, having not read the original Japanese, but it seemed like the translated went out of her way to use big words and english sayings. My vocabulary is such that I can usually get through a good, thick Fantasy book without knowing 5-10 words, but with this book, that was the average per chapter. There were also seemingly random insertions of sayings like "spare the rod and spoil the child." I really felt like they were forcing that.
I also felt like the overall flow of the story was a little disjunct. One whole chapter explained the background of the city, jumped to Riki and friends, then went back to describing the city. Even after finishing it, I don't have a clear idea of what exactly happened in the story. It took all 140 pages to simply set up the background of the city and narrate a little of Riki's group. There wasn't even any character background or development, and the reader doesn't find out much more than a few names.
Obviously, this is only the first book in a longer series, but I feel like I have no foundation for the upcoming books. I probably won't purchase them unless I fall in love with the OVA or suddenly become bored with manga.
If you're looking for a light read, THIS IS NOT THE BOOK FOR YOU! There is at least 4 more books in this series, so don't expect to have closure with this one.
Far better than I ever imagined! April 3, 2008
DugFinn (Over off yonder...)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I first saw Ai No Kusabi in it's anime form SO many years ago. It entranced me, but I did notice that it seemed like it was missing something. So, I looked it up and discovered that it was originally based on a novel. No surprise there. The anime lacked what the novel had - a back story. And lots of it. I scoured the internet and finally found a fan translated copy. "Finally!" I thought. I read it - and it was great. It really filled the gap that the anime was missing, but still, it wasn't all that well written, you could say.
Well, fast forwards years later and what do you know, Ai No Kusabi FINALLY made it to America in an official release. I figured, "Sure why not, I'll pick up the copy and re-fresh my memory".
WOW. Just Wow.
This is NOTHING like the fan translation. It's a thousand times BETTER!! I was utterly blown away! I usually read very fast and finish books very quickly, but I found myself re-reading entire pages, not because I needed to, but because I WANTED to. It's simply an amazing story, but it's written so well too! As soon as I finished, I started reading it again!
This is the first book in the series. And, like I mentioned earlier, it packs a lot of back story. If you want a condensed version, go watch the anime first, THEN come back and read the novel. Trust me, you'll LOVE it.
It's like the story of Romeo and Juliet... Except, with bondage and whips. And it's between two guys. One master, the other pet.
Again, novel one has most of the back story to set the atmosphere and explain the world it takes place in. It's not rushed and it feels so well thought out, the way it flows. Novel two starts the more juicy parts, but they'd be meaningless without reading the first novel, so pick it up. Seriously, this is one amazing story!
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