Ai no Kusabi (2012)

Five words: A complete waste of time.

If you're into yaoi like I shamelessly am, you've probably heard of Ai no Kusabi or even watched the original. Yes, Ai no Kusabi (2012) is a remastered version of an adaptation which was released in 1992. When the words "remastered" or "rebooted" are thrown into the mix, one might expect that this new version would either tell the story better, or pair the same story with better art. Due to the fact that the entire duration of both adaptations are relatively the same, with this one being four 24-minute episodes and the original being two hour-long episodes, ... I honestly didn't think the story would be altered that much. Unfortunately, I was crushed to learn that the story I fell in love with was heavily mutilated.

The reason why I loved the original so much was because it took a different route most R18+ yaoi anime seem to take, one where it focuses more on developing a start-to-finish plot rather than simply adding in spicy sex scenes when things get slow. It was literally an anime where I could say, "I only watch this for the plot ;)" and ACTUALLY mean it. In this new version, only half of the plot is delivered, meaning that those who haven't read the light novel or seen the original might be confused about what the hell is happening in this fictional universe. Also, remember that intense, tragic ending that was shown in the original and gave closure to the story? It's nowhere to be found. Not only that, but the plot elements that WERE saved from the cut and weren't replaced with sex scenes were placed completely out of order as well. Character backstories are shown in the final episode, when they should have been shown in the first episode, etc.

This new plot that we're given just seems to be all over the place and horribly configured. I almost see it as an insult to the original anime, because what Ai no Kusabi (2012) does is that it completely erases everything that made the story stand out from other animated yaoi and seems to only serve as a thirst trap for fans who watch these types of shows for the sole purpose of the more intimate scenes. There's no longer anything special to be appreciated about this anime, making it easy for it to blend in with all the other yaoi out there.

The only redeeming quality this anime seems to have is its art style. Having been made 20 years after the original's release, the art does a great job modernizing the overall look of the characters and scenery. I don't want to say that this version necessarily has BETTER art compared to the original - because there's no denying that they were released during two different eras of animation styles - but it was definitely not an eyesore to say the least. Unfortunately, the positive change in art does not overpower the negative warping of the story.

In general, watching this anime was a huge let down. The whole story was laid out perfectly once before, so having it drastically changed in the way that it was makes me feel like I was robbed. If you're the type of yaoi watcher who cares more for plot rather than intimacy, I would strongly suggest using these two hours to watch the original instead. However, if you're not too keen on seeing a story develop and only want to see the intimacy part, then this one might be perfect for you. When compared to other 2-4 episode yaoi anime out there instead of comparing it only to the original, I definitely will agree that this is one of the better ones.

I had assumed that I was watching the original 1992 version instead. However, that was no the case when I realised the series I was watching had 4 episodes. Upon reading the reviews of the 1992 version of Ai No Kusabi, I was quite intrigued with the prospects of a raw and very dark romance with strong themes. However what I received with the 2012 version was just confusion. I had no idea what was happening at all times of the show. I have ADHD and found it really hard to focus as the scenes and the moods kept changing so rapidly. AT most, I ... could only comprehend the erotica scenes as they didnt involve any plot details LMAO WTF. Generally, I don't recommend the 2012 adaptation if you have a very short attention span and if you are not the type of person to hyper-fixate on details and over0-analyse plot devices. I did not enjoy this.