Talk:Ai no Kusabi

Title

The title of the anime "Ai No Kusabi" in Japanese characters is 間の楔. The first kanji 間 is read as "a space, an interval, a distance". 楔 is read as "wedge". The whole phrase is something like "interval's wedge" or a little more easily in English, "the wedge of distance" or perhaps even more to the point "a distance that can't be crossed" or "a distance that acts as a wedge". The jist being that there is a gap between two points which cannot be closed.

It seems the title refers to the distance between the two main characters and also the distance between their apparently different species and certainly the distance between their culturally defined roles and classes. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.54.129.196 (talk • contribs) 12:28, 3 July 2006

I agree with this analysis of the title - I would just like to add that the apparently translated 'wedge' part of the title has the same kind of double meaning as the phrases 'to cleave together' and 'to cleave in two'. It is something that is ultimately attractive yet repellent. Something that binds the protagonists yet pulls them apart.

"Riki, do you know what 'Ai no Kusabi' is? It's something that strongly links two opposites together like you and Iason. I suppose people could call it love." Quote translated from anime.--Sharonlees 22:37, 15 July 2006 (UTC)

To add support to the analysis of the double meaning of the title - Goo's Kokugo dictionary gives many definitions for ai, but the two most applicable are a space between two things and a relationship between two people. There are also two definitions for kusabi: a tool for splitting things, and "something that tightly connects two things to each other. Kizuna (a bond - often emotional)." So depending on the interpretation, the title suggests both connection and division. Besides the attraction/repulsion of the main characters, 'ai no kusabi' could also describe the Iason/Riki relationship itself, linking the highest in society to the lowest, or the divide from society as a whole that eventually destroys the main characters. The translation of 'Ai no Kusabi' as 'Wedge of Love' is too narrow, and probably came about from a false assumption that ai = love. Shiva Indis 05:21, 2 August 2006 (UTC)

As a further note on translating the title, the English translations use The Space Between as a subtitle to Ai no Kusabi. I'm going to include this in the article, though I'll leave mention of the "Wedge of Interval" translation as well. Mpdimitroff (talk) 19:31, 13 August 2008 (UTC)

Why? It's a mistranslation akin to the "Engrish" translations of sentiment that native English speakers like to make fun of so often. It's incorrect. Also, regarding the first para in this section, we don't ever hear that Iason and Riki are different species, just different races. Ninja housewife (talk) 23:19, 17 January 2010 (UTC)

The English TRanslation of the novel states that Iason has an organic brain housed in an artificial body. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2601:1C0:4400:23B7:5D7F:76D4:825A:3CFF (talk) 22:34, 5 September 2018 (UTC)

Opinion Based

I just think it's worth while bringing up the fact that the majority of the contents of this article is just opinion and doesn't really give a factual account of the anime or its history. I would completely replace the summary as I don't feel it's actually that informative, and those researching or looking for an objective summary, history and analysis would feel at a complete loss. I was planning to do this myself before this article popped up and was pretty pleased that I wouldn't have to do this myself but now I don't know.... I think it's a cause for concern but I don't want to go ahead and replace the whole submission, I think I need to see what others think!!--Sharonlees July 2006 (UTC)

Do it, I say. Practically the whole thing is ganked from http://boysonboysonfilm.com/anime/ainokusabi.html anyway, so you're hardly destroying someone's writing. Voici 18:36, 30 July 2006 (UTC)

I have started the re-writing of this article and have only written the general info - story and voice actors etc to come. So I have removed neutrality warning for now. --Sharonlees 14:40, 12 September 2006 (UTC)

Dana Bahn?

I have a question on this translation. The original Japanese novel contains a map of Ceres, and this area is designated "Dana Burn". It's written in English characters. I think that "Dana Bahn" also originates from the same fansub that mistranslated the title, and I'd like to see this corrected. Ninja housewife (talk) 23:25, 17 January 2010 (UTC)

Inaccurate/Poorly Written Plot, Total Re-Write Needed

The plot summary for this novel is wrong. The summary written is for the anime, which was an amalgamation of the novels Ai no Kusabi and Ai no Kusabi: Midnight Illusion. If the anime and novel information should be encompassed in one article that's fine, but the distinction between the books and the anime should be made. Further, as it's been noted on the main page, the plot summary needs a total overhaul for readability alone. Post your objections now; at the beginning of May I will post the re-write and corrections. Ninja housewife (talk) 19:51, 25 March 2010 (UTC)

Go for it - be bold! I've added a template for the original OAVs, their plots can be added next to the Short Summary field, if that helps you at all. --Malkinann (talk) 21:32, 26 March 2010 (UTC)

I shortened the OVA plot and made it less opinionbased. Only the important facts remain. UllaBritta (talk) 22:57, 7 December 2010 (UTC)

Wrong Blondie?

"With only thirteen Blondies, they make up the "Tanagura Syndicate" and are the supreme leaders of Tanagura, with Iason Mink as the foremost head." Isn't Orphe head of the Blondies, while Iason is Jupiter's favorite and the head of the black market?? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Sadameyuki (talk • contribs) 16:38, 4 February 2013 (UTC)

TMI ! TMI 1 TMI ! Virtual commands for censorship, written three times in two places. (TMI = Too Much Information ! )

Not understanding very much (so I turned to WP) after following a few links on YouTube and happened on to this object. (One object because it's virtually the same story in different forms, so likely to be treated as under the same oopyright).

The first sentience encountered in the article was a double-blast of two boxed headlines: a sweep-broom plus large bold words tempered only by the exquisite manners of "may", but essentially commending strong censorship in what appears to be an act of zealous opinion by the editor-insertor. Later, there is a third blast with the same broom and urging. Three repetitions. All quite unusual. And lacking the normal courtesy of an explanation under the Talk tab.

True, the plot of this piece of artistic expression is mostly derivative and seems to be mostly motivated by emotions, as is often the case in teen-age pop literature. On the other hand, a great deal of loving time obviously has gone into the opsis -- animation, music, ... All normal adoration for this branch of the media.

Probably normal too is that as a novice who had not encountered this particular genre before, I couldn't figure out what was going on. That is, not until I read the WP article. It put much in context, provided linkages among the characters, summarized reveals that only a close-fan would remember but are essential for plot developments, called out similar plat devices used in other genre -- in short, a surprisingly well-developed and useful introduction for those who don't have the interest for watching the whole series plus perhaps a need for repeat viewings.

Indeed, the article is labeled as only a Start, which it clearly is much more than. This, combined with the other three blasts commending stripping out details, appears to point to the not-so-hidden prejudices that the demographics predominantly represented by the higher ranks of WP administrators often host (I'm not aware of formal attitude studies on WP admins) - including depreciation for the teen-age women fan-doms, and the targets of conservative but well-educated and so covert homophobia.

As a test, I looked through several paragraphs of the implicitly 'outragingly-opinionated' and 'obsessively-detailed' plot summaries. In each case of my sample, I could remember several examples (not just one, so the authors were attempting role establishment) of the behavior described. For anyone interested, there are plenty of softwares that support collecting observations on a second by second basis. There are plenty of rating systems for facial and other gestures, many with cross-scale reliability backed by reasonably large samples of stratified demographics. There are programs, verified by similar safeguards, that show 60-85% correlation to the trait and personality metrics of currently fashionable scales and the results of close media analysis.

These points are consequential to bold administrator-editor factions that do not follow WP policy guides that distinguish between the pilings-on of responders and actual consensus: Consensus requires that each substantial argument be fairly addressed - with full good-faith due-diligence. Please, no lynch mobs out to eradicated uncomfortable ideas. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 96.231.115.39 (talk) 20:13, 4 June 2013 (UTC)

RE: Original Run

I have checked Japanese Wikipedia , it stated from December 1986 to October 1987. But , the article written from October 1987 to October 1990. Could anyone clarify it for me ? Icefire112233 (talk) 04:10, 27 November 2013 (UTC)

Classification

Is it a light novel ? I don't think so .Icefire112233 (talk) 14:12, 27 November 2013 (UTC) After release in a yaoi magazine, the story was bound into 4 light novels. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2601:1C0:4400:23B7:5D7F:76D4:825A:3CFF (talk) 22:37, 5 September 2018 (UTC)

Taming Riki

There was also a series of fanwork novels published by Kira Takenouchi, which were based off the series. Entitled "Taming Riki". Permission (and hence, legitimacy) having been granted by DMP, it might be something to note on the page somewhere. Adding this might potentially incite some vandalism however, as the fandom was (and still is, to a degree) quite embroiled in debate about it. 2001:8003:2463:ED00:AD6C:A4B7:31D6:1522 (talk) 15:31, 22 November 2017 (UTC)

Citations

At the very least, the very first citation, referenced on the first note, seems to speak of a publisher of some sort named "Aestheticism," but the citation simply leads to a website which shows an ad before it hyperlinks to the wikipedia page on the concept of Aestheticism. Is this purposeful?67.183.34.138 (talk) 01:05, 5 December 2019 (UTC)