BL Review: Ai No Kusabi (novels)

[haitangkitty]

After watching the Ai No Kusabi OVA, I decided to read the book series. It's my first time diving deeper into a classic old school yaoi from 80's. As a fan of the cyberpunk genre and BDSM romance I was happy to discover this dark story.

(Spoilers below/tw for discussion about dubcon/noncon)

• What I love about AnK is that it is a full fledged BDSM fantasy. Riki and Iason's BDSM relationship dynamic is based on their roles in the dystopian world: Master-Pet, Mongrel-Blondy, Human-Machine, Man-Man(which is the least taboo of them.) These intersections are what I find interesting in their relationship that keeps changing and regardless of strong power dynamic their relationship is far from simple: it both fulfills and escapes those roles they have. They both think they know what they want (Iason only lust, Riki escapes it), but their relationship blooms from a sexual one to a romantic one - which challenges the notions of the world/power structures they live in.
• What is a sadomaschoist romance? As I said before, this is a full fledged BDSM fantasy & a dystopia with a sadist-masocist/pet-master relationship (unlike some self-aware modern bdsm romance I have read where both parties aknowledge that they are playing these parts.) There is both noncon and dubcon in the work. Mostly the classical "he wants it but can't admit it" -dynamic found in smut. What I love about a great bdsm story is that it delves deep into that dynamic. In one beautiful line in the book: "There was desire, then there was passion. Ablaze, it knew no limits." Pain becomes pleasure. Sadism becomes a form of love.
• In my opinion the most interesting intersection of their relationship is the human-machine part. What Iason feels compelling about Riki is is humaness, which in turn makes Iason more human-like.
• Cyberpunk world/technofascist society is what really captivated me in the story. I was able to fully immerse myself in their world.

The novel itself wasn't written in the best way but it got better each novel. I was devastated by the ending although I knew it was not a happy one.