This Japanese manga, originally written by Kazuma Kodaka back in 1994, is now ten volumes long (volumes 1-8 are available in English as of this year by Be Beautiful). Manga is often difficult to translate to film and Kizuna is no exception to this rule, simply because the richness of the comic and characters is hard to capture in a anime film of 35-odd minutes. The story - somewhat sensational originally due to its blatant homosexual content - concerns two gay lovers, Kei and Ranmaru who first meet in middle school. Lots of drama ensues: Ranmaru saves Kei's life, and ends his kendo career, by pushing him out of the way of a yakuza hitman's car; Kei's half brother, Kai, appears full of rage at Kei for being in love with Ranmaru, whom he idolizes; Kei discovers he is tied to a history of yakuza bosses, etc, etc. The series is well made in typical anime style, with some bullet time and black and white thrown in. While not for everyone, granted, and with a PG rating for the frank sexual scenes, Kizuna will appeal to manga fans and the large corps of folks out there who love Japanese anime culture.
My rating 6 out of 10.
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