Select Another Series:
Choose a title Bakuretsu Hunters Bronze/Zetsuai 1989 FAKE Fushigi Yuugi Gundam Wing The Heroic Legend of Arslan Kizuna Rurouni Kenshin Trigun Vision of Escaflowne Yami no Matsuei

• Story Summary
• Character Profiles
• Mini-Shrine
• Fan Fiction
• Doujinshi Scans
• More Info

DISCLAIMER:This synopsis and chara profiles are subjective and the views expressed within are simply those of the reviewer. Remember that 1) as previously stated, I don't claim to be an expert on this series, so certain details may be absent and, if there are any errors, I do appreciate constructive feedback. Also 2) this page exists because this title is one of my preferred choices and any negative comments that are made about it generally tend to reflect relatively minor aspects. Heck, nobody's perfect, ne?

---

Kizuna is basically about a love story between two college students in modern day Tokyo as well as the relationship between an Osaka yakuza boss' son and his second in command, with some yakuza action and violence thrown in. There's no real specific plot to speak of in this series. It's more like an ongoing saga following the development of its characters and the relationships (or "bonds", the English translation of "kizuna") between them. One of the college students, Enjouji Kei, is the illegitimate son of the aforementioned yakuza boss and the other student, Samejima Ranmaru, is an ex-kendo champion, for which the younger, legitimate son, who also excels in the sport, idolizes him (Ranmaru). Got it? No? Well, I wouldn't worry about it...The fact that all the main intimate relationships in this story are homosexual is really secondary or tercery(o_O) in my opinion. Although, I must confess it doesn't hurt in my enjoyment of it! ~_^ This series is all about the characters, their personalities and true love. And the mangaka, Kodaka-sensei, is exceptionally talented as well as one of my faves!

Enjouji Kei

EN-JOU-JI! EN-JOU-JI! EN-JOU-JI! YOU ROCK!!! Gomen >_<;; for that little outburst... Well, if it's not totally obvious, I'm completely in love with this guy! Kei is entertaining, knows how to have a good time (he works at a host bar, fer cry-ai!) and generally has an upbeat, if not at times oblivious, disposition (which just adds to his charm IMHO). However, he's also a straight-shooter (he doesn't want anything to do with his father's yakuza business) and is 100% devoted and loyal to Ranmaru. *sigh* Plus he had a great head of hair before a certain somebody decided to chop it all off! *grumble* Anyhoo, he was also man enough to be president of the Tea Ceremony Club in high school! How cool is that!?!

Samejima Ranmaru

Well, if you haven't figured it out yet, Ranmaru is Enjouji's lover/roomie/ball 'n chain (JK!). Having a much more serious personality than our pal, Kei, he tends to be the apprehensive type and is a bit more reticent about his feelings towards Enjouji (and in general) despite having a very explosive temper. Once he was a promising Kendo champion (his grandfather is head of a kendo doujo). However, when he saved Kei from being run over by a car and got himself injured by doing so, he lost the ability to continue in his passion for kendo, not to mention to become Japan's #1 kendo champion. Ranmaru is definitely the most dynamic character in this story, in that he's the one that grows and changes the most.

Sagano Kai

Kai is Enjouji's half-brother, having the same father, the yakuza boss, but different mothers, both of whom haved passed away. Having a spoiled yet emotionally difficult childhood, Kai is somewhat of a malcontent and dislikes Kei or at least has an extreme sibling rivalry with him! However, he has a constant although a bit ill-defined relationship with his father's second-hand man, Masanori Araki. Initially he is very attracted to Ranmaru, serving as an additional hurdle for our main protagonists to overcome. But Kai is quite young and is still going through maturation (please note the absence of "s" and "b" in the preceding word >_<;;) in this series' storyline.

Masanori Araki

As someone mentioned on the Kizuna ML, Masanori does a pretty good impression of a brickwall! (I love that!) A huge man (his shoulders probably measure about a meter across), Masa is still a gentle giant and cares very deeply about his "bon" (Kai) although he has a hard time showing it or figuring out exactly how he cares about the young boy. This brings up all kinds of interesting questions (into which I won't get) since they're about 20 years apart in age... o_O Masa is constantly torn between his impulse to protect and give Kai the never-ending amount of attention he needs and fulfilling his honorable duties as the second in command of a yakuza syndicate.

I really have to try and not slobber all over the keyboard here....


Ooh, boy! Yes, I am a sucker for this seme (esp. with those spiffy,
"I'm-such-an-intellectual" glasses!)

• Chado
• Jishu
• Summer of the Samurai