Product Details

• Actors: Kizuna
• Format: Animated, Color, NTSC
• Subtitles: English
• Rating: Unrated
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Ariztical
• VHS Release Date: January 1, 2002
• Run Time: 30 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6304190379
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #79,947 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Kizuna 1 is the first half of the old (1994) two-part OVA based on Kazuma Kodaka's manga, but with new subtitles. High school kendo champion Ranmaru was injured saving his friend Kei from an oncoming car, and gave up the sport. Three years later, Ranmaru and Kei are lovers, sharing an apartment while they attend college. When a lecherous professor tries to seduce Ranmaru, Kei's half-brother Kai comes to his rescue. Kai admired Ranmaru in high school, and hopes to steal him from Kei. As the half-brothers are martial artists and the sons of a yakuza kingpin, the rivalry turns violent. Kizuna is a yaoi classic: a romance involving handsome young men written by a woman for a female audience. The reissue was taken from a better print and features a more idiomatic English translation than the previously available version, but giving viewers only 30 minutes of animation on a DVD seems stingy. (Rated 16 and older: violence, brief nudity, sexual situations, including homosexuality, alcohol and tobacco use) --Charles Solomon

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A great love story, November 7, 2001

By	Wiggle (Kansas City, MO United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Kizuna (DVD)

Don't listen to people who say that the Kizuna OAV is difficult to follow. All the information that you need is presented plainly, and the backstory is told through flashbacks. The story of Enjoji and Ranmaru's love enduring despite obstacles is very touching, and a nice change from the "doomed love" theme of some other yaoi anime. The characters are all well-developed for such a short OAV (two half-hour episodes), and the relationships between them are well-described.

The only problem I had with this DVD was in the structure of the DVD itself. The subtitling timing is WAY off, often appearing well before the character speaks, or in the middle of a different character's lines. Unless you listen closely it is sometimes impossible to know who is saying what. Also, there are no extras, no alternate soundtracks, and no scene access on this particular version of the DVD. All you get is two OAV episodes with Japanese voices and rather large white subtitling.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great yaoi, July 31, 2001

By	Patrick (Wisconsin, USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Kizuna (DVD)

I'm a straight guy and don't speak Japanese and yet I managed to love this movie. I think what I like best are the characters and the relationships between them. The rest of the storyline kind of takes a backseat. At the end I was left wanting more.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Lovely Animation and a Nice Adaptation, February 16, 2000

By A Customer

Kizuna, parts I & II, are a visually satisfying and entertaining pair of 1/2 hour videos based on the Japanese manga (graphic novel) of the same name, created by Kazuma Kodaka. The story involves the romance between a male couple, Kei Enjouji and Ranmaru Samejima, once a junior champion in the world of kendo (an oriental form of fencing). Ranmaru's future is crushed when he is struck by a hit and run driver, rather than the intended target - his lover. Other problems arise with the arrival of another mysterious young man who is obssessed with Ranmaru, Kai Sagano.

Romantic, sexy, and quite poignant. The silliness and violence factor are kept to a minimum, unlike alot of other anime out there. Splendid shounen-ai (boy's love).