Title: 愛人 (Ai Ren) Vol. 1
Artist/Author: 田中ユカタ
Book Size/Pages: B-6, 232pp., w/o furigana
Volume: 1/4
Original Serialization: Young Animal Vol 11 '99 - Vol 19, '99
First Printing: 12/5/99
Rating: 4/4

This is only my second Young Animal series after Ai yori. I got this first book for $1 Book-Off again. I read the first few pages and flipped through the rest of the book at the bookstore and it seemed like something I might like (and for $1, why not?).

While there are a lot of fun moments, much of this story deals with the more serious matter of life and death as the main character has to deal with that, whether it's himself or Ai. It's definitely a more solemn story than what I've been reading, but it does pretty well at setting the mood, especially during the nights when he's dreaming of being taken away by the goddess of death. It strikes a pretty good balance between the joys of everyday life and the harsh reality the characters have to face.

Bonus comes a letter from the author as to why he chose the title, which actually originates in Chinese.

1. 春の日に、君と帰る (On a Spring Day, I Come Home With You): Ikuru Yoshizumi application for an "Ai Ren" went through without a hitch. An "Ai Ren" is a genetically created being to accompany someone with a terminal illness. Ikuru's situation is that when he was just a toddler, he and his parents were in an accident. He should have died, but miraculously was saved by a lot of grafts and transplants. Since half his body isn't his, what's keeping him alive is what's also killing him and his outlook is very bleak. He takes his "Ai Ren," who he name "Ai" home. Since she was just born, she can't speak much yet and acts very childish. At night, he imagines the goddess of death visiting him again, but it's just Ai. The next day he gives her a haircut.

1.5 どうぞ、よろしく (Thanks): Ikuru calls the doctor who gave him Ai as she's not developing intelluctually. The doctor tells him that after 30 hours, she should have reached a level a maturity and so maybe she's just a little late. Ikuru makes her dinner and weeps while watching her eat.

2. ごはんが、できたよ (I Made Dinner): The next morning, he makes her breakfast and upon inquiry, he explains that he doesn't usually eat as he's fed intravenously. They spend the day about town playing and buying her clothes. In the bath, he falls into depression about his harsh life. Ai jumps in and offers to breast feed him, and he realizes that living also means taking life from another (i.e. milk from a mother).

3. AGH-RMS あい (AGH-RMS Ai): Ikuru's visiting doctor, Haruka, comes and explains to him about Ai, an AGH-RMS (Artificial Genes Human Regeneration for Mental Support). She tells him that he should return her since her lifespan is less than his and he'll be left broken hearted. After she leaves, Ikuru embraces Ai and makes her promise to live a long life.

4. LIVING WITH GHOSTS 〜ヒトの宮み〜 (Person's Life): On a cold and rainy night, the lights go out and they go into the attic. Ikuru explains that the house used to be a rehabilitation center, but people have died there too so rumor has it that ghosts walk about. He explains to Ai that ghosts are people who have died, but don't want to disappear. Ai tells him that she doesn't want Ikuru nor herself to disappear so she wants them to be ghosts when they die.

5. １００万年のピクニック (Million Years Picnic): Ai is preparing to go to the beach the next day. That night, Ikuru thinks he's being visited by the goddess of death again, but wakes up. They spend the next day at the beach and the amusement park beside it.

6. 先生とボク (The Teacher and I): Haruka is one of the "sixes," a super-human. She helps Ikuru rehabilitate and also teaches him about human sexuality. Eventually, she is the one who sees him off to live at his current place and promises to visit. Despite Ikuru's unwillingness to be weaned, she tells him that he's graduated from her training.

7. あいの絵日記I 〜たのしいまいにち〜 (Ai's Picture Diary, Everyday Fun): Ai draws about how she got drunk, when she got a cold and got visited by Haruka, and when they went out to the movies. She also remarks about how she knows that she used to be someone else.

8. 初恋 (First Love): Ikuru goes back to the Ai's doctor and asks if her lifespan is what Haruka told him. He tells him it's true and she'll probably only live for 8-10 months and can't be revived. Ikuru goes home crying, but finds a cheerful Ai waiting for him. They have cake and Ikuru tells her that he wants to be with her (for the time she has remaining).

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