''Level C'' is a Japanese
manga
Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...
series written and illustrated by
Futaba Aoi and
Mitsuba Kurenai. The manga is licensed in North America by
Media Blasters. It has also been made into an
original video animation
, abbreviated as OVA and sometimes as OAV (original animation video), are Japanese animated films and series made specially for release in home video formats without prior showings on television or in theaters, though the first part of an OVA s ...
by
J.C.Staff. It is the dramatic tale of a relationship between a
salaryman and a high school-aged male model.
Plot
Mizuki Shinohara is a male
teenage fashion model who lives on his own in a very nice apartment and is still in high school. An adult business man named Kazuomi Honjou had just broke up with his girlfriend and had been kicked out of her house leaving him
homeless
Homelessness or houselessness – also known as a state of being unhoused or unsheltered – is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and adequate housing. People can be categorized as homeless if they are:
* living on the streets, also kn ...
and having nowhere else to go, then he sets out to find someone new to live with and sees Mizuki on the street. Kazuomi thinks Mizuki is cute and asks to stay with him in exchange for great pleasurable sex. Mizuki thinks he is joking until they are at his apartment later that night and Kazuomi makes good on his promise.
Characters
*Voiced by:
Akira Ishida
is a Japanese actor and voice actor.
For his portrayal of Saki Abdusha in '' You're Under Arrest'', Makoto Kurumizawa in '' BOYS BE'', Setsuna Aoki in ''Sakura Wars'', and Athrun Zala
is a fictional character from the Japanese science fict ...
*Voiced by:
Shinichiro Miki
*Voiced by:
Takehito Koyasu
*Voiced by:
Rica Fukami
is a Japanese voice actress, narrator and singer from Saitama Prefecture who is affiliated with Vi-Vo. She made her voice acting debut in 1982 with ''Tokimeki Tonight''. Fukami is best known for her role in the ''Sailor Moon'' series as Sailor Ve ...
Media
Manga
''Level C'' is written and illustrated by
Futaba Aoi and
Mitsuba Kurenai. The manga is licensed in North America by
Media Blasters.
Biblos
Byblos ( ; gr, Βύβλος), also known as Jbeil or Jubayl ( ar, جُبَيْل, Jubayl, locally ; phn, 𐤂𐤁𐤋, , probably ), is a city in the Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate of Lebanon. It is believed to have been first occupied between ...
released the manga's three ''
tankōbon'' between August 1993 and January 1996.
Media Blasters released the manga in six ''tankōbon'' volumes between March 15, 2005 and May 31, 2006.
OVA
Directed by
Yorifusa Yamaguchi the OVA titled was released by
J.C.Staff in 1995. The OVA has been licensed in North America by
Kitty Media and in Germany by
Anime-House. The ending theme of the series is "Only Two Men's Eternity" by
Yasuhiro Mizushima
Yasuhiro is a masculine Japanese given name.
Possible writings
Yasuhiro can be written using many different combinations of kanji characters. Here are some examples:
*康弘, "healthy, vast"
*康広, "healthy, wide"
*康寛, "healthy, generosity ...
. The OVA was originally released in Japan on May 24, 1996 in
VHS format. It was released in DVD format on March 25, 2005.
Production
''Level C'' started as a
doujinshi in 1989. The individual chapters were compiled into six ''
tankōbon'' volumes in 1993.
Frank Panonne of Media Blasters said that "''Level C'' will be uncut, all characters portrayed having sex or in the nude will be depicted as aged 18 or older." The original Japanese version depicts the protagonist as a high-school student. ''Level C'' will be
shrink wrapped when released. The bankruptcy of
Biblos
Byblos ( ; gr, Βύβλος), also known as Jbeil or Jubayl ( ar, جُبَيْل, Jubayl, locally ; phn, 𐤂𐤁𐤋, , probably ), is a city in the Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate of Lebanon. It is believed to have been first occupied between ...
on April 5, 2006, will not affect the production of ''Level C'' "at least until the contracts expire".
Reception
Mike Dungan of Mania.com comments on the varying styles of art in the manga since the chapters were not written in order. He commends the art by saying "the art reproduction is more than serviceable, with some nice detailwork making the transition from tankouban to graphic novel, and nicely done reproduction of the screentoning."
Chris Beveridge of Mania.com comments on the
hard subtitling of the OVA and lack of a menu "forces them to front-load the trailers for other shows". He also comments on the "auto-repeat mode" when the end of the last chapter is reached. THEM Anime Reviews criticises the OVA for a lack of plot.
References
External links
*
{{J.C.Staff OVAs
1993 manga
1995 anime OVAs
J.C.Staff
Josei manga
Media Blasters
Yaoi anime and manga