recursal/Fanatic-Fandom huggingface dataset:
Mistral Park

Located on the outskirts of Tanagura, Area 3 - Mistral Park (ミストラル・パーク、  Misutoraru Pāku) is a large convention center complex lined with exhibition pavilions of various shapes and sizes. The complex consisted of the main, large Convention Center and accompanying buildings surrounding it. An oval plaza was situated within it, which was usually quiet outside of auction or exhibition days.

Mistral Park was where most public events, such as auctions were held. An exception were auctions that were not public and were sponsored by the Black Market, which were held in Sasan.

Since Tanagura was a highly restricted city where only the most privileged humans were invited to attend, even the Tanagura elites organised events, soirees and meetings in Mistral Park most of the time.

## Pet Auction

The annual Pet Auction took place in Mistral Park and was an intergalactic event that drew in scores of people from all over the Galaxy. The fact that the convention center could host such an event speaks of its impressive size. On the day of the auction, the main road leading to the auction grounds was jam packed hours in advance.

During the auction itself, a great variety of pets would go on sale in each and every auction hall. The resplendently furnished rooms had been further partitioned into cubicles for each manufacturing center, and the so-called sampling booths were situated in the center of the oval plaza.

## Guest Suites

Meetings that weren’t deemed worthy of being held in Tanagura were sometimes held in guest suites of some of the tallest skyscrapers in Mistral. These were high-class, luxurious apartments that gave a good view of both Tanagura and Midas, and were probably the only way most people could lay their eyes on the Metallic city.

One such suite was where Iason and Kirie had one of their meetings. The meeting took place in a spacious room surrounded by ivory walls and thick carpets. The white enhanced the dark blue cast of the extravagant furnishings, and imparted a sense of luxury to the space. Every inch of the enclosure was suffused with a clean, antiseptic aura, and a pleasing tranquility filled the room.

## Genova

Genova (ジェノバ, Jenoba) was the closest point to the slums on the official maps of Midas, and served as the entry point for mongrels when going to the city.

Situated on the border between Ceres and Mistral Park, it was a quiet area with not much traffic around. The tourist guides designated the nearby areas as a dangerous zone, and as a result, even the shuttle buses that regularly ran every Area didn't stop in Genova. At best, once in a while, a group of thrill-seekers would hop in an air taxi and come to the borderline.

## **Gallery**

**As seen in the 2012 anime series.As seen in the 2012 anime series.As seen in the 1992 OVA.As sen in the 2012 anime series.Raoul Am overseeing Mistral Auction - as seen in the 2012 anime series.**
Thor

Thor (トール, Tōru) was Robby’s pairing partner. He was brash and impatient, and, according to Robby, “the only one with the balls to take on God's Grim Reaper as a pairing partner."

## Description and Relationship with Robby

He had distinguishable, fiery-red hair and brown eyes. He was quite young compared to his partner, but that didn’t stop him from becoming his right hand even in business. Thor took part in Robby’s business meetings and felt quite free to assert his presence by testing the potential clients. He was also quite experienced with computers. All in all, they seemed like an effective combination.

For as tough and feared as Robby was, he was quite taken by Thor, and the kid’s presence, as temperamental as he was, seemed to soothe him. On the other hand, Thor hooked up with him initially out of curiosity, but it worked out, at least for the time-being.

## A Sinker and a Gazer User

Thor was a sinker, although it is not confirmed whether he was an off-worlder or a Midas-born refugee, but whatever the case, he went to great lengths to hide his origins. In order to change his hair and eye colour, he used melanin pigmentation drug called Gazer on a regular basis. Seeing as this was considered highly dangerous and could potentially be life-threatening, some pressing set of circumstances must have led him down that path. His brown eyes showed off the recognizable impure pigmentation that never went away, making them appear closer to black.

Whatever his history and reasons for using Gazer, he was extremely touchy about anyone bringing it up or calling him a Sinker. Without a doubt, the moniker carried serious implications for Thor. But as hard as he tried to hide it, he still gave off the “refugee” vibe.

## Thor and Riki

Thor’s first experience with Riki was seeing the other throw beer in his partner’s face. Needless to say, there were very few people in the slums who would dare do such a thing, so Thor immediately concluded that there is some special history or bond between the two. This prompted him to become jealous and drill Robby about Riki. Upon learning of their shared origins in Guardian, and seeing Robby’s ambiguous feelings towards Riki, Thor started, incorrectly, suspecting that Robby lost his virginity to Riki back then, which only increased his jealousy.

Upon finally meeting Riki (and Guy) face to face, Thor attempted to one-up and outsmart Riki, but that blew up in his face and he ended up being humiliated. This only increased his hostility towards Riki and the more he saw Robby show interest in him, the more jealous he became, even after Riki was gone from their lives.

The grudge he nursed from that humiliating exchange resulted in him transferring his hatred of Riki onto Guy.
Infinity

**This article is a disambiguation page for Infinity**

The following is a list of links to pages that might share the same title.

Please follow one of the disambiguation links below or search to find the page you were looking for if it is not listed. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Infinity- a warrior of EagleClan

*or*

Infinity- a nickname for Aquafinity
Jet Bikes

**Jet bikes / Aerobikes**

   The raw reality was that a fun night in the slums was playing chicken with a patched-together jet bike. (V4 p132)

If this [bike] was an aerocar, [one] could have easily gone over treetop level. But an aerobike didn't have the power output. (V8 p113)

## **Racing Battles**

   With little amusement to be found in the slums...for a real adrenaline rush, youths pushed the limits by racing their hot-rod airbikes at breakneck speed. They did whatever they liked without regard for the consequences and lacked for an outlet for their overwhelming sense of hopelessness. (Kizu, p1)

Battle-scarred aerobikes were the ride of choice in gang warfare; expensive, pristine factory machines had no place in Ceres other than to be stolen for parts. (V8 p10)

It was as if [Guy] was in a racing battle. But this was different from fighting other aerobikes in a death race. (V8 p113)

see Gangs

## **Tuning Shops and Junkyards**

Tuning shops customize aerobikes for the street and motocross circuits. (V8 p10)

see Maxi: Tuning Shop

## **Guy's Bike**

Guy stopped his aerobike and pulled his ID tag out of the controls. He threw a lock around a piece of rebar sticking out of the concrete. (V8 p87)

## **Riki's Bike**

Riki traveled to Genova on his jet bike. As it didn't have auto-homing capability, once Iason's capsule car came to get him, he'd abandon it. It wouldn't sit abandoned for long. A rebuilt jet bike had a lot of value as a status symbol. Or else it would get sold off to a junkyard before the first spot of rust appeared. (V6 p59-60)
Original Soundtracks

To date, five Original Soundtracks (OSTs) have been released for the Ai no Kusabi 1990s OVAs, and one compilation album.

## Ai no Kusabi Original Soundtrack

### Language

Japanese

 File:1996 Original Soundtrack Deluxe.jpg
*Ai no Kusabi* Original Soundtrack (間の楔 オリジナル・サウンド・トラック, *Ai no Kusabi Orijinaru Saundo Torakku*) was the first OST for the series and was released on October 10, 1992, to accompany the first anime episode. The tracklist includes 16 tracks - 15 original songs, and a remix of the first song, Midnight Illusion (TV Mix). It was re-released as part of the deluxe edition in 1996.

Most of the songs are instrumental only, except for Midnight Illusion which contains lyrics written by Yoshihara Rieko herself. The song starts with a monologue narrated by Shiozawa Kaneto who voiced Iason in the 1990s OVAs and is followed by the song performed by Toshihiko Seki who voiced Riki. Midnight Illusion was composed and arranged by Yabuki Toshiro (矢吹俊郎).

The songs are named after notable characters, locations and terminology used in the books, which set the tone for each track.

Cover Illustration: Naoyuki Onda

Music Producer: Terasawa Hisaki (寺沢久紀)

### Tracklist

1. Midnight Illusion
2. Riki
3. Mistral Park
4. Iason Mink
5. Midas
6. Λ3000 Jupiter
7. Ceres
8. Bison
9. Mars
10. Katze
11. Riki and Iason
12. Blondy Iason and Z107M Riki
13. Riki and Guy
14. 間の楔 (Ai no Kusabi)
15. Rozh-Liena Vultain
16. Midnight Illusion (TV Mix)

### Lyrics

#### Midnight Illusion

Monologue (voiced by Shiozawa Kaneto as Iason)

Song (sang by Toshihiko Seki as Riki)
Neural Network

Database technology in the Ai no Kusabi universe, which connects mind and machine so that the brain can process streams of information via certain mental pathways.

Like the web access on the internet, there are different neural network connections, that each come with their own restrictions and content upload/download functions and privileges.

## **Availability**

### **Furniture Access in Eos**

There was a neural network dedicated to pet matters for access by Furniture, which previously was devoid of information. Once Riki arrived [in Eos] the datastreams became endless. (V7 p53)

Riki would have preferred access to the neural network instead [of dataslates], but that was impossible -- even the dataslate was a hard-fought concession. (V7 p40)

## **Descriptions**

Iason's augmented brain was able to directly connect to the neural network and process exabytes of data per microsecond, beyond that of the normal brain. (V8 p106)

[In a trance] Iason lay in his recliner, eyes closed. As if he was one with the machinery of [his office]. Around Iason, holodisplays ran datastreams continuously. Lights flickered, to be replaced by darkness, then light. Graphs and projections swirled across the space. (V8 p106)

One by one each of the holodisplays shut down. The room fell silent. The neural jack in Iason's brow disconnected. (V8 p106)

Iason uploaded all information available on Dana-Burn into his augmented memory. (V8 p121)

see Elites: Human Genetics

## **Dreamcatchers**

It was an online hologame, sold only in Ceres. The lack of leisure pursuits in the slums made it insanely popular. Every connection to the neural network had two or three sets. The problem was that Dreamcatcher was addictive -- and it caused permanent brain damage over time. After a number of fatalities rocked Ceres, the game quietly vanished. (V7 p111)

There was a rumor that Midas was using slumdogs as test subjects for a mind control experiment. No one knew the truth of it. No one dared to ask. (V7 p111)

see Mind Tampering
Stein

Stein (スティン, Sutin) was Aisha Rosen’s pet that had numerous altercations with Riki.

## Appearance and Lineage

Stein was an Academy bred pureblood pet from the Silur line. His bloodline was so prestigious that he was one of the top mating choices for females, which made him valuable, and very arrogant. He was certain that if his master would part with him, he would be allowed to hold onto his Seed Rights and have his gametes registered to the Academy. For this reason, he didn’t bother taking the hormone treatments.

Riki once remarked that Sohya’s honey blond hair and pale green eyes reminded him of Stein, which gives an idea of Stein’s appearance.

## Antagonism with Riki

Stein regularly taunted Riki about his slum background. Seeing someone so low-born belong to the most powerful Elite in Eos, and treated in such a special way by him, grated on his pride and arose feelings of jealousy and resentment. Whenever Riki came into his field of view, Stein would go after him, and get beaten.

## Consequences

Eventually, their altercations reached a boiling point when, as a punishment, Lord Aisha decided to dispose of Stein, sending him to Jalan Harem, a famous male brothel in Midas. Stein was incensed with Lord Aisha's decision. He also blamed Riki for his failure to obtain 'seed rights', which dashed his dreams of becoming a Breeding Stallion. Stein attacked Riki with a knife, slashing him. Not used to battle, Stein’s weak attack didn’t do any real harm, but at the time, this was an unprecedented scandal in Eos.

As a result of this, both Stein and his furniture, Tomass were severely punished by Aisha. Being a pureblood pet, Stein had only ever mounted females while in Eos, so the fact that his clientele would now be men was humiliating for him. He was 17 at the time of his disposal from Eos.
1996 Deluxe Edition

The Deluxe edition, which was released on August 25, 1996, contained all five previously released albums: Original Soundtrack (1992), Sense of Crisis (1993), Ambivalence (1994), Sympathy (1994) and Oracion (1995). Each of the albums looks exactly the same as their original release, with the same tracklist, design and booklet contents. The only difference is the catalgoue number of the release and the lack of cel photos that came with Sense of Crisis and Ambivalence, though the images printed on them can instead be found in Oracion's booklet.

The release did include a bonus silver ring which was presumably meant to represent Riki's D-type pet ring.
Mimea

## **Description**

Riki failed to hide a smile. "As someone who came from the Academy, you're pretty strange." (DE Track 9)

### **Rank**

*"I've been thinking recently about pairing Mimea. With a pedigree, of course. I don't want to attract any useless bugs. As you know, Mimea is of an improved line that I bred myself."* (DE Track 10)

Raoul created Mimea, and was very protective of preserving her status.

Mimea's friends highly disapproved

of Mimea choosing to consort with the likes of Riki.

### **Pairings**

"Looking as if he's caught a demon's head, Kyle's been whispering." (DE Track 10)

One candidate for a pairing Mimea had was Enif, at his owner Kyle's behest. Ultimately, Enif was turned down in favor of one Jana, whom Mimea personally detested.

## **Personality, Attraction to Riki**

Garden Level (V7 p40)

see Eos Garden Level

## **Mimea Incident**

Mimea Incident: description (V1 Chapter 1 entirety).

Brief mentions (V3 p43, 63).

Riki's dream/PoV (V3 p138-145).

### **Caught In Flagrante**

Enif Tattled:
"Hey, have you heard? Seems he and Mimea finally did it."
"Oh I know. And there's also a rumour that Raoul complained to Iason. Mimea's really an idiot. Of all things, to choose
that slum mongrel!"
"Enif's the idiot," the chatting continued. "No matter how much he hated Riki, tattling on him like that. He's gonna get
lynched, for sure."
The heads of the pets nodded in agreement. "But still, I wonder what will happen... to Mimea and Riki..." (DE Track 13)

## **Iason on the Incident**

It seems you Z107M and my Mimea have been suspicious.
The thought of Riki with another pet, the very idea that Iason had dismissed in front of Raoul, was awful. And with a
female pet, no less. It was common knowledge to Iason that Riki hadn't had much experience with females, and so to
take such a leap was somewhat shocking. Could it be possible that Riki was actually attracted to this pet? If that was so,
then he wasn't too attached to his previous pairing partner that he so often called out to in his dreams. But then, if he was
still hooked over this 'Guy', then why would he be 'suspicious' with this female pet? (DE Track 12)
Ai no Kusabi Volume 7

Author
 Genre
 Rating
 Release Date
 ISBN-13
 Format

 *Iason held him down. Riki spasmed in pain over and over again.*

*Violated to his core, sentenced to become Iason’s pet — slave to Iason’s ruthless sexual avarice and his untiring, sculpted cybernetic physique.*

*Riki was ripped apart, deeper and deeper.*

*The pleasure was endless.*

*The ecstasy knew no end.*

## **Description**

Riki is back in Eos and under Iason the Tanagura Blondy’s power once again. Under the watchful eye of his new furniture Cal, Riki endures being a captive again as best he can. Ignoring the hateful glances and whispers of the other pets in the salon, Riki escapes to the tranquility of Eos’s garden where he can relax alone. But Riki’s fragile peace is shattered by the reappearance of a singular Paradita hybrid — a pet of unusual breed — who is obsessed with a certain slumdog.

Meanwhile, Riki’s old friends Guy and Luke find themselves in a dicey situation. Kirie’s betrayal and Riki’s disappearance from Ceres force Guy to seek information from Zico, a mysterious data broker in the dangerous slum wastes of Nier Darts. Will the answer lead Guy to Riki — or to a truth about the Guardians and Eos that will shake Riki’s old Bison members to their core?

The Paradita’s obsession with Riki reaches a devastating climax and Iason Mink is forced to take action. Riki’s captivity reaches a new level of depravity as Iason proves once and for all that Riki completely belongs to him — mind, soul and body. Rieko Yoshihara’s dark and decadent saga of Riki the slum mongrel and Iason Mink continues in Ai No Kusabi, Vol. 7.
Commonwealth

The Commonwealth (連邦, Renpō) which can also be translated as Federation is the main political entity within the world of Ai no Kusabi.

There are in fact numerous Federations that were established throughout the world's history, and currently Amoy doesn't belong to any of them and is fully independent.

## History

In order to achieve political and economic stability, independent city-states, also known as Free Cities, have often federated with others for mutual benefit.

These Free Cities are independent and self-governing, but often not self-sufficient. For this reason they sought to create ties with other cities where, at least nominally, they would all retain their autonomy while expanding their economic and political power.

Smaller cities that had no special resources or notable industries were thus absorbed by a handful of large cities creating a federation. However, these federations were Commonwealths in name only. In reality these smaller cities became nothing more than semi-colonised vasal states.

## Role

Due to the nature of the Japanese language, it is often hard to tell if the text refers to one Commonwealth or several, or if there is one central government or if each federation has their own. With that in mind, the following are some of their functions and activities.

#### Scientific Expeditions

Every few years the Commonwealth government conducted routine inspections in space, visiting uninhabited areas. Before it became inhabited, Amoy was visited during one such inspection but was deemed uninteresting and was never visited again.
Dragonmasters

## Overview

The Dragonsmasters were people that possess the heart scales of a dragon. A dragon will loyally serve the witch who holds their heart scales for the rest of the life. Other than this and the fact that Dragonmasters have not been in Antebellum for centuries.

## Known Dragonmasters

The only known Dragonmaster in the Network Series so far is Sanna, the twin sister of Isadora.
Gideon Lagat

Gideon Lagat (ギデオン·ラガト, Gideon Ragato), was a witty and charismatic Blondy in charge of Midas.

## Personality

Despite his mostly inorganic state of being, the wit and the charm that he exhibited came naturally to him. He was considered the most expressive and outgoing of the Blondies, ever the life of the party and the center of attention.

Gideon was also quite mischievous. He was easily bored by what other blondies thought passes for entertainment and didn’t hesitate to voice his displeasure, even if it might offend them.

To him, Iason bringing Riki to Eos was a much-needed reprieve from the tedious status quo. He took any chance he got to egg Iason on to demonstrate the unpredictable behaviour of his wild pet. All for the purpose of entertainment.

He was quite direct and to the point, rarely beating around the bush, even to the detriment of the social decorum expected of a Blondy. And if it did come down to a battle of wits, he could certainly hold his own.

## At the Pet Debut Party

During Riki’s second debut, he was the one who insisted Iason show off the capabilities of the D-type ring. He was disappointed that Riki wasn’t availing himself of the aphrodisiac-spiked refreshments, but instead brooding in the corner. He called the event boring, but such objections had been prompted less by any discontent with the night's fun than by his righteous indignation over the star performer refusing to rise to the occasion after all the groundwork had been so carefully laid.

D-type pet rings were extremely rare, and seldom seen in action. Moreover, the custom ring Iason had made for Riki was the product of cutting-edge nanotechnology. There was no way Gideon could let a chance like this pass. That said, questioning the effectiveness of the D-type ring had likely been a deliberate ploy to set Riki off, rather than an innocent inquiry.

For the likes of Gideon, Riki’s presence and antics may have been nothing but a source of entertainment, however he still wondered why someone like Iason would degrade himself by keeping him.

## Function

    Gideon was the general manager of Midas and as such, anything happening there would have to go through him. Not even Iason had any jurisdiction there. Perhaps because of this, after Riki’s sudden disappearance from Apatia, Iason for a brief moment suspected that Gideon could have something to do with it. This, however, was not the case.

Gideon also occasionally hosted receptions at the Parthian Consulate for Commonwealth’s high-officials.

## **Gallery**

Gideon Lagat, as seen in the 2012 anime series.Gideon Lagat, as seen in the 2012 anime series.Gideon (in the rear, left) as seen in the 2012 anime series.
Organ Farm

The secret scientific experiments performed by the Black Market at Guardian under Tanagura's direction and supervision.

## **Origins**

Ceres had no industry, no unique skills it could trade. Something must be found that made the continued existence of Ceres worthwhile. That something was Guardian and its organ farm. (V4 p109, V5 p127)

## **Plans**

[Ceres] being in fact nothing more than a giant bioengineering farm, there was no way a Blondie could openly get involved. (V6 p17)

Using Katze as a lightning rod to exacerbate any discontent with Tanagura would allow [Iason] to make a clean sweep of the incompetents leeching off Guardian. Tanagura's plans for the organ farm were undoubtedly nearing the next stage as well. (V4 p122)

## **Specimens**

   Lining the center of the room was a row of cylinders that stretched as far as the eye could see... And inside them were...people. No -- not people -- but what used to be people.... (V5 p126)

There were specimens of what might be taken as humans who were cut apart and chopped into pieces. Or even the corpses of people who, through some sudden and drastic mutation, could no longer be termed people. Or even strange and precious samples from an unknown species. (V5 p126)

*A person who had his brain or internal organs removed...*

*A human with no bones...*

*A body covered with numerous, tumor-like faces....*

*The utterly strange mermen and mermaids....*

*The half-human, half-beast chimeras, looking like mistakes of nature....*

*Floating heads connected only to a dangling brainstem....*

*All of these specimens were before them.* (V5 p127)

In the tanks next to Kirie, inside a vivisected, headless torso connected to various wires and hoses, was a heart beating away. It was definitely alive. (V5 p127)

The tissues residing in these tanks were not specimens or autopsied remains. Although they weren't human beings with any dignity of life left to them, they were still living human beings. (V5 p127)

see Artificial Insemination

see Guardian: Scientific Experiments

see Keeler Lab
Sinkers

Sinkers (シンカー, Shinkā), or refugees, were off-worlders who, for whatever reason, stayed behind in Midas in defiance of the immigration laws. Those 'refugees' who overstayed their visas and couldn't go home again if they wanted to, were maligned as 'sinkers' but that didn't mean that they were necessarily without prospects.

## **Illegal Immigrants**

Visitors and sightseers who didn't leave when their visas expired were declared undocumented and arrested on the spot. Immigration control didn't care about excuses and accidents. The rowdy and bad-tempered among them were added to a blacklist and forcibly repatriated.

Being registered on the blacklist meant a nanochip was imbedded in the base of the skull, making a return visit to the planet of Amoi impossible. Any attempts to disregard the ban and enter illegally, for example, with a fake passport, and the nanochip would respond in a flash, killing its host.

Because legal attempts to apply for a visa were answered with a direct warning notice, lawbreakers were accorded no considerations, and no second chances.

This was why those who chose to deliberately become refugees kept their distance from the Midas Division of Public Safety, and disguised themselves as slum mongrels.

## Sinkers in Ceres

Despite the slums being the lowest of the low, desperate sinkers would try to pass off as mongrels and hide out in there, knowing that the Midas Police would not go after them there. Like the mongrels, refugees didn't have PAM ID devices. Consequently, provided no traits or characteristics indicated their place of birth, there was no way for the police to tell the difference between them and the mongrels. Many refugees took advantage of that and passed as slum mongrels in order to take up residence on Amoi.

> As far as we're concerned, sinkers and slum mongrels are litter from the same dumpster. The leech cuddling up to the cockroach to drain each other dry.
>
>

Some sinkers went to great lengths to conceal their off-worldly origin. They’d dye their hair or use dangerous chemicals to change the colour of their eyes, all in the effort to pass for natives of Midas. Others didn’t really care and were fine to stand out with their unusual appearance.

However, no matter how good the disguise, being guaranteed a quiet existence in Ceres was a completely different matter. Life had an altogether different value there. The slums were a law unto themselves and those who couldn't acclimate to that fact would get squeezed out as a matter of course.

Many off-world refugees also settled in Neal Darts.

## **Midas-born Refugees**

Born and raised in Midas but hiding out for reasons unknown, these sinkers didn't come off as all that different from the slum mongrels since they knew the slums well and did their best to fit in.

Knowing the almost inborn disgust Midas residents held for the slums and mongrels, the reasons for them to do this must indeed be extremely strong.

## Known Sinkers

* Thor
* Zach
Magic

## Overview

In The Network Series, magic is largely spell-oriented though no spells are ever written out. There have been one or two exceptions, however.

## Almorran

This was a magic used by witches of the Almorran race who existed during the times of the Mortal Wars. Almorran magic is considered to be a dark and evil magic that almost no one uses. Despite their wiping out, the magic of the Almorran people still exists.
1994 Ambivalence

Ai no Kusabi - Ambivalence was the third OST for the series and was released on March 25, 1994. The tracklist includes 11 tracks, four of which feature original monologues or lyrics penned by Yoshihara Rieko:

* Guardian ~Eden~ (monologue by Shiozawa Kaneto as Iason)
* Black Market (monologue by Tanaka Hideyuki as Katze)
* Metamorphose
* Eternal

All the tracks are new and were not previously released in any form. They were all composed by Yūichi Kobayashi.

The CD came with two cel cards illustrated by Naoyuki Onda, featuring characters from the 1990's anime.

Ambivalence was re-released in 1996 as part of the Deluxe edition with the same tracklist. The two versions can be distinguished by the catalogue number on the cover. 1994 edition's number is TDCD - 1028 while the Deluxe edition's is TDCD - 1141.

## Tracklist

1. Guardian ~Eden~ (4:15)
2. Guardian ~Dark Side~ (3:13)
3. Metallic City "Tanagura" (3:59)
4. Black Market (3:47)
5. Eos (4:01)
6. Erogenous Zone (3:23)
7. Apatia (3:20)
8. Neal-Darts (2:32)
9. Dana-Burn (3:56)
10. Metamorphose (3:34)
11. Eternal... (5:59)

## Booklet Contents

### Credits

* Producer: Rieko Yoshihara
* Sound Producer: Yuichi Kobayashi
* Violin Solo: Orie Kajiyama
* Director: Hisaki Terasawa (TDK Records)
* Recording Engineer: Manabu Sakurai
* Recording Studio: TDK Studio
* Mastering Studio: Hitokuchizaka Studio
* Illustration: Naoyuki Onda
* Designer: M. Egashira
* Special Thanks: June, Toshihiko Sagawa (June), Yasuo Hasegawa (AIC), Tohru Nakano (81 Produce)
Tanagura

The metallic city of the Elites, the ruling class of  Amoi. (V1 P90-91, V2 p75, V3 p45)

## **Description**

A digitized megapolis of perfect, mechanic order, where the mark of time is flawless, implacable. (V7 p9, V8 p17)

"[Tanagura] makes all that Midas neon look like kid's stuff. I guess no matter how high you climb, there's always somebody looking down on you." (V3 p46)

The grooves of ziggurats and skyscrapers seemed to reach all the way to the stars. (V6 p79)

## **Foundation**

With the goal of creating a prototypical metropolis unconstrained by political pressures or religious taboos, they [the Abis Think Tank] set about constructing Tanagura. A large number of scientists were brought to Tanagura with the aim of furthering human intelligence and prosperity, eventually giving birth to the supercomputer called Jupiter. (V1 P89)

see Abis Think Tank

## **Function and Purpose**

The very particular and coldly metallic beauty of Tanagura had not been the city's original defining characteristic. Rather, it had risen as a specialized cybernetic city, built by the androids who busily pursued the ends of their own creation. That was what personified Tanagura's nature. The mechanical city itself was a distillation of the unifying elitist ideology of the androids who ran it -- that of evolving the capabilities of their own brains and neural pathways into artificial life forms. And their omnipotent creator was the giant artificial intelligence known as Lambda 3000. (V6 p79-80)

## **Locations in Tanagura**

### **Eos**

Where the elites of Tanagura live, in Eos Palace Tower.

### **Iason's Office**

What served as Iason's office was linked thoroughly to the neural network. Elegant yet functional, it served as the pinnacle of machine artistry. [P] [In a trance] Iason lay in his recliner, eyes closed. As if he was one with the machinery of the room. [P] Around Iason, holodisplays ran datastreams continuously. Lights flickered, to be replaced by darkness, then light. Graphs and projections swirled across the space. [P] One by one each of the holodisplays shut down. The room fell silent. The neural jack in Iason's brow disconnected. [P] Iason's augmented brain was able to directly connect to the neural network and process exabytes of data per microsecond, beyond that of the normal brain. (V8 p106)

see Elites: Human Genetics

see Neural Network

### **Jupiter Tower**

Houses the giant mainframe of Amoi's supercomputer overlord, Jupiter.

### **Parthia**

In the chancellery of Parthia, dignitaries and diplomats mingled together at an evening soiree...a nod to the incredible power wielded by these participants from across the galaxy. (V8 p17)

### **Royal Center Building**

*"Come to room three, top floor of the Royal Center Building."* (V6 p60-62)

The top floor penthouse required a heavy-[duty biometric code on top of a general-purpose ID. (V6 p63)

Riki was sent to the Royal Center Building upon his return to Tanagura after his Year of Freedom, where Orphe and Iason carefully monitored his interaction to the other new pets waiting in the bar area.

## **Commonwealth Tensions**

(V3 p45)

see Commonwealth
Come Back

"**Come Back**" is the eighth track on Depeche Mode's twelfth studio album, *Sounds of the Universe*.

## Lyrics

Come back, come back to me

I'll be waiting patiently

Come back, come back to me

I'll be waiting here patiently

Walking a thin white line

Between love and hate

Wasting all my time in another world

In another place

I could use a little company

A little kindness can go a long way

Weeks turn into months

Months turn into years

Reaching the same conclusions

Gathering up the fear

Come back, come back to me

I'll be waiting patiently

Come back, come back to me

I'll be waiting here patiently

Light will always shine

In the heart of you

In truth and in reality

Only blindness can hide it away

I could use a little restraint

A little kindness can go a long way

Weeks turn into months

Months turn into years

Reaching the same conclusions

Gathering up the fear

You're living the same delusion

Gathering up the fear

Gathering up the fear

Gathering up the fear

Gathering up the fear

Come back

Come back

Come back

Come back

Come back
Black Moon

A powerful narcotic, with a reputation for being used for suicide. (V8 p158)

see Cigarettes for more

During the events at Dana-Bahn Katze gave Riki his case of Black Moon as a mercy killing, so Riki and Iason wouldn't suffer.

## **Description**

   The Black Moons had different colored filters. (V8 p160)

As depicted in the 1994 OVA, the Blak Moon cigarettes are titularly dark in color, but otherwise resemle most other cigarettes.

## **Use, Katze**

*'**"It's Black Moon. I have it 'cause of the business, just in case. You'll soon be relieved if you smoke it."*** **(OVA 2, 1994)**

It was a waste of time trying to argue. Katze drew his cigarette case from his breast pocket and gave it to Riki. *"Black Moons."* (V8 p158)

Riki knew Katze was a heavy smoker but had no idea he was carrying these. It was a last favor from Katze.

*"It'll be painless."*

Ah. Riki gave a wan smile and nodded... There was nothing left now. Somehow, it made his steps [back to Iason] lighter. (V8 p158)

## **Use, Riki and Iason**

*"You want one?"*

*"Could do. Not bad to have a last smoke with you."*

*"This is our last deep kiss."*

(OVA 2, 1994)

There wasn't much time. Riki drew two cigarettes from the case. *"Want one?"*

    Iason didn't ask where they came from. *"A last cigarette between the two of us. Not a shabby way to go."* Iason took a cigarette between his lips as Riki lit it.

The flame flickered. A whisper of smoke rose in the air. Riki took the other cigarette in his lips and lit it on the end of Iason's. As if it was a last, deep kiss between them. (V8 p160)
Ai no Kusabi Merchandise

Over the years, quite a lot of official merchandise has been released for Ai no Kusabi, mostly as part of anime promotions. This page will only include official merchandise.

## 1990s Merchandise

### VHS

The original anime came out on two VHS cassettes, one released in 1992 and the other in 1994

#### 1992 VHS

* Cassette
* Postcards(?)

#### 1994 VHS

* Cassette
* Postcards(?)

### June Magazine Mail Order

Some goods were available as mail order for the readers of June Magazine. Some issues would contain an order slip that people could cut out, fill in, and send to get the goods.

* Postcards

### DVD

The two episodes were eventually released on a DVD.

* DVD
* Script

### Other

* Phone Cards
* Flyers
* Posters

## 2000s Merchandise

### Promotional Material

This is merchandise that has been released separately from the DVDs.

* 4(?) different phone cards
* TAF09 Flyers and other merch
* Illusion Night short story + postcard
* Cal's Sigh short story

### DVD Limited Edition Blue-ray Contents

Some really nice merchandise was included with the Limited Edition for each episode

#### OVA 1 - Petere

* Blue-ray
* Script
* Keychain - Riki
* Pet Ring on a string
* Booklet
* Pony Canyon Membership Registration Form
* Full Set Purchase Coupon

#### OVA 2 - Pardo

* Blue-ray
* Script
* Keychain - Iason
* Music Box
* Booklet
* Pony Canyon Membership Registration Form
* Full Set Purchase Coupon

#### OVA 3 - Congressus

* Blue-ray
* Script
* Keychain - Guy
* Premium Settei Book
* Booklet
* Pony Canyon Membership Registration Form
* Full Set Purchase Coupon

#### OVA 4 - Retino

* Blue-ray
* Script
* Keychain - Katze
* Crystal Paper Weight
* Booklet
* Pony Canyon Membership Registration Form
* Full Set Purchase Coupon

### Cafe801 Event

Following goods were available at the event:

* 1 x Mini Poster (B4 size) [1] ¥ 500
* 5 x Postcards (set) [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] ¥ 500
* 1 x Exclusive Postcard (Given only upon purchasing the Ai no Kusabi postcard set and mini poster.) [1]
* 3 x Clear File (set) (2 types of A4 size + 1 type of B6 size) [1] [2] [3] ¥ 1000
* 1 x Tosho Card [1] ￥ 1500
* 4 x Illustration Card (given with Tanagura/Ceres Sets) [1] [2] [3] [4]
* 2 x Illustration Card (given with the purchase of any other goods) [1] [2]
Eos

Where the elites of Tanagura live, in Eos Palace Tower.

*"Nothing evolves here."* (V6 p86)

## **PALACE TOWER**

The one repository of the completely organic in Tanagura -- where the warmth of the human body could be felt -- was Palace Tower, Eos. (V6 p80)

Three different species lived [in Eos Palace Tower]: the android elite whose only remaining human component was their hyper-evolved brains; the slaves striped of all human dignity called furniture, and the pets, the mindless dolls bred only for sex. (V6 p80)

### **Apex Level**

Where only thirteen Blondies were allowed to maintain residence. (V7 p25)

#### **Iason's Residence in Palace Tower**

(V3 p131, V7 p38)

Iason's residence boasted high ceilings. Open panorama windows afforded a view of distant Jupiter Tower. (V7 p56)

Riki's [spacious] room couldn't be opened from the inside. All the room's security was accessible only from outside...[and] afforded him no privacy. (V6 p81)

There was no expectation of privacy; the keylock could only be enabled from the outside, not inside. (V7 p10)

### **Medical Center**

A walk to the main block of the medical center rather than Karuga-84 was new for Riki. [P] On arrival, Riki's collar was loosened. He was then guided by a medical android to the elevator. (V7 p27)

#### **Karuga-84 Facility**

The monthly medical checks required of pets were held at the Karuga-84 facility. (V7 p25)

*"[Cal] will escort you to the center."* In other words, on a leash. The norm for a medical visit. (V5 p26)

see Pet Ownership: Pet Health

#### **Room Number RS-35**

Where Riki was forced to see what Raoul had done to Kirie. (V7 p27)

see Mind Tampering

### **Nature and Technology**

In Eos, environmental controls kept the temperature the same no matter the day. (V8 p89)

see Technology: Climate Control

#### **Garden Level**

Encompassing the level was a verdant space with an endless expanse of soothing flowers. For pets kept illiterate, walking its spaces was part of their education on aesthetics and cleanliness.

see Eos Garden Level

see Eos Security: Violations and Rules

see Mimea Incident

### **Pet Salon**

Since the medical center and salon were located on the same floor, the sight of a collared pet was normal. (V7 p26)

see Pet Salon for more
Shuttle Buses

Free, twenty-four hour tourist shuttle buses ran through each sector [of Midas]. (V5 p87)

see Largo Station

## **Route Restrictions**

### **Genova**

The tourist guides designated the nearby areas as a 'red zone', and as a result, even the shuttle buses that ran every Area didn't stop in Genova. (V6 p59)

see Midas: Mistral Park (Area 3), Genova

### **Midas Police Center**

Except the [Midas Police Center] was far off the beaten track and no shuttle bus ran anywhere near the place. (V5 p87)

## **Mongrel Service**

The aeroshuttles making the rounds in Midas, unlike the cabs which demanded memstick payment and ID verification, weren't choosy about passengers. Even if one of them was a slumdog hidden in the gaggle of tourists. It was because of these aeroshuttles that slumdogs could go anywhere in most areas with impunity, a fact lost on most residents of Midas. (V8 p87-8)

see Midas: Tourism
Poorman

"Poorman" is the tenth track on Depeche Mode's fourteenth studio album, Spirit. Much like Phil Collins' “Another Day In Paradise”, this song deals with the indifference of people but also rich corporations who don’t even bother looking on the situation. This directly points out the capitalist system.

## Lyrics

Hey, hey, hey, hey

Hey, there's no news

Poor man still got the blues

He's walking around in worn out shoes

With nothing to lose

Hey, he's on the road

Pushing along his heavy load

Heading for no fixed abode

Shuffling slow

Hey

Corporations get the breaks

Keeping almost everything they make

Tell us just how long it's going to take

For it to trickle down

When will it trickle down?

Hey, he's on the street

Laying in the snow and sleet

Begging for something to eat

And looking beat

Hey, passers-by

They don't dare to catch his eye

Couldn't even tell you why

Or what's happening inside

Corporations get the breaks

Keeping almost everything they make

Tell us just how long it's going to take

For it to trickle down

When will it trickle down?
Mermaids

*"An experimental prototype. Getting the improved version ready for military use is going to take some time."* (V2 p166)

A half human, half fish chimera...the rousing and legendary mermaid. (V2 p162)

## **Description**

    A strange presence peered up at him. Whatever it was, its gaze bore into Riki, passing through him. It was not so much that the pupils had vanished from its eye -- more like a dull golden light poured from its eye sockets. (V2 p162)

There was no wind, but his dark green hair wavered in slow undulations. The whiteness of his skin bled into his surroundings like a glowing halo. There was a bluish, electric white light that covered his whole body like silver scales. (V2 p162)

The mouth divided its face from ear to ear, and held razor sharp teeth. The three-pronged claws extending from the end of its fins lent to the highly grotesque appearance that Riki found difficult to stomach. (V2 p163-4)

Full description (V2 p162-5).

## **Containment, Aquarium**

Riki at last realized that the entire room was a giant aquarium. And this person who was not-quite-a-person was inside it.(V2 p162)

Rushing helter-skelter, the half-man pursued him over the transparent wall like a predator going after game. (V2 p164)

As seen in the 2012 anime series.As seen in the 2012 anime series.As seen in the 2012 anime series.
## **Gallery**

As seen in the 2012 anime series.As seen in the 2012 anime series.As seen in the 2012 anime series.As seen in the 2012 anime series.
Gifs courtesy of Iason-Mink
Midas Vigilante Corps

The self-appointed neighborhood watch of Midas, the Vigilante Corps are comprised of citizens who see it as their solemn duty to keep the mongrels of Ceres off the city streets, by any means necessary.

The slum mongrels feared them even more than they did Darkmen. No matter how unconstrained their policing methods, as long as they didn't catch a mongrel in the act, the Darkmen would simply run him out of town. But the Vigilante Corps were different.

> These insects coming to Midas to pick at our table scraps must be exterminated once and for all.
>
>

The Vigilante Corps in each area were not forgiving and would pounce as soon as they spotted a mongrel, dragging them into the first alley, out of sight and beating them within an inch of their life, sometimes even to death. Their intense hatred of mongrels led them to actively engage in a style of street cleaning crudely known as "mongrel hunts ", where any identified mongrel was a target even for just walking down the street.

In time, they seem to have devised some way to spot mongrels in the crowd and pick them off with increasing regularity. There was a rumor that the Darkmen circulated mongrel mugshots to them, which made them much more accurate in picking out mongrels than before.

Luckily for the mongrels, the Vigilante Corps could not pursue them across the border, and the mongrels were safe from them as soon as they were back in Ceres.
Dingo

An informant or databroker. (V1 P102, 111. V7 p15)

## **Function**

If [the Ceres] denizens wished to know what was going on in the outside world, they had to go there on their own two feet and find out for themselves. That was why information dealers were so important in the slums. (V6 p59)

## **Buying and Selling Information**

*"Rumors, I can just pub crawl and pick up. Truth takes more effort. And information regarding this... if it came from someone close to it, it will sell high..."* (V7 p20)

Informants didn't have a set rate. Everything was negotiable. (V6 p59)

see Characters: Jango/Django, Robby/Lavi

See Sleepers
Ai no Kusabi Volume 5: Darkness

Author
 Genre
 Rating
 Release Date
 ISBN-13
 Format

 *The first thing Riki saw coming at him, the sound of the door cracked open, was the black luster of a gun. He instinctively jerked back. A second man -- hiding somewhere out of view -- pushed in after him, dressed all in black and moving in a manner that suggested he wasn't an ordinary working stiff.*

## **Description**

After his release from house arrest and return to the slums, Riki’s relationship with Guy has been awkward at best. Before they are able to resolve any of their relationship issues, the security forces of the notorious Midas cross the border for an all-out invasion. What is their conquest? Can anyone survive the attack of such powerful forces? (source)

The action comes to a head as Riki and hos friends are unwillingly dragged through the many intrigues of Midas and Ceres. Kirie is once more up to no good, and his lies and betrayals are finally catching up to him -- with dire consequences. Riki's relationship with Guy grows even more strained when all Riki wants is to hold on to what is most dear. And Iason still looms in the back of Riki's mind, ready to swoop in and reclaim Riki from everything he has ever known.

The impossible occurs as the Midas Division of Public Safety and the dreaded Darkmen invade the slums for the very first time. They are looking for one man: the odd-eyed Kirie. While the members of Bison are systematically tortured in an attempt to withdraw Kirie's location, Riki is dragged into the Midas Police Center, from whence few mongrels ever return. As the conspiracies grow larger and more tangled around him, Riki's circumstances are the noose around his neck that each dark, revealed secret only manages to tighten.
Chronicles of the Dragonmasters

## Synopsis

The old world is destroyed.

Fans of the YA fantasy novel FLAME can dive deeper into dragon history with this stunning new short story collection.

Taken from records kept by long-lost witches, Chronicles of the Dragonmasters offers a glimpse behind the curtain of the Great Massacre and the controversial dragon hero Talis.

Or was he a hero?

Find answers to the burning questions left in FLAME and immerse yourself in the growing world of the forest dragons of Antebellum with Chronicles of the Dragonmasters.