MINAMI OZAKIS masterpiece ZETSUAI is one of the best and popular shonen ai series ever. In 5 volumes of ZETSUAI you'll learn about the  tragic lovestory of famous popstar Koji Nanjo and his beloved footballplayer Takuto Izumi which continues in 13 volumes of BRONZE.

ISBN 3-551-74776-8

(german release)

6 years ago Koji Nanjo fell in love at first sight with a girl he watched playing soccer. After this day he never met her again, but his love didn’t fade until now.

One morning Koji awakes after 30 hours suffering from heavy fever and the first thing he sees are the beautiful eyes of Takuto. This young guy found Koji days ago lying at the corner of a sidestreet between garbage cans under heavy rain and took him to his small appartement.

Suddenly Koji remeberes the girl he fell in love and he realises that he was mistaken: all the years he thought it was a girl he watched playing soccer. Someone told him it was Serika Izumi – but the one he saw was Takuto Izumi, her brother. Koji is fascinated of Takuto, he begins to follow him every step and tries to find out more about him. He gets to know about Takuto’s dark past and that he is an orphan. Koji hears abot the sad story of his mother who killed her husband right before Takutos eyes and wounded him at his left hip while he was trying to get between his parents.

Koji gets well again, but now it is Izumi’s turn to catch the bad cold. He ignores the fact he’s got high fever and goes out to play soccer. Koji is still following him. After the game Takuto breaks down but Koji is right there to catch him falling. He brings Takuto to the next hospital. While Koji watches Izumi sleeping, his feelings almost drag him to kiss the boy’s lips. Koji is really shocked by his action. At the same time Serika enters the room and Koji kisses her to cover his strange feelings. Meanwhile the newspapers reported about the scene at the soccer field. Nevertheless it was Koji Nanjo – the famous popstar who was missing some days and now he was caught watching soccer and rescuing a young player. Great story for the media which now tries to find out more about this young soccer player and what he has to do with Nanjo. After they reveal Izumi’s past takuto starts to hate Koji for putting him and his family into this kind of trouble.

ISBN 3-551-74777-6

(german release)

Koji is still confused about his feelings, but a last he confesses to himself that he really fell in love with Takuto and doesn’t care if he is a man or a woman. He tries to be close to Izumi who is getting more and more annoyed by him. Now the media reports about Koji Nanjo’s „new love“ – Serika Izumi, which drives Takuto really crazy. Serika is the only one who realizes that Koji’s true love is her brother and so she tries to bring them together. At one day Serika almost is ridden over by a car. Takuto runs after her but Koji pushes him away and saves her live. Takuto thinks that Koji almost sacrified his life for his sister. He dosen’t realise it was him Koji wanted to safe. But after Koji confesses his love to Takuto, the young soccerplayer really gets mad. Koji tries hard to give up about his love. He tries to forget while he puts every energy in his work as popstar. But he can’t deny his feelings which he can only express through his songs now.

ISBN 3-551-74778-4

(german release)

Koji’s love for Takuto is getting stronger every day. He can’t let go anymore. Koji tries everything to be close to Izumi. He even announces himself to the same school as Takuto. His manager from Shibuya Records is angry about how Koji acts. Koji spends most of his time with chasing after Izumi instead of working for his next tour. Koji’s getting closer to Takuto and takes every chance to show his love, but his beloved one still thinks that he is just joking. After Takuto loses his home, Katsumi offers him to live together with Koji and himself in his appartement.

ISBN 3-551-74779-2

(german release)

While working hard on his carreer as a popstar, Koji still takes every chance to be close to Takuto. When Takuto begins to put down his hostile behaviour and starts to trust Koji, the singer cannot hold back his feelings any longer and it comes to an inevitable disaster... Koji tries to prove his love to takuto by forcing him, but in the last moment he can control himself.

ISBN 3-551-74780-6

(german release)

Takuto tries to escape Koji’s desperate love by dating with a girl from his school. Koji’s reactions are completely different... He rapes Takuto's girlfriend to show how much he is in love with him and how serious he is. Takuto apologizes to her and takes all the fault on himself, because he just used her. Koji explains to her that he loves Takuto too much to ever let him go. She understands his feelings and leaves. Also Takuto begins to understand slowly.

Takuto’s mother, of whom everyone thought that she was dead, shows up and tells him the truth about her situation. She tells him that she has murdered her husband out of deep love and tells Takuto that he should never give up his feelings if he ever loved someone. After their talk she jumps from the roof of a high building. Takuto almost breaks down in pain and Koji promises him that he will always stay by his side to protect him. Takuto finally starts to trust him.

When Izumi receives an offer to start a real soccer carreer in Italy, Koji cannot hold back any longer. In panic of the thought that Takuto would leave him forever, he rapes him.

ISBN 3-551-74781-4

(german release)

Since his rape Takuto is chased by nightmares every night. Koji tries to avoid any contact to him as he dosen’t want to hurt him anymore. Takuto asks Koji if he was still in love with him and if he still wanted to sleep with him after all... They share one night together and when Koji wakes up the next morning Izumi has left. Koji finds a small note from Takuto which tells him he was leaving for one week to Italy to play soccer. Koji instantly follows him on his motorbike, but he drives like crazy in panic he might lose Takuto forever. He has an heavy accident and is delivered to the next Hospital. He drops back into a coma and according to opinion of the physicians, only a miracle could help to get him back to life.

When Takuto returns from Italy he gets informed about Kojis accident. Again he is about to break down, frightened he might lose Koji.

Several days he stays awake at Kojis bed and prays he would come back to life again. After his soccer manager talked to him he finally gives up his hope on Koji. He wants to play soccer, wants to live his own live – without Koji. It looks like the only chance to carry on again and so Takuto leaves.

ISBN 3-551-74782-2

(german release)

Takuto tries to live his life on his own agian. Concentrating on soccer he wants to forget everything. Hisaya Kunihide joins his soccerteam and both of them become friends. Takuto descides to live for his soccer carreer from now on and wants to put an end to the past. Once again Izumi goes to the hospital for his final visit to Koji. Koji awakes from the coma but he has lost his voice due the shock of the accident. In the meanwhile Hirose Nanjo informs his brother Koji of their father’s death and wants to take him back to their family. Koji has to follow the last orders of their father to become the leader of the Nanjo dojo. His music carreer should end immidiately. Koji takes this as his chance to stay away from Takuto’s life as he really doesn’t want to hurt his lover any more. His friend Katsumi calls him on the phone and tells him about Takuto. He says that Izumi is about to break down because of the pain Koji causes him. Koji leaves the dojo to search for Takuto.

Some guys from the press took pictures of Koji and are about to publish a dirty story about the star who lost his voice. Izumi beats them up and gets injured as well. He flees to a backstreet and breaks down crying. He cannot belive what he has done and why he did this for Koji. Quietly he calls out Koji’s name.

ISBN 3-551-74783-0

(german release)

In this moment Koji appears right in front of Takuto. Since all media are lurking around the Nanjo dojo, Takuto takes Koji to his small flat above the bar where he is working. Slowly Takuto accepts Koji’s love even though he cannot tell him his feelings. He isn’t even aware of what he is feeling and afraid of love since what happened to his parents.

Koji’s brothers Hirose and Akihito won’t accept that their brother gives a shit on their family and they do everything to destroy Koji’s live. Hirose drives the company of Izumi’s foster-father Horiuchi into bankruptcy and kidnaps Takuto to make him tell the whereabout of Koji. Koji begs his brother to take back his actions towards the company of Izumi’s foster-father. He kneels down in humility before his elder brother. This degradation drives Takuto mad. He shouts at Koji, reminds him he always promised he would do everything for him and now he won’t even speak to him. This reaction helps Koji to get back his voice. In front of his brothers he confesses his deep love to Takuto and tells Hirose he’ll leave the family.

Koji calls his band together for one last album and a final concert. Now that he has Izumi at his side he doesn’t need his carreer as popstar anymore. At this concert, after Koji told his fans it was his final, one of the fans (Eri, the girlfriend of Hisaya Kunihide) gets crazy and attacks the star with a knife. The wounds are not very serious but Koji  shall be looked after. So Izumi decides to stay at his side from now on and take care of him.

ISBN 3-551-74784-9

(german release)

After Eri had attacked Koji at his final concert she is hated by Koji’s fans and surrounded by the press. Her mental condition is getting worse every day. Hisaya who loves her very much wants to do everything he can to help her and looks for revenche on Koji, who he thinks is the reason for all this. Hirose gets in contact with Kunihide and offers him to hold back the media from Eri – in exchange he should rape Takuto. This should hurt Koji the most.

In the meanwhile Koji tries to do everything to make his lover happy. He even starts cooking for him. Takuto descides not to go to Italy anymore. Deep inside he is aware of his true feelings towars Koji but he cannot tell him. „love“ means „leave“ and be left alone like he learned in his sad past.

On chrsitmas eve when Izumi is about to leave his soccerteam to go home and celebrate with Koji, Kunihide wants to speak with him alone. They go to Kunihide’s appartement – Koji’s former home. Hisaya put something into Izumi’s drink to make him numb. This should help him to pursue Hirose’s dirty order. But Izumi is still strong. He tells Kunihide about Koji and how similar his love to him is like Kunihide’s and Eri’s. Hisaya begins to understand and lets go of Takuto. But Hirose is already here to finish his plan.

ISBN 3-551-74785-7

(german release)

Hirose hates Koji, because his whole life he fought hard for the love and acknowledgment of their father, who however always preferred Koji. Now he wants to take revenche in destroying what Koji loves the most: Takuto.

Together with his secretary he rapes Takuto and tells him the truth of his parents: Takuto’s father betrayed his wife with another woman. For Takuto now all illusions of love and confidence break down.

Koji is really worried about Izumi who hasn’t returned. He calls Katsumi who tries to calm down Koji, but he dosen’t care. Immediately he starts to look for his lover and finds him in a picture of misery sitting in front of his orphanage. He takes him home where Takuto lies to him and tells him he found another lover. Koji finds the marks of violence Hirose had left all over his body and begins to realise what really happened. He wants to show Izumi how much he loves him, even by force. And so he finally rapes Izumi, who even provoced him before. At the end Koji wants to leave, so he gives to Takuto some drugs to make him sleep. Takuto reaches into the sleep after Koji's hair and clasps themselves to it firmly, but Koji cuts them off and leaves.

ISBN 3-551-74786-5

(german release)

Koji visits Hirose, armed with a katana. He wants to set a final end for the agonies, which his brother causes him and Takuto. After he hurts Hirose, Koji cuts himself off his left arm to prove how serious he is in leaving the Nanjo family and all tradition behind itself.

In the meantime Takuto notices Koji’s disappearance. When Katsumi calls him on the phone, he lies to him and tells that everything would be o.k. and Koji still sleeps. Katsumi doesn’t trust Takuto’s calm words and shows up at their home where he finds out Koji wasn’t there. At the same moment Koji appeares and he tells Katsumi he should leave, everything is fine. After Katsumi left, Izumi sees what happened. Takuto is completely furious on him in the first moment, but in the end he understands. Also he wants to put an end to his pain of the past and cuts his old scar at his hip with a large knife from the kitchen.        

ISBN 3-551-74787-3

(german release)

Instead of breaking the love between Koji and Takuto which was planned by Koji’s brothers,  their relationship just grew stronger because of that. Also Kunihide notices the feelings of the two for each other.

After Koji’s and Takuto’s injuries slowly healed, Takuto gets seriously wounded at his knee at a soccer game. He suffers from depressions with the thought never to be able to play soccer again. Koji’s sword arm is replaced now by a prosthesis.

Half of Bronze volume 7 contains bonus stories about Kunihide and Eri, as well as Koji’s comeback with his new band "Kreuz".

At the end of Bronze 7 Izumi goes back to Hirose and demands the return of Koji’s ring, which he carried at his lost hand. When Takuto gets it, he notices the engraved initial letters of the names of Koji and him.

ISBN 3-551-74788-1

(german release)

After one month rehabilitation in a private hospital Izumi starts his soccer training under supervision of specialists. He decides to go into a home, until Koji would have their planned house finished. Izumi concentrates ever more on soccer. It is the most important thing to him and that he shows Koji all the time. Koji even gets almost broken by it.

It’s like Izumi concentrates so much on his carreer because he again wants to escape Koji’s feelings. When Koji and Izumi spend a common day at the beach and a hot night in a hotel, Izumi becomes aware of the intensive feelings he has for Koji. He is really frightened.

Izumi becomes more popular with fans and media and it’s getting quite hard for both to keep their relationship secret. Izumi’s injury is healed and the glorious path of a soccer carreer is lying in front of him.

ISBN 3-551-74789-X

(german release)

Although Koji sees, how happy Izumi is, his burning jealousy towards soccer almost drives him crazy. Even after Takuto told him he would never compare soccer to Koji, he still is jealous. He wants Izumi to be his one and only!

Takuto is now finally conscious of his feelings for Koji and tries to show him with small hints  (he even kisses Koji, wears his rings... but he still cannot confess his love - _ -) While Izumi is at the training camp, Koji betrays him with some women again. Partly from fear to be homosexual as well as because of his longing after Izumi, from which he is separatet now already a few days. Izumi reacts extremely jealous.

But he’s not the only one who is jealous: Akihito notices Hirose’s passion, with which he pursues the career of Takuto. Akihito finally wants to get rid of everything and everyone that distracts Hirose. At Christmaseve, when Izumi goes out to Tiffany’s to fetch his valuable gift for Koji (an expensive crucifix pendant), Akihito rides over him with his Porsche.

ISBN 3-551-74790-3

(german release)

This time the main part of Bronze is quite short, but really tragic...

While Koji waits for Izumi to return he gets a phonecall from the hospital. He is told, that the physicans did everything to keep Izumi alive. Takuto’s injuries are really serious. Due heavy injuries at his spinal column Izumi will spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair.

Meanwhile Hirose also got a phonecall from the hospital where Akihito was brought. They inform him about his brother’s mental condition which makes him live back in the time before his father’s dead.

The police investigates the accident. Since there were no traces of break on the road, they cannot exclude it was no real accident but planned murder. When they inform Katsumi of the person who was the driver of the Porsche, he tries everything to keep that fact in secret. Koji may not know the truth.

Koji thinks of the future for Takuto and he is sure his beloved one would suffer great pain when he awakes and get to know he would never be able to play soccer again. He wants to take away this pain and while he is kissing him for the last time, he tries to kill Izumi.

Katsumi, Takasaka and some physicans enter the room in the right moment to Stopp Koji’s actions. Koji resists with all his strenght in order to finish his plan. Katsumi talks to him and succeedes with stopping his friend.

While Koji stays at Takuto’s bed watching him sleep, he thinks about the chances they still got. Izumi opens his eyes and silently calls out Koji’s name.

Rest of Bronze 10 are bonus storys telling of the few happy moments Koji and Takuto shared before. Also one short story of Hirose and his bodyguard Kurauchi.

ISBN 3-551-76131-0

(german release)

After Izumi returned from his coma he get to know the sad thruth: he had an accident and will most likely forever be enchained in a wheelchair. At that moment Takuto absurbs frightening reposefully this message. He needs a while to realize the extent of the horrors.
He tries to get out of his bed, but his legs won’t move. When he tries to stand up from bed, he fell down on the floor not able to return but he gets toughly his situtation.
When Izumi gets a chance to speak alone to Katsumi, he asks him "What is with the driver?" Katsumi tells him and asks if he did see him, but Izumi says no and also begs him not to tell Koji a word. Shibuya pledges discretion.
Katsumi tries everything that is within his power to help Takuto. He arranges all for Izumi’s transfer to a spezial hospital in the USA. where he can be medicated better.
Just before Koji and Takuto want to leave the country, Izumi asks Koji to visit the grave of „Koji“. (A dog he found at Koji’s side at the day Izumi picked him up; Zetsuai vol. 1; The little dog died in a car crash later.) On the meadow where Izumi had buried the dog is now a football ground and some kids are playing. Izumi wants to stay for a while to watch their game. When suddenly one of the kids misses the ball, it flies to Izumi. The ball rolls near him but he can't reach it so he slides on the ground to it. When he achieves it he throws it back to the little wondering boy. After the boy did run back to play on, all of Izumi's grief and despair over his fate outbursts.
He cries why him, why his legs? why didn't he die? By crying he says: "I return your arm back to you. Give me back my legs." He would give Koji back his left arm and would do everything what Koji wants only to get back his legs. Everything...
He asks Koji if it’s that what he always wanted: Takuto just for himself, his „one and only“, no soccer – only him, Koji, in Takuto's life.
Koji confesses his jealousy of soccer and his egoistic will to bind Izumi to him. Koji’s long hidden feelings break out while he tells screams Izumi all his agonies.Takuto takes him in his arms and thanks him for his outspokenness.
Izumi always knew about Koji’s feelings and it did hurt him watching his lover suffering all the time.
Takuto tells Koji that he needs soccer AND him. He will never give up and one day he’ll definitely play soccer again, Koji at his side watching him.
It starts to rain and they drive to a hotel to warm themselves up. At the next moment Koji is getting closer to his beloved, Takuto remembers the day of the accident and Akihito's face. He is scared and prays Koji would never ever experiences the truth who drove the car.

Meanwhile at the Nanjo dojo: Akihito takes an opportunity to drag Hirose much closer to him. Caused by his amnesia he’s suffering since the accident he acts  like an innocent child, but Kurauchi (Hirose's bodyguard) notices that this little bastard is just pretending.
The situation exacerbates and everything forbodes that it will not get quite calm in the Nanjo house yet.

At the end Koji experiences by coincidence, who the driver of the car was, which destroyed Takutos life. His look presumes the worst...

ISBN 3-551-76132-9

(german release)

Koji and Izumi go to New York in order to make a better therapy of Izumi possible. The physician Dr. Hina explains Izumi his prospects. Izumi is convinced that he will accomplish to become a professional football player.
Koji and his band are working on new songs, which do burst - fully of the pain and mourning which that Koji feels inside.
Koji is racked by remorses because he always thinks of his own fault at Izumi's accident.
If he would never stepped into Izumis life, his lover would never have to suffer like this.
Izumi meets an ex sportsman, who also has to live in the wheelchair since an accident and he tells Izumi his sad story.
Koji is really despaired that he isn't able to do anything to help Izumi.
They drift more and more apart, speak barely with each other and also the distance between them in bed gets bigger.
The thought that Koji does not need him any longer hurts Izumi.
Koji nearly lives -only- on alcohol while Izumi uses high doses of sleeping pills to find some shuteye.
In the meantime Akihito is cracking up: he holds his brother Hirose captive, so no one can drag him away from him and even Kurauchi can't do anything about that. Hirose does not resist that, because he feels that soon everything comes to an end.

One night Izumi directly speaks to his lover and points out that Koji hasn’t touched him anymore since this bad accident. He asks Koji for showing him that he still can feel, that he is still alive. One of the most beautiful love-scenes follows his words...but still no Happy End in view.
Directly during they have sex, Izumi panics that he can’t feel anything. He feels NOTHIN and absolute NOTHING can help him to escape his fate.
Crying he asks Koji if it could be possible for two people to become one unity to forget everything.
Koji looks at him and thinks of the words of Izumi’s Mum, who said that if someone loves the other one so truly, he can really accomplish EVERYTHING for his love. Suddenly Koji freaks out.
He answers that it could be possible, but not with him. He starts to fustigate Takuto, gibes him with the worst words and tells him that he doesn’t love him anymore, He feels sick of this kind of love. His worst action: he rips down his crucifix from his neck which was Izumis valuable present and takes away their rings. After this he brutally rapes Izumi and leaves.

Next morning when Katsumi and Takasaka find Takuto, he tells them Koji has left. He doesn’t love him anymore and has thrown their rings down in the toilet and flushs it. Izumi has inner bleedings and is taken to hospital again. Meanwhile Katsumi explains Takasaka the whole story of Koji and Izumi.
At the hospital Izumi craves Katsumi, if he would help. Help Koji.

Meanwhile Koji has his fun at some grubby bar. Extreme short cut hair, unshaved and a death expression in his eyes. Lulu, a really sexy suggestive lady, picks him up. Before they leave someone speaks to Koji.

Izumi leaves hospital again. Katsumi and Takasaka stay at his home to watch over him. While they are all asleep, Izumi steers his wheelchair to the kitchen. Most quietly not to wake someone up. He takes the biggest knife and moves it up to his throat...

ISBN 3-551-76133-7

(german release)

The stranger who speaked to Koji from behind at the bar is Dr. Hina. He offers Koji to help him getting a new identity. Contact lenses, passport, a new arm prothesis which won’t attract attention at the airports.

Izumi still sits in his wheelchair, the sharp blade close to his throat, and thinks of the time he spent with Koji and his conversation about love with Katsumi. At the point of his memories of the day he lost his happiness by courtesy of this accident, he thrusts with the knife.

Koji awakens after the night he shared with Lulu and thinks about what he has done to Takuto. He is racked by remorses, thinks about what else he could have done. But now everything was too late.

Hina helpes him to get this new arm prothesis and tells him about Izumi who committed suicide. Koji is going mad. He wants to go after to Izumi, but Hina tells him that it is too late. They had already taken Izumi’s corpse back to Japan. But Koji won’t give in. He wants to fly back too. Hina promises him to help him. Koji can’t belive Hina’s words and tries to call everyone he knows. First he calls Izumi but he doesn’t answer the phone. Everyone Koji calls can’t or won’t tell him anything about Izumi.

Back in Japan Koji visits a graveyard where he meets Katsumi, who was just visiting his sister’s (Madoka) grave. He is quite bewildered to meet Koji. He tells Koji that despite of what happened Izumi didn’t blame Koji. He leaves Koji and thinks back of the night he found Izumi heavy bleeding. Just before Izumi fainted he told Katsumi that he believes everything will turn out good again. Koji can come back now, everything is ok.

When Katsumi comes back, Koji is gone. He immediately calls Hirose to warn him about Koji, who will sure pay a visit to him soon. Hirose seems cool and doesn’t care. Suddenly Katsumi gets hit from behind.

Hirose and Akihito are talking to Hina on the phone. It seems Hirose knew Hina before.
Koji visits all places which reminds him of Izumi. Their former home – now empty and cold, Izumi’s orphanage – not here anymore. Finally he arrives at the small sidestreet where Izumi found him in the rain between garbage cans. He sits down and prays Izumi would find him again to take him with. Out of his jackett he takes out the rings and the crucifix. He thinks about the fact his own existence caused his brother’s hate to Izumi.

As Katsumi thought, Koji appeares at his brother’s home.
Akihito has thethered up his brother Hirose and was waiting of Koji all the time. Waiting with his sharp katana. Koji asks Akihito to kill him quick. But that’s not what Akihito has planned. He get’s angry and attacks Koji. But Koji doesn’t resist. Just after Hirose mentions Izumi’s name, Koji starts to defend. Akihito takes Koji’s katana and thrusts it in his own chest to make it look like murder. Dieing he asks Hirose to bring Koji as murderer to jail – this would help Hirose to be free. Koji tries to kill Hirose but his bodyguard Kurauchi almost shots him down to save his master.

Koji leaves and stays at Lulu’s place. The tragic murder case is already shown on TV. Lulu tells Koji that Izumi is still alive.

Now you can see Koji - who is fighting his way through masses of reporters – and Izumi. He comes to stand right infront of his lover. Izumi notices a small band at Koji’s wrist: their rings and the crucifix. Smiling he promises Koji of two things he will never ever give up: soccer and Koji. Koji get’s arrested and while he follows the officers in bracelets he remembers Izumi’s tender words.

ISBN XXXXXXXX

BRONZE 14 - SUMMARY IS COMING SOON!!!

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