History Manga / Zetsuai1989

* WhiteHairBlackHeart: Kouji definitely occupies the lighter end of the trope. While he doesn't destroy planets with meteors or burn down orphanages, he's certainly one {{Yandere}} of a {{Seme}} with some serious shades of [[LoveMakesYouCrazy Love Makes You Crazy]]/[[LoveMakesYouEvil Evil]]. [[http://zarla.livejournal.com/349825.html Just ask Zarla]].

* NamesToKnowInAnime: ShowHayami plays Kouji, TakehitoKoyasu is Izumi, KappeiYamaguchi is Katsumi, MasamiKikuchi is Akihito, KumikoNishihara is Serika. . .

* WhiteHairedPrettyBoy: Kouji definitely occupies the lighter end of the trope. While he doesn't destroy planets with meteors or burn down orphanages, he's certainly one {{Yandere}} of a {{Seme}} with some serious shades of [[LoveMakesYouCrazy Love Makes You Crazy]]/[[LoveMakesYouEvil Evil]]. [[http://zarla.livejournal.com/349825.html Just ask Zarla]].

* EveryoneCanSeeIt: Everyone can see that Kouji is in love with Izumi, including Izumi's little sister, ''except'' for Izumi.

* ForgottenFirstMeeting: Kouji met Izumi six years ago when he saw him playing soccer and fell in LoveAtFirstSight... but Kouji thought Izumi ''was a girl'' until they met face to face in the present.

* ChildhoodFriendRomance: Extremely strange version. Izumi didn't even know Kouji loved him since childhood since Kouji only saw him once and fell in LoveAtFirstSight... and for added oddity, Kouji thought Izumi ''was a girl'' until they met face to face.

* DeadLittleSister: Madoka, for [[spoiler: Shibuya]]. In fact, [[spoiler: Shibuya became Kouji's manager after he, in quite the PetTheDog moment, sings to the dying girl.]]

* StalkerWithACrush: Kouji. Izumi [[HorribleJudgeOfCharacter doesn't realise it for ages]].

* '''{{Melodrama}}''': there's a very good reason why this trope is in bold.

* YamatoNadeshiko: Serika is one in training, arguably. Also, Kouji's younger sister is named Nadeshiko, but I don't remember if she was one as well.

* YaoiGenre: one of the defining series that launched the genre.

* BoysLove: one of the defining series that launched the genre.

* LoveHurts: Kouji goes through a rather extended period of pain and suffering while trying to suppress his feelings for Izumi. It doesn't work out well for him]].

* DeadLittleSister: Madoka, for [[spoiler: Shibuya]] In fact, [[spoiler: Shibuya became Kouji's manager after he, in quite the PetTheDog moment, sings to the dying girl.]]

* WillTheyOrWontThey: They do. Eventually. [[spoiler: It takes five volumes, if you even count the end of ''Zetsuai 1989'' volume 5 as a true example of "they do", which it arguably isn't since Izumi is just lying back and thinking of England. If you don't count that, it takes another three volumes.]]

* PingPongNaivete: for someone who is street-savvy, lives on his own and has gone through enough trauma in his life to strip away his own childhood and force him into adulthood ten years too early, he is ''[[TooDumbToLive ridiculously]]'' naive when it comes to relationships, love and Kouji. Especially Kouji.

* EveryoneCanSeeIt: everyone can see that Kouji is in love with Izumi, including Izumi's little sister, ''except'' for Izumi.

* FauxSymbolism: Angel wings! Feathers! Crosses! Sunflowers! ''Zetsuai'' itself has very little of this, but the later volumes of ''Bronze'' go crazy with the random symbolism -- Kouji's new band is even called "Kreuz", German for "cross".

* GreenEyedMonster: just ''try'' getting close to Izumi. Kouji will [[BerserkButton not take it well]]. [[LoveMakesYouCrazy At all]].

* RapeAsDrama. [[spoiler: Kouji rapes Izumi's girlfriend Minako out of jealousy and tries to rape Izumi to push him away. Hirose also raped Izumi, and hired a prostitute to do so as well.]]

* LovingForce: Subverted. Kouji [[spoiler: attempts to rape Izumi, but his real intention is [[JerkAssFacade to make Izumi hate him]], and at the last second, he backs off and doesn't go through with it.]] Later, played straight [[spoiler: since Kouji stops restraining himself; although Izumi sort of consents, it's in the spirit of "I'm tired of fighting this" rather than because he wants it, and he later refers to it as a rape and has frequent nightmares about it.]]

* VictimFallsForRapist: Subverted. Kouji [[spoiler: attempts to rape Izumi, but his real intention is [[JerkAssFacade to make Izumi hate him]], and at the last second, he backs off and doesn't go through with it.]] Later, played straight [[spoiler: since Kouji stops restraining himself; although Izumi sort of consents, it's in the spirit of "I'm tired of fighting this" rather than because he wants it, and he later refers to it as a rape and has frequent nightmares about it.]]

* RapeAsDrama. [[spoiler: Kouji rapes Izumi's girlfriend Minako out of jealousy and tries to rape Izumi to push him away.]]

''Zetsuai 1989'' ran in the {{shoujo}} magazine ''Margaret'' and was collected in five volumes, with the plot reaching no conclusion to speak of; the sequel series ''Bronze: Zetsuai since 1989'' ran in ''Margaret'' and later in the {{josei}} magazine ''Chorus, and then was collected in 14 volumes but broke off [[IllGirl due to the mangaka's illness]]; she eventually gave the series a proper ending in a doujinshi. There were four associated [[LightNovel light novels]], and two single-episode [=OVAs=], as well as a collection of associated music videos with the title ''Cathexis''.

''Zetsuai 1989'' ran for five volumes, with the plot reaching no conclusion to speak of; the sequel series ''Bronze: Zetsuai since 1989'' ran for 14 volumes but broke off [[IllGirl due to the mangaka's illness]]; she eventually gave the series a proper ending in a doujinshi. There were four associated [[LightNovel light novels]], and two single-episode [=OVAs=], as well as a collection of associated music videos with the title ''Cathexis''.

One of the great groundbreaking classics of the BoysLove, '''''Zetsuai 1989''''' and its sequel series ''Bronze: Zetsuai since 1989'' combine unique character designs and layouts with an emotionally intense storyline brimming with melodrama and always on the verge of breaking out into violence.

* RapeIsLove: Subverted. Kouji [[spoiler: attempts to rape Izumi, but his real intention is [[JerkAssFacade to make Izumi hate him]], and at the last second, he backs off and doesn't go through with it.]] Later, played straight [[spoiler: since Kouji stops restraining himself; although Izumi sort of consents, it's in the spirit of "I'm tired of fighting this" rather than because he wants it, and he later refers to it as a rape and has frequent nightmares about it.]]

* {{Expy}}: Izumi is what Kojiro Hyuuga from CaptainTsubasa would've been, if CT was a BoysLove series. JusitfiedTrope: Minami Ozaki started her career asa a Hyuuga/Wakashimazu djka.

* {{Bokukko}}: Subverted. Young Kouji ''thought'' that young Izumi was one, but many years later he got quite the [[DroppedABridgetOnHim bridget dropping]]. It doesn't help that "Izumi" is both a surname ''and'' a GenderBlenderName (though mostly used by females) in Japan.

* WhiteHairedPrettyBoy: Kouji definitely occupies the lighter end of the trope. While he doesn't planets or burn down orphanages, he's certainly one {{Yandere}} of a {{Seme}} with some serious shades of [[LoveMakesYouCrazy Love Makes You Crazy]]/[[LoveMakesYouEvil Evil]]. [[http://zarla.livejournal.com/349825.html Just ask Zarla]].

* {{Bokukko}}: Subverted. Young Kouji ''thought'' that young Izumi was one, but many years later he got quite the [[DroppedABridgetOnHim bridget dropping]]. It doesn't help that "Izumi" is both a surname ''and'' first name for girls in Japan.