Ai no Kotodama

Ai no Kotodama

Ai no Kotodama (愛の言霊, lit. 'The Power of Love Language') is a Japanese manga series by Keiko Konno [ja]. It was serialized in the yaoi manga ^{[Note 1]} magazine Daria from 2000 to 2003. A live-action film adaptation was released on October 27, 2007. A live-action film sequel titled Ai no Kotodama: Sekai no Hate Made, based on the short story Sekai no Hate Made compiled with Ai no Kotodama's volumes, was released on August 7, 2010.

Plot

Shinya Otani and Miyako Tachibana have been inseparable since high school. Now college students, both live together in a small rented apartment in the city while keeping their relationship as a secret, in order to avoid unnecessary complications. However, their happy life begins to fall apart after they meet Yukiko Mizusawa, an old friend from high school. While Tachibana welcomes her with open arms, Otani is not as excited as he is, mainly because at school there used to be rumors that Tachibana and Mizusawa were dating. As time goes by, Otani can not help feeling more and more jealous of Mizusawa, especially after realizing how perfect she was and believing that she was in love with Tachibana. His jealousy only gets stronger when she gives Tachibana a perfume for his birthday called "Jealousy", which turns out to be the same one that she uses. Otani becomes hostile and unfriendly, even beginning to doubt about the feelings of his lover for him and treating him coldly. This situation continues until, due to a series of misunderstandings after another, both argue and decide to separate for a while.

Otani refuges in the apartment of Shougo Sunochi, a college friend who deals with a long-distance relationship with a young American boy named Alfred. Tachibana, meanwhile, tries to fix the things between them and sends Otani a text message citing him to talk, but he does not see it as his cell phone stops working after getting wet. Believing that Otani had ignored him, Tachibana begins to fall into depression. Mizusawa, aware that something bad was happening between the two, finds the courage to confess to Otani that it was really him and not Tachibana who had always been in love with, only to come to the shocking realization that Otani and Tachibana were, in fact, a couple.

After clarifying things, Otani and Tachibana make up again. Otani, feeling sorry for his behavior, invites Mizusawa to throw fireworks with them at their university, where Mizusawa concludes that her feelings for Otani would never be reciprocated, but that was okay because she had always enjoyed seeing them together. The film ends with Otani and Tachibana being a happy couple again and enjoying their company, with Otani hoping that one day, his words of devotion, having so much power, will reach Tachibana.