I've read all kinds of genres before and I can say that most of the time, yaoi does not leave much of a lasting impression on me -- except this one.
I'm tired of the "ukes" being the typical boy who acts like a girl. For once, I would of actually liked to see two actual guys with personalities that did not make you doubt they were actually girls on the inside.
Ai no Kusabi answered my prayers.
And what? An actual plot to boot?
Ai no Kusabi is astounding because its able to mix a great (hot) chemistry between Riki and Iason as well as provide us with a detailed, complex setting and storyline.
Actually, I ran across this title after reading about the two part OVA in the Buried Treasure section of Anime News Network and decided to give it a try. Although it was a little slow an confusing in the first part, the second part blew me away and left me heartbroken for a few days; yes it's a heart-wreching tragedy but do not let that dissuade you from giving it a try. I'm not really the type to get emotional during movies so I was taken aback -- Ai no Kusabi is powerful stuff! However, I realized that the OVA was a little too rushed and cramped plot-wise so after some research, I discovered that it was indeed adapted from a novel. The movie was like an introduction for me to the series but it was still a great movie nonetheless so check that out too.
In it's time, Ai no Kusabi was very original and after reading it (6 volumes from June not complete yet), I can definitely see why. Besides the intense plot, the characters are well-developed and easily favorites. Riki, a rare charismatic slum mongrel whose pride and ambitions lead him to climb out of the slums and Iason, the cold elite Tanagura Blondie who has direct communication with the supercomputer Jupiter, are polar opposites with very strong personalities and no clue that their fates would cross and become permanently entangled.
I admit, the first volume put me off a little because it was a little too detailed in describing the setting. Just skim it or quickly read about it online and jump straight to volume 2.
DMP has not completed this yet because there was an issue with the licenser (another Japanese publisher took over and DMP had acquired the previous publisher's license) but with enough support, [cough people actually buying the books cough] DMP would have had no doubts licensing it once more.
So support Ai no Kusabi and see for yourself what a real yaoi masterpiece looks like =)