I've been reading reviews and I'm disappointed at the two opposites in opinnions: those regarding it as stupid, abusive and non-sense; and those perverts claiming the sex scenes are of the best they've seen. I differ from both and I believe there is more than meets the eye when it comes to Fusanosuke Inariya's works.
I had never heard of this anime before a friend of mine recommended it to me. I was sick of typical yaoi stories which had no serious plots and in which the characters were too plain and unrealistic, so I wasn't very sure about watching it at first.
I found the anime adaptation to be very different for that matter. The H scenes were very violent and the humilliation of Taki was something I'd only read in mangas so far. I was a bit confused about the political situation, though.
Story and Characters
Taki and Klaus' relationship does not evolve from hatred to love as it typically does in other romantic stories in yaoi. At the beginning of the OVAs, we are introduced to their downfall, to the abusive relationship of a man who does not understand the values of the one he fell for, and a submissive character who , in spite of being somewhat reluctant about it, chooses to drag it along in secret.
The sex scenes are not the moment in which the uke starts loving the seme, or in which the seme expresses his love for him. Here it's the torturous moment in which their relationship seems to be at its end, or at the very least, is in crisis.
After reading the manga, I came to understand why Taki didn't put an end to it. Not only are the manga scenes more explicit, but the dialogues express a lot about it. Taki craves for Klaus, but for his love and affection, while Klaus is desperate because Taki's been mantaining a distance between the two because of their circumstances.
Their relationship is more than a taboo. Not only are they both male, they are form different countries and what's more: they're at war. Taki is the emperor's nephew and Klaus was a spy for the Western Alliance and is suspected to be betraying Taki's trust and honor as his knight (which means he has renounced everything to serve Taki unconditionally).
Those around them certaintly do not understand their relationship. After all, why on earth would a noble man entrust himself to a foreigner with an uncertain past? The reason is less clear than I'd like it to be. They met when they were very young, at a ceremony in which Klaus got lost and ended up helping young Taki reach flowers. At this moment there is a bit of cliché, the whole love at first sight thing I'm usually not fond of. However, when they meet again at Luckenwalde and Klaus is assigned to watch over Taki, they end up falling in love after a year. They have their first romantic encounter and it's when you realise how genuine their feelings were when their relationship began.
I love Taki's character, he's strong, is an innate commander and deeply cares for his people; therefore he's unwilling to give up on them to stay with the man he loves, and the "solution" they find in order to be together unsuspected is Klaus becoming his knight, to which he eagerly agrees (even though Taki is well aware of how he is "becoming impure" by mantaining such a relationship, he doesn't stop Klaus when they first make love to one another). Klaus is not what I'd expect from the stereotyped seme. He's not handsome at all, nor appealing. He's very rude towards others and has no respect for any of his superiors other than Taki. He is, however, loyal to him and despite their sexual relationship deeply cares for him (which is why he becomes so enraged with himself after he realises the physical, phsychological and spiritual damage he's done to Taki by forcing himself on him).
The anime itself is not very clear on these aspects and I had to watch it twice and read the manga before I realised some of these aspects of their relationship. I like the idea of war-torn lovers, the whole taboo.Their relationship is more dramatic and sad than most I've heard of. So I give it a 9 out of 10 in the anime, although it's my second favourite manga. Same for the characters, there is not much character development, Taki is much more compliant and femenine than in the manga, in which he defies Klaus more (which enrages him and makes him do what he does - this appears to be way too impulsive in the anime, which I didn't like at all). So, I give it an 8/10. The side characters didn't leave an impression on me in the anime either, I repeat myself by saying this is far better in the manga.
Production
I really liked the detailed animation at first, although it doesn't do Inariya Fusanosuke's art justice, the beautiful colours they added and the great voice acting made me love it. The music is forgettable, but suits the atmosphere and plot.
Overall I think it's a good anime, the original work helps save the mistakes the adaptation makers made. It's definitely not a yaoi meant for starters or those faint of heart, but I love it regardless. I give it an overall 8/10, and do recommend for those who wish for a different kind of story n.n
(I wrote this on impulse after reading the reviews here and in other sites, I was pissed so I didn't pay much attention to the writing, pardon my atrocious prose, grammar and spelling D:)