No Money

Okane Ga Nai is about Ayase, an 18-year old boy, who is sold on auction by his cousin, so that said cousin can pay off his debts. Ayase is bought by the handsome and violent Kanou, who Ayase apparently helped in the past or something. What he did is never really explained, but it was enough for Kanou to fall in love with him. In the beginning you think; "Oh, that's adorable. He came to save him and now maybe Ayase will fall in love with him and they'll live happily ever after." Sadly, that's not what happens. Instead, Ayase wants to save his cousin fromthe evil collectors and begs Kanou to help him save him. Kanou doesn't understand why Ayase wishes to save the cousin that sold him (and honestly, neither do I), so when Ayase accidently gives Kanou a small scratch on the cheek, Kanou rapes him. I'm not kidding, he rapes him. And afterwards, he claims that Ayase owes him and the only way to repay him is to sleep with him for money (hence the title "no money"). And that's the show, ladies and gentlemen, Kanou rapes Ayase. Again and again and again, and sometimes someone else rapes him. So I guess you could call the show "Uke gets raped a lot". But that's really not the worst part. Ayase starts to have FEELINGS for Kanou, at least when he isn't being raped by the jerk. I mean, what the hell? Ayase undeniably suffers from Stockholm syndrome. I wish this show wouldn't try to redeem itself with a love story. It could've worked, if Kanou didn't rape poor Ayase. But no, the show tells us that Ayase LIKES having sex with Kanou. Well, I guess it's alright then! Honestly, the plot makes little to no sense, but boy is it candy to the eye! I admit it, the situation itself is horrible, and Kanou uses poor Ayase to the extreme while the creator tries to convince us that it's okay. But it would be worse if the show didn't give us the satisfaction that it does. We see the beautiful uke in dreamy situations that would make any seme want to jump him, and Kanou is delightfully dominant and caring when it counts. Not many yaoi-animes have given me so much to squeal and drool at. But, admittedly, this is not for everyone. If you're the yaoi-fangirl who likes sweet stories were the boys slowly realize their love for each other and everything's flowery sweet and deeply plotted, skip this one. It will probably make you cry in disgust. But if you like it a little rough with extreme seme/uke relationships, rape and bondage, this is for you! As I said, this is pretty much soft porn, the plot isn't really that important; it's just there so we can see our cute uke get into dreamy, hot situations. Give it a try if you like those sorts of things, if not, I recommend watching "Junjo Romantica" instead.

Okane ga nai is everything that is wrong with the yaoi genre, and it was painfiul to sit through. Plot: Okane ga nai's biggest sin is that it's trying to portray itself as romantic, when in reality it is very sick. It is constantly trying to make the viewer think "oh isn't that sweet, they love eachother!", by having the characters in various dramatic situations where at the end they like eachother more. The truth is that this is a story about a possesive man, who become obssessed with a boy because he lent him an umbrella on a rainy day, who believes that raping isbad, but does it anyway. In order for his "beloved" to be free from the debt his cousin thrust upon him, the man pays him lots of money in exchange for sex. ROMANTIC HUH? 1/10. Art: The proportions are completely off: oversized shoulders and hands, thick necks, strangely shaped faces, and so on. Strange proportions is common in yaoi, but this is one of the worst designs I have ever layed my eyes on. The uke has discustingly big eyes (and several layers of eyelids, for some reason), and he looks like he's ten times younger than he actually is (fake shota). On top of that the seme of the story looks cross-eyed several times (just look at the OP). Backgrounds are simple and just as uninspiring as the character design. The colors are dull, and there is way to much grays, blues and beige. On top of that it is obvious that it had a low budget, so there is very little (and lazy looking) animation. 3/10. Sound: The only average part of the series. The OP is passable (but the lyrics doesn't fit the show at all), the ed forgettable, but both are OK to listen to. The background music is the typhical elevator music that sadly haunts most yaoi and hentai. The voiceacting isn't bad, but not particulary good either. Jun Fukuyama's voice is usually nice to listen to, but here it annoyed me, because he sounds scared and pathetic most of the time. 5/10. Characters: The main characters names are Ayase and Kanou, but screw it, lets call them Seme and Uke, because they are such stereotyphical yaoi characters, and neither of them are likeable or memorable. Uke is kind and almost always scared... that is all you get. Seme is possesive, a rapist, but tries to make things right (only to fail, but uke is such a sickly forgiving person), and that is all you get, The way the two main characters interact feels unrealistic and forced. The only decent character is Someya, and only because he/she has attitude and likes yelling at the Seme. There are no deep or interesting characters in this show. 1/10. Enjoyment: With everything (other than the sound) bothering me, I don't think it's suprising that my enjoyment is as low as it can be, and only stubborness made me complete the series. 1/10. Overall: It's a lousy yaoi, and there is nothing to praise. 2,2/10. Is this a series for you?: If the premise appeals to you then go for it, but if you want to watch it only for the sex, don't waste your time. You barely get to see anythig (and the little you get is still images, and it is tasteless and mostly rape as well). If you want better yaoi series, then I recommend the manga Junketsu Drop, and Zankoku na Kami ga Shihai Suru (compared to Okane ga nai, and most yaoi, it portrays the mental wounds caused by rape in a more realistic way).

This was the very first yaoi I ever watched, and it turned me off for ages. The story feels unimportant and alien, the characters are merely vessels of horny-ness, the art is simply not to my taste, and the fan service isn't even particularly interesting. It is completely devoid of romance, but still insists on half-assing the porn. I generally abhor rape yaois, and this never progresses past that. A good choice for when you're sick and tripping on cough medicine, and have nothing better to do and no expectations. A bad choice for any time else.