is a long-running shōjo manga by Yasuko Aoike

Yasuko Aoike

is a Japanese manga artist, born on July 24, 1948 in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi. Most of her works are shōjo manga, predominantly focused on romance, adventure, and light comedy, and many of them contain elements of shōnen-ai. She is included in Year 24 group....

 which originally began publication in 1976 by Akita Shoten

Akita Shoten

is a Japanese publishing company established on August 10, 1948 in Chiyoda, Tokyo. Its main editorial target has always been teenagers , and it currently publishes mostly manga...

. The series ran irregularly in the Japanese anthology magazine Viva Princess from December 1976 to April 1979, then moved to the sister publication Princess

Princess (magazine)

is a shōjo manga magazine published monthly on the 6th in Japan by Akita Shoten. It is aimed at teenage girls, and its main competitors are Lala, Bessatsu Margaret, and Betsucomi. Its sister publication is , which branched out from the Princess magazine in 1979...

 beginning in September 1979. It was featured regularly in Princess, with several later side stories appearing in Viva Princess, until August 1989. It went on hiatus for several years, then reappeared in Princess in May 1995 and ran irregularly through December 2007. As of January 2009, it is once again regularly featured in Princess Gold. The English translation by CMX

CMX (comics)

CMX was a division of Wildstorm Productions, an imprint of DC Comics which in turn is owned by Time Warner. It was DC's line of manga translations....

 began publication in 2004. It has also been translated to Chinese, as Romantic Hero, with 21 volumes.

The series revolves around the adventures of Dorian Red Gloria, Earl of Gloria, an openly gay

Gay

Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....

 English lord who is an art thief

Art theft

Art theft is usually for the purpose of resale or for ransom . Stolen art is sometimes used by criminals to secure loans.. One must realize that only a small percentage of stolen art is recovered. Estimates range from 5 to 10%. This means that little is known about the scope and characteristics of...

 known as "Eroica", and Major Klaus Heinz von dem Eberbach, an uptight West German NATO major.

The series is driven by frequent inadvertent encounters between Dorian and Klaus, with Dorian often disrupting Klaus's missions. Dorian has developed a fondness for and flirts incessantly with Klaus, who typically reacts with extreme disgust. Other reoccurring characters include Dorian and Klaus's respective subordinates and Klaus's enemies from the Russian KGB

KGB

The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...

.

The series is generally comedic, although it involves violence, theft, and bizarre international incidents. Much of the series spoof

Parody

A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...

s spy stories, as indicated by the title, a play on the James Bond

James Bond

James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...

 novel From Russia, with Love.

Characters

Character	Group
Dorian Red Gloria, Earl of Gloria	The Eroica Gang
James	The Eroica Gang
Bonham	The Eroica Gang
Beck	The Eroica Gang
Major Klaus Heinz von dem Eberbach	NATO
Agent A	NATO
Agent B	NATO
Agent G	NATO
Agent Z	NATO
The Chief	NATO
John Drake	NATO
Mischa the Bear Cub	KGB
Polar Bear	KGB
Saleem Al Sabaah	Rogue's Gallery
Gian Maria Volvolante	Rogue's Gallery
The Bakchials	Rogue's Gallery
Professor Caesar Gabriel	Caesar, Sugar and Leopard
Sugar Plum	Caesar, Sugar and Leopard
Leopard Solid	Caesar, Sugar and Leopard
Charles Lawrence	Agents and Police
Tarao Bannai	Agents and Police
Sister Theresa	Others
Herr Hinkel	Others
Lady Devlin	Others

A Thousand Kisses

A Thousand Kisses centers more around Caesar, Sugar and Leopard, than it does around the series's title character, "Eroica" (or Dorian Red Gloria, Earl of Gloria). The other main character of the series, Major Klaus von dem Eberbach, does not appear at all in this part. Some fans go so far as to, when recommending the series, caution that the "interesting" stuff does not start until the next part, Iron Klaus.

Three teenagers with supernatural powers meet Dorian, Earl of Gloria, at an art lover's, Lady Devlin's, house, during an exhibition. Dorian becomes infatuated with one of the teens, Caesar Gabriel. He performs a series of heists, among them he steals a painting which strongly resembles Caesar. The trio of teenagers are suspected by detective Tarao Bannai, of INTERPOL

Interpol

Interpol, whose full name is the International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL, is an organization facilitating international police cooperation...

, since Caesar had expressed a liking for the painting despite just having claimed it a fake. In self-defense, the trio starts investigating the matter themselves.

In trying to capture the Earl's interest (which gets more and more focused on Caesar) Sugar Plum and Leopard Solid makes a statue of the Archangel Gabriel

Gabriel

In Abrahamic religions, Gabriel is an Archangel who typically serves as a messenger to humans from God.He first appears in the Book of Daniel, delivering explanations of Daniel's visions. In the Gospel of Luke Gabriel foretells the births of both John the Baptist and of Jesus...

 (looking very much like Caesar) and hides it in Westminster Abbey, intending for Dorian to steal it. Dorian, knowing it is a trap, ups the ante, by calling the Abbey to inform them of what he intends to do. Using Westminster Abbey as a bluff, he then proceeds to rob the British Museum, only to, when the police heads over to the museum, take the Gabriel statue - and Caesar.

The first part gets its name from a poem Catullus

Catullus

Gaius Valerius Catullus was a Latin poet of the Republican period. His surviving works are still read widely, and continue to influence poetry and other forms of art.-Biography:...

, which Dorian thinks of while kissing Caesar.

Special guest stars of this episode: characters from Sons of Eve, another of Aoike Yasuko's series, when Caesar, Leopard and Sugar flees Tarao Bannai into a club where Sons of Eve play.

Cast
Professor Caesar Gabriel
Sugar Plum
Leopard Solid
Dorian Red Gloria, Earl of Gloria
Lady Devlin
James
Tarao Bannai
Beck
Heath (Sons of Eve)
Justin (Sons of Eve)

Visited Countries
England England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental... London London London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
Peru Peru Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....  (flashback) Nasca
France France The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France... Paris Paris Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
United States United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... New York New York New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

Heists
National Gallery National gallery The National Gallery is an art gallery on Trafalgar Square, London, United Kingdom.National Gallery may also refer to:*Armenia: National Gallery of Armenia, Yerevan*Australia:**National Gallery of Australia, Canberra... , London, England
Musée du Louvre, Paris, France
Metropolitan Museum of Art Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the... , New York, USA
Lady Devlin's House, London, England
Tate Gallery Tate Gallery The Tate is an institution that houses the United Kingdom's national collection of British Art, and International Modern and Contemporary Art... , London, England (aborted)
Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,... , London, England
British Museum British Museum The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its... , London, England

Iron Klaus

The second part takes place about half a year later. The title character is Major Klaus Heinz von dem Eberbach He works for NATO, the intelligence division, Bonn

Bonn

Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....

, West Germany

West Germany

West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....

. "The other side calls him 'Iron Klaus' out of respect and fear."

Klaus's mission is to evaluate Professor Caesar Gabriel, to see if he is telepathic. In order to find out, he sets Caesar to evaluate the Eberbach Collection, owned by Klaus's family. Klaus and Dorian meets up for the first time when Dorian comes to view the collection. Later Dorian steals some of the paintings, earning Klaus's wrath. Meanwhile, though, Klaus has Caesar and Dorian still wants him, so he steals him too.

At first Dorian does not like Klaus at all, calling him a philistine. Eventually Dorian realizes that Klaus does appreciate beauty, though, albeit one of steel. He even starts seeing what Klaus sees in it - and promptly steals something very dear to Klaus ...

Cast
Major Klaus Heinz von dem Eberbach
Agent A
Agent B
Dorian Red Gloria, Earl of Gloria
James
Professor Caesar Gabriel
Sugar Plum
Leopard Solid
Tarao Bannai
John Drake
Lieutenant Colonel Otto Reinhart
Professor Erlich Gunter

Visited Countries
West Germany West Germany West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....  Bonn Bonn Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999.... , Eberbach Eberbach (Baden) Eberbach is a town in Germany, in northern Baden-Württemberg, located 33 km east of Heidelberg. It belongs to the Rhein-Neckar-Kreis. Its sister city is Ephrata, United States.- Location :...
England England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental... , London London London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its... , Scotland Scotland Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
Holland, Amsterdam Amsterdam Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...

Heists
German Embassy, London, England

Achillies' Last Stand

Cast
James
Lord Dorian Red Gloria, Earl of Gloria
Major Klaus Heinz von dem Eberbach
Agent A
Agent B
Agent C
Agent D
Professor Caesar Gabriel
Countess Boulanger
Duke Boulanger
Bonham

Love in Greece

Cast
James
Lord Dorian Red Gloria, Earl of Gloria
Maya Bulgakova
Yanis Phaerikis
Major Klaus Heinz von dem Eberbach
Agent A
Agent G
Bonham
Agent B

Dramatic Spring

Cast
Lord Dorian Red Gloria, Earl of Gloria
James
Bonham
Major Klaus Heinz von dem Eberbach
Agent B
Agent C
Gabon

In'shallah

Cast
Lord Dorian Red Gloria, Earl of Gloria
James
Major Klaus Heinz von dem Eberbach
Bonham
Agent Z
Giovanni Stephano
Captain Sanjhiabi
Captain Azhali
Agent H
Agent L
Ibrahim Arashid, Gedi
Harlun
The Bakchials

Hallelujah Express

Cast
Lord Dorian Red Gloria, Earl of Gloria
James
Major Klaus Heinz von dem Eberbach
Agent A
Agent B
Bonham
Agent G
Agent Z
Mischa the Bear Cub
Dostoyevsky
Tolstoy
Turgenev

Veni, Vidi, Vici

Cast
Major Klaus Heinz von dem Eberbach
Agent A
Agent B
James
Lord Dorian Red Gloria, Earl of Gloria
Fra Angelico
Franco Giuliani
Lucretia Umberto
Agent Z
Bonham
Pope John Paul II
Gian Mari aVolvolante
Agent G
Red Fox

Alaskan Front

Cast
Lord Dorian Red Gloria, Earl of Gloria
James
Major Klaus Heinz von dem Eberbach
Agent A
Agent B
Agent G
Agent Z
Bonham
Agent J
Special Investigator Smith
Mischa the Bear Cub
Agent Ford
William Smile
General Nikolaivich
Mary

Special Vacation Orders

Cast
Agent A
Agent B
Major Klaus Heinz von dem Eberbach
Green Raccoon
Sister Theresa
Brigette Koch
East High Schwartz

Glass Target

Cast
Lord Dorian Red Gloria, Earl of Gloria
James
Major Klaus Heinz von dem Eberbach
Bonham
Agent A
Agent B
Agent Z
Charles Lawrence
The Bakchials
Agent G
Polar Bear
Giovanni Stephano
Agent C
Agent D
Jonesy
Franz Rudolf
Queen Elizabeth

Midnight Collector

Cast
James
Lord Dorian Red Gloria, Earl of Gloria
Bonham
Major Klaus Heinz von dem Eberbach
Sir Rex Price
Reynolds
Saleem Al Sabaah
Charles Lawrence
The Bakchials
John-Paul

Seven Days in September

Klaus is asked to pick up some files from a contact in the British Secret Service called "L" in a convoluted manner. Dorian plots to steal "The Man in Purple" from Klaus's hotel room, but is foiled by his wish to see Klaus naked in the bath. Klaus's plane is hijacked by terrorists, and Dorian steals a plane in pursuit of the painting. Dorian blackmails A into letting him help free the hostages, and enters the plane during the refueling in disguise as a British diplomat. Dorian drugs the passengers and pilots with a sleeping draft and flirts with Klaus. The hijackers let Klaus pilot the plane because they do not know how to, and he turns the plane around towards safety.

Cast
Major Klaus Heinz von dem Eberbach
Charles Lawrence
Saleem Al Sabaah
Lord Dorian Red Gloria, Earl of Gloria
Bonham
James
Mr L
Agent Z
Agent A
Agent B
Agent G
Captain Richter
Graham/Silver Aurora
Major Munch
Ambassador Freeman
Mischa
Colonel Mendoza
Gian Maria Volvolante
Agent C
Agent D

Paradise Party

Cast
Lord Dorian Red Gloria, Earl of Gloria
James
Bonham
Charles Lawrence
Agent G
Agent A
Agent B
Major Klaus Heinz von dem Eberbach

The Laughing Cardinals

Cast
Lord Dorian Red Gloria, Earl of Gloria
Bonham
James
Major Klaus Heinz von dem Eberbach
Agent A
Agent B
Agent E
Agent G
Agent Z
Ringen
Agent Y
Agent X
Fra Angelico
Franco Giuliani
Kurt Rudolf
Cardinal Ferrani
Morning Crow
Red Fox
Agent D
Brother Sebastian
Brother Pete
Agent C

A Tale of Alaska

Cast
Agent A
Agent B
Agent G
Mischa
Major Klaus Heinz von dem Eberbach

From Lawrence with Love

Cast
Major Klaus Heinz von dem Eberbach
Charles Lawrence
Mr L
Ivanov
Lord Dorian Red Gloria, Earl of Gloria
James
Brother Sebastian
Bonham
Agent Z
Agent G
Agent A
Agent B

The Seventh Seal

Cast
Major Klaus Heinz von dem Eberbach
Agent Z
Maynard Scott
James
Bonham
Lord Dorian Red Gloria, Earl of Gloria
Charles Lawrence
Agent A
Agent B
Agent G
Mischa the Bear Cub
Polar Bear
Holn Geissman
Franz Joseph II
Agent Smith
Herr Linz
Robert
Schmidt
Schmidt
Major Munch
Agent H
Zorba
Pavlos Kazantzakis, Heracles
Paris
Dora
Cleo
John
Mary

Mr Lawrence Writes A Letter

Cast
Charles Lawrence
Major Klaus Heinz von dem Eberbach

Intermission

Cast
Major Klaus Heinz von dem Eberbach
Charles Lawrence
Agent A
Agent B
Mr L
Agent G
Agent Z
Bonham
Lord Dorian Red Gloria, Earl of Gloria
James

Eau de Cologne

Cast
Irene
Stefan ranke
Dondorf
Major Klaus Heinz von dem Eberbach
Lord Dorian Red Gloria, Earl of Gloria
Bonham

Volumes

Reception

As of the mid-1980s, fan translation

Fan translation

A fan translation, in video gaming, refers to an unofficial translation of a computer game or video game.The fan translation practice grew with the rise of video game console emulation in the late 1990s. A community of people developed that were interested in replaying and modifying the games they...

s of From Eroica with Love began to circulate through the slash fiction

Slash fiction

Slash fiction is a genre of fan fiction that focuses on the depiction of romantic or sexual relationships between fictional characters of the same sex...

 community, creating a "tenuous link" between slash and shōnen-ai.
From Eroica with Love is more popular with slash fans than it has been with dōjinshi

Dojinshi

is the Japanese term for self-published works, usually magazines, manga or novels. Dōjinshi are often the work of amateurs, though some professional artists participate as a way to publish material outside the regular industry. The term dōjinshi is derived from and . Dōjinshi are part of a wider...

 artists. The series has been described as an example of a movement in shōnen-ai and yaoi to depict more masculine men, as part of the audience's increasing comfort with objectifying

Sexual objectification

Sexual objectification refers to the practice of regarding or treating another person merely as an instrument towards one's sexual pleasure, and a sex object is a person who is regarded simply as an object of sexual gratification or who is sexually attractive...

males.

Timeline

The first story, A Thousand Kisses, starts just before Christmas.

23 December: The exhibition of Christ.
In the first sequence Caesar Gabriel asks his friends, Leopard Solid and Sugar Plum, "By the way, what are you doing for Christmas Eve Tomorrow?"

24 December: Thefts and accusations.
Series of thefts from the Metropolian, the Louvre and National Gallery appears to start at midnight between 23 December and 24 December.
Broadcasts of the news are, presumably, the same morning, 24 December.
The theft of Christ from Lady Devlin appears to have happened later the same night, as the broadcast ends with the dramatic "Who is this 'Eroica' and what can we expect from them", fading out to an image of the Earl's airplane, where someone says "Lady Devlin ought to be up in arms now."
Leopard, Sugar and Caesar are then called back to Lady Devlin's house, presumably also on the 24th of December. Afterwards (again, persumably on the same day), they discuss the matter and Sugar foretells that something will happen "10 days from now".

3 January?: the Tate Gallery.
10 days for now would make the Tate Gallery incident on the 3rd of January.

4th of January?: The Archangel Gabriel, making of.
Soon after the Tate Gallery, maybe the next day, Sugar Plum and Leopard Solid starts on their project of making a statue of the Archangel Gabriel. They estimate that this will take them a week.

11 January?: The Archangel Gabriel, burial.
If their projections of a week to make the statue holds, burial of the Archangel Gabriel statue could takes place roughly on January 11.

12 January-19 January?: The Archangel Gabriel, finding.
It is unclear if more time passes between the statue is dug down an the statue is found, as the monk who finds it only mentions a barking dog. The dog could have barked due to the statue being dug down, but could, of course, be due to something else. Caesar does comment, on seeing the statue in the newspapers that "Produce of the late Renaissance? Bah! It was made last week!" So presumably not more than a week had passed.

15 January-22 January?: The Archangel Gabriel, stealing.
On seeing the article about the Archangel Gabriel statue, Dorian decides to steal it "in three days time, at midnight".

The second story, Iron Klaus, takes place six months after the first story, so presumably around July.

External links

• http://aoikeyasuko.com/ (Author's site, mostly in Japanese)
• http://www.eroicafans.org/ (Fan Page)
• http://www.fried-potatoes.com/ (Fan Page)