WL's Gay Manga and Anime Review - 2. Gravitation by Maki Murakami (Gay Comedy and Drama Anime/Manga)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravitation_(manga)

Why am I reviewing this old series? Believe it or not, it was my first gay anime series as a young fan. Before Queer as Folk, Shameless, or the mountains of books I have read or reviewed, there was a little comedy Anime series called Gravitation that I was introduced to as a 17-year-old member of the anime club. Originally published between 1996-2002, the manga was modestly successful, the Anime series broadcasted in 2004 was released to worldwide audiences. I haven’t re-watched this anime in years nor have I re-read the Manga of which I have an old-fashioned paperback copy until I decided to do these reviews. The plots and settings are over the top and absurd, but that’s why it’s funny and charming at the same time. This anime helped me to come to terms with being gay through all these absurd events. Despite the nostalgia, I’ll try my best not to overrate this old series.

Length: The Manga series has 12 volumes, plus a sequel series Gravitation EX that has been on and off for a decade. The Anime has 13 episodes and 2 OVA’s, which are animated shorts drawn from the Manga. As a reader of Manga or viewer of Anime, these are very manageable numbers for most within 1-2 days, but I would advise pacing yourselves to allow some of the comedic moments to sink in.

Plot: Shuichi Shindo, an excitable and irreverent pink-haired musician, aspires to reach the top of the industry with his band, Bad Luck. Unfortunately, he’s going through a bit of writer’s block and lacks the inspiration to create a song about love. A chance encounter with Eiri Yuki, an aloof and dismissive famous blond-haired writer, changes both of their lives. What started as Eiri acrimoniously criticizing his lyrics turns into a mutual attraction between the two men. Many things happen from rival bands attempting to go after Shuichi and Eiri to the arrival of Eiri’s arranged “fiancé”, Ayaka. Readers will be treated to several soap opera scenarios throughout the series, including a story arc where Shuichi cheats on Eiri in the Gravitation EX manga series. As Shuichi climbs the ladder of fame and fortune, his relationship with Eiri becomes a liability to them both, beyond just homosexual scandal. Eiri Yuki has personal demons stemming from nearly being raped and having to kill to protect himself as a teen at the hands of someone he thought loved him, his teacher. Throughout it all, the two found a way back to each other and found happiness, at least as much happiness as this crazy world of psychotic plots can offer them.

Review: When I recalled this series was absurd, I was only offering a glancing opinion. This series is off-the-wall nuts at times with insane action, weird costumes (Shuichi has got to be the biggest cos-playing gay character in fiction), melodrama, and plot twists with relationships that would make soap-opera writers blush. However, it’s this crazy energy that makes this series work for me as a gay comedy, while at the same time, it tries to deal with human moments from Shuichi trying to show his love for Eiri to Eiri admitting what he had done to protect himself against a man he thought loved him as he did him. It’s a zany animated Dramedy that has aged pretty well, despite being created in the 1990s.

As for characters, the entire cast is filled with weird and interesting characters. Shuichi is the front-man for a Uke of the Japanese Boy Love genre. I remember reading on several websites that this series helped inspire the concept of gay male romance Manga and Anime to become a bit more mainstream, especially among female audiences. Shuichi’s absurd and extreme personality is the archetype of several ukes in the modern BL genre, but he also has a few things the newer generations of characters don’t. Like another uke, he is a strong-willed bottom, who he latches on to his lover emotionally without regard and shows off his sexual submissiveness, plainly. However, unlike his modern counterparts, he is a frequent costume user and crossdresser, which is atypical in the modern BL, but it’s quite funny to see him express himself with his outfits. He even bought and dressed in a schoolgirl outfit, which he thought would attract Eiri as he thought his gender was the issue with Eiri’s resistance to furthering their relationship. These random expressions of his insecurities through dress help form Shuichi’s character throughout the Anime and Manga. Personally, my favorite costume expression was when he was pleading in his dog costume (no, not pup play, I'm talking full dog costume) at random moments. It was very endearing to me, completely absurd of course, but it fits him as a vulnerable and insecure gay character trying to express himself. At times, he does go overboard with his over-emotional and clingy nature, but you forgive him like you would an overly affectionate lover. However some guys might be put off by the idea of a needy lover or get Deja vu of exes, I personally have no issue with that despite past personal experiences. He's too adorably ridiculous.

As for Eiri Yuki, the seme or Top/Dominant in the relationship, he is also important as an early example of a BL character. He’s cool and apathetic to Shuichi at first, but it’s a mere façade as he truly loves Shuichi as the story progresses, despite calling him a brat or an idiot. There’s also a rich backstory regarding why he acts the way he does, having nearly been sold and raped by his tutor as a teen, then murdering the older man who he had loved. There are a lot of complex emotions and plot points regarding Eiri and his relationship with his “Yuki”, the name of the man who he loved and was forced to kill. Taking on the name of your crush/rapist/murder is a psychological point I think was handled well and added a rich layer to the entire story upon re-watching. I had forgotten about that aspect, but as I watched and remembered, it made me appreciate this character far more. In many BL Anime and Manga that came after Gravitation, characters like Eiri would appear with rich backstories and complex psychologies that form the basis of the couple’s dynamic conflicts.

Above the main couple, the supporting cast of characters is all rich with characterization and absurd plot points. Hiro, Shuichi’s best friend along with being his bandmate, is fiercely defensive with Shuichi and probably does the most mediating between Shuichi and Eiri, acting as a voice of reason in this insane series. He falls in love with Ayaka, Eiri’s family-arranged fiancé, who is the prototype for a lot of female villains/rivals in the BL genre. She gets crazy jealous over Shuichi’s relationship with Eiri, getting verbally abusive towards Shuichi and telling him to stay away. However, she changes and help Shuichi and Eiri become a couple. She also appears to have a bit of an eating disorder. Eiri’s brother Tatsuha is an obsessive and perverted fanboy over Ryuichi, the lead singer for another band Nittle Grasper. Ryuichi also appears to have a crush on Shuichi through the sequel novels, adding to the weird gay love square. Then there's Mr. K, the gun-loving manager of Bad Luck, who keeps pointing his handgun at the band members to keep them in line, but he’s a supportive manager and pushes the band to reach the height of their success. Many more characters exist in this series, so suffice to say, the other major benefit of this old series was the supporting cast.

Are there negatives? Yes, there are plenty of negatives and things that many Anime and Manga series have copied from them as major tropes within the BL genre. While Shuichi is portrayed as an effeminate, which isn’t a problem based on his character, but it’s played off for laughs at his own expense by the writer sadly at times. There's also an implied rape scene in the anime, where Taki, from a rival band, hired goons to assault Shuichi. The scene was dark and graphic, but it was overlooked after a few scenes. Also, homophobia doesn’t exist in the series and the concept permeates a large part of the BL genre. The explanation in this series is most people are too shocked at a crossdressing Shuichi to even fathom the idea of him being in a relationship with Eiri. From a gay reader/viewer, it’s strange that a famous guy crossdressing would elicit that kind of reaction. Ultimately, the biggest flaw in this story is the way Shuichi and Eiri are set up as lovers, it’s a love at first sight/first insult type of relationship. They do develop chemistry as the story progresses, but their relationship appears to be formed through plot elements rather than organically developed based on mutual understanding, unlike Sasaki and Miyano. By forcing two people with dissimilar personalities together through the plot, the story doesn’t work as a romance to me as well as it could.

Rating: 4 out of 5, it is worth reading and watching as a comedy and drama, if you are into absurd storylines and crazy characters, along with a bit of costume play and crossdressing. It has weaknesses in terms of character development and romance.