Gravitation 2

Maki Murakami – Tokyopop – 2003 – 12 volumes

Wow. So I wasn’t expecting the story to move this fast! I’m pretty sure Shuichi and Yuki are a couple by the end of the volume (though there’s nothing remotely romantic about them), Bad Luck might be having some good luck record contract-wise, and the series seems to have ditched the school already. That’s everything, isn’t it? Does it suddenly turn into a drama that lasts ten more volumes? I… think I’d be on board with that. This is kinda… over-the-top, humor-wise, and not that funny, but somehow, I am strangely endeared to it.

Lots of stuff happens in this volume, obviously. One of the biggest things, story-wise, is that Shuichi and Hiro nearly go their separate ways when Hiro’s family puts pressure on him to become a doctor and drop his dreams of a music career. Hiro’s older brother is an aspiring actor who hasn’t had a break, so it is particularly bad for their family that both sons pursue such unstable and unsure work. Shuichi doesn’t take this news quietly, and there’s lots of huge fights between the two of them. These two are so close, that already in volume two it’s rather painful and out-of-character to watch them fight. Murakami does a great job of making the two boys very close friends (without going there, which is unusual in a BL manga like this), so it is utterly tragic when they get into a fight this serious.

Romance! Yuki is not romantic at all. Neither is Shuichi. But Shuichi is completely smitten, and is obliviously forcing himself on Yuki. Yuki doesn’t seem to mind that much, but isn’t kind about it, either. That may just be the way he is, though. He does get sick of Shuichi’s rather half-hearted, dodgy affection, and comes down forcefully on him. And by forcefully, I mean they have sex. I wasn’t expecting that so early on, either. Then again, it was one of the worst sex scenes in any romance manga I’ve ever read, so it wasn’t that special. But that’s what makes Gravitation special.

I’ll be straight with you: I’m writing this right now so that I can read volume three. I like it that much. It’s worth tracking down!