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Gravitation Lyrics of Love
First, some reading:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yaoi.
I know too little to wade my way through definitions so I will leave
that fun task to the reader. Gravitation is about “anime’s
favourite shonen-ai couple”, Bad Luck lead-singer Shuichi Shindo and the
novelist Yuki.
The singer-lyricist is in a slump, not helped by his
lover’s continuing “cold” approach. The deadline for the next CD is fast
approaching and the words can’t be squeezed out of him, try as the
producer might. The threat to bring in an external writer is executed,
with results the viewer will decipher at some stage along the
narrative…
This disc contains 60 mins of the original video
animation (OVA basically means “straight to video”). The non-broadcast
nature of the show is betrayed by its image quality, which slips in some
places. Having said that, Madman has done a fantastic job with the
subtitles—providing original (more literal) and newer (contextual)
English translations—and a 2.0 soundtrack. The image is 4:3. The extras
are thorough and include comparison of the anime and manga
Gravitation, a sneak preview, a textless opening, a gallery and a
textless alternative closing to episode one.
Alas, my musical taste does not extended to J-pop,
which constitutes a solid base of this love-story but my viewing did not
suffer too much. My understanding is that this genre of homosexual
attraction is actually intended (in Japan) for a female viewership. I am
not sure that, when exported, this intention is maintained. Like most
other animes I have seen, it is playful, fast-moving and self-aware.
Not for those who’d close their eyes (or raise their
fists) when two guys kiss.
Felix Staica
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