7.9

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