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gravi babble
Aug. 28th, 2004 05:25 amHm. I was just watching the gravi vids Croik's done (particularly Everything You Need. I want to marry that vid) and thinking about how much I love this anime. The manga is all right, but the anime is fantastic. It's only 14 episodes long and every episode packs a punch. And it maintains a perfect balance between the gut-wrenching angst and the fluffy humour, not letting either one overwhelm the storyline and somehow combining the two to create a sort of "voice" unique to this anime. (wow that was a long runon sentence)
I'm crazy about Gravitation. I have a very good memory and a short attention span, so I don't often rewatch anything I've already seen, but I have watched this series straight through countless times-- I can actually recite the dialogue along with it. And I don't speak Japanese!
This is the love story of a rising pop star and an eccentric romance novelist. It's about these two people, what pulls them apart and what, ultimately, holds them together. It's a wonderful love story. I truly think even people who aren't m/m fans would like it. (I use m/m because I really don't think Gravi qualifies as either yaoi (not nearly graphic enough) or shounen ai (they're neither of them boys, even if Shuuichi doesn'talwaysusually act it))
I love Yuki because he tries *so hard* to be a complete asshole, but he's not and he hates it. And my love for Shuichi knows no bounds. I love him so much. I love him because he KNOWS Yuki isn't the big bad wolf he pretends to be. And Shuuichi is such an honest person. He's true to himself, above all things. He wants Yuki and he wants his music and he won't let anything or anyONE stand in the way of either of those things.
I loved that subplot at the end of the series, where Shuichi finally (temporarily) gives in and gives up Yuki because not only does the whole world think he and Yuki should be apart, but it seems like Yuki agrees. And Ryuichi just walks right by him, refusing to recognize him. Because a Shuichi who gives up his dreams, who does the "practical" or "realistic" thing instead of that which will make him happy, is a Shuichi who's killed the most important part of himself.
And I love Shuichi for his indomitable spirit. He approaches every problem with the foregone conclusion that he will conquer it. No matter how many times life knocks him down and tells him to give up, give up Yuki, give up singing, he always finds the strength to get back up again and try again harder. Take the whole Aizawa arc, for example. Shuichi is deceived into thinking Aizawa wants to be friends and pays for his trusting nature by being beaten and gang raped. Naturally, Shuichi's a mess. But the next morning he wakes up and, even though he's still a mess, is able to make decisions about what he wants to do and then go out there and DO IT. (Even though his decisions aren't maybe the best possible ones...) And then Shuichi gets over it and moves on. And Shuichi's able to face Aizawa fearlessly, with nothing but scorn and pity in his eyes. Shuichi is SO strong.
Honestly, contrast that to Yuki. Yuki undergoes an ordeal that, if not precisely the same, is amply comparable. And he falls to pieces. He murders his betrayer, changes his name to that of his betrayer, gets ulcers, becomes dangerously depressed, and basically lets that one event rule his life for the next 10 years. (Or however long)
And while Yuki smokes and drinks and won't let anyone close to him, Shuichi doesn't let what was done to him touch his spirit. He laughs and cries and loves and trusts in other people just the same as he did before. Shuichi is an amazing person, a force of nature. I love him so.
One of the reasons this speaks to me so much is that it reminds me of my mantra, the Emily Dickinson poem in my profile. "Captivity is Consciousness. So's Liberty." If you believe yourself to be trapped by a situation, like Yuki does, then you WILL be trapped. And you'll never get out. But if you believe that you're free-- you are. And Shuichi is pink-haired, loud-mouthed embodiment of this ideal. He's like my own personal mascot.
::frets:: I need a Shuichi icon.
I'm crazy about Gravitation. I have a very good memory and a short attention span, so I don't often rewatch anything I've already seen, but I have watched this series straight through countless times-- I can actually recite the dialogue along with it. And I don't speak Japanese!
This is the love story of a rising pop star and an eccentric romance novelist. It's about these two people, what pulls them apart and what, ultimately, holds them together. It's a wonderful love story. I truly think even people who aren't m/m fans would like it. (I use m/m because I really don't think Gravi qualifies as either yaoi (not nearly graphic enough) or shounen ai (they're neither of them boys, even if Shuuichi doesn't
I love Yuki because he tries *so hard* to be a complete asshole, but he's not and he hates it. And my love for Shuichi knows no bounds. I love him so much. I love him because he KNOWS Yuki isn't the big bad wolf he pretends to be. And Shuuichi is such an honest person. He's true to himself, above all things. He wants Yuki and he wants his music and he won't let anything or anyONE stand in the way of either of those things.
I loved that subplot at the end of the series, where Shuichi finally (temporarily) gives in and gives up Yuki because not only does the whole world think he and Yuki should be apart, but it seems like Yuki agrees. And Ryuichi just walks right by him, refusing to recognize him. Because a Shuichi who gives up his dreams, who does the "practical" or "realistic" thing instead of that which will make him happy, is a Shuichi who's killed the most important part of himself.
And I love Shuichi for his indomitable spirit. He approaches every problem with the foregone conclusion that he will conquer it. No matter how many times life knocks him down and tells him to give up, give up Yuki, give up singing, he always finds the strength to get back up again and try again harder. Take the whole Aizawa arc, for example. Shuichi is deceived into thinking Aizawa wants to be friends and pays for his trusting nature by being beaten and gang raped. Naturally, Shuichi's a mess. But the next morning he wakes up and, even though he's still a mess, is able to make decisions about what he wants to do and then go out there and DO IT. (Even though his decisions aren't maybe the best possible ones...) And then Shuichi gets over it and moves on. And Shuichi's able to face Aizawa fearlessly, with nothing but scorn and pity in his eyes. Shuichi is SO strong.
Honestly, contrast that to Yuki. Yuki undergoes an ordeal that, if not precisely the same, is amply comparable. And he falls to pieces. He murders his betrayer, changes his name to that of his betrayer, gets ulcers, becomes dangerously depressed, and basically lets that one event rule his life for the next 10 years. (Or however long)
And while Yuki smokes and drinks and won't let anyone close to him, Shuichi doesn't let what was done to him touch his spirit. He laughs and cries and loves and trusts in other people just the same as he did before. Shuichi is an amazing person, a force of nature. I love him so.
One of the reasons this speaks to me so much is that it reminds me of my mantra, the Emily Dickinson poem in my profile. "Captivity is Consciousness. So's Liberty." If you believe yourself to be trapped by a situation, like Yuki does, then you WILL be trapped. And you'll never get out. But if you believe that you're free-- you are. And Shuichi is pink-haired, loud-mouthed embodiment of this ideal. He's like my own personal mascot.
::frets:: I need a Shuichi icon.
