Gravitation: Track 22

Hey everyone! Welcome back to Yaoi Zowee! Today we'll be looking at Gravitation Track 22, which starts volume 6! I forgot to mention that track 21 was the last chapter of that volume. The chapter opens up with K helping Hiro escaping from (or to, it's not quite clear) somewhere, chased by a group of fans. Once again the pacing in this manga is all over the place. What happened with Shuichi and why was he crying? Apparently it's not important enough to talk about. How much time has passed? Impossible to tell. Either way, Hiro and K arrive at the recording studio. Sakano and Suguru are discussing Bad Luck's first album, "Gravity" (subtlety does not exist in this manga) is number 16 on the charts. Shuichi hasn't come into work this morning (and hasn't shown up all week in fact) and K decides to check up on him. Since K is planning on being a bit rough with Shuichi (as is his wont) Hiro goes in his place since he needs to talk to Shuichi about something anyway.

                                        Shuichi is less than pleased

So of course Shuichi is just playing sick. What I find odd is that he's playing sick at his mother's house. His mother completely overreacts and tells Shuichi to stop acting like a child, playing sick and suddenly I see where Shuichi gets his manic personality from. Hiro tells Shuichi it's time to come back and Shuichi points out a poster in his room that Hiro and Shuichi had skipped school to stand in line for because Shuichi needed it by any means necessary. Hiro asks why he's being so sulky and why he's crying when he basically just realized his dream of singing with his favorite band. It's because he's jealous of Ryuichi. Hiro gives him a bit of a pep talk and Shuichi regains his confidence.

The scene shifts to K talking to Yuki about Shuichi. Yuki is irritated because K is bothering him while he's trying to work (and I just realized that, much like how we never hear any music, we haven't read anything Yuki has ever produced either. Yet he's an award winning novelist and seems to know what he's talking about since he critiqued Shuichi back in chapter one. I would like to read SOMETHING he wrote. Anything at this point) and Shuichi isn't there. K is basically saying that he didn't think that Shuichi could ever reach Ryuichi but now he sees that Shuichi does have that talent. Yuki immediately catches on to what K was doing. He's hoping to get a huge effect from this. He doesn't think that aiming for Ryuichi won't be enough to make him truly great. Nor will money. Only one thing will. Yuki quickly catches on to what K is saying and thinks he's crazy. Later on, Shuichi comes back to Yuki's place with a new haircut.

                                     Boo new haircut! Although I'm now reminded about Tibet's plight.

Yeah, I do not like this hair cut. For those who can't tell, it's the style that was on the first image of Gravitation I showed on this blog. Thus the first step on his feminizing has occurred. I have to agree with Yuki who says he looks like a middle school girl. This is just not a good look for Shuichi. I understand the idea behind it and it's a great one. Since Shuichi is no longer trying to copy Ryuichi, he cut his hair so he won't look like him anymore. I still don't like it. Yuki compliments Shuichi on his haircut and every time he starts acting like his normal self, mysterious gun shots appear in the wall surrounding him, prompting him to act more lovey dovey with Shuichi. It's clear that K is somewhere, watching them. His plan? Yuki says that if Shuichi can sell a million copies (go Platinum) then he'll take Shuichi out on a date. Shuichi FLIPS OUT in excitement at the idea of going on an actual date with Yuki and K congratulates himself on a job well done.

The next day Shuichi is back to his normal exuberant self, nothing but sunshine and cheer. All according to K's plan, Shuichi burns through every single publicity opportunity to make sure Gravity sells as well as possible. Suguru and Hiro both eventually catch on to K's plan. K then brings up a good point. We all know that Shuichi's world revolved around Yuki...but what exactly does Shuichi mean to Yuki? Hiro informs Shuichi that they've sold 400K albums already though Shuichi is slightly discouraged by just how much further he has to go. Sakano and the group discuss the plans for Bad Luck going on tour and K tells them they have another television appearance to put in. Just as Hiro and Shuichi get all excited about the chance to be in the top spot on an actual music show...K tells them that it's a cooking show. This band just can't catch a break with its TV appearances.

Shuichi asks Yuki to help him cook and...I'm sorry, Shuichi just looks too much like a girl. It's ridiculous! Actually...he kind of looks like Demi Moore now that I look at it. Well now I'm just going to be thinking of Shuichi and Yuki making a clay pot together every time I see them. Awkward. The cooking show is apparently some kind of celebrity competition where teams compete against each other. Shuichi is determined to win and the chapter ends with K seeing that someone named Tetsuya Ukai is going to be on the show with Bad Luck. If I remember correctly, Noriko's last name is Ukai. So I'm guessing this is her brother then. K seems surprised by this but we'll have to wait until next chapter to see what the big deal is.

Again, there's precisely zero conflict in the story now and while there were some funny parts in the chapter, I found this to be kind of a slog to get through. Not to mention that Shuichi now has that God awful haircut. There had better be some kind of conflict soon or I'm going to entirely lose interest in this series.

Tomorrow we'll be looking at Gravitation Track 23! See you then.

Gravitation: Track 21

Hey everyone! Welcome back to Yaoi Zowee! Today we'll be looking at Gravitation Track 21. The chapter starts with Ryuichi and Shuichi meeting up before the show starts and it is SO AWKWARD. Of course Ryuichi just happily tells Shuichi to do his best and...Shuichi immediately forgives him and all the problems between them are over. Well that was anticlimactic. The author even tries to fake us out by having the "Track 21 End" graphic on the second page before K grabs Shuichi and tells him that things can't be solved that easily. He warns him not to get too chummy with Ryuichi since it's a dog eat dog world and Ryuichi already practically has victory in his hands. Nittle Grasper (seriously what does this name even mean?) begins a sound check and everyone turns to watch Ryuichi sing. Once again the audience is shafted as we can't hear Ryuichi sing (but, like always, we are assured that it is very, very good) but Shuichi realizes that Ryuichi was actually holding back so as not to embarrass Shuichi with his skill. Shuichi is PISSED that Ryuichi would do such a thing and refuses to be considered the underdog anymore. The show will begin in five minutes and K thinks it's ridiculous that Shuichi thinks he can beat Ryuichi while Sakano tells him to stop being such a dick about it. K responds that they both know Ryuichi well after being his manager for as long as they have (Sakano when he was with Nittle Grasper and K when he was going solo) and is pushing Shuichi to be the best he can be by pitting him against Ryuichi.

Hit Stage finally begins and the hosts introduce Bad Luck.

                                           Something about Shuichi seems...off in this picture

Before things get truly underway, Shuichi tells Hiro and Suguru to not go easy on Ryuichi tonight because he won't go easy on them. The song they're going to perform is called "No Style". And thus begins what to me is the weakest part of the manga. The music. Sure the characters say that the singing and playing is really good but the readers don't get to experience it at all. It feels like the very heart and soul of the story is missing. Pretty pictures of posing pretty boys does not a good concert make (well, to me anyway). This is probably why the anime is more popular (that and I have a sneaking suspicion it's far more subtle in its Boys Love tones. This series had to get that reputation from SOMEWHERE damn it!). It doesn't help that Shuichi apparently just consistently makes up lyrics as he goes in stressful situations. It's all very muddled and confusing at times. They finish their performance and Ryuichi gushes to Shuichi about how awesome he was and asks for his autograph while Shuichi just stares on in confusion. Noriko drags Ryuichi away so they can perform and Ryuichi declares that he's buddies with Shuichi who is beginning to suspect that Ryuichi never hated him in the first place (which we, the readers, already know is true. Suddenly this whole subplot is feeling very pointless).

Shuichi lashes out at K who had been fueling his worries about Ryuichi hating him in order to get a better performance out of him. Shuichi refuses to believe that someone who is always so gentle could be as rude as he was being the time he told Shuichi to move. Shuichi must live a sheltered life. K is inclined to agree telling him that if he thinks Ryuichi is gentle than he's clueless. Well when you have a character who dresses like a rabbit in public, carries a stuffed animal around, and constantly gushes it's easy to make that mistake. If that's not his true personality it must be exhausting putting a show on like that all the time. I have to wonder why he even bothers. Before Shuichi can argue further Nittle Grasper takes the stage. Ryuichi flashes Shuichi a friendly victory sign before he goes into serious mode.

                                               SUPER serious mode.

And, joy of joys, we have yet another musical performance where everyone says how great and wonderful the band is, how Ryuichi is totally different from before now that he's singing (it's called a stage persona it's not like it's that big of a deal) and Shuichi is of course awe struck by their talent. Shuichi remembers listening to this band every day and watching their videos and wishing he could be Ryuichi. K gently reminds him that he shouldn't change what can't be changed and should just take his personality and strengths and work with them rather than trying to model himself after Ryuichi. He has a point. It's pretty blatantly obvious that Shuichi has been copying Ryuichi's style. Being energetic when he's offstage, then being more "cool" and in control when he's onstage. So now I'm curious how much of Shuichi's personality is his genuine personality and how much of it was just him slavishly copying Ryuichi. Suddenly everyone saying how much Shuichi and Ryuichi are alike is taking on a weirder tone.

K urges Shuichi to go out and sing with Ryuichi and Shuichi is all too happy too do it now that he knows Ryuichi doesn't hate him, only to be intimidated by Ryuichi's stage presence. Sakano panics and tries to rectify the situation while Shuichi panics and tries to do something that won't embarrass himself further since he doesn't have a mike to sing with. So he dances. Very poorly I might add which just seems to piss Ryuichi off. Ryuichi comes over to Shuichi and...

                                  Of course it's a happy ending, what did you think was going to happen?

Everyone practically wets themselves in excitement over how they sound almost the same (is that a good thing? I don't really see how that's a good thing. Isn't it important to be unique in this industry?) and when the song is over everyone is saying how awesome and amazing it was, Ryuichi hugs Shuichi and tells him that was amazing...and Shuichi starts crying. Which is how the chapter ends.

Alright, I'm not sure why Shuichi is crying but my guess is that he's had some kind of epiphany regarding Ryuichi and the way he's been modeling himself after Ryuichi. That, or he's just really overwhelmed by fulfilling his dream and singing with Nittle Grasper onstage which is something he's wanted to do for the better part of his life. I have to admit, I'm not as interested in the band aspects of this series. I'm more interested in learning more about Yuki and his past than I am about whether or not Shuichi is going to be successful. I mean, with all these high end music industry people surrounding him and the audience constantly being reminded of his talent it's kind of expected now that Bad Luck is going to do really well. There's not much conflict there. In fact...there's not much conflict anywhere anymore! Something new better come up, fast, or this whole series is going to be a chore to get through. I would say it's impossible to drag a story on for hundreds of pages with no conflict but I've read Twilight. I know better.

Tomorrow we'll be looking at Gravitation Track 22! See you then.

Gravitation: Track 20

Hey everyone! Welcome back to Yaoi Zowee! Today we'll be looking at Gravitation Track 20. The chapter opens with Hiro and Shuichi reading a magazine article about the reformation of Nittle Grasper. Shuichi, despite the fact that Nittle Grasper is their rival, is impressed by how well they're doing despite having broken up three years ago with nary a release or appearance. Hiro tells him to focus and Suguru introduces the new music they're going to be using for their appearance on Hit Stage. Shuichi is a bit perturbed by this, since he's normally the one who runs the show in regards to the band and doesn't appreciate Suguru remixing his work. Suguru explains that because Nittle Grasper hasn't performed in three years, they're expected to be mediocre so Suguru wants them to do a song that will really make Bad Luck stand out. He's very quality over quantity. Sakano really likes Suguru because he's similar to Seguchi in demeanor (and he has a huge crush on Seguchi) and we also learn that Suguru is only 16. They begin to perform the song but Shuichi and Hiro do not care for Suguru's condescending attitude.

Later that night, Shuichi complains to Yuki who doesn't get why Shuichi is so annoyed by Suguru. Shuichi just says that there's something about him that he doesn't like and that he refuses to appear on Hit Stage with him. Yuki does not take any of Shuichi's self indulgent pity party.

                                                        Yuki doesn't have time for your bullshit.

Shuichi gets mad at Yuki for saying something so cruel, but I have to agree with Yuki here. Shuichi is being overly defensive about Suguru's involvement. He shouldn't be so concerned  over who is leading the group but what's best for the group as a whole. It doesn't help his case when we remember last chapter where Shuichi actually, physically DID run away from Ryuichi! Sorry Shuichi but you're in the wrong here. The scene shifts to the next day at the studio, everyone getting ready for a photo op or a radio show or...something. It's not very clear. In another example of the manga's odd pacing, Shuichi has a flashback...that continues the previous scene. Wouldn't it have made more sense to just keep the scene going and then switch to the new one? Anyway, Shuichi yells at Yuki that everything he told him about his past was a lie and that Shuichi thinks Yuki doesn't really love him at all. Yuki, naturally, shouts at him and tells him to get out if he actually believes that. Shuichi knows he screwed up and Suguru figures out that Shuichi is in a bad mood because of a fight. Suguru says that "gay boys" like Shuichi are bad for Yuki and they should just break up. Well...I suddenly don't like Suguru at all. Shuichi is of the same mind, vowing to find out what Suguru's deal is and to make sure he doesn't get too close to Yuki.

The scene shifts to Suguru telling Yuki that the problems with the letter that Taki got have been solved and Yuki wants to know if that was really the only reason he was there. Shuichi, who is also there, wonders the same thing. They get into a discussion about Yuki's past again but Suguru doesn't care about his past, doesn't care about Yuki seeing Shuichi, and doesn't care about Taki. All he cares about is making sure Shuichi is able to perform at the best of his abilities. Oh, and we also learn that Suguru is Seguchi's cousin. Which explains why they're similar in looks and personality actually. Suguru cheerfully bids Yuki good night and Shuichi apologizes to Yuki for eavesdropping and for saying such nasty things. Yuki tells him that he had left out a detail regarding his past and wants to know if Shuichi wants to hear it. Shuichi says he doesn't. Not yet. Yuki tells him to do his best to make peace with Ryuichi and sing with him. And if he can't then just move past it and don't worry about it. Yuki then gives Shuichi a gift: A locket that has his picture along with a picture of the man he killed.

The scene just ends there and we move on to Sakano being shocked that Suguru is Seguchi's cousin (and I just realized there are a lot of "S" named people in this series). Of course, since Sakano has such a crush on Seguchi, Suguru can do no wrong in his eyes.

                                                  "Bizarre" doesn't even BEGIN to describe it

Shuichi is in a fired up mood and ready to sing at Hit Stage, but internally he's torn up. He's not worried about Yuki's past but he IS worried about what happened in Yuki's past to make him change so much from the picture Yuki gave Shuichi.

                                     This is the picture by the way.

The rest of the group find out about Shuichi and Ryuichi and Shuichi is determined to make things right with Ryuichi, ending the chapter before the show is about to begin.

This chapter...Eh, this chapter didn't excite me. It's nice that we finally got to see the man Yuki killed (and I notice he appears to be older than Yuki which makes me wonder how they knew each other) but beyond that nothing really super big, exciting, or important happened.

Tune in tomorrow for Gravitation Track 21! See you then.

Gravitation: Track 19

Hey everyone! Welcome back to Yaoi Zowee! Today we'll be looking at Track 19. The chapter opens with Seguchi talking to Sakano about his plans to reform Nittle Grasper (Oh God, I know I said I wasn't going to say anything about the band name but now that they're reforming it's going to come up a lot more often now and I CAN'T STAND THE NAME IT'S SO DUMB) while ASK is on hiatus (because of Seguchi committing MURDER) and Sakano thinks it's a smart move. This whole thing was apparently Ryuichi's idea. He proposed it to Seguchi after the whole live television appearance thing that happened a few chapters ago. Seguchi reminds Sakano that he's not Sakano's boss anymore. They are both producers and Seguchi promises that he'll be working his hardest to make Nittle Grasper number one in Japan again. He advises Sakano to do the same with Bad Luck. Oh geez. So not only is Nittle Grasper reforming but now they're going to be direct rivals to Bad Luck. This could get very messy. I'm extremely wary of Seguchi now after what happened last chapter. Everything he does, says, and proposes makes me wonder what his true motives are.

The scene shifts then to K waking Shuichi up.

                                          And I thought getting woken up by my parents was bad.

Shuichi and K get into a fight/argument until Yuki gets completely fed up and runs inside Shuichi's room to yell at them. Of course this is the first time Yuki has actually met K who promptly introduces himself. Yuki asks him where he came from and K tells him not to worry about it. Before K can drag Shuichi off, Yuki asks him when he's going to be back and that he'll wait to eat if Shuichi wants him to. Shuichi is touched by this gesture and before things can get sweet and cute and wonderful, K drags Shuichi away. They talk for a bit and it eventually comes out that Shuichi and Yuki are lovers. The news shocks him so much he rear ends a truck and Shuichi claims that, as an American, he should be more understanding. You don't know a lot about America do you Shuichi? Anyway, Shuichi asks him why he decided to be his manager and K bribes him with an appearance on a TV show called "Hit Stage".

Shuichi immediately introduces K as their new manager as soon as he gets to the recording studio. Hiro is skeptical and Shuichi goes about trying to convince him with his usual theatrics. They're looking at 30 minutes of air time here which is nothing to sneeze at. While Shuichi shouts and jumps around Hiro quietly introduces himself to K before Noriko comes in and drops a bit of a bomb on them: They're opening for Nittle Grasper on Hit Stage. K explodes, telling Noriko that the deal was that Bad Luck would be the big guest. K suspects that Seguchi had something to do with this, but Ryuichi arrives at this point to say that it was his idea.

                                       ...What's with the bunny?

Shuichi thinks this is a malicious attack on Ryuichi's part because of what happened during the live show. Shuichi runs off in tears and Hiro asks if Ryuichi hates Shuichi. Ryuichi assure them that he does not. He just wanted to be able to sing with Shuichi. Miserable and upset, Shuichi runs through the halls of the record studio, lamenting that this is the end before it even began and ends up crashing into a young boy in the hall, knocking him clean over.  Shuichi apologizes and it turns out the boy is older than he looks (though how much older is not specified but he is still in school) and when he recognizes Shuichi he introduces himself as Suguru Fujisaki. Shuichi is confused and only gets more confused when Suguru asks to be introduced to the other members of the team. Shuichi finally asks him what he's doing here and Suguru tells him that he's the new keyboardist for Bad Luck.

                              Suguru Fujisaki: Continuing the tradition of incredibly cute men in this manga.

Shuichi talks about his problems with Yuki and they have a little playful banter before Yuki moves in for the kiss. Yuki tells him to have faith in the people who he's working with now and they make out a little before Shuichi asks Yuki if anything is wrong. Yuki tell shim he was comforting him because he asked to be comforted and is insulted that Shuichi would imply he's in a bad mood. They have a minor argument before making up with a round of sex that lasts about three panels and is very coy with its imagery. The chapter ends at a hospital with us finding out that Taki actually survived getting hit by a car (and with nary a bruise on his pretty face, shock shock) and that, of all people, Suguru is visiting him, telling him to leave well enough alone.

Okay, so, my biggest question is how do Suguru and Taki know each other? I'm glad Taki didn't die since I didn't think it was necessary for that kind of turn. It's bad enough that we have GANG RAPE to worry about, we didn't need cold blooded murder. I'm still wary of Seguchi. I also have this feeling that Taki could be redeemed in the manga and I really hope the author doesn't go that route. There are certain lines that characters cannot cross and be redeemed. Orchestrating GANG RAPE is one of those lines. The best I can hope for is Taki to give up and quietly leave the scene, wiser, never to be seen again. He can't even be a good villain anymore. Shuichi stood up to him, Yuki kicked his ass, and Seguchi nearly killed him. He's not a credible threat after all that. I guess I'll just have to keep on reading to find out!

Tune in tomorrow for Gravitation: Track 20! See you then.

Gravitation Track 18

Hey everyone! Welcome back to Yaoi Zowee! Today we'll be looking at Gravitation Track 18. The chapter starts out with Taki (oh joy I'm so excited to see what happens already) ditching the recording studio to do something (evil) and his manager telling him he's being selfish for dumping recording because he just doesn't feel like it. He finds...something, some kind of piece of paper and frowns at it before the scene abruptly shifts to Shuichi. I have no idea what that was but we'll probably be finding out about it soon enough. Shuichi is depressed because he's convinced that Ryuichi hates him now and, with him being so popular and influential, he feels like this is the end of his career. And he's 25 minutes late to recording as K is helpful enough to remind him. Wait...what is he doing there?! He tells Shuichi that Sakano, Noriko, and Hiro are all already there and Shuichi asks what HE is doing there. He's there for Ryuichi and says that he's going to be Shuichi's manager from now on. Shuichi brushes him off but Sakano confirms this to be true as he's just heard about it this morning. Shuichi goes ballistic and demands to know what the heck is going on.

K says that he admires Shuichi's bravery and the luck he's had that brought him this far but the way he currently is he'll have no chance of rising in the ranks and reaching the top levels. He scoffs at the idea that Shuichi could actually reach Ryuichi's level. Before Shuichi can respond (and I'm positive he would have given this guy a verbal dressing down) Douche 1 walks in and says he wants to speak to Shuichi. The scene shifts and we see Taki visiting Yuki.

                                       I hate you so much. Just learn to quit.

So it turns out that the paper Taki found was a letter telling him about Yuki's secret. Which is he now gloating over. Taki says that Yuki doesn't know the first thing about who actually knows his secret. I'm sure he thought this was going to make Yuki break down into a nervous wreck over who does and doesn't know but Yuki just shrugs and basically says that Taki is right. He doesn't know. He didn't know until recently thanks to everyone helping him remember. He then questions why Taki should even care and calls him nosy. Bless you Yuki. he then says that Taki is being stupid, digging his own grave by coming here. Taki blows up and demands that Yuki admit that what the letter says is true. So yeah, Taki is still trying (and failing) to ruin Yuki's life. So then Shuichi breaks through the wall and kicks Taki right in the head.

                                                      More badass than words can convey.

Shuichi yells at Taki for daring to raise a hand against Yuki and Taki calls him an idiot. Taki then reveals his master plan: circulate the information about Yuki's crime which will mean the end of his career which in turn will weaken Shuichi since Shuichi is at his weakest when Yuki is in trouble. Do I even need to reiterate how much of a petty asshole this guy is? I love how Shuichi basically says "Well duh he's a killer! So what? Even killers deserve to live sometimes." This is a good point. We don't even know the nature of Yuki's crime. He could have easily killed someone in self defense. Then Shuichi says this.

                                                    Shuichi does not take your bullshit.

I love how Seguchi, Yuki, and now Shuichi just refuse to acknowledge Taki as any kind of real threat. He's just a pathetic excuse for a human being, trying to bring down others rather than try and raise and improve himself. Taki has the oh so wonderful come back of "Shut the fuck up!" and then runs away like a pansy. Douche 1 and 2 run into Taki on the street and Taki rails on them, calling them traitors for telling Shuichi what Taki was doing. Douche 1 just says that it's all over. Taki refuses to give up and Douche 1 just says he's gone too far. Shuichi has already won. Taki listens as well as you'd expect. Meaning that he doesn't listen at all and runs away again. He ends up in a phone booth to call a publisher to release the story of Yuki's past but while he's dialing...

                                                    Commence the pants crapping.

The scene shifts before we can see what Seguchi is planning on doing to Taki, back to Shuichi and Yuki. Shuichi asks him if anything is wrong and Yuki breaks down and CRIES. In front of Shuichi! This freaks Shuichi out who tries to comfort him and Yuki reveals his fears: He can't remember the exact details of the time he killed so what if it WAS all really his fault? He doesn't want to end up betraying Shuichi or going back to killing and he's deeply afraid this might happen. He cries into Shuichi's chest as the scene shifts back to Seguchi. Something he says disturbs me quite a bit: "I wouldn't care if you beat or killed Shindou-san but not for something as stupid as your wrongly directed resentment". So...he's saying he doesn't care if Shuichi gets killed if the person has a good reason for doing it? Bwuh? What kind of person talks like this?! Seguchi, my love for you has fallen with that statement. That's a cruel and dispassionate way of looking at the world. Seguchi says that if Taki is a good boy and behaves then he'll get the future he was promised. The only future I want for him is a shallow grave but it doesn't look like I'll be getting that. Seguchi tells Taki that Yuki and Shuichi wouldn't be the only ones who would be hurt if Taki got his revenge.

The scene shifts back to Yuki and Shuichi and they get into an argument that is completely adorable. Yuki is embarrassed that he's crying in front of Shuichi since he hasn't done it in years and tries to act tough while Shuichi tells him to just accept that Shuichi is trying to make him feel better. The scene shifts back and forth between Seguchi and Taki and Yuki and Shuichi. Seguchi tells Taki that he won't be the one to heal Yuki's wounds. Well, he says "he" so I'm assuming the "he" is Yuki. But does this mean they had a relationship or something in the past? To make matters MORE confusing it turns out SEGUCHI sent Taki the letter! My head hurts. Taki demands to know why Seguchi is going through all this trouble to protect Yuki when he's a killer and Seguchi...pushes him out in front of a car! And says that he loves Yuki the most of anyone in the world! Wait...I...wha...WHAT JUST HAPPENED?! Holy shit Seguchi just straight up KILLED TAKI in cold blood! I know I said I wanted him dead but I wasn't serious! I was expecting a punishment for what he did but seeing it actually happen it's...surprisingly grisly. I'm retracting all my love of Seguchi for now. He seriously is freaking me right the hell out.

The chapter ends with Sakano telling Hiro and Shuichi that, thanks to Shuichi's singing during the live broadcast, Bad Luck's popularity is rising. Noriko uses this moment to tell them that she's officially leaving Bad Luck and rejoining Nittle Grasper.

I admit it, I got shivers reading this chapter. Seguchi is one cold customer. I really don't like that he admits that he loves Yuki. Although it does make his statement about not caring if Shuichi is killed make more sense. He needs him around to keep making him money for N-G records but he's also blocking Yuki from him. It makes me wonder though...what's he going to do to Shuichi? I feel very uneasy. Noriko leaving Bad Luck to rejoin Nittle Grasper also makes me wonder. Are they making a comeback? That would be an interesting development! It's unfortunate that the week is over meaning I'm going to have to wait a whole weekend to find out what happens! Oh well. Perseverance!

On Monday we'll be looking at Gravitation Track 19! Have a great weekend and I'll see you then.

Gravitation: Track 17

Hey everyone! Welcome back to Yaoi Zowee! Today we'll be looking at Gravitation Track 17. The chapter opens up with Shuichi trying to wake Yuki up but Yuki is not having it. After annoying Yuki sufficiently Yuki smacks him as he wakes up. Shuichi tells Yuki that today is the day Bad Luck's CD gets released and that Yuki shouldn't eat dinner before he gets back. There's some playful banter between the two (which is refreshing to see) before Shuichi bites Yuki on the ear and runs off. This affects Yuki more than you'd expect, causing him to blush with wide eyed shock. Seguchi suddenly appears and says that he didn't know that was a weak spot on Yuki. Yuki jumps and asks him what he's doing there and Seguchi gives him a bottle of...something as a housewarming gift. Yuki admits to Seguchi that he told Shuichi about his past, expecting Shuichi to want nothing more to do with him. But there's something wrong. Yuki apparently doesn't actually remember the events at all and it causes him to break down. Seguchi comforts him and says (or thinks? Could be either one) that he can't expect Taki to keep his promise (no shock there).

The scene then shifts over to Shuichi happily running to the recording studio. He's thinking to himself and reiterates that he doesn't care that Yuki killed anyone and now that Ayaka is out of the way there's no obstacle that he can't overcome! He rides the elevator up to the recording studio and someone calls out Ryuichi's name causing him to get all worked up before some random guy hugs him, thinking that Shuichi is Ryuichi (easy mistake to make).

                                       This is what happens when you look like a celebrity

Shuichi is barely able to call out to Noriko as he is whisked away by this mysterious man. He's deposited into a car and before he can demand to know what is going on, the man shoves a stuffed rabbit in his face and tells him that he shouldn't have come to Japan and demands an apology. Shuichi tries to explain to him that he's not Ryuichi but the man very scarily tells him to apologize while holding a GUN. Okay, so this guy is probably Ryuichi's bodyguard and Ryuichi has gotten away from him. That would make sense. Otherwise this is a very frightening development. Shuichi apologizes and we find out that the man is actually Ryuichi's manager (eh, close enough) and is finally able to tell him that he's not, in fact, Ryuichi. The man then demands to know where Ryuichi is and Shuichi tells him to keep his eyes on the road. They nearly crash into an oncoming truck, nearly giving Shuichi a heart attack in the process, though the man just laughs it off. I like this guy. The manager tells Shuichi that he was a good double for a prettier Ryuichi. Shuichi doesn't think so, since Ryuichi is too cool (so he's the only one who DOESN'T think he looks like Ryuichi). The manager is in a bit of a pinch. Ryuichi is scheduled for a live broadcast in an hour and he can't find him.

                                        Sure, THIS is the most logical solution...

Then the scene shifts and we see a rather bizarre scene of Tatsuha hanging out at a zoo with Ryuichi and a bunch of kids...only Tatsuha is dressed up like a bear and Ryuichi is dressed up as a bunny. This...it's very, VERY strange. But it's also kind of sweet since Tatsuha's taking time away from his monk duties to take Ryuichi out for a day of fun (though he has his own reasons for doing so, because of his crush on Ryuichi). Tatsuha gets a call from Seguchi asking how they're doing and Tatsuha reveals the reason for the costumes: they're disguises so that Ryuichi can walk around without being mobbed by fans. Okay, that's good enough for me! Seguchi warns Tatsuha to make sure that Ryuichi makes it to the live broadcast on time since things are getting a little frantic around the studio. The manager keeps on with his plan to put Shuichi on in Ryuichi's place even though they found Ryuichi. There's just no time. We also find out, via Noriko, that Ryuichi's manager is American and everyone is calling him K. Which I'm thankful for since saying "the manager" over and over again was getting awkward. Seguchi is confident that since Ryuichi is now so close that Shuichi won't have to go on.

Famous last words of course as K throws Shuichi out in front of the camera to stand in for Ryuichi to the horror of everyone gathered. Shuichi realizes that they're closing the curtain on him and, panicking, he tells them that he's just there to fill time until Ryuichi arrives. He plays some kind of word games with the people on the show who are a bit afraid of how crazy he is. Hiro tells Noriko that this is just what Shuichi does in these situations. While Shuichi keeps trying to fill time, Tastuha arrives at the studio with Ryuichi. Just as they do, Ryuichi hears Shuichi singing his song. This is another one of those moments in the manga where we really need sound to get the full effect of this act. Shuichi is now being heard around the country which is going to give him a lot more exposure. Ryuichi is a bit miffed at Shuichi's taking his spot and he rushes towards the camera, demanding a mike.

                                              Okay, so maybe "pissed" would be a better word.

I feel bad for Shuichi. The poor boy was kidnapped, forced onto camera, and tried to make the most of it only to get brushed aside by Ryuichi. Hey, Ryuichi? You want someone to be mad at, be mad at your manager. Or hey, be mad at yourself! You were messing around dressed like a rabbit when you had a schedule to keep! This isn't the first time we've been told that Ryuichi is a bit of a flake when it comes to his schedule. He really should be mad at himself. Noriko said that it was good Ryuichi made it but Seguchi said he would have been happy even if he hadn't. The chapter ends with Taki pissed off that Shuichi was able to sing even under circumstances like that. He's slowly being forced to realize that Shuichi is not just some upstart but the real deal. Yeah, that's right Taki! You're going to be beaten down and forgotten!

I'd like to think that Shuichi will help inspire Ryuichi to be more passionate about is music again. He just seems so ambivalent to everything while Shuichi is still giving it his all to climb the ladder. It's a nice contrast but I felt annoyed at Ryuichi's reaction to seeing Shuichi singing in his place. I wouldn't like it if someone usurped my spot on a TV show either but it really was entirely his own fault. He shouldn't be taking it out on Shuichi, especially since Shuichi is such a big fan of his!

Tune in tomorrow for Track 18 of Gravitation! See you then.

Gravitation Tra--Oh wait...

Not nice is it? You were expecting to come here for some comedy, information about Gravitation, and all that good stuff. Perhaps I would rant about a plot event or sigh happily over something romantic, with a few pictures with witty captions to break up the paragraphs. But if SOPA gets passed, this whole blog will just disappear. Even though I have ready access to physical copies of Gravitation, I don't have a scanner and use images from various web sites to illustrate my points. Because of this I could easily get shut down for "copyright infringement". Even if I'm completely in the right and everyone agrees that I'm in the right, since I'm part of this whole website any blog that is found in violation of SOPA's incredibly vague wording could get EVERYONE here shut down!

The point is, even if this blog only mildly interests you, there are so many websites that we use everyday that help us seek information that will be completely destroyed if SOPA passes. So please, contact your representatives and tell them to fight this bill!

Yaoi Zowee will resume as scheduled tomorrow with Track 17.