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 15

Hello everyone! Welcome back to Yaoi Zowee! Today we'll be looking at Gravitation Track 15. I hope everyone had a good weekend and is ready to jump right back into things! Things start off heavy with Yuki telling Shuichi that he's leaving him with a very heart breaking look on his face. Shuichi, just as sadly, doesn't freak out or demand to know why or anything like that. He just kneels there on Yuki's bed and says that he understands. I would like to point out that it's a bit difficult to take this super dramatic turn of events very seriously since Shuichi is STILL dressed like a school girl and it's a bit distracting since I keep giggling. Shuichi ruins the drama of the moment anyway by yelling like he normally does (but that's part of Shuichi's character and it makes more sense all things considered) and we find out that it was Maiko who told Shuichi to dress like this (please, please, PLEASE let one of them explain just what the mindset was behind this because my theory last post makes no sense now that we know Maiko dressed him. Maybe it was just plain fanservice on the part of the author).

                                                     Little by little we learn more about Yuki

Of course after saying this Yuki and Shuichi begin to make out...Okay, Yuki? If you really want to leave you're going to have to stop making out with Shuichi. The way that Yuki constantly says he needs to leave and doesn't deserve Shuichi and all that yet never actually does leave shows that he really doesn't want to leave. He feels like he SHOULD but he doesn't WANT to. What needs to happen is Shuichi smacking some sense into the man. Or Yuki needs to let Shuichi know exactly what he's all about. It's not fair or right to break off a relationship without giving some kind of reason for ending it beyond some nebulous "I don't deserve anyone" baloney.

The scene shifts to the recording studio again where Shuichi and Hiro are celebrating the completion of their CD. Noriko breaks up the self congratulation to say that it took them way longer than it should have thanks to Shuichi's issues and how he's saying that he was going to quit Bad Luck twice. Shuichi promises that he's fine now and that won't happen again.

                                               Suuuuure you did. Let's see how long this lasts.

Everyone is understandably shocked and Shuichi explains that because he won't be fighting with Yuki anymore he won't be unable to sing and therefore won't cause any trouble. Shuichi, however, feels bad because of how sad Yuki looked. He doesn't feel comfortable ending things without knowing more. We flashback to when he was in the bar talking with Mika about how he wants to hear about Yuki from Yuki and Mika tells him one thing: the Yuki Eiri he knows is a fake. Now that is interesting. Yuki, it seems, remade himself. Different name, different personality perhaps, and who knows what else? This knocks Shuichi off kilter a bit but he reminds himself that, despite knowing nothing about Yuki, he still fell in love with him. Not the best defense of your relationship Shuichi. Most people would call that infatuation and not love. You'd best be learning more about him before you make any long term decisions. I'm thinking way too hard about this now. Moving on!

Yuki has, once again, returned to his parent's home. His father knows that Yuki can only find peace here and Yuki, while not denying or confirming this fact, acts as nonchalant as he usually does (which I'm not thinking is probably just an act. Who can say anymore? Mika threw the whole thing into question). His father wants him to properly join the temple, shaving his head, stopping smoking, drinking, and dating and of course Yuki refuses to do any of these things. And apparently he dies his hair blond. So he lied about that too. You are a very suspicious person Yuki. He says that he didn't return to succeed his father and that the temple does not bring  him peace but rather gives him the chills. Oh, and he also mentions that he hates Japan. Just what the heck happened to him?

The scene shifts to a hospital where Douche 1 is being visited by Taki. I swear to God author you will NOT make me like these people no matter how many times you show them and try to make them comedy relief. You can not have a character set up the GANG RAPE of another character purely because he's a jealous jackass and then think you can redeem him. I won't stand for it!

                                        You're apologizing to HIM?! You miserable piece of SHIT!

Oh, you're sorry Taki? Sorry that because you orchestrated a GANG RAPE of an innocent teenager, potentially scarring him for LIFE, your douchebag best friend got his ass kicked? Go to Hell Taki Aizawa. I hate you, I always will hate you, and nothing you do will change it. Okay, I've got to move on or else I'm going to just keep ranting and raving all day. Douche 1 tells him to leave Shuichi alone (THIS IS GOOD ADVICE TAKE IT YOU JACKASS) and Taki still wants to go after Yuki in revenge. See? Irredeemable asshole. The woman who gave Taki dirt on Yuki in the first place also told him that Yuki has a hatred of everything associated with Japan. They say he's a murderer and that they remember some kind of story relating to how Yuki killed someone and Douche 1 insists that Taki should stay away from Yuki. As Taki leave, Douche 1 gets a call (from I'm assuming Douche 2) saying that he thinks everything is going to be alright. Then we get this page.

                                                FNASDLKFJDSLKAFJLKDSJFSDLAKFJSDKLF!!!

I hate Taki more than most other villains in media. He's just so completely loathsome! He's petty, he's vindictive, he's just plain evil in the things he does, and probably worst of all, he thinks he's justified in doing these things to these people. If he was a real person I would not hesitate to slam my fist into his face.

Then suddenly there is justice! SWEET, SWEET JUSTICE! It turns out Douche 1 is talking to Seguchi and Seguchi pretty much says that he's dropping their douchey asses because Taki's disgusting and unnecessary need for vengeance is going to cause too much trouble for him. Seguchi point blank says that if Taki goes anywhere near Yuki he...oh, let's just let the picture do the talking.

                                                   So badass! And such pretty eyes!

I'm giving you all the love Seguchi. Destroy Taki's life like he's trying to destroy Yuki and Shuichi's. After that delicious bit of wonderful the scene shifts to Shuichi and Hiro as they celebrate the completion of their CD by drinking. Well, Shuichi had three drinks (three barely alcoholic drinks I might add) and is already smashed. The humor of the situation is smashed unfortunately by Shuichi asking Hiro if he should really give up on Yuki. Hiro says he should and Shuichi flips out at him. Hiro says that he should stop asking him that question since he doesn't act or look like the kind of person who is over Yuki. This discussion is interrupted by none other than Ayaka! I'm a bit surprised to see her to be honest. Hiro tells her that she's lucky since Shuichi is giving up on Yuki. She looks surprised and asks if it's true and Shuichi says he guesses it is. She keeps pressing him and he finally yells at her and says that he doesn't care about Yuki. Ayaka smacks him right across the face. She's disgusted that he would give up so easily after she had been so understanding about his feelings. She says that he won't have to worry about seeing Yuki ever again if that's what he really wants since she accepted Yuki's proposal.

That brings Track 15 to a close! Wow...a lot of stuff happened here! Seguchi was very clear about what will happen to Taki if he interferes but if he's the villain I think he is he won't give up so easily. Shuichi...well he's going to have to talk Yuki out of the marriage. The question is, how? I really have no idea where this is going to end up. And what exactly happened in Yuki's past?! I need to know!

Tune in tomorrow for Gravitation Track 16! See you then.