I previously reviewed the first DVD of Kyo Kara Maoh!, a Japanese anime with much silliness which might appeal to a “gay sensibility.” I put scare quotes, because to my knowledge no reliable definition of gay sensibility exists. In fact, many contemporary Japanese anime series contain gay characters and homophilic or homoerotic themes, but these are written primarily for Japanese women and girls. The bishōnen genre (literally, “beautiful boys”) must appeal to women and girls in Japan who enjoy the conflicts which arise between attractive male characters who just happen to be attracted to each other: bishōnen characters make a lively soap opera and, I suppose, offer a new spin for themes which have grown stale. (Unrequited love, when it’s between an attractive gay male character and an attractive straight male character, is not quite the same as unrequited love between two heterosexuals.)

The recent Ang Lee flick, Brokeback Mountain, is shocking to many Americans who have very little experience with the intricacies of intimacy between males. Some BL (boīzu rabu, or “boy’s love”) anime series air on Japanese television and are marketed toward girls; these are often translations of popular manga (book, magazine) series into video form; and they tend to follow complex rules or conventions. For instance, in Kyo Kara Maoh, the main character, Yuuri, is pursued by his male fiancé and an older male tutor who are effeminate — particularly, his tutor is quite effeminate — and periodically bemoans the fact that girls have never lavished him with attention; but, Yuuri never outright rejects either of his pursuers, either. So the soap opera continues.

Kyo Kara Maoh without the BL theme and numerous humorous character developments would be considered standard fantasy fare: boy is transported to a mythical land, has a destiny to fulfill, runs into many obstacles and challenges, and has some fun. The BL theme is part of the anime, sometimes a large part of a given episode, but remains only one theme of many. Gravitation, on the other hand, has as its entire plot the relationship between two bishōnen, Shuichi Shindou and Eiri “Yuki” Uesugi.

Shuichi is a budding singer who, with his band mate Hiro, dreams of taking his act to superstardom. Their band is named “Bad Luck,” and the name also describes the title of the first DVD in the American release of the series (“Fateful First Encounter”) as well as the plot. While suffering from writer’s block, Shuichi takes a stroll through a park one night and the wind whips the rough draft of a song from his hands. Fatefully enough, an attractive stranger happens to catch the rough draft; after reading it, the stranger tells Shuichi that the writing is horrible. Thus begins a romance that will have many ups and downs — but mostly downs. The stranger, Eiri “Yuki,” is a famous writer of romance novels for women, some years older than Shuichi, whose dark past threatens their relationship at every turn. Yuki is at times cruel and at other times merely distant with Shuichi, rarely warm and friendly; but the younger Shuichi pursues Yuki throughout the series.

Like Kyo Kara Maoh, Gravitation has supporting characters who themselves become quite significant in the series and subplots, but the relationship between these two bishōnen takes center stage — with the possible exception of the career of Shuichi and his bandmates, which shares center stage with the relationship between Shuichi and Yuki. In fact, Shuichi’s career is tied to his relationship with Yuki, and Shuichi must learn to balance the demands of a demanding life on stage with the demands of an obsessive-but-honest love for Yuki. Yuki, on the other hand, must balance his dark past with his growing love for Shuichi.

The series has the tagline, Love: The one force that simply won’t be denied (hence, the name of the series), but rather than avoid the intricacies of this relationship in favor of a stereotypical development, Gravitation injects some surprises while exploring the difficulties faced by these two characters. Yuki’s dark past includes a murder and a pedophile and a family determined to have him marry the woman they have already picked out for him. Shuichi must navigate the money-driven music industry and paparazzi while suspecting that Yuki’s distance is a response to the fact that Shuichi is a guy rather than a girl. American viewers not familiar with the conventions of anime may be perplexed by the odd character transformation into a cat or a large banana or some short cartoonish figure and the occasional incomprehensible fan service included in the series: these, actually, introduce light into a story that otherwise might seem dark and often sad. Both main characters undergo transformations as a result of their relationship as the series develops. Many gay men may recognize the dynamics that occur between this young, naive, and eager pursuer and the older, jaded, and more experienced man: the heartbreak, the excitement, the dread, and the absolution. The animation itself is engaging, and the music of Bad Luck and other bands provides a nice tempo, or a subtle reminder that the relationship is not everything.