Gravitation is a BL classic. It was my first BL, as I'm sure it was many people's. I read it almost 2 decades ago and reread it many times throughout my life.
However, it is my first time reading it as a full grown adult (I'm almost 30). And you know what? It still kicks ass.
It's not perfect, there are many problematics aspects, but we have to remember this was written in the 90s, it was a completely different world - and as such, it's insanely revolutionary.
To be honest, even more than what people would actually consider important to be dealt with the right development, like Shuichi being raped (I don't particularly get offended by rape in BL, it's quite normal for these types of stories), it's the deviation from the main plot starting from volume 9 which really bothers me, and it always has since I was a little girl. Things in Gravitation are never dealt with in a normal manner, we all know that, it's basically unreal metaphors for comedic purpose, and that's fine, it's fun, and I laugh way more than I care to admit.
But with each "crazy" character introduced, it gets more nonsensical. To me it really starts when K-san comes into the picture. Then the young keyboard player (I can never remember his name for the life of me), and it all goes downhill with Reiji, which is a completely unnecessary and bothersome character. I remember all these things have made me roll my eyes since I was very young, and do up to this day, skipping those pages every time I read Gravitation again.
But... There really are no other serious issues with it, at least none that are so one so big as to disturb the brilliance of it.
The pace is actually perfectly adequate, with their relationship taking almost two years to fully flourish (something I miss nowadays not only in manga, but entertainment in general, where everything takes a few months only, if not mere weeks or days). Although Shuichi falls for Yuki hard and fast, it's very noticeable that it's infatuation in the beginning, which grows into passion, then into love. The way it should be.
Yuki, on the other hand. has to deal with a great deal more, overcoming his past trauma and personal psychological difficulties before allowing himself to fully open himself up to Shuichi. In the younger years of my life with Gravitation, I used to think Yuki was pretty cold and that Shuichi had sort of forced himself into Yuki's life, but now that I'm more mature, I perceive it completely differently. Yuki never actually denies Shuichi at any point. He plays it cool and distant, but they're actually always close to each other and touching, I would say much more so than in other BL, and Yuki indulges Shuichi's every desire without much resistance, if any at all.
Whereas I saw Shuichi as slightly annoying, albeit it strong, when I was younger, I now see him as the epitome of a main character. The cry-baby stuff is just for laughs, but his actual essence is amazing and something that I've rarely seen repeated, not just in BL, but in manga in general. He's truly unique and I love him so much.
My only disappointment is that there isn't more of Yuki's softness, especially a real "I love you" from him - but hey, that's what the DJs are for, right? And those are the next ones I'm gonna reread, because I think the dive into the "Gravitation" world is NOT complete without them, and I don't recommend skipping them if you really want to get the full picture (nor the anime, especially for the "Bad Luck" soundtrack!).
My favorite character has been, and always will be, since the first time I read it when I was 10 years old, Sakuma Ryuichi. Yes, he's complicated, he's misleading, he lies, and he's difficult. But he's also... everything Shuichi sees him as being. Cool, amazing, adorable and talented.
Funnily enough, my least favorite character also remains the same: Seguchi Tohma, whom, till this day, I don't think I fully comprehend. MURAKAMI-sensei may try to shove it down that he "only loves Yuki emotionally and not sexually", but I can't understand or accept his fierce competition for Yuki's attention. I don't even like that he's married to Yuki's sister, because he doesn't even seem like he loves her at all.
I also don't fully understand Hiro (though, in this case, it's different because I like his calming presence). At times, he seems to actually be in love with Shuichi, but then he turns out straight and had always liked Ayaka? I still don't understand that part of the story either.
In spite of a few side characters who are either annoying or completely unrelatable, Gravitation really shines when it includes so many friends and coworkers in the main story, even knowing about Yuki and Shuichi's relationship, and at times supporting or opposing them. It's, again, something I've seen replicated to this day in other BL, and failing most of the time.
The last thing I'd like to comment on is just how bad the translation of this manga is. I have both a digital copy (which is made of scanlations) and the official published one in my language (which is neither English nor Japanese). The translation of both is so bad that it makes it difficult to read at times, and even though I've read this multiple times throughout my life, there are still bits of dialogue I couldn't grasp because of it, no matter how many times I reread.
With all of that being said, Gravitation will always have a special place in my heart and I will always love it, as people do with their firsts. Even if I remove nostalgia out of the picture, I really think it's a masterpiece that paved the way for so much to come, and really opened up the BL world. It introduced concepts and plot devices that are still being used almost 30 years later.
I can't rate it a solid 10 because of it's inevitable flaws, as pioneers often have, but it could never be less than a 9 either.
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