1. Look at the first-meeting scene (pp. 25-30). How does the artist, Murakami Maki, manipulate the drawing style? Why do you think there are so many panels without written text? Why does the artist employ the chibi or "super deformed" style in some of the panels? Is there anything significant about the page layout?
2. Look at the kiss scene (pp. 124-127). How does the artist manipulate the layout and size of the panels? How does she exploit the so-called "gutter" or space between panels? Is there anything significant about the style of drawing?
3. Gravitation exhibits some other distinctive features of Japanese comics. For example, Murakami Maki directly addresses the reader on p. 17. The comic makes a meta-commentary on the boy-love comic phenomenon on p. 31. And on p. 65 the artist conspicuously breaks down the fourth wall. How do these touches affect your experience of the material?
4. Below you'll find the first episode of the animated series. Obviously we are dealing with two distinct media, so they are bound to be different. But what does the animated version do that the comic version can't? And vice-versa? Which one did you find to be more satisfying?
5. How does the comic present the story of Yuki and Eiri? What kind of information is conveyed to the reader? How is it presented? What details and events are emphasized? What is left out or underplayed? Is the story told from a particular point of view? How does the point of view affect our response to the material?
6. How are Yuki and Eiri represented through their thoughts, words, and actions. In other words, how are they represented through the written text?
7. How are the two characters represented visually? What are the main identifying visual features of each character? How are they differentiated from each other pictorially? Are they depicted as feminine, masculine, or androgynous? Or is there some better way to describe the visual style used to represent these two characters?
8. How would you describe the relationship between Yuki and Eiri? Is it romantic or erotic? Does it mimic a typical boy-girl relationship or does it conform to an entirely different pattern?
9. Given that the audience for these comics is purported to consist almost exclusively of women, what role do the gay aspects of the story play? Do they allow for a departure from conventional male-female romantic scripts? Do they allow the story to operate in the realm of pure fantasy? Do they contribute to objectification/sexualization of the male characters? Do they in any way challenge conventional notions of gender and sexuality?
10. In section last week, someone offered an interesting response to Akira's question about gay male panic. In essence, she said that straight men are uncomfortable with being the object of another male's desire because they don't want to be treated like a woman. Of course, one can debate this theory, but it does offer an interesting window through which to consider the appeal of BL comics like Gravitation. Do the female consumers of these materials enjoy the spectacle of men being treated like women? Is that part of what is at play in this phenomenon?
11. In lecture I will talk about different schools of feminist thought. Does it make sense to treat this material as empowering/liberating for female readers? Can we reconcile the absence of women from the main action of the story with any kind of serious/meaningful feminist agenda? Can you think of a comparable phenomenon in the US?
12. A comparison to HUSH! might also be enlightening. How is the film different from the comic? Would you describe the film as a cinematic version of a boy-love comic? Or does it seem to be targeting a different audience?
13. Gay men in Japan often criticize boy-love comics as inauthentic and naive. In your opinion does this amount to a legitimate criticism? Why or why not?
14. To give you a sense of Gravitation fan culture, click here for a useful overview of the Gravitation fan culture phenomenon. Click here to see an example of a typical fan site with pictures and stories. What is the function these sites? How do the members/posters interact? What kind of material do they submit? What pleasure do they seem to derive from their participation?
And finally take a look at Episode 1 from the animated version of Gravitation. Here is a link to the site I mentioned in my email.
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