Shuichi Shindou
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Gravitation character | |
|
|
| Shuichi Shindou | |
|---|---|
| Voice Actor: | Seki Tomokazu (Japanese), Rich McNanna (English) |
| Similar Works: | "Vision of Escaflowne" - Van Fanel, "Weiß Kreuz" - Ken, "Neon Genesis Evangelion" - Toji Suzuhara, "Fruits Basket" - Kyo Sohma |
| Birthdate: | April 16 |
| Age: | 19 |
| Blood Type: | A |
| Height: | 5'4" |
| Weight: | 112 lbs |
| Hair Color: | Pink (anime) Red (OVA) |
| Eye Color: | Violet (anime) Green (OVA) |
| Shoe Size: | Mens 7 |
| Eyesight: | 20/20 |
Shuichi Shindou (新堂愁一 Shindō Shūichi) is the main character of the anime and manga series, Gravitation.
Contents |
[edit] Basic information
Shuichi's beginning ambition in the series is to follow in the footsteps of his idol, Ryuichi Sakuma, the lead singer of the band Nittle Grasper, by creating his own successful music band named Bad Luck. However, one day when he is walking through a park reading his lyrics of the song 'Glaring Dream', a wind blows them away, where they are picked up by a mysterious man who labels them as elementary-level and says that Shuichi has zero talent and should just give up. Stung by the man's criticism, Shuichi becomes determined to get an apology out of the man and after his friend Hiroshi Nakano helps him realise that he is attracted to this man, Shuichi sees an interview on television that shows that the man is in fact the famous romance novelist Eiri Yuki.
Initially, Eiri Yuki treats Shuichi coldly, but Shuichi perseveres through Yuki's cold behaviour and eventually the two begin a relationship after Shuchi helps Yuki through his tragic past and the events related to, Kitazawa Yuki. Shuichi's band also begins to rise in fame, and a major portion of the series focuses on his attempts to balance the demands of his job with his pursuit of Eiri's affections. A good example of this can be seen at the beginning of the series where Shuichi cannot seem to finish the record because of his struggle to realise his feeling for Yuki.
[edit] Profile
Shuichi has an innocent and energetic personality that is indicative of the uke stereotype. This is amplified in the anime, where he frequently goes into super deformed mode, which often ruins serious scenes. Despite this hyperactiveness, he also shows determination and preserverance when he buckles down and focuses on what he wants. This is evident in his zeal to get to the top of the charts with Bad Luck and his aggressive pursuit of his love interest Eiri Yuki. He also is overly emotional, easily breaking into tears or getting overexcited at critical moments, to the point where the quality of his singing is affected by the state of his relationship with Eiri.
Ever since he was a kid, Shuichi was a fan of Nittle Grasper and wanted to become just like its leader Ryuichi Sakuma, wearing his hair in the same style as Ryuichi's and even using the same shampoo. He later becomes the leader and vocalist of Bad Luck, which steadily gains prominence in the music world as the series progresses. In the follow-up manga Gravitation EX, Bad Luck is battling it out with Nittle Grasper and it seems that they will reach the #1 spot.
He is also a big fan of YMO, TM Revolution, B'z, Electric Groove, and B-2 Dept, and his favorite food is strawberry Pocky. The fact that he is a fan of TM Revolution is rather ironic as he bears a striking resemblance to him.
Shuichi's best friend is Hiroshi Nakano, the guitarist on his band who acts as a calming influence upon him and is a big brother figure for him. He also has a sister named Maiko, who is a huge fan of Eiri Yuki. Maiko is not shown in the main anime series, but is shown in the manga and partly in the OVA episodes. While she seems a little less out there than her brother, she still has the same energy and presumably the same kindness.
[edit] Relationship with Eiri Yuki
Shuichi first meets Eiri when his song lyrics are blown away by the wind. From then on, he becomes infatuated with Eiri, and he becomes Shuichi's main priority, so much so that the quality of their relationship affects his performance at work; when it goes badly, his vocals suffer.
In the beginning stages, Eiri treated Shuichi with a mixture of indifference and hostility, especially when Shuichi's childish antics irritated him. Despite this, and many other obstacles, including the arrival of Eiri's fiancee Ayaka Usami, Shuichi kept on pursuing Eiri in the hope that his feelings would be reciprocated someday. This confused Eiri, who initially did not understand how someone would want to be with him with his cold personality, and endeared Shuichi to him.
A major plot point in the series was when Taki Aizawa found about Shuichi and Eiri's relationship and threatened to expose it if Shuichi did not submit to being gang-raped by his comrades. Because Shuichi valued Eiri's safety above his own, he complied. When Eiri found out, he exacted revenge upon Taki by beating up his band mate, Ma-kun. Believing that Shuichi was better off without him, Eiri decided to follow through with his arranged marriage to Ayaka, but Shuichi, with the help of Tatusha, was able to prevent the marriage. Shuichi tells Eiri that he won't let go of him because he loves him; Eiri then confides in him about his past, that he killed someone. Later on, Eiri reveals that he believes that Shuichi is like him now because he had been sexually abused as he had been when he was younger.
After that event, Shuichi's love for Eiri begins to exact a noticeable change in Eiri's personality; Eiri gradually becomes more open and caring towards him in his own way. Nonetheless, there still exist some sources of tension in their relationship, the main one being Eiri's lingering feelings for his former mentor Yuki Kitazawa. Shuichi's music career also threatens to interfere with his commitments, and Eiri's brother-in-law and friend, Tohma Seguchi threatens him more than once to stay away from Eiri when it becomes clear that Eiri is under a lot of stress.
Eiri's guilt over Yuki Kitazawa's death is resolved in the manga when he is forced to reenact the rape scene with a Kitazawa-lookalike. The resulting revival of all his past memories causes him to have a greater appreciation of his mutual love with Shuichi. Ultimately, despite numerous turmoils, the two keep on coming back to each other, as if they're attracted by gravitation.
