The story. Due to Murukami Maki’s rather undeveloped art at the beginning of the series it had also hindered the flow of the story telling; so it is rather difficult to understand or get into the story. From own experience, I had tried to read it first but the art had threw me off completely and I dropped it after the 2nd chapter.
Now, onto the review...
Gravitation is often called the gateway to the shounen-ai genre because of its appeal. What separates this from every other of its genre is its diversity. For once it does not focus solely on the character’s (in this case Eiri’s and Shuichi’s) relationship but on everything going on around them – the side characters, the music, their careers, them as an individual and most of all – the gags.
Comedy is the widest appeal this manga has, and it does a good job giving laughs to the reader. Most of the comedy relies on over-the-top shenanigans, references to the music industry (such as N-Sync) or sexual innuendo. Another thing that it makes it so approachable is the lack of typical lovey-dovey or corny scenes. If there are any present, it is usually used as a gag itself as Murakami mocks this for the reader’s enjoyment.
The first few volumes’ art is - to put it bluntly - quite horrendous. As previously stated, it’s enough to repel readers, and the story-telling is sloppy. However, readers see a drastic change in art during the latter of series and it first becomes noticeable around volume 6. Murakami also introduces a neat way of using panels to better the flow of the story telling. Although ultimately her art has changed for the better I wasn’t too keen on the new character design for Shuichi. One of the good points of Gravitation at the beginning was Shuichi’s more masculine physique, but as the story progresses Shuichi becomes shorter and eventually has a physique that downplays readers imaginations (for either better or worse, up to the reader really) so in the end, he would fit the stereotypical uke.
The cast of Gravitation all play significant roles in the story – whether it is to meddle, to be the shoulder to cry on or part of the past, they all have more or less something to give, again giving this the sort of edge that other shounen-ai’s don’t have.
I find it unrealistic how every accepts Shuichi’s and Eiri’s relationship; but then again a manager who uses a gun for persuasion and a giant robot panda chasing Shuichi through New York isn’t exactly realistic either.
All of Gravitation has been licensed under Tokyopop, who has done a spectacular job at translating. However the first couple of translated volumes may cause some to cringe with their attempt of using ‘hip’ phrases; often backfiring by employing tacky lines such as “take a chill pill”. Fortunately it gets better along the way, and I appreciate how they make it appeal to Western audiences by using our entertainment industry like MTV (“Oh, I get it I’m on Punk’d. Where’s Ashton?”)
Both versions of Gravitation are light-hearted, filled with humour and entertaining. The manga does make you appreciate how well the producers of the anime adapted it - it’s one of the best adaptations of a manga I’ve seen in fact. And the manga has got to have the silliest content I have ever read - but it’s the stupid shenanigans that make me laugh so much.
