Gravitation (manga)

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Gravitation
グラビテーション
(Gurabitēshiyon)
Genre Comedy, Romance, Shōnen-ai,
Manga
Author Maki Murakami
Publisher Flag of Japan Gentosha
Demographic Shōjo
Original run 1996 – 2002
Volumes 12
OVA: Gravitation: Lyrics of Love [1]
Director Shinichi Watanabe
Studio Plum
Licensor Flag of the United States Flag of Canada Nozomi Entertainment
Episodes 2
Released July 23, 1999
September 22, 1999
TV anime
Director Bob Shirohata
Studio Studio Deen
Licensor Flag of the United States Flag of Canada Nozomi Entertainment
Flag of the United Kingdom MVM Films
Flag of Australia Flag of New Zealand Madman Entertainment
Network Flag of Japan WOWOW
Original run October 4, 2000 – January 10, 2001
Episodes 13
Manga: Gravitation EX
Author Maki Murakami
Publisher Flag of Japan Gentosha
Demographic Shōjo
Original run 2007
Volumes 12

Gravitation (グラビテーション Gurabitēshon?) is a shōnen-ai manga series written by Maki Murakami. It has been adapted into an anime series, directed by Bob Shirohata.

The story follows the attempts of Shuichi Shindou and his band, Bad Luck, to become Japan's next musical sensation. Fitting for the subject, the anime features a large amount of music, a diverse set of characters, plenty of comedy and touches of drama and violence.

The manga originally ended in 2002 after 12 volumes, but new chapters are being serialized in an online manga anthology. The manga has been licensed and is published in English by TOKYOPOP.[2] The Gravitation novel was released in English by TOKYOPOP on March 7, 2006. [3]

A two episode OVA series was released in 1999.[1] The thirteen-episode TV series aired in Japan from October 4, 2000 to January 10, 2001, on WOWOW satellite channel.[4] The anime goes to roughly volume 8 of the manga. The Gravitation TV and OVA series have been licensed for North American release by Right Stuf International.

A manga sequel has been written under the title of Gravitation EX, published in English by TOKYOPOP.[5]

A second novel of Gravitation called Gravitation: Voice of Temptation which is written by Maki Murakami is being published in English by TOKYOPOP.

Contents

[edit] Story

The story surrounds the aspiring and energetic singer Shuichi Shindou, with his band, Bad Luck (formed with his best friend Hiro), wants to become Japan's next big thing, like his famous idol Ryuuichi Sakuma, lead singer of the disbanded legendary group Nittle Grasper. One evening, Shuichi is writing lyrics for a song when his paper is blown away by the wind and picked up by a tall blond man. The man dismisses Shuichi's hard work, which hurts Shuichi deeply, although he is intrigued by the stranger. This will be their first, but not last, encounter, as Shuichi will become fascinated by the stranger, who turns out to be a famous romance novelist, Eiri Yuki (Uesugi).

The story expands to include the beginnings of Bad Luck and their rise to fame, as well as their rivalry with the band ASK; the reformation of Shuichi's idol's band, Nittle Grasper; a long suffering fiancée of Eiri's who wants to finally marry him and serves as an enemy then an ally for Shuichi; the public scandal surrounding Eiri's and Shuichi's relationship; attempts by Eiri's inner circle to keep Shuichi away from Eiri in "Eiri's best interests"; and the secret of Eiri's painful past that he has trouble remembering and which is keeping him from giving in to his feelings for Shuichi.

[edit] Characters

[edit] Bad Luck

[edit] Nittle Grasper

[edit] N-G Production Staff

[edit] Uesugi Family

[edit] Winchester Family

[edit] Kitazawa Family

[edit] ASK

  • Taki Aizawa
  • Ma-kun
  • Ken-chan

[edit] XMR Records

[edit] Others

  • Ayaka Usami
  • Maiko Shindou, Shuichi's sister.
  • Yuuji Nakano, Hiroshi's older brother.

[edit] Media

[edit] Print

The precursor to the Gravitation manga was a dōjinshi series titled Help!, which followed a similar story line but cast the characters in slightly different roles.

Murakami penned a thirteen volume dōjinshi series called Gravitation Remix under the group Crocodile Ave. The Remix dōjinshi are much more sexually explicit than the manga and deviate heavily from the manga storyline. They contain an element of parody. For example, one volume features a female version of a male character, Shūichi.

In addition to the Remixes, Murakami created four Megamixs dōjinshi, dubbed Megamix, Megamix: Panda, Megamix: Kumagorou and Megamix: Capybara. These are extremely explicit, even compared to the remixes, and can be shocking to readers at the magnitude of explicit imagery presented. These also deviate from the storyline as the Remixes do, though Panda takes a step further to include Shota. A new Megamix is currently in the works, entitled Megamix Zebra. Not much is known about this Megamix except that it will feature the couple of Shuichi x Ryuichi x Eiri, with Shuichi as the seme.

A sequel to the original manga series has also been created, entitled Gravitation EX[5] though many fans know it as its original name, Gravitation Genzo (so named after the online magazine it is published in). The story picks up directly after volume 12, and is known for being even more like a soap opera than the original manga. In the span of twenty chapters (as of April 2008), Shuichi and Eiri find and agree to momentarily take care of Kitazawa Yuki's son Riku, Shuichi kisses and conducts a short affair with Sakuma Ryuichi, who announces that he's always been in love with Shuichi, Eiri is in a car accident that causes him to temporarily lose his eye sight, and Reiji announces that she's making all that has happened into a movie. Shuichi believes that this movie is the reason Ryuichi "pretended" to go after him, although as of April 2008 Ryuichi's true motives - whether he is really in love with Shuichi, was making a movie, or was trying to bring Shuichi and Eiri closer in someway - are not clear. In track 71, the cave Bad Luck is filming a music video in collapses, leaving Shuichi trapped inside. The following three tracks are slow-moving, but in track 75 it is revealed that Shuichi is in a coma with no signs of waking up. Nothing else happens in that track, though it is hinted that Eiri may take over as Bad Luck's vocalist. It is unclear where the story will go from there, as Murakami has been on hiatus since the January 2008 issue, and it is unclear when she will go back to publishing the manga monthly again.

[edit] Audio

[edit] Drama CDs

Eight audio dramas were produced for Gravitation, featuring most of the seiyū of the TV and OVA series. Five retell events from the manga series, while the remaining three cover new story material. The drama CDs also contain musical tracks performed by the Japanese voice actors.

[edit] Themes

The opening and closing themes to the TV series were "SUPER DRIVE" and "Glaring Dream," performed respectively by Yosuke Sakanoue and Kinya Kotani and Mad Soldiers. The latter also performed both themes for the OVA: "Blind Game again" (opening) and "Smashing Blue" (closing). Most other music in the Gravitation franchise (except songs that appeared on later drama albums) was written, performed or produced by Daisuke Asakura. Guitarist Kenichi Ito also appears on many of the tracks as well as Kappei Yamaguchi.

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Gravitation: Lyrics of Love OVA (anime) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia, retrieved on 2007-08-30
  2. ^ Gravitation (manga). Anime News Network. Retrieved on 2006-06-04.
  3. ^ Gravitation. TOKYOPOP. Retrieved on 2006-06-04. See ISBN 1-59816-444-9
  4. ^ Gravitation (anime) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia, retrieved on 2007-08-30
  5. ^ a b Gravitation EX (manga) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia, retrieved on 2007-08-30

[edit] External links

  • Gravitation Official Homepage by Sony Music (Japanese)
  • Gravitation Official Homepage from RightStuf
  • Gravitation Sequel Official site by Genzo Track
  • Gravitation Official site from Madman Entertainment, Gravitation anime distributor in Australia and New Zealand