Gravitation volume 1
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(quoted from the back of Gravitation volume 1)
Shuichi Shindou is determined to be a rock start. He has no experience, no talent, and no band. After finding a charismatic guitarist and getting a gig, he's ready to show the world what a genius he is with his powerful lyrics. However, Eiri Yuki overhears his amateurish verse and puts the young musician in his place. Unable to get the harsh criticism out of his mind Shuichi forces himself into Yuki's life and the two find their futures inexorably intertwined. The force that brings them together is like gravity and there is nothing they can do to stop it.
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Gravitation Volume 1 contains:
Track 1
Track 2
Track 3
Track 4
Storyline:
This is one of the stronger points of the first volume. The author manages to make a pretty funny first volume that will set up for future volumes. The characters are hilarious and the plot is definetly original (a boy wants to be in a pop band, plus a homosexual relationship). Too bad this is about the only strong point of the first volume. The artwork is horrible (thankfully it is improves with each volume) and even though the characters are funny they aren't very well developed, yet...
Artwork:
OMG! Maki Murakami must have had a hangover the day that Gravitation volume 1 was made. The characters look like crap, the backgrounds are shitty, and just about anything that can be stuck in this section of the review sucks. If you can stick it out to volume 3 then you won't suffer as much, and by volume 6 the characters start to really get the artwork that they deserve.
Characters:
While the artwork sucks, the characters aren't that amazing in the first volume either. They manage to give the reader a few laughs but that's about it for the first volume. Sure, the author gives us a decent bunch of characters who will eventually turn into something amazing, but for right now they are pretty bland. Just the basic characters: Shuichi almosts seems like a high school girl who can't get over her crush (AKA: Eiri Yuki), his friend, Hiro, who is a gifted guitarist and a good friend, and Eiri Yuki plays the part of the abusive boyfriend. Thankfully, some of the crappy characters (like Shuichi's sister) are dropped from the series after the next volume.
Summary (Warning: May Contain Spoilers)
Since I haven't completely read this volume in months I can't give a super huge summary (probably one of the shorter ones) but I'll try and cover some of the main points in this volume.
In the first volume Shuichi Shindou is still in high school and he's preparing for a gig he recieved at some concert with his friend Hiro. One night after work, Shuichi runs into a man in the park (who we later find out is Eiri Yuki) who accidentally spots Shuichi's lyrics. The man says that they are crap and then leaves. The next day at school Shuichi is still stunned about the night before and his friend, Hiro, tells him that maybe he needs to date a girl to get some "frustrations" out. Hiro hooks up Shuichi and then when he finally goes out on his date he spots Yuki and ditches the girl.
Later that day, Shuichi goes over to Yuki's house so that he can give him an inventation to his concert. Yukirejects it at first but when Shuichi keeps bugging him he finally caves in (of course at this point Shuichi is pissed and tells him to not even bother showing up). Later on Shuichi finds out that the man turned out to be Eiri Yuki and that the reason he critiqued Shuichi so badly was because he is a novelist (of course he's just a regular ass, too).
The night of Shuichi and Hiro's concert Yuki turns up and Shuichi automatically gets inspired to sing. Yuki mumbles that his lyrics still suck and leaves. Toma Seguchi, the main man at NG records, shows up at the concert, too, and ends up talking to Shuichi. Sadly, Toma had no real interest in the band so he just asks Shuichi why Yuki was at the concert.
At the end of the first volume, Shuichi tries to persuade Yuki to go see his parents and Yuki gets angry (Yuki ends up seeing his parents anyway). Shuichi catches a cold because of all the stress and falling into a fountain. After he faints, that ends the first volume.
Extras:
For the first volume their are basically no original extras. Their are small sections in between chapters that give author commentary, an outline of Shuichi (and believe me, you don't want to look at that crappy picture), and a small preview page of the next chapter.
Content Warnings:
-Language: Yes
-Violence: Yes
-Nudity: Eh...
-Sexual Situations: Yes
Overall:
For such a great series the first volume is like a swift kick to the balls. The artwork sucks, the characters are pretty bland, and that pretty much drags the first volume down with it. If you can stick through the first couple volumes you will truly be rewarded with hilarious characters, an awesome romance, and some sad, sad drama. Also, if you are against men on men action there are really no bed scenes or humping of any kind past volume 3.
+ Volume 1 does a decent job of setting up for future volumes.
- Sadly, that is all about it does, sense the artwork and characters are pretty pathetic for the first volume. Gravitation has to be one of the very few series that manages to do a 180 and pull this series from crap, to spectacular.
Score: 4/10
