Rating: Summary: Can't believe i am saying this but.... Review: I was kinda disappointed with this,i am a huge,huge fan of gravitation,and i was so excited when i learned that it will be translated into english through tokyo pop. so i bought it,read it and.....to me it seems like an alternate universe,the characters personalitys are diffenernt it seems to me,alot of the humor was lost.and in alot of places i am very conviced they totally changed parts in coversations,and it left me saying "where the hell did that come from?!" and "the hell?" *sigh* i am very,vey disappointed,but it is not a total bad job,i just wonder why they had to change so much it was perfect the way it was. but it is still pretty good,especially if you never read the original manga,i would still recomend it,disappointment or not you can't keep a fan down or away lol.
Rating: Summary: Pleasantly surprised! Review: I was never really sure about whether or not I wanted to pick up Gravitation. I'd heard excellent things and awful things about it. Finally I picked it up in the bookstore, flipped through it, decided it looked good enough to buy, and wow, am I thankful I did.
This may appear to be a dull rock 'n' roll manga, but the focus isn't really on the music at all - it's just the thing that allows for the larger plot between Shuichi and Yuki. And while it is shounen-ai, which will doubtlessly turn some people away, it's still a wonderful manga.
The artwork is nothing to gape at - at times it's rough, sketchy, and really not much to look at. There are times, though, when you can see the potential for brilliant artwork, and there are a couple of occasions when it reaches that point. (The hair flair is especially noteworthy!) The characters are incredibly distinctive and have expressions that convey an equally incredible amount of emotion. Quite frankly, the artwork is the only reason - the one and only reason at all - that I considered giving this four stars instead of five.
The plot is twofold: the more minor plot of the struggle of Shuichi and his best friend, Hiro, in getting their band to go big, and the main plot involving Shuichi and Yuki's hot-and-cold relationship. While there are plenty of laughs to go around, there are a few angsty and serious moments as well, which all balances out nicely. The story moves fairly quickly, but it's not difficult to understand, either, and each page makes you want to turn to the next.
The characters are, simply put, amazing. You can't help but fall in love with the way Shuichi blindly wears his heart on his sleeve and adore Yuki's alternately hostile and almost-nice nature. Each character is distinctive and fresh, and even the most minor ones stick in your mind. More than anything, though, watching the interactions between Yuki and Shuichi is an absolute blast because of how they alternately come together (less common) and conflict (more common).
It's left unflipped in its original format, and, surprisingly enough, the translation isn't half-bad - it reads like the vernacular. The rating is, at 13+, surprisingly low - most shounen-ai manga with any action automatically ranks a 16+. It's rated for kissing, of course, along with swearing, smoking and drinking. At the rate it's going, though, I'm sure the rating will rise.
Gravitation is something that you like more and more with each reading. I don't really know why I like it as much as I do, given that it doesn't seem like it would be all to magnificent. Nevertheless, it is a wonderful manga and, at least from the first volume, ranked itself among my favorites, and I, for one, cannot wait to get the second volume.
Rating: Summary: "It's Gravitation!" Review: I would just like to say first of all, that the 'slang' may be oputdated for this time but you have to remember that the manga was originally written in 1996, and that was the 'slang' for that period of time, and maybe that the translaters wan tot keep it in the time period that it was made. Don't knock it because of 'the poor translation and use of outdated slang', you've still should have the basic story there for you, read around it.Anyway... When I bought this, I had never seen the series or read any online translations, but I was still a fan in a way. I had come across and general anime website and the webmistress was going on about how she loved it. I read up about it and I was intressed, and at first I didn't even realise it was 'shounen-ai'(boy-boy relationships). When I found out that Tokyopop were releasing the comic, I was excited, now I could see what it was really all about. And I loved it. At fisrt I wasn't the most keen on the art, but that's becasue it was different to what I had currently been reading, but I grew to love it. To me it seem fairly realistic (compared to some other art styles). The story itself is intresting, and funny. You may hate Yuki Eiri and first but later on in the series, something may change your opinion of him. It's a great read, and I won't give away the plot. i would recomend this to anyone who's into romcoms (romantic comedies). And don't get turned away just because it's two males, the story itself is what makes it.
Rating: Summary: weird translations Review: I'd have to agree when it comes to the fact that the translations aren't all that great. I understand they try to "modernize" it for teens but some of the language is outdated, never used, or just plain weird. It makes the characters sound...out of character. Like Tohma for example: "I'd like to see their chops live" or something like that. Seriously, how strange, horrible, and cheesy does that sound? And Yuki for some reason suddenly likes to add "dude" and "man" to his sentences. Then we have Shuichi who goes "go shag your groupie" .........ok. And some random person who says "Take a chill pill." I seriously haven't heard anyone say that in real life--Maybe in cartoons though. I think they should cut back on phrases like that. It just doesn't work with these characters. Hopefully the second volume will improve greatly. Don't let this review fool you though, Gravitation happens to be my favorite--I'm simply reviewing the product released by Tokyopop.
Rating: Summary: Great manga series that far surpasses the anime. Review: If you have the time and money to buy all 12 volumes of "Gravitation," I urge you to do so. It's a very different kind of love story; one that while it becomes sentimental at times, is also a very compelling and at times hysterically funny manga. Yes, the main character is gay, but really, what's so bad about that? My only real complaint with this series is that Shuichi's parents and sister rarely appear after the first three volumes, even though they are very funny characters. This gets a star off for Tokyopop's bad translation, which adds in some very lame pop culture references.
Note to parents: This manga is fine for anyone over the age of 15. There is no explicit sex but there is talk of it, and later on there's a bit of strong violence.
Rating: Summary: Sweet as Sugar ^_^ Review: If you've seen Queer as Folk, then you might be familiar with the cliche "younger-virgin-meets-streetwise-older-guy-and-is-sexually-initiated-even-though-he's-just-a-smidge-under-the-legal-age-of-consent". Mmm hmm. Not exactly the greatest premise to base a manga on, that statutory rape thing (sorry if I mispelled that). But the Japanese have different cultural norms than we do, and although I believe the legal age over there is 18 also, they are a little more lax about enforcing it (if you believe CNN.com). Actually I'm surprised this manga has gone under the wire here in the US... it seems like prime fodder for the extreme right wingers to harp on. But all that aside, let's talk about the story... Shuichi entrances, Yuki entices... but I'm enclined to think they're not really meant for each other. Yeah, the whole May-December romance thing sounds exciting, but in reality Shuichi's naivete is going to get on Yuki's last nerves one day. And Shuichi, for all his proclomations of true love and whatnot, will one day realize that he's being used. God, it's so cliche, it should be annoying - but in steps the great plot line and art! I've read up to volume 3, and believe me the first volume is superb, while the rest... well, let's just say it gets boring in later books. However, the first volume is very "stand-alone" and keeps your attention throughout.
Rating: Summary: Wonderful... I really love this book Review: It took my two months to get a copy of this. I thought it was supposed to be released in June, but I couldn't find a copy anywhere. I finally checked out the release date at Tokyopop's website, it said August 5th, but I was happy to get my pre-ordered copy today. : ) I was afraid I would be disappointed, because after waiting two months I had high expectations, but I was not at all. This is a really fun story. I mean it has cute guys, wanna be rock stars, and oh did I already say cute guys? But really the story is very entertaining, and now my only complaint is that I will have to wait til October for the next volume.
Rating: Summary: laws of gravity Review: Like a good many people, I was introduced to 'Gravitation' via the anime. Opening the first volume of the manga, you realise all previous expectations need to be put aside; Gravi the Manga and Gravi the Anime are quite different from one another. The best way to view the two series' are as different takes on the same theme.
There seems to be no middle ground with Murakami's art style - either people love it, or they hate it. The sketchy, harried looking illustrations match the frenetic pace of the characters, especially Shuichi-kun. It does have a slightly amateurish feel in the earlier books, but by volume 4 it smooths out. Unlike so many manga, the character designs don't remain fixed - clothes, hair, even facial appearance (compare Shuichi in track 1 to Shuichi in track 12) change with slightly alarming frequency, if you take the time to think about it. However the action moves so quickly, most of the time you don't notice. It only becomes annoying when one has to stop reading to work out just who these characters are meant to be.
The characters are pretty archetypal, but they're taken to almost neurotic extremes. Hardly a bad thing, Shuichi's massive face volts and emotional overreactions provide a great deal of the comedy in this series. Yuki plays the jaded and cynical partner, while Hiro fulfils the role of the straight guy sidekick, and Tohma and Taki are the manipulative businessman and the insanely jealous rival respectively. Everyone else is pretty much there for their comic potential. Bad Luck's manager K is a standout as the happy go lucky, bazooka-toting American.
So if 'Gravitation' is so damned funny, why am i only giving it 3 stars?
Because, reading further and further into the series, I'm left with a feeling that Murakami is willing sacrifice anything for a gag. And the major element that has suffered in 'Gravitation' is plot. No matter how hard Murakami tries to insert some depth into the story (done almost entirely through Yuki, the only character developed far enough to carry a weightier storyline), it's always trampled by an hilariously funny but otherwise completely arbitrary gag situation.
It's obvious as you read on that Murakami drew this manga on the fly. there's just no structure to it, the events aren't leading anywhere other than to again show just how stupid Shuichi can be and how cold Yuki can be towards him; by volume 8 it feels like the manga has slipped from parody to caricature - it's like reading something that has been based on an episode of 'Tom and Jerry'. It's a bit of a shame actually, as the anime demonstrated that there is a plot (and quite a good one) buried in the mish-mash of random comic scenes. Murakami just hasn't been able to grasp hold of it.
(And if you're a yaoi freak like me, you'll notice there's an awful lot of 'shounen' in this series, but not much 'ai'...)
If you're looking for a light read, or are in need of cheering up, look no further than 'Gravitation' - it will have you laughing yourself sick in no time. If you're looking for shounen ai with those wonderful things, plot and character development, I'd recommend bypassing the manga and going straight to the anime; it's far superior in terms of both quality and craft.
Rating: Summary: Gravitation manga 1-5 Review: Lots of things to say. Murakami-san, you're too random and you change your main characters too often. It's frustrating how every volume or so the supporting characters change entirely; Shuichi's sister was one of the main characters at first, but I can't remember the last time I saw her. Bad Luck's manager changes at the drop of the hat. The story is like that, too. Hiroshi wants to leave the band. Yuki suddenly decides to dump Shuichi for the umpth time. Shuichi goes to New York. Her imagination flutters here and there while the readers gapes, and wonders where the last storyline plot suddenly went to. Is it just me, or is Bad Luck fated to be forever chased by Nittle Grasper's ghost? They have the same manager, the same producer, Ryuichi wants to sing with Shuichi, Touma helped them out for a bit, and Noriko even pimped herself as their manager for a bit. The art... is... so... bad! But once you get used to it, they actually come out handsome. And I love her Super-Deformed characters. I love it when Shuichi chibi-fies himself and attaches himself to Yuki's leg. I love Yuki's non-plussed-I'm-casually-smoking look. I love how in a single panel, if you look in the corner, K has traded heads with a horse. Towards the later volumes, the art goes beautiful. Did Murakami-san learn how to use computers? Because I'm wondering why all the color pictures changed to computer art. Or did she get a new set of helpers? That would explain the sudden improvement in art. Actually, my main complaint with the artistic style in the first few volumes was the intense colors; the dark places are black black black and everything else is white. I like more grays and residual colors, as well as more careful shadow-ing. Which she didn't do, but does now. ^_^;. Worthwhile, but lackluster art in the beginning volumes and little focus with storyline -- although it makes up somewhat with its bizarre, often hilarious sense of humour. It's not for everyone, so read it first.
Rating: Summary: Gravi ^_^ Review: Mmm... I recently picked up this volume of Gravitation. I've own a bootleged version ... of the anime... but I have to say, I like the anime better then the manga, but thats because I'm not use to the style the manga art is in, but I'll get use to it. Neways, Gravitation is a Shounen-Ai (and some even say yaoi... though the remixs of Gravitation ARE graphic yaoi ^_^;;;;). Shindou Shuichi, 18 years old and steping in the music world. He meets with Yuki Eiri, who at first is seen as a [bad] person and tells Shuichi he has no talent in writing lyrics and he should give up. But later in the series (Anime and manga (I've read scanlations)) You see why Yuki is the way he is... and you begin to understand Yuki and why hes so mean to Shuichi. I can't really say what else happens in the series, because 1) I forgot and haven't read the scanlations since I heard Gravitation was being liscened and 2) Don't wanna give out to much ^_^;; raowr... I'd get this if your a shounen-ai/yaoi fan or just wanna read something filled with emotion and humor ^_^
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