Gravitation (manga)

Gravitation
グラビテーション (Gurabitēshiyon)
Demographic	Shōjo
Genre	Shōnen-ai, Comedy, Romance
Manga: [1]
Author	Maki Murakami
Publisher	Gentosha
Other publishers: Glénat Mangismo Tokyopop Siam Inter Comics Carlsen Comics Punch Comics Editora JBC Kabuki Publishing Grupo Editorial Vid
Original run	1996 – 2002
Volumes	12
TV anime: [2]
Director	Bob Shirohata
Studio	Studio Deen
Licensor	Nozomi Entertainment
Network	WOWOW
Other networks: Anime Network, ImaginAsian, Anime Selects A+
Original run	October 4, 2000 – January 10, 2001
Episodes	13
OVA: Gravitation: Lyrics of Love [3]
Director	Shinichi Watanabe
Studio	Plum
Licensor	Right Stuf International
Episodes	2
Released	July 23, 1999 September 22, 1999
Manga: Gravitation EX [4]
Author	Maki Murakami
Publisher	Gentosha
Other publishers: Tokyopop
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.^[1] The Gravitation novel was released in English by TOKYOPOP on March 7, 2006. ^[5] A two episode OVA series was released in 1999.^[3] The thirteen-episode TV series aired in Japan from October 4, 2000 to January 10, 2001, on WOWOW satellite channel.^[2] 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.^[4] A second novel of Gravitation called Gravitation: Voice of Temptation which is written by Maki Murakami is being published in English by TOKYOPOP.

Contents 1 Story 2 Characters 3 Media 3.1 Print 3.2 Audio 4 References 5 External links

Story

Characters

Bad Luck

• Shuichi Shindou
• Hiroshi Nakano
• Suguru Fujisaki

Nittle Grasper

• Ryuichi Sakuma
• Tohma Seguchi
• Noriko Ukai

N-G Production Staff

• Claude K Winchester "K"
• Sakano

Uesugi Family

• Eiri Yuki a.k.a Eiri Uesugi
• Mika Seguchi
• Tatsuha Uesugi

Winchester Family

• Claude K Winchester a.k.a. "K"
• Judy Winchester
• Michael Winchester

Kitazawa Family

• Yuki Kitazawa
• Yoshiki Kitazawa
• Riku Kitazawa

XMR Records

• Reiji

Others

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

Media

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^[4] 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 nineteen chapters (as of September 2007), 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 September 2007 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 two tracks are slow-moving, but in track 74, the newest track as of September 2007, Shuichi is revealed to have been rescued. The extent of his injuries are not clear, though several hints are given that it is serious; Riku drops a Bad Luck CD, whispering "Mama" (his nickname for Shuichi), Maiko sees Shuichi's picture fall, thinks about all the strange noises that have been coming from his room at night, and comes to the conclusion that something bad must be happening to Shuichi, Suguru shouts at Touma and blames him for letting them film in the cave (something which is strange considering Suguru's habit of sucking up to Touma), and Eiri states that the normally-cool Touma is "panicking, as though Shuichi has finally been killed." In response to this, Hiro grabs Eiri's shoulder and states that "Shuichi is not dead," giving the intended sense that something HAS happened to Shuichi. Murakami, however, has been on hiatus since the July 2007 issue, and it is unclear when she will go back to publishing the manga monthly again.

Audio

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.

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.

References

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