Anime/Manga Review: Gravitation

I’m going to preface this by saying that Gravitation is a Shonen-ai (SHO-nen ah-EE) story. These stories are not written to cater to men, and therefore don’t generally appeal to a male audience due to their homosexual nature. Shonen-ai literally means male love. So… if you’re not into that sort of thing, Gravitation is NOT for you.

If you are into that sort of thing, or are curious, or are simply not offended by it… then you must see Gravitation, or pick up the first several volumes of manga.

The Anime:

Animation: I’d have to give the actual animation in this series a fair to good score. The backgrounds are well drawn, there is attention to detail in the scenes that matter, in others, it could have a little more punch. Characters are well drawn with flair, each having their own individual style that just adds something to the series. What particularly stands out, is the art for Eiri Yuki. Clearly the lead animator on this guy was in love with the character, and it shows.

The soundtrack: Well, considering Bad Luck has one song for most of the series… I think they could have put a little more work into it. At the same time, it’s a good song, it just gets old after the first five times you hear it. All of the tunes in this series are catchy, the mood music is moody. It’s not an outstanding soundtrack, but it does fit the series. No points lost or gained here.

English Dub: Annoying as all hell. Just avoid it, watch it in Japanese with the subtitles.

Japanese Dub: Well.. *grin* the first time you hear Yuki say something, you’ll understand why Suichi is interested in the guy. By the same token, you won’t understand why Yuki lets Suichi hang around, which is appropriate.

Spoilers ensue!

Story: The ending to this series is a tad anti-climactic. You end up wondering what happens next, so it’s not a really good place to end a series. The story, however, gets deeper in the manga, hence why I mentioned it in the title of this article. Sadly, that’s the case with series that start off with a lot of potential. There’s always more in the manga. Still, for giggling, bon-bon eating, kleenex grabbing and general girl appeal, the series gets four out of five stars.

The Manga:

Art: Just… beautiful. The art in the manga gives you a deeper insight into the characters than you get from the series. It really draws you into the world that the cast lives in. I like that about Manga. Manga should be a place you can escape to for half an hour while you read the book. Then you should wake up from it in kind of a daze with a smile on your face. This one does just that.

Plot: Thicker than the anime, and if you enjoyed the anime at all, this makes the manga a terribly worthy read.

I’d add this to my list of must buys if you are a manga collector.