Gravitation volume 3
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(quoted from the back of Gravitation volume 3)
A Raucous Rock 'N Roll Romance...
Shuichi is devastated to hear that Eiri is engaged- but the show must go on. Bad Luck gears up for thrit debut performance, and Shuichi is tempted to declare his undying love for Eiri onstage. Will such homoerotic romantic confessions cause a career catastrophe? Fame and fortune seem within Shuichi's grasp, but a member of a rival band has some dirt on Shuichi that could shatter all of his dreams. How long can Bad Luck's good luck hold out?
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Gravitation Volume 3 contains:
Track 9
Track 10
Track 11
Track 12
Pretty Dynamite
Storyline:
This time around the storyline in this volume is a lot stronger. The characters are starting to develop their own feel which really helps the story out. Also, the comedy is a lot funnier this time around. With Shuichi and Eiri getting into so many fun situations it is really hard to hate this story.
Artwork:
Finally, the artwork in this volume is a lot better then the previous two. The backgrounds are still pretty pathetic but the character drawings are really starting to come together. If you plan on continuing this series to the end be prepared to watch Shuichi go under some dramatic changes to his character designs in future volumes.
Also, sense I usually don't cover the covers of volumes I thought I might as well put this here: this is my favorite cover in the series. The background and the characters are amazing! Ahem...
Characters:
Shuichi and the gang are all coming together very well. The characters' development hasn't really changed who they are, but it has really started to show them in a whole new light. For example, Eiri is now starting to show that he has a dark past and that Shuichi doesn't really know what it is. The wacky things that the characters do and say throughout this volume add plenty of new elements into the series.
Summary (Warning: May Contain Spoilers)
Unlike last volume I don't have the book with me today so I can't review track by track. Oh well...
This volume starts off with Ayaka going to meet Eiri. Shuichi automatically assumed that Eiri would be harsh on her like he is always to him, but instead he raps one of his arms around her and tells Tatsuha and Shuichi to leave.
While leaving, Tatsuha makes a comment about Shuichi being foolish about leading Ayaka to Eiri, but Shuichi responds that compared to Ayaka he is nothing more then some second class lover. Then, Tatsuha says that Eiri didn't fall in love with him because of his gender or something, but because of who Shuichi was.
The next day Ayaka meets Shuichi and tells him to stay away from Eiri. Shuichi immediately runs over to Eiri's house, haves sex with him, and then asks what does Ayaka mean to him. Eiri doesn't really answer the question, and the next day at one of Bad Luck's concerts, Shuichi stops midway through a song and yells "Yuki is mine!"
Ryuichi Sakuma (he happens to make a guest appearance at the concert) manages to keep Shuichi's secret love affair from being exposed by claiming he made him say that after beating him in Soul Caliber 2 the night before. After avoiding that crisis Eiri just smiles and Ayaka goes to meet up with Shuichi. She tells him that she knows that he truly loves Eiri so she doesn't mind the competition for his love. That night Shuichi moves in with Eiri. In the middle of this volume Shuichi gets kicked out of Eiri's house and finds out that he doesn't know the real Eiri Yuki and that he has a dark past.
In the second half of this volume Shuichi and Hiro go onto a game show for some media advertising for the band. On the first question Shuichi buzzes in first and asks to instead be allowed to sing a song instead of winning the grand prize. The producer allows it and Hiro and Shuichi immediately start to take control of the match. On the final round, Tohma tells the producer to ask a question about Eiri Yuki so that Shuichi and Hiro will be able to win. The main point of this section is to build up to a big event in volume 4 between Shuichi and a member of ASK (currently competing against Bad Luck for record sales). This member (his name starts with a T) is jealous of Shuichi's musical talent and he has a hunch that Eiri and Shuichi are having a love affair.
After winning the game show and having a live concert Shuichi goes back to Eiri's house and after sleeping together Eiri reads an article about Shuichi and Eiri's love and he decides that he needs to break up with him.
Extras:
Well the author gives her general comments throughout the tracks (chapters) and the one paged volume 4 preview. Of course these are fairly common in most series so that's nothing mind blowing. Also, she gives a decent short story called Pretty Dynamite that was all right... Nothing original there, just some 6th grader with the body of a senior in high school being tutored by a perv. Another track would have been better. Oh well...
Content Warnings:
-Language: Yes
-Violence: Yes
-Nudity: No
-Sexual Situations: Yes
Overall:
Volume three is definetly the strongest of the volumes so far (although this is true for the next 2 volumes, and then 7 and 8). The story and the characters do an awesome job of adding giggles to the audience, and the artwork has improved a lot from the first couple of volumes. Probably the only flaws of this volume that knocked down its overall rating would have to be the developing art, and the fact that the story hasn't really developed plotwise as deep as well as it should have by now.
+ Artwork that is acceptable and some pretty funny scenes.
- Plotwise, the story is still lacking a direction for the series to continue in (by volume 5 this is fixed).
Score: 8/10
