Gravitation volume 5
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(quoted from the back of Gravitation volume 5)
Shuichi and his band Bad Luck are rising stars in Japan's provocative pop scene, and they're shooting down the competition. Their chief musical adversary, ASK, finds their popularity waning--they seem doomed to the has-been status of an 80s hair band. But just when it looks like the top stop on the Billboard charts is Bad Luck's for the taking, a completely unexpected competitor emerges. Nittle Grasper is reuniting! Now Shuichi finds his greatest idol, Ryuichi Sakuma, has become his biggest rival.
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Gravitation Volume 5 contains:
Track 17
Track 18
Track 19
Track 20
Track 21
Storyline:
The story of this volume of Gravitation is probably the best in the series so far. Ryuichi and Tatsuha spend some quality time bonding, a new (old) band makes its debut in Japan, and Eiri is slowly starting to admit his feelings for Shuichi. Shuichi shows passionately throughout this volume how he has the ability to heal Eiri's heart and it is really touching. On top of that, the story takes a darker path showing Tohma Seguchi's dark side and how he would do anything for Eiri (even kill!), and how Eiri was so affected by his childhood. This volume manages to give the reader quite a few memorable scenes that really help to push the volume along.
Artwork:
The horrid drawings from the first few volumes are almost a thing of the past. The characters are really getting the detail and attention that they deserve and it really shows. The characters' expressions are bringing the story to life. The only problem with the art would have to be the very few times when some of the ugly art from the past pokes its ugly head back in, and the sketchy art of this volume can make you think that the art wasn't given as much time as needed. But overall this series artwork has dramastically improved throughout the volumes.
Characters:
Goodness gracious, the characters have really started to take off in this volume as well. Last volume gave the characters much needed time to sort out their issues, and this volume is ment to help give the characters the time they need to grow. Characters such as K are finally given major roles in this volume and they really help bring the series to a whole new level. Not only that, some of the older characters show new sides that almost redefine this series. Tohma has his dark side, Eiri opens up to Shuichi, and Shuichi is just trying to help get Eiri through his hard time while helping NG studios with Bad Luck. Of course, this wouldn't be Gravitation without some of the hilarious scenes by Tatsuha, Ryuichi, and Shuichi.
Summary (Warning: May Contain Spoilers)
In track 17, Shuichi starts off his morning with his usual flirting with Eiri. After being driven out of the house Tohma shows up and comforts Eiri, who's still recovering from Shuichi being raped. Once Shuichi gets to work he is mistaken for Ryuichi Sakuma by Ryuichi's own manager, K. Apparently Ryuichi had taken the day off during a huge TV broadcast. K asks Shuichi if he would perform in Ryuichi's place and hesitantely, he agrees. It turns out that Ryuichi was hanging out with Tatsuha that day and after a cute bunny scene he gets a call from Tohma telling him to go to the TV station with Tatsuha. Shuichi and K beat Ryuichi there and then K throws Shuichi on stage. After an awkward moment Shuichi starts singing one of Ryuichi's songs and stuns the audience. At that moment, Ryuichi and Tatsuha show up and Shuichi gets kicked off. This track ends with Taki from Ask getting pissed of at Shuichi's singing talent.
In track 18, Shuichi finds out that his new manager for Bad Luck is K, Ryuichi's former manager. Shuichi freaks out for a bit, but after a while he accepts K as there manager. Meanwhile, Taki is freaking out and trying to think of ways to get back at Shuichi. His fellow members tell him he's taking it to far but he doesn't listen and when he recieves an unsigned letter telling him about Eiri's past, he goes to confront Eiri. Once Taki goes to Eiri, Eiri simply replies that he has gotten over his past and he doesn't care. Shuichi barges in at that moment and defends Eiri. Taki runs away and gets confronted by Tohma. Tohma tells him Taki just wasted his life and tries to kill him by pushing Taki in front of a moving car. Back at Shuichi's place, Eiri breaks down and cries and Shuichi tries to confort him. Eiri makes some rude comments but he accepts it and smiles. At the end of the chapter Noriko, Bad Luck's keyboard player, tells Hiro and Shuichi that she's leaving Bad Luck and going back to her old band Nittle Grasper for their reunion.
In track 19, Sakano, Bad Luck's producer, confronts Tohma to figure out if Nittle Grasper is really reforming. Tohma says that they are and that Nittle Grasper will be Bad Luck's biggest rivals. The next day, K breaks into Shuichi's house and drags his ass to work. Before they leave Eiri asks Shuichi if he should wait up for him for dinner and Shuichi is shocked that Eiri actually acknowledged his existance. Before Shuichi can cancel work for this amazing event, K drags him out the door and finds out that Shuichi and Eiri are gay. It took some time but after K told Shuichi that he found them a big gig, he finally accepted K as his manager, but... Ryuichi interupts Bad Luck's triumph by telling them that Nittle Grasper has the gig and that Bad Luck is their opener. Shuichi runs off thinking he pissed Ryuichi off, but Ryuichi gets confused and says he just wanted to do a duet with Shuichi. At the end of the chapter, Fujisaki is introduced and Shuichi finds out he will be Noriko's replacement. After that he runs over to Eiri and they have a sex (which isn't shown!!!)
In track 20, Fujisaki demonstrates his amazing keyboard abilities in front of the whole NG studios. Shuichi gets mad because of this and runs to Eiri. Eiri gets mad at Shuichi for being such a coward and tells him to stop being such a pussy. Of course, Eiri was just trying to help Shuichi but it turns into a big argument and Shuichi leaves. In the next scene, Fujisaki confronts Eiri and tears up Taki's letter showing him he means no harm. After that Eiri tells Fujisaki to stop acting so nice and that he was just like his cousin Tohma. Shuichi freaks out when he finds out he was getting mad at Tohma's cousin, and after Fujisaki leaves Eiri and Shuichi make up. Eiri then gives Shuichi a picture that had the boy he killed on it, hugging Eiri, and he told Shuichi it would be his good luck charm.
In track 21, Bad Luck squares off against Nittle Grasper at the gig. At first Shuichi thought Ryuichi was mocking him when he had a bad warmup and K influences Shuichi's imagination by telling him Ryuichi didn't think Shuichi was good enough. After that Shuichi gets all fired up and Bad Luck goes on stage. Because of K's comment, Bad Luck did an amazing job and wowed the crowd. Then, Nittle Grasper went up and had an even better performance. K finally told Shuichi that he made up the battle between Ryuichi and Shuichi and that they should sing that duet now. K then pushes Shuichi on stage and he sings with Ryuichi. After the duet Shuichi falls to the floor and cries which ends volume 5.
Extras:
Unlike the last volume this one doesn't have an ugly extra story to take away from its greatness. Instead the author focuses more on the story which in return gives the reader an extra track (chapter). Of course, the author commentaries and the one page "next volume" preview show up again like the previous volumes.
Content Warnings:
-Language: Yes
-Violence: Yes
-Nudity: No
-Sexual Situations: Yes
Overall:
What an excellent volume! Gravitation is finally getting its shit together and it's showing. With two volumes in a row that were not only memorable but original, Gravitation has to be one of the best series out there. Still, this isn't the perfect series because the drawings are still have a few problems and even with the extra track this volume still wasn't as strong as the last one. The volume couldn't compete with the two main scenes from the last issue, but overall it was a great addition to the series that is worthy of the name, Gravitation.
+ Great story, ever-improving characters, and some of the best artwork for the series yet.
- The stories weren't as memorable as the previous volume and the artwork had momentary "glitches."
Score: 9/10
