Gravitation volume 6
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(quoted from the back of Gravitation volume 6)
Frustrated by Ryuichi's superior talent, Shuichi decides to get into his own groove in order to go head-to-head against his idol. And when Eiri makes an unexplained exodus to New York, Hiro convinces Tatsuha to dress up like Eiri and make some magic happen! But when Shuichi gets carried away and locks lips with the costumed Tatsuha, will the face-sucking scandal be too hot for everyone to handle? Or will Shuichi tell everyone to kiss off?!
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Gravitation Volume 6 contains:
Track 22
Track 23
Track 24
Track 25
Track 26
Storyline:
This volume starts off as if it is going to continue Gravitation volume 5's brilliance, but shortly after the first volume starts the series goes off track. Shuichi and Hiro get on a cooking show for about half of the volume and even though it is hilarious it doesn't do much to push the plot forward. In fact, the only plot twist worth mentioning is in the very last chapter. Basically, this volume is only used as a link from volume 5 to 7.
Artwork:
This is the best artwork in Gravitation yet. The character designs are smoother then ever before and the sketchy lines from previous volumes are no more. Because of this the characters have never looked more alive and original. The only problem I had with the artwork was the not so detail backgrounds, but I have always preferred detailed characters compared to the backgrounds.
Characters:
The only two characters that got any real character development in this volume was Tohma and Eiri . This is one of the few times in the series that the author actually puts Tohma in the spotlight and showed how important he is to Eiri. Also, Eiri showed how much he actually loved Shuichi at the end of the volume which will really help to connect volumes 5 and 7 together. Sadly, the other characters didn't really progress that much (unless you count Tatsuha's dedicatin to being Ryuichi's future husband) because they were all stuck at the cooking show.
Summary (Warning: May Contain Spoilers)
In track 22, Bad Luck has officially reached the big time. The band is getting chased by mobs of girls and the only thing missing is Shuichi. After the end of the last volume he's going through his own problems trying to come up with the courage to face his idol, Ryuichi. Hiro realizes this and goes over to Shuichi's house and helps him get over his fears. The next scene focuses on K having a nice chat with Eiri and telling him to show Shuichi that he loves him more. Actually, it is more of a threat because K forces Eiri to hug and bribe Shuichi by shooting at Eiri everytime he says something offensive to Shuichi. Eiri tells Shuichi, when he goes over to Eiri's, that if he can sell a million CD's he will take Shuichi on a date. At the end of the chapter Shuichi is going all out advertising for Bad Luck and then they get a gig on an Iron Chief look-a-like show.
In track 23, Shuichi is preparing for the cooking show. He asks Eiri to give him some cooking lessons for a week before Eiri takes a mysterious vacation to New York. Everyone is worried that Shuichi won't be able to do the show once Eiri, the source of all his energy, leaves Japan, so Hiro goes over to Tatsuha's and tells him if he dresses up like Eiri he will give him Ryuichi's cell phone number. Tatsuha immediately takes the offer and the next day at the cooking show Shuichi spots Eiri at the cooking show and goes crazy. At the end of the chapter Tatsuha and friends realize that the main judge in the cook-off is nonother then Noriko's husband (and he's a perverted old man too).
In track 24, Shuichi has only thirty minutes left to win the cooking competition and with Tatsuha's surprise disappearance during the show he loses all hope. Noriko immediately fixes this by offering Tatsuha, Ryuichi's home number if he goes back on stage to help motivate Shuichi. Just as Shuichi is about to regain focus for the cooking show, Tatsuha breaks through the bottom floor and does the cha-cha with Shuichi. After a while Shuichi figures out that Tatsuha isn't really Eiri and they kiss on stage. At the end of the chapter the scene switches over to New York were Eiri is dropping flowers on the Yuki's, the boy he killed, grave.
In track 25, Eiri is having a reflection on his past in the bathtub when Tohma barges in. After they flirt a bit Eiri kisses Tohma (not passionately, but friendly) and then the scene switches over to the cooking show. Noriko's husband awards Bad Luck the prize (which were tickets to Disney Land) for the cooking show. The next day the kissing scene between Shuichi and Tatsuha (everyone thinks it's Eiri, though) appears all over the tabloids and Shuichi is forced to stay at Eiri's house. With news reporters all over Eiri's house Shuichi is freaking out until Eiri calls. He tells Shuichi to wait a while and that he'll be home shortly. Somehow that calms down Shuichi until he realizes that Eiri is going to be surrounded by reporters when he gets home. Back at NG studios Sakano and K are talking about what they are going to do and how they could possibly profit from all of this publicity. They end up saying something offensive to Hiro and he get's mad and leaves, saying he doesn't want a part in their taking advantage of Shuichi's life so that they can sell CD's.
In track 26, Eiri returns home only to be surounded by the press. Shuichi immediately runs outside to protect Eiri and then the reporters take pictures of them. Eiri eventually shuts Shuichi up and tells the press that Shuichi and him are lovers and then everyone gasps. Then Eiri hits on the main reporter telling her that he still likes the girls and once they shut off the cameras he makes a run for it with Shuichi. Once inside Shuichi and Eiri argue, Shuichi is asking why Eiri is acting so strange. Eiri realizes that he wasn't being himself during the last few minutes and realizes that he just told Japan he was gay. After that, Hiro stops by and once Eiri realizes that he had asked Tatsuha to dress up as him during the cooking show Eiri tries to kick his ass. At the end of volume 6 K tells Sakano that Bad Luck is going to sell a shitload of CD's.
Extras:
Author commentaries, next volume preview, and a couple of extra drawings were all that showed up. Not really worth mentioning sense each volume has had this before.
Content Warnings:
-Language: Yes
-Violence: Not Really
-Nudity: No
-Sexual Situations: Yes
Overall:
While not a bad volume this was definetly a big disappointment compared to the last two. I can think of one or two ways this volume could have been a lot better, but unfortunately these ideas never camed to be. This volume would have only been decent if it wasn't for the nice conclusion and the amazing artwork. Thankfully, these two things do a great job at pulling everything together and keeping this volume interesting.
+ The best artwork to date and excellent concluding chapter.
- Not much plot progression other then at the end.
Score: 7.5/10
