Gravitation, Book 5 [Paperback]

Maki Murakami (Author)

Book Description

Series: Gravitation Ex | Publication Date: April 6, 2004

Shuichi and his Bad Luck are a rising star in Japan's pop scene, and their chief rival, ASK, seems doomed to the has been status of an 80s hairband. But just when it looks like the top stop on the Billboard charts are Bad Luck's for the taking, a completely unexpected competitor emerges - Nittle Grasper is reuniting! Now Shuichi finds his idol (not to mention his band's Keyboardist) his biggest rival.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

A New Cult Classic.

A romantic comedy/drama about making it in the music industry.

Spawned a ton of collectibles in Japan; Soundtracks, pencil boards, calendars, phone cards, postcards, artbooks.

Gravitation anime also available.

100% Authentic Manga Format.

Story by MAKI MURAKAMI.

From the Inside Flap

Gravitation is a happy combination of honest and raw emotion, plus comedy, and it's also the first title translated into English that's a purely boys' love story. No carefully concealed subtext here! -- ANIMERICA

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: TokyoPop (April 6, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591823374
• ISBN-13: 978-1591823377
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 4.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #395,477 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Surprisingly spectacular, July 10, 2004

By 

Jacqueline Splawn "solidjackie" (Sterling, VA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gravitation, Book 5 (Paperback)

Gravitation has greatly surprised me. It excels at several aspects. The character developement is some of the best I've seen. The translation/language is outstanding. The dialouge is fun, emotional, and excitingly bold. The art is outstanding as well, and it's neat to see how the character art evolves as the story progresses. The story works at a fast enough pace that it's very easy to become hooked. And this excitement stays consistent throughout the different volumes as well.
While it does deal with controversial themes, and is intensly mature at times- it isn't entertaining to just a niche audience. It covers a broad spectrum of themes- the relationship between Yuki and Shuichi isn't the only thing that will have you clinging to your seat (and it will!). The story of Shuichi's band "Bad Luck" will interest anyone who likes music, especially those that dig the Japanese visual kei bands.
The anime however, does not do it justice- and should under no circumstances be used to judge the manga. The anime is at best a treat for those that have already read the manga, and want to see it in moving color. Otherwise, it could not stand up on its on. It moves too quickly through it's narrow 13 episode limit.
I whole heartedly recommend this title. This easily ranks somewhere at the top of my list. I haven't been able to put it down.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best!, June 12, 2004

By 

P_Chan82 (Cali. gal) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gravitation, Book 5 (Paperback)

A bit of a spoiler warning for this review. I absolutely loved this book if for nothing more than the priceless look on Tohma's face when K throws Shuichi on a TV show in place of Ryuichi. It's just hilarious to see Tohma lose his composure. I really love his charater. It's so unpredictable. Oh, right...this is a review. This book is really just for plot development. Bad Luck gets a new manager and a new keyboardist all in the same day! (Yea!) Karma finally catches up with Taki Aizawa. (double yea!) I really love Tohma. Just had to say that one more time. Read the book and you'll see why!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Riiing Riiing!, March 31, 2004

By 

Jessica M. Henn (Rockvile, MD USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gravitation, Book 5 (Paperback)

Wow!! I'm the first to review this book!! What a great honor!! Anyway, this is an awesome book. As we all saw at the very end of book 4, Ryuichi Sakuma (Drool!) has returned to Japan, and brought his American manager (a tall guy with long blonde hair and a gun), with him! Ryuichi is supposed to appear on a tv show, but he and Tatsuha went to the zoo, leaving K (the American gun toting manager) searching frantically for him. The unsuspectig Shuichi walks into the building and is immediatly dragged out by the American who thinks he is Ryuichi (They look so much alike depite the 13 year age difference!)Shuichi is flung on stage and attempts to entertain the crowd with a game in which people name animals that start with certain sounds (ex: ko-koala). Ryuichi arrives just in time to find Shuichi singing his favorite song by Nittle Grasper. This upsets Ryuichi, who feels that he should be the coolest one around. He tells Shuichi to get off his stage, which leads Shuichi to believe his idol hates him. After this incident, Nittle Grasper decides to reunite (GASP!), which means that Pico Pico Noriko chan is no longer a member of Bad Luck. Shuichi does not like her replacement keyboarder. There is something wrong about him. (...) This is a really great series, and a really great volume. This one is much longer than the previous 4 volumes, so be prepared to say to yourself, "Gee, this is taking much longer than usual..." I recomend this to pretty much everyone, but not to homophobes. Then again, homophobes wouldn't have made it past volume 2, so by now there's nothing but hardcore fans!! Yeah!!