Gravitation

Gravitation is a yaoi manga, that I happen to think is a work of sheer brilliance and genius. Maki Murakami's drawing might be a bit untidy at times, but the reader will be able to differentiate one character from another, unlike other yaoi mangas. What I love most about this manga is that it's poignant, but it is also very humorous.

This manga revolves around our beloved main character (well, I love him at least) namely Shuichi Shindou. He is a failure at school, and he excels only in music. Thus, he forms his own band with Hiroshi Nakano, who is his best friend. The two are determined to make it big, though Hiroshi had some doubts about it. Meanwhile, Shindou falls in love with a famous author, namely Eiri Yuki. Though he majors in writing sappy, romantic stories, he is not a romantic person by nature; in fact, he is the opposite. The reason for his coldness lies in his past (which I shall not reveal; you'll have to read the manga to figure it out).

I call the manga a work of genius because it is. The characters are somewhat real, (I can relate to them) even when they are a bit extreme. The meeting of our beloved couple doesn't seemed to be forced, at all. As in most love stories, the couple are always tortured by other characters in the story. The first major problem that the two face is Eiri's fiancee. However, Murakami paired Eiri's fiancee with another character; there's the happy ending to that. The next is Tohma Seguchi, a character that I despise him yet respect at the same time; he's somewhat infatuated with Eiri, though he refuses to admit it. Tohma continues to be a pain in the butt, not willing to let Eiri go. He acts as though he's responsible for Yuki, when he's not. Inevitably, as do every other romance manga, the pair manages to overcome every obstacles that was thrown in their way.

The last volume of the manga is not out yet (Note: at the time of this review); thus, I don't know how it's going to end. There is a remix version of Gravitation, where they show racy pictures of our beloved characters making out. The remix still carries with it the humor that you find in the original manga; thus, it's still very hilarious. Some of the pairings might be kind of strange, and contradictory, but still hilarious. Mind you, it's in Japanese, though some websites have managed to translate it into English or Spanish.

To me, Gravitation is as perfect as it could be. Thus, I will not criticize anything in it. In fact, Gravitation is the only thing that I will never critize; that's saying a lot because I love criticizing things.