GRAVITATION EX, VOL. 1
TOKYOPOP
CARTOONIST: Maki Murakami
TRANSLATION: Satsuki Yamashita
ISBN: 978-1-4278-0240-8; soft cover; Romance/Comedy; Older Teen-Age 16+
198 pp., B&W w/ 2 color pages; $9.99
Gravitation EX, Vol. 1 is the first volume of new stories featuring Eiri Yuki and Shuichi Shindou, the star duo of the 12-volume Manga series, Gravitation. Once upon a time Eiri, a closeted romance novelist, was a critic of the lyrics Shuichi wrote for his band, Bad Luck's music. Eventually, the two became lovers, but their relationship is not without drama. Eiri has issues with being a bully to protect those he loves, and Shuichi is way too clingy.
As this new series begins, Eiri and Shuichi leave Japan for a trip to New York City so that Eiri may visit the grave of his mentor and tormentor, Yuki Kitagawa, whom Eiri apparently killed. There is, however, a big surprise waiting for duo, and it may very well wreck their careers, ruin their celebrity, and most of all destroy Eiri and Shuichi's love.
Gravitation EX, like the original series, is boys' love (or "BL") Manga, specifically shounen-ai. In shounen-ai the romantic leads are both male, and although such relationships are obviously sexual, the Manga-ka (creator) depicts that passion in a non-graphic manner. Gravitation EX is also bishounen, Manga in which the male characters are depicted as androgynous, or even feminized. In Gravitation EX these "beautiful boys" are flat out feminized. Androgyny doesn't cut it because about half the male characters in this Manga are, pretty much for all intents and purposes, girls.
There are lots of catfights and relationship melodrama, and I can't imagine many readers beyond boys' love fans caring for Gravitation EX. It is, however, so BL that fans should be sated after one reading. Ostensibly a romantic comedy, there are also a few scenes of action violence that will likely give this series an edgy feel. The violence spices up the narrative, and it's probably the element that will make Gravitation EX stand out among BL titles.
