is a ''

yaoi ''Yaoi'' (; ja, やおい ), also known by the ''wasei-eigo'' construction and its abbreviation , is a genre of fictional media originating in Japan that features Homoeroticism, homoerotic relationships between male characters. It is typi ...

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

series written and illustrated by

Maki Murakami is a Japanese manga artist most famous for the boys love manga ''Gravitation'', which, in addition to the ''Gravitation'' novel, is published in the U.S. by Tokyopop. Biography History She began working as an assistant to the older sister of on ...

. The story follows the attempts of Shuichi Shindo and his band, Bad Luck, to become Japan's next musical sensation, and his struggles to capture Eiri Yuki's heart. The manga was published by Gentosha and was serialized on ''Kimi to Boku'' starting in 1996 and ending in 2002. The manga has been licensed and published in English by

Tokyopop Tokyopop (styled TOKYOPOP; formerly known as Mixx Entertainment) is an American distributor, licensor and publisher of anime, manga, manhwa and Western manga-style works. The German publishing division produces German translations of licensed J ...

, as well as a

light novel A light novel (, Hepburn: ''raito noberu'') is a style of young adult novel primarily targeting high school and middle school students. The term "light novel" is a ''wasei-eigo'', or a Japanese term formed from words in the English languag ...

. There is also the ''Gravitation Collection'' which consists of 6 volumes, each of which has two original volumes of ''Gravitation'' in it. A sequel, , was published in the web magazine ''Genzo'' from 2004 to 2009 and returned in 2011 to ''Web Spica''. ''Gravitation'' has also been adapted into a two episode

OVA , abbreviated as OVA and sometimes as OAV (original animation video), are Japanese animated films and series made specially for release in home video formats without prior showings on television or in theaters, though the first part of an OVA s ...

series in 1999 directed by

Shinichi Watanabe is a Japanese anime director and voice actor. He is best known for his over-the-top adaptation of Rikdo Koshi's ''Excel Saga'', in which he appears as the character Nabeshin. Watanabe stated that the nickname Nabeshin (a name blending of ...

and a thirteen-episode

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

television series directed by Bob Shirohata. The TV series aired in Japan from October 4, 2000 to January 10, 2001, on WOWOW Wednesdays at 18:30 and was reaired on

Tokyo MX JOMX-DTV, branded as Tokyo MX (officially stylized as TOKYO MX), is an independent television station in Tokyo, Japan, owned by the . It is the only television station that exclusively serves the city. It competes with Nippon TV, TV Asahi, NH ...

in 2007. The anime goes to roughly volume 7 of the manga. Both have been licensed for North American release by

Nozomi Entertainment Right Stuf Inc. (formerly known as The Right Stuf International Inc.) is an American video publisher and distributor of video programming that specializes in Asian entertainment (anime and live action films). The company since 2022 is owned by ...

Plot

The story surrounds an aspiring singer, Shuichi Shindou, and his band, Bad Luck (formed with his best friend Hiroshi Nakano, who is on guitar). Shuichi wants to become Japan's next big star, and follow in the footsteps of the famous idol Ryuichi Sakuma, lead singer of the now-disbanded legendary group Nittle Grasper. One evening, Shuichi is looking over lyrics for a song he was writing when his paper is blown away by the wind and picked up by a tall, blond haired (light brown in the manga) stranger. The man dismisses Shuichi's hard work as garbage, which hurts Shuichi deeply. Despite his anger, he is intrigued by the stranger. This will be their first encounter as Shuichi becomes fascinated by the stranger, who soon turns out to be the famous romance novelist, Eiri Yuki (real name: Uesugi). Both the manga and the anime follow this plot.

''Gravitation EX.''

The story picks up directly after volume 12; Shuichi and Eiri find and agree to momentarily take care of Yuki Kitazawa's son, Riku. Shuichi kisses and conducts a short affair with Ryuichi Sakuma, who announces that he is always been in love with Shuichi. Eiri is in a car accident that causes him to temporarily lose his eyesight, and Reiji announces that she's making all that has happened into a movie. Shuichi believes that this movie is the reason Ryuichi "pretended" to go after him, although Ryuichi's true motives remain unknown.

Development

The precursor to the ''Gravitation'' manga was a ''

dōjinshi , also romanized as ', is the Japanese term for self-published print works, such as magazines, manga, and novels. Part of a wider category of '' doujin'' (self-published) works, ''doujinshi'' are often derivative of existing works and created ...

'' series titled ''Help!'', which followed a similar story line but cast the characters in slightly different roles. Murakami went to New York to research for a storyline later in ''Gravitation'' where the characters visit the city. Murakami has created ''dōjinshi'' based on ''Gravitation'' which she describes as "pretty hard-core, adult stuff. Remix is softcore and Megamix is much more hardcore." She created the ''dōjinshi'' to explore tensions between the characters. Murakami penned a thirteen volume ''dōjinshi'' series called ''Gravitation Remix'' under the group Crocodile Ave. The ''dōjinshi'' are much more sexually explicit than the anime and deviate heavily from the manga storyline. Fans have requested that Tokyopop license ''Gravitation Remix'', but Tokyopop regards the depiction of some characters to be too young and is concerned about themes of incest, and therefore has not licensed them. In addition to the remixes, Murakami created four highly sexually explicit "Megamix" ''dōjinshi'', dubbed ''Mega-gra'', ''Megamix: Panda'', ''Megamix: Kumagorou'', and ''Megamix: Capybara''. These also deviate from the storyline as the Remixes do, with ''Panda'' including shota content. A new Megamix is currently in the works, entitled ''Megamix Zebra''. Megamix Zebra will feature Shuichi, Ryuichi, and Eiri in a

threesome In human sexuality, a threesome is commonly understood as "a sexual interaction between three people whereby at least one engages in physical sexual behaviour with both the other individuals". Though ''threesome'' most commonly refers to sexua ...

, with Shuichi as the

seme Seme may refer to: *Seme Border, a settlement in Nigeria on the border with Benin *Seme (dagger), a Maasai term for a type of lion hunting knife *Seme (martial arts), Japanese martial arts term meaning to attack ** Seme, a manga/anime term for a do ...

Media

Manga

Written and illustrated by Maki Murakami, the manga was serialized in

Gentosha is a Japanese publisher, headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo. Gentosha publishes manga magazine ''Comic Birz'', Web comic magazines '' GENZO'', ''SPICA'', '' Comic MAGNA'', literary magazines '' Lynx'', ''papyrus'', as well as business magazine ''GOET ...

's ''Kimi to Boku'' magazine between 1996 and 2002. Initially, a total of eleven ''

tankōbon is the Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or cultur ...

'' volumes were released by Sony Magazines between March 7, 1996, and December 25, 2000.

started to republish the series on April 24, 2002, concluding with the twelfth on August 24, 2002. A was released by Gentosha between April 25, and September 22, 2006.

licensed the series for an English-language release in North America and published the twelve volumes from August 5, 2003 to July 12, 2005. Tokyopop also released the series in six compilation volumes in 2009–10.

Madman Entertainment Madman Entertainment Pty. Ltd., also known as Madman Films, is an Australian distribution and rights management company headquartered in East Melbourne, Victoria, specialising in feature films, documentaries and television series across theatri ...

distributes the series in New Zealand and Australia. A sequel to the series, ''Gravitation EX.'', started to be serialized in Japanese and English in the online magazine ''Web Comic Genzo''. The first volume was published simultaneously by Gentosha and Tokyopop on February 24, 2007. Madman Entertainment also distributed the series in New Zealand and Australia. In the March 2009 issue, Murakami put the series on hiatus; Murakami resumed the series on June 28, 2011 in Gentosha's online magazine ''Web Spica''. The second volume was published on November 24, 2011. On May 28, 2014 Murakami published a

one-shot One shot may refer to: Film and television * One-shot film, a feature film shot in one long take with no edits, or manufactured to look like so * ''One Shot'' (2005 film), a Sri Lankan action film directed by Ranjan Ramanayake * ''One Shot'' (2 ...

based on ''Gravitation'' titled , which was followed by a series of the same name on July 28 in ''Web Spica''.

Anime

OVA

A two-part

adaptation was created by Plum,

Animate Film is the retailing arm of MOVIC and is the largest retailer of anime, video games and manga in Japan. The first and flagship store of Animate was opened in 1983 in Ikebukuro, a district in Tokyo, Japan. Retail stores Currently there are 117 A ...

, SPE Visual Works, Sony Magazines and

Movic is a Japanese company which specializes in the publication of trading cards, figures, CDs, and other general media related to the anime industry. Movic is a part of the Animate group. Anime involved in *'' Ah! My Goddess: The Movie'': Producti ...

. The first episode was released on July 23, 1999 and the second was released on September 22, 1999. It used the opening theme "Blind Game Again" and the ending theme "Smashing Blue" with the lyrics, composition and arrangement done by Mad Soldiers and sung By

Kinya Kotani , also known as KINYA, is a male singer and actor from Saitama Prefecture, Japan. He sang the theme songs for the anime '' Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle'' and various songs for ''Gravitation''. Discography Albums Singles DVDs * ''LI ...

. There is 3 insert songs, which Part 1 had one called "Spicy Marmalade", the lyrics, composition and arrangement done by Mad Soldiers and sung by

. Part 2 had two, the first one "In the Moonlight" with the lyrics, composition and arrangement done by Mad Soldiers and sung By

and the second "Shining Collection" with the lyrics, composition and arrangement and sung by Iceman. The series was released in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

on DVD by

in 2005 under the name ''Gravitation: Lyrics of Love''.

TV series

An anime television series adaptation was produced by

Studio Deen is a Japanese animation studio founded in 1975 by Sunrise producer Hiroshi Hasegawa and ex-Sunrise animators. The studio owns three subsidiaries: Danny Donghua (丹尼動画), a Chinese sub-contracting studio; Megumi (め組), a digital work sub-c ...

SME Visual Works is a Japanese anime, music production and anime licensee company owned by Sony Music Entertainment Japan. Established in September 1995, Aniplex has been involved in the production and distribution of several anime series, such as both ''Fullm ...

and Sony Magazines and directed by Bob Shirohata. The opening and closing themes to the TV series are "Super Drive'" and "Glaring Dream", performed respectively by Yosuke Sakanoue and

. The series was released in

on DVD by

in 2004.

Drama CDs

Eight

audio drama Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine t ...

s were produced for ''Gravitation'', featuring most of the voice actors of the TV and OVA series. Five retell events from the manga series, while the remaining three cover new story material. The

drama CD Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine ...

s also contain musical tracks performed by the Japanese voice actors.

Other books

There are two novels based on ''Gravitation''. The first one, released on November 30, 2000, follows the storyline for the OVA's. A second novel of ''Gravitation'' called was written by Jun Lennon and released on September 30, 2002; it follows Shuichi as he goes on a chase throughout Japan to find the kidnapped Yuki. Both were published in North America by Tokyopop. The first was published on March 7, 2006 and the second was published on July 11, 2006 under the name ''Gravitation: voice of temptation''. The both novels were remade into '' shinsō-ban'' edition and published on February 24, 2007. Two were released by Sony Magazines: the first was published on March 2, 1998, and the second one was published on August 7, 2000. Additionally, a fan book on the anime series was released on March 15, 2001.

Reception

Almost half a million copies of the ''Gravitation'' manga have been sold from its North American release from 2003 to 2007, and in 2005 it was the top manga on

BookScan BookScan is a data provider for the book publishing industry that compiles point of sale data for book sales, owned by The NPD Group in the United States and the Nielsen Company in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, India, South ...

with BL themes. Rachel Woods notes that even a milder ''

shōnen-ai ''Yaoi'' (; ja, やおい ), also known by the ''wasei-eigo'' construction and its abbreviation , is a genre of fictional media originating in Japan that features homoerotic relationships between male characters. It is typically created b ...

'' manga "relies on sexual innuendo, comic double entendres, and coded visual references in order to maintain an erotic undercurrent that is not sexually explicit in nature", and discusses a page from ''Gravitation'' which shows the characters kissing, but using "fragmented panels" which show Yuki's "wandering hand" to provide a "tantalizing and suggestive imagery" that encourages the reader's imagination.Wood, Andrea. (Spring 2006). "Straight" Women, Queer Texts: Boy-Love Manga and the Rise of a Global Counterpublic. '' WSQ: Women's Studies Quarterly'', 34 (1/2), pp. 394-414.

References

External links

Official Gentosha website

Official Aniplex Homepage

Official AT-X OVA website

Official AT-X TV series Website

Official Tokyo MX website
* {{Studio Deen 1996 manga 1999 anime OVAs 2000 anime television series debuts 2000 Japanese television series debuts 2001 Japanese television series endings 2004 manga Aniplex franchises Gentosha manga Japanese LGBT-related animated television series Madman Entertainment anime Madman Entertainment manga Medialink Music in anime and manga Romance anime and manga Shōjo manga Studio Deen Tokyo MX original programming Tokyopop titles Wowow original programming Yaoi anime and manga 1990s LGBT literature 2000s Japanese LGBT-related television series