Gravitation

[MangaDex]

 

[miu]

Vols. 5 and 6 have been edited and cut into single pages, so there are no double pages anymore. Tokyopop scans do not exist of those vols as of yet unfortunately.

 

[Someone2Love]

Well, that was a wild ride.

 

[pinkeree]

Funny and cute, but I didn't really like it when it got serious about

Spoiler

Yuki's past

, it felt too melodramatic and drawn out. It was especially annoying

Spoiler

whenever he just threw our MC around everywhere, but it got cute in the end, so it's alright, and sometimes it works out alright because of comedy, but other than those times, it didn't feel so good

 

[Phuocphuc46]

This manga can be described in one word: messy. From start to finish, the plot just went anywhere it wanted, as long as it’s convenient for the manga to progress - and for the sake of comedy. From a serious undertone to an utter cluster**** after about 10 chapters in, if you think this manga was like anything the description suggests it to be, you are dead wrong. This explains why the story arcs are also all messed up - anytime a new arc gets pulled out of the ass, it just completely resets every development the previous one built up, until the manga finally ended. Granted, the story isn’t hard to follow, but it just goes all over the place. This manga also tries too hard to cram comedy whenever possible, making some dramatic moments really shallow and forgettable. Frustrating.

The characters are quite fun, characteristic and memorable! About six of them, anyways. The other supporting characters just get tossed around and removed completely from the manga, only to appear later on whenever convenient.

Spoiler

Not to mention, Yuki - one of the main lead - is quite an intolerable and obnoxious person. Multiple personalities my ass, he’s got at least 7 from what I can tell. But it’s because of the poor writing, really.

Honestly, I’m a sucker for shounen ai, but even it can’t help the two main lead’s romance from being anything but abusive, one-sided and unbearable. And just when you think the romance was going to be sweet - bam! Another story arc, which means more senseless drama just to have their relationship at the starting line again, this time with twice the foul language and abusive behaviour! Irritating.

The comedy is on point though. The randomness of everything and the flexible artstyle really added to the charisma this manga has. Plus some of the author’s more revolutionary(?) ideas at the time really make the world realistic just a tad bit. Also added to the comedy. All and all, comedy is definitely the strongest point of this manga.

And despite everything, the ending was... satisfactory, thank god. However, despite having about 7 chapters to conclude the final arc, it still comes off as rushed, and (for reasons unrelated) made all the drama before completely pointless and all the more frustrating. But at least it didn’t leave a bitter taste in my mouth finishing this manga.

TLDR; it’s not a good manga, not even a decent one, I’d say. But I won’t deny that this is a classic - and one that I... appreciated. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t bother writing an essay-worth of a comment. It is still an enjoyable ride while it lasted, but totally something I’ll forget in a hurry. Give it a try to see if you like it.

 

[kuroshi626]

Somebody put Gravitation volume 3 in one of those little free library book box things in my town years ago. My small rural conservative town. I haven't been able to look at this place's residents the same since.