Suzuka

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I wasn’t going to bother writing a review with six other reviews for this manga written; however, after seeing that all the other reviews are a total lovefest without actually attempting to get to the heart of it, I had to do something about it.

Essentially, this entire series is a slice-of-life “love story” about one guy and one girl revolving around track and field in high school. Yamato lives in a womens’ bathhouse with his aunt, who owns it. Suzuka, a star high-jumper, also lives there, right next door. She’s a perfectionist, he’s clumsy, but hard-working. Yada, yada, you see how it goes.

It’s actually a ... simple singular issue that defines this manga. The creator of this manga, Seo, is a very good story-teller. The artwork is above standard, the issues are complex and hardly betraying of its goals and the characters are sublime if not too badly clichéd. (Although sometimes a few of them look way too alike.) The world around them is magnificently established – once you get 50 chapters in, you feel like your know Tokyo by heart and you feel like you know every room of the bathhouse and the school. Seo turns the clock fantastically and from great angles to always give you a new experience. Plus he has a solid grip of the human body and watching the characters in action almost makes them move to the readers’ eyes. However, there is one matter that every reader should know about before starting this manga and it was something that I wish I had been told before I started it myself

Suzuka is a total bitch.

Now, for some people, maybe even most, that’s ok. They find it appealing or cute in some way, especially when she drops her barriers and seems cute. But for the majority of the time, she treats Yamato like dirt. And I’m not talking in a normal tsundere way. There are many times when she’s outright cruel and vindictive, stubborn beyond belief and hardly appreciative of what Yamato goes through just to win her affections. It got to the point where I was literally pissed at her, but there was nothing I could do because I was already so far and I wanted to know how it ended. But the readers must know this going in and hopefully I at least warn some people so they know what they’re getting in to. I didn’t end up hating Suzuka in the end, but I was close, because I knew… I absolutely knew… that Suzuka didn’t deserve Yamato, not by a mile. Yet, he remained blind, even when she treated him so horribly. She had no excuse and the author never gave us one.

All in all, this is a good manga, especially if you’re in the mood to find someone to despise. And while it could be spoiling, the romance is still quite good with several original moments. This is a recommendation… but a recommendation with a warning.

In my opinion "Suzuka" is one of the best romance mangas out there in the market. It is definitely the best romantic manga I've read thus far largely due to the great artwork and character development (I know a lot of critics will argue with me on this one).

The plot of the story starts out just like many other manga, boy meets girl in an all female populated location similar to Love Hina. However after a few chapters, the similarities between this and most other "traditional" romantic mangas end. Another thing that I like about the plot of this title is that Akitsuki Yamato ... (the male protagonist and lead character) is the one who is exerting the effort to get close to Asahina Suzuka (the lead female character), this is something that reminds me of my own high school endeavors to capture the heart of my first girlfriend. Anyway aside from the similarities between this story and my own, the real reason why I like the way Akitsuki is the one who exerted the effort to get close to Asahina is that it is more realistic compared to most other romantic comedies where a hot chic would fall in love to a complete nobody, I mean come on am I the only one who thinks this sort of thing is totally unrealistic?

As the story unfolds, the characters face challenges which I believe many teenagers face such as peer pressure and dealing with their own feelings. I particularly like the part where the anime version left off because that's where things really get complicated for the characters and it's interesting to see what they will do next.

As for the characters, there is a mix of good and bad characters in the story. I particularly like Asahina Suzuka because I believe that she does not fall on any particular female anime stereotype (although I know that many people who read the manga and seen the anime are not quite fond of her). She displays a personality that I don't think I've encountered in any other character thus far and she personifies the complexities of the female mind. This is why remains one of my favorite anime characters to date.

The artwork of this manga is increible. the attention to detail is unbelievable and I like the way the characters' expressions are shown, plus I also like the large arsenal of clothes each character posses (this is something many mangas don't have, characters who have more than 1 set of clothes)

Overall Suzuka combines great artwork, great story and great characters. This is definitely a must read.

The drama in this series isn't well-done in the slightest, characters instantly end up contradicting themselves instantly after saying or doing something. Anyway, onto the review:

Story (1/10):
There's something I must get out of the way before criticizing the story aspect of the show; I understand that writing a quality, well-written romance is difficult. I mean, a good portion of authors working with the romance aspect of any series tend to believe that melodrama = realistic, well written romance. Anyway, the problem I faced with the series is that...it has absolutely no idea what it wants. The series on one hand introduces various concepts and themes ... it wants to drive forward, including moving forward, competition and the aim to succeed...the list goes on and on. Yet what if I tell you that by the end of the series, it ENDS UP CONTRADICTING EACH AND EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THOSE CONCEPTS. Not only that, but the series has what I consider to this day, the single worst ending I've ever seen to any romance manga. It was sexist, ugly, and absolutely pathetic; I'm no feminist, but God did it tick me off. The story also suffers from major pacing problems, due to the fact that the author has no idea what the heck he wanted to do with the story. I mean, seriously, in the middle of a character arc, somehow they end up going to the beach (ecchi scenes galore) and there's still time for the author to place melodrama! There's nothing good about the story; I was relieved when it was over.

Art (5/10):
The art is another aspect that needs to be commented on; I don't really mind art, I mean, if other aspects were enough to compensate, who cares what it looks like?
Yet the art, despite being this series strong point, wasn't even average; it was mediocre at best, and just bearable to look at. Over the course of the series, the manga's artwork steadily declines in appearance, making the series look worse and worse as the series continued. One would expect, being a comparatively long romance manga with sport aspects all over it, that the races would at least be well drawn; unfortunately, the artist seems to have thought otherwise, placing all his focus on cheap ecchi scenes that contributed nothing to the experience unless you're actually into that kind of stuff.

Character (1/10): The worst aspect of this show. The characters are annoying, weak and completely melodramatic and over the top. This shouldn't be a problem if the manga didn't take itself seriously. Problem? It was one hundred percent dead serious when it was being melodramatic, especially in the later half of the series. The characters are poorly written, badly developed, and completely unlikable to the extent of hating. The love "triangle" that forms in the series turned out to be completely annoying to the point where on numerous occasions I felt like screaming at the characters due to them completely changing personalities off the drop of a hat and them not speaking to each other for long periods of the series, an alarm bell when it comes to romance series. The characters never learn from their mistakes, repeating the same bloody mistakes again and again to the point that on one occasion I almost ended flipping the desk my computer was on. An um, really painful experience I don't want to do again (I hurt my leg real bad because of it). So yeah, really, REALLY unlikable characters.

Enjoyment (1/10):
I was raging really, REALLY hard over the course of the series. I was annoyed at the characters, annoyed at the melodrama, and really, REALLY, annoyed at the ending.

Overall (2/10):
There is almost nothing pleasant about this abomination. I'm going to stay away from anything else this writer is going to write, they clearly have no idea what they're doing.

OK this is my 3rd reviews in this month. I don't think that I have improved since last 2 reviews, but i hope you all can bear with it...Ok I'll talk about my first impression about this manga first. I have read the first few chapters first and...What can I say is: 'Wow, this is definitely a manga that I'm looking for!' And as you can see, I give 9 to this manga. I don't sure if you want to hear about this, but I actually finished this manga in only 2 days! I writes this review immediately after i finished the manga because ... I’m really, really love it and I can't wait to recommend to all of you!

Well I'll starts with the story first. One word to describe it, very well! Every praise has its very own reasons, and I didn't praise it blindly. Before I continue with it, I have a small advice to -16 children...DON'T READ THIS MANGA; you are still too young to read it! If you insist to read it, read it for your own discretion. OK, enough with it. The story is bit mature, it involve many nudity scenes and some sex in it. I pretty love it anyway though... What I'm really like about the story is the romance in it. Although it can't be great as Titanic, but sometimes it can bring tears out of you (In my case, no!). Not only that, sometimes it may make you really pissed off! This may seems like a negative comment, but unfortunately, it is wrong. That 'pissed off' feelings will bring you even want to know what will happening next! I don't want to bother about the spoilers so read it yourself. 'Prides come before a fall'. And you know what I meant. The reason I didn't give the story full marks is the plot is repetitive. It dint really affect the storyline but somehow it pissed me off! Read the manga carefully and you know what i meant by it. If you don't know what I mean after reads it, just simply ask me. Oh, the story is pretty hilarious, too!

OK the manga will be judged based on the artwork besides the story. It will be useless to have a great story but weak artwork (I know many of you will oppose my opinion but... well to put it simply, this is my style) to tell you, I really like the artworks of this manga! The mangaka have put lot of efforts in it! They have detailed background, and great face expressions (The smile of Suzuka always moves my heart...No! I don't have any 2D girl’s complex!)! What I really want to say is, they have some Slam Dunk styles in when the characters in the SD mode (SDs or super deformed characters are a common image found in manga). I can't say I hate it, though.

The characters you ask? Great! They have put a lot of efforts in character designing! I really like it! But for some reasons, I can't give full marks to it. Nothing to be described though, sorry.

I'm pretty sure that I have told you that i have read the manga in only 2 days. So I give it 10 foe enjoyment without hesitate! As I say, you will really wants to know what will happen next throughout the story, in other word, suspense! This feeling is enough for me to give it 10.

Overall results for this manga are 9. Recommended for all manga lovers. Is you wants to read it, simply go to www.onemanga.com . Don't worry, it is a safe sites and very user-friendly!

This is the best manga that I have ever read and can't wait for more to come out. If you have seen the anime then this is pretty much the same at the beginning there are some small differences but for the most part they are the same at least the first 54 chapters I think. then that is were the story continues on. This is probably the best story that I have ever read it has great ups and downs and some real good surprises. This is one of the few anime or manga series that I have ever seen that I could not ... see everything coming. so for me this is great.

WOW! i just finished reading it, and i don't think it's strange for me to cry at it, if you watched the anime, you MUST read the manga, the anime isn't even the 50% of the whole story.

This manga is just like the problems the couples are facing right now all over the world, and it shows now all the problems go away, and everybody has the old fashioned "happy ending" but, isn't that what we are looking for? anyways, I REALLY recommend it, I never thought I'd like more a manga then an anime, but life is the way it is, and I'm glad ... I spent the hours I did reading this, because it's amazingly awesome, and everybody should read it, so for all of you, READ THIS MANGA!!!!!! IT'S THE MOST AMAZING THING I'VE EVER READ, INCLUDING BOOKS, FANFICS, AND ANIMES!!!!!!

READ IT!

Suzuka is a manga by Kouji Seo which takes the best from sport and romance and binds them together. From the first chapter this manga had me hooked and will hook you too.

Yamato Akitsuki, has just moved from his home in the Hiroshima Prefecture to stay at his aunt's dormitory in Tokyo. Yamato falls in love with his new next-door neighbor, Suzuka Asahina, a girl from Yokohama who was scouted by a local high school because of her high jump athletic ability. These basic romance elements set up the story and the drama of Suzuka.

The artwork of Suzuka are what makes Kouji ... Seo a great manga artist. The artwork is detailed and doesn't miss a beat.

There are many characters in Suzuka. Most of them play a major part in the story. Yamato Akitsuki and Suzuka Asahina go throughout a major development from the first chapter. The people in the beginning of the manga are completely different from the characters in the end of the manga. These two however are not the only characters that develop throughout the manga. Honoka Sakurai and Yasunobu Hattori are two other characters that play a major role in this manga and develop immensely in the manga.

I read this manga in about two days. I enjoyed it and I'm not even a romance kind of guy. This manga is outstanding and is a must read for all romance lovers and even ehounen lovers.

Honestly this is one of the best mangas I have ever read! It left a sense of satisfaction and it really filled out everything in the end. I hate mangas that are only 80 chapters and end up rushing everything; Suzuka was not like that, it really fleshed out the characters amazingly well. They all seem to age, even if there are time leaps, it just shows the growth.

Suzuka is also the most realistic manga I have read, it has real problems between people who like each other and the sarcasm was hilarious. The realism of it really got me, I know it has ... the manga effect of being too dreamy but on the other hand the problems were presented and dealt with amazingly well. The mangaka must really understand how young people think since I remember some of these problems myself!

All in all Suzuka really made me feel better all around and it leaves a lasting message for anyone. I recommend it for anyone as it does have great messages relating to young relationships.

I do not give 10s to anything since nothing is perfect, but this definitely gets a 9.9.

this is one of the best mangas around, it has a great story, and awesome art. really feels like your in the story. it pulls u in and u just cant help rooting for yamato to be with suzuka and it is way better than the anime because it has double the story that the anime has and its the best part

Suzuka is a fulfilling romance manga, at the first glance it might seem to be a harem filled with cliches, but it isn't have patience with it. It's one of the best romance manga I have ever read. The characters are as normal as ever and you can find yourself fast in their situations. And one of the strong points of this manga is the fact that it doesn't exaggerate situations and the relationships to try and get some witty humor, which makes it easy to relate to it. The same thing goes for their struggles the characters go through, it isn't exaggerated and sometimes ... it might be very subtle with what they are thinking or feeling. But don't worry there's plenty of humor for everyone to enjoy. And the fact that the last 60 chapters could get me teary eyes is amazing, since not even IS or Good Ending managed to do that for me. You will cry, you will laugh, you will feel good and determined after reading this manga, it's an overall almost perfect manga, that you'd wish to see more of the charismatic characters and their stories.

I'm at a lost for words on how this crappy manga got such a high score. No guy in real life would fall for Suzuka since she treats the main character like trash and yet he keeps falling for her. Character development is so laughable and yet fans think this is so real and sad. I can't believe diehard fans cried at the manga ending. It's so bad I was ashamed to read it. I read it years ago and I just felt like writing this review just because I remembered reading this garbage. I remember something about the main dude knocking up Suzuka and ... then he got owned by her dad. He apologized and yet HE STILL KNOCKED HER UP AGAIN as was shown in the last chapter on her wedding day. He has no self control. Suzuka is an annoying Bitch. So you might ask why I kept on reading this if I hated it? I was hoping for the main character to give the other sweet girl a chance but it never worked out because he was too much of a pussy or waited to long. Oh well, she was too good for him anyways. I bet in ten years Suzuka will have ten more babies if the manga continued. Man, how can people like this garbage. It just dragged on and on....with the same stupid arguments. Just because this mirrors some real life stuff doesn't mean its good manga material. It's so boring. Anyways, rant over.

"There's no way I could like this manga, right? I mean c'mon...It's from the mid 2000s, and the reviews seem to be mixed!"

I said this to myself on an uneventful Wednesday evening. 4 days later, on a Saturday, I've finished the entire emotional journey Suzuka had to offer. I'm a big fan of Seo's works - I actually got introduced to Kimi no Iru Machi first before anything else, but I just love his art and the emotional plot twists/story-telling he incorporates, so I thought I'd give Suzuka a try after much debate. Needless to say, throughout its ups and downs, I don't regret reading ... this piece at all! I definitely recommend it, but read my full breakdown below first:

Story - 7:
For me, the story was alright. It was strong enough to pull me into binge reading multiple chapters at a time with cliffhangers waiting at the end of each one. At times, the plot felt like it stagnated, while at other times, certain unprecedented (and perhaps odd) shifts in the story dynamics and focus put me off. For example, for the majority of the beginning and middle, Yamato (our male MC) chases after Suzuka and bounces his focus between his crush and track and field. However, I didn't think enough progress was implemented for most of the plot at a timely manner, and instead of faster character development (I'll get to that soon), we introduced love rivals and other love boundaries to cause drama instead.

Additionally, the love rivalries felt slightly inconsistent, with not as much value to the plot (besides the obvious first one) as I initially thought. But then, other somewhat improper tropes were introduced as well, such as long distance, parents approval of relationships, etc...I'll stop there before spoilers are revealed.

For the ending - it was noticeably rushed, but not to the point where it was unenjoyable - the ending is satisfying as could be considering what our characters went through. I wished it wasn't as rushed and there were properly executed closures for some of the other characters, but at least we get the main ending we needed.

Overall, despite the inconsistencies or odd patterns of drama vs. slice of life vs. happy arcs, which caused the plot to progress non-linearly, I can't deny that at the chapter level, the details were spectacular and the cliffhangers were great, if not critical.

Art - 9:
If there's anything I loved from the top of my mind about Seo's works, it's his art style. He makes the characters look gorgeous and perfectly befitting that of certain emotions to fit whatever dramatic commotion is taking place. This speaks volumes for a 2004-2007 manga - I would've never guessed his art was invented this long ago already.

Characters - 7:
Man oh man, here it comes - Asahina Suzuka and Akitsuki Yamato are one polarizing pair of MCs, that's for sure. They both have clear flaws in their characters which frustrate the readers, but both go through visible development as well, which makes up for it. Still, I'd like to warn incoming readers on a few points.

Asahina Suzuka may take some time to grow on you - she's unfairly cold to Yamato for the majority of the manga. I'd give her some patience to really understand her character more, but I wish Seo went in to flesh out more of her character and why she acted the way she did toward Yamato for the first half of the story. I want to understand more on why she made the decisions she did or acted the way she did.

Meanwhile, Yamato, despite being likeable for some, was also frustrating at times. His head-scratching decisions and a faithful prioritization of love for Suzuka above all else in life may frustrate you. However, you'll grow to like and appreciate his growth near the end :)

As for the rest of the cast, it all depends on the character. The love rivals (as well as other supporting characters), each have their own unique stories and arcs, but the closure for some of them near the end of the manga felt rushed or executed in a way in which it was forced.

Enjoyment/Overall - 8:

This is a recommended read, but I do advise to brace yourself - you're in for a wild dynamic ride of frustration and satisfaction. I'd say the satisfaction tops out at the end! The drama isn't as heart-hitting as other shounen romance/dramas I've read, but definitely still there enough to pull you in.

I was not realy going to write a review because i am not really good at this and my grammer is not the greatest, but this manga left me with kind of a strange feeling afterwards so here it is. I tried my best hope you find it helpful.

Short version.

The good:
- The art is nice
- The girls are al really wel drawn and cute
- The emotional moments really hit you and pay off.
- I really enjoyed the later part of the series and the ending.

... The Bad:
- The characters can be really annoying and do stupid stuff.
- The reason for conflict gets repetive after a while.
- The first half of the series is slow and pissed me of at times.

The summary and longer version wil be down below.

The story
When i first started reading this manga i got pissed off at the way characters where acting and treating the main character. I honestly felt bad for him. The jokes felt forced and cliché. This is a manga from 2007 so maybe it was the norm back then, but now they don ’t really hold up.
Later on in the story it gets much better.
The story felt like it did not have many ideas because the reason for conflict always felt the same. If you are not bothered by such a thing then there is no problem.
I did not enjoy this manga in the beginning the main character/girl was a b*tch, but the emotional moments where really nice and that is what kept me going in the end. I gues i have weird tastes sometimes.
But all of that is gone by the later half of the story. I got really sucked in and invested in the characters.

The art
There is not much to say about the art other than it is nice. It has plenty fanservice moments if you are in to that kind of thing.
The character design is easy to look at and aside from 2 characters it was easy to distinguish them from each other.

Enjoyment
In the beginning i did not enjoy this manga at all. But later on that changed, I really started enjoying this manga and kept on reading. And before i knew it it was over.
There is a sequel to this manga, but honestly i don’t know if i wanna read it.
Right now i’m talking pretty highly of this manga, but the only reason for that is because i liked the ending so much. If i take the early parts into account for my scoring it is not that great honestly.
So to summarize. A manga that takes some time to get into but is worth it in the end. If you don’t have patience i recomend you stay away from this manga as far as possible.
But if you don’t mind then go ahead and enjoy, just be warned.

I Believe Suzuka is Masterpiece of a Manga. *Salutes to Kouji Seo*
It's about a Guy named Yamato and his hardships with a Girl Named Suzuka.

~Story
The Story for me was a Class A Romance (... with a bit of Comedy) Story. It starts off very normal but when you reach the later chapters you will see how Good of a Story Suzuka is. Literally a masterpiece!

~Art
The Art is Phenomenal! Whether you are reading it online or Manga (...for me Manga is best) the art is simply phenomenal. Need I say more?

~Character
The downside was the story was completely focused on the two protagonists, so you ... would really feel bad about the other characters development.

~Enjoyment & Overall
Words Cannot express how heartwarming the story is (...Including how hilarious it is). *Salutes to Kouji Seo*. Bottom line is the Story is definitely re readable and definitely a Kick ass love story! Its a Must READ!

Ok first off this is a review, and my first one at that, so i'll try to keep it spoiler free. I'll present it following the sites scoring criteria.

Story: The story is for the most part solid, it's properly tied up at the end, though the ending was rushed. Suzuka didn't end on the note that it should have, but the author actually got bored with it, and didn't wanna just drop it and leave it open, so he just threw in an ending, that while yes it does tie everything up, and on normal terms wouldn't be bad, but in course ... with the manga you can tell it just doesn't belong. The beginning and middle are both solid, not really any dry points, allways leaving me wondering how it's going to turn out.

Art: Not really much to be said, it's well drawn, and not much run around work, decent amount of detail but it's not really flashy or eye popping, but then again this isn't some kind of fantasy/sci-fi/WTF manga where the art would truely matter, it's first and for most romance, and the story is what you read romance for, the story and Character development.(next)

Character: This is where the story is properly told. The story revolves mostly around the two main characters, while occasionally branching to a diffrent character to provide some back story on them. Each character is properly developed, and i mean each, the main characters have the perfect amount of information provided, that you can understand them, there emotion, there past, and so on. The side characters are also well developed, while not having nearly as much development as the mains, your given just enough info on them through out the read that you can understand them, and not wonder, why the hell is something going on like this.

Enjoyment: While not for everyone, in it's genre it's a great read, and i enjoyed it very much, yes even the ending. There was never a point where i stoopped to think, "this is boring, next!" i lost sleep to finish this, and it's something i'm happy i did.

Overall: Like i said above, though not for everyone, fans of school life/slice of life/romance and everything in between will likely walk away happy they read it. It's well presented, properly developed and not til the very end is it rushed in anyway. As a single piece it's well done, and left me happy that i lost as much sleep as i did to read it.

I first went into this thinking it would be a typical romance manga with sports elements mixed into it. However, as the story started to progress, I could not put this down because every moment felt that it mattered and left me with questions as to what would happen. The characters(especially the main ones) are really well developed and makes you really care for them. They all have their own motivations, goals,aspirations and fears. Thanks to these elements I grew attached to these characters.

The two main characters are young, naive and dumb typical teenagers but seeing them go through sad, confusing and lovable moments ... makes their struggles carry so much weight. This is really important because some of these struggles and worries can relate to the viewer and makes this story feel impactful , which is why I gave it a high rating since the themes vary and change.

The pacing was good and characters interactions were really enjoyable. The story isn't static so character motivations and goals change frequently which makes this manga so realistic and enjoyable to read. The characters not only grow as characters but also physically as well which is amazing.

The romance is fantastic, sweet and innocent however, as the characters grow, the struggles of their romances start to appear which keeps you hooked and leaves you wondering will happen.

Suzuka is a must read for any romance fan or anyone who just wants a heartwarming story with suspense and with twists and turns. I gave this manga my first 10 because Suzuka left such a good impression to me as a fantastic read and I personally related to one of the main character's struggles which struck me to rethink certain things about my life. In the end, this story deserves to be seen by many and I hope it does change or reveal something for you.

Okay. It's 2020 and I've just finished reading this manga for the past few days. I started reading this back around 2008 I think but didn't have the time back then to finish it totally.

This is about 1 out of 3 or less Romance mangas I've read in my whole life. I usually hate stories in such genres because they are so predictable and so cliche. For me, this manga is totally worth the read. To be honest, I'm writing this review with a very heavy heart after finishing reading it. Aside from wanting more, I just simply hated the way story went since chapter ... 1... and this hate I think is not the bad kind of hate.

If you really want your emotions to be tested--if you want to cry, be sad, laugh, angry all at the same time, this can be the manga for you. And when I said that "I hated the story"--what I actually mean is I hated how it was so realistic. How it could have happened to me in real life. And how different it is from your usual love story formula everywhere. It was definitely worth my time reading it.

The only issue why I'm not really giving it an overall perfect score is because of the time skips and sudden change of character personalities at the latter part of the story. I don't know if this is because of the Author's deadlines or something back when it was still not finished but I think the story could have been stretched a little more to show more character developments and show more back stories for each character.

Anyway. I don't really feel fulfilled with what happened in this story but this is because of how beautiful it was. I'll be rereading it again for the 3rd time right after this review.

I originally was gonna give Suzuka an Overall of 8, because it's really good, but I thought about it for a second and realized that it was very enjoyable, and for me, it deserved a 9. It's a great romance, and pretty realistic as well. You can relate in some ways, espicially if you have been in a relationship, and you can tell that events like the ones in the story happen in real life. There are a few ups and downs, but when you look at the whole series, you can enjoy the progress the plot made and how it developed to the end.

I have to completely agree with mcjazzman32...If you haven't read this manga, well prepare to say a lot wtfs.

This is the first time i have been put into an emotional roller coaster and not liking it. Suzuka is a total indecisive cunt and Yamato makes so much mistakes that you think is normal for a 15 year old to make, but the quantity of mistakes he makes makes you think that this guy is actually retarded when it comes to girl issues.

Art 8: I give art this score cause most of the times Yamato who is the main character gave such out of proportion reactions ... that it made me think that he had an aneurysm then & there.

Story 6: I hated the fact that at the beginning it was all fun and games and a lot of echii, then it was really intense drama for a lot of chapter (like 35+), then it was a little fun again...then a lot of intense drama...then a little fun...then A SH&* LOAD OF DRAMA. you get the point xD

SPOILERS

Character 7: Sigh... i gave 7 cause Yamato is not the only character so that's why...also you must not believe Yamato in anything he promises, cause in the end he will let you down and the result is that he would not deliver at the end. In all 166 chapters, around the middle of all those you wanted a little hope for the main character Yamato to become more manly or improve his characteristics to be more appealing or at least deliver his promises...in other words "that he grew some balls"...don't bother. xD

"His balls" arrive around chapter 145 or 150...i don't remember...but don't last that long or they come and go cause i think he tea-bagged Suzuka and who knows what she did with them.

Enjoyment 6: Although i read all 166 chapter it was because i saw the anime in 2004 or 2005 don't remember and was one of the first anime i had downloaded & also i never lost hope...I was like the Obama campaign motto of instead "Yes we can"..."Yes he can...grow some balls".

This is one of my favorite manga's ever. The relationship between the two main characters isn't just a straight line from point A(not together) to point B(together) . Its a winding curving road of very good drama. My Favorite thing about this manga is that it shows not only the couple getting together but going on and showing there relationship together in all its up and downs. In fact the best drama doesn't even come till after they are really together.

Now I really do Love this manga but I am not blind that it does have more than a few week points. One ... being that the track/sport aspect of this manga is kind of fickle. Meaning that it goes from Yamato not caring about track to him being super serious about it and aiming for the top to again not caring about it. Which to me was not that big of a deal since I really didnt' care to much about the sport part of the manga and was really just interested in the romance/drama but still it kind of hurt my liking of the main character to see him be so wishy~washy about it although this attitude was prob more realistic for the average teenage male than him being completely in love with track and doing it more to win than to impress a girl. Also a point that hurt this manga for me was the ending. Now the ending was good and wrapped up the romance/drama pretty well but it kind of left us hanging on the whole track scene. Now it would have been fine if the author just dropped the sport part completely and just had Yamato and Suzuka completly decide that family and love is more important and track is of no or little importance but the last scene kind of gave you the feel that it wasn't over, at least not in Suzuka's mind, for Yamato. And to me I would love it if the author wrote sequel about Yamato going again for track and its effects on him and his family but as far as I know there was only a few koma's (4 panel shorts) written and put as a bonus in one of his other mangas. Now I have not read these myself but I doubt these would be enough to give this story the finish it really needs.