- [Intro] -
I was casually surfing the net, looking for new animes to watch when my eyes caught Suzuka. After reading the brief, I thought I would give it a try, since I wanted a break from action-packed series after Full Metal Alchemist. Anyways, I got the first episode. It was not bad but I thought the story was a bit uncool. But that was only a first impression, and a wrong one at that! At the end, it finished nicely, although not to my total liking.
On with the brief! Suzuka tells the story of a boy named Yamato that went to live with his aunt who owns a set of appartments to avoid paying rent. One day, on his way to school, he sees a beautiful young girl clearing a high-jump bar. He was both amazed and love-struck! However, what he didn't know was that the girl was also living in his aunt's appartment block!
While clearing the public bath, he (accidentally) compromises his position when Suzuka caught him between the breasts of Saotome Yuuka while Matsumoto Megumi was on the ground, her skirt nearly up. Suzuka immediately believed that Yamato is just a pervert and distances herself. However, after Yamato saves her from the Sauna after she kinda exaggerated the stay-time, they start becoming friends. Yamato finds that Suzuka is a very talented high-jumper and inspires him to enter the Track club to enroll as runner later in the anime. Can't say more without spoiling, sorry.
Maybe you guessed, but Suzuka is a romance/ecchi/sport kind of anime. However, there is not much ecchiness throughout the anime. Another point to note is that Suzuka Manga is still going, while the Anime completed. This means that the Anime is incomplete in a way, which is noticeable at the end of the last episode. More on that later..
- [ Animation ] -
Many people defined the animation in Suzuka as "crappy" or "not worth it". Personally, I don't think the animation is so bad. There may be a few glitches and wrong drawings, but they are not too noticeable. The characters are well drawn, specially Suzuka and Honoka who comes later in the series. The backgrounds were well-drawn and some special ones were very well illustrated. The character motions were dynamic and fluid, not robotic like in some series. I don't know why the animation got such a bad rating, but according to me, it's fine. However, do not expect to see lots of different places. Most of the time, it's just the same places: school, home, sports ground, cafetaria and Honoka's place. You could consider this as frame re-use, something which is not very liked among anime fans. There is not much to say here, so we move on to sound.
- [ Sound ] -
Again, I do not pay much attention to music and sound in anime. What interests me is the story, characters and animation. Suzuka does not contain any special music track which deserves attention. The sound and music do not leave a lasting memory. If you ask me, I've pretty much forgotten everything about the sound but not the story and characters. I got nothing more to say..
- [ Story ] -
The story, at first glance, looks really ecchi, with lots of scenes in baths, boob-shots and upskirts. But that's only at first, unless you mean Suzuka (Manga)! Anyways, the story is a basic romance plot, with a boy-sees-girl, boy-loves-girl-at-first-glance, girl-is-reticent. As the story develops, so does the bond between Suzuka and Yamato. Yamato is a real noob when it comes to love. He knows nothing and is shy like hell. But his passion for Suzuka drives him to do inimaginable things.
According to me, the story is nice and light. The plots are stupid sometimes and you will stare blankly at the screen, wondering what that baka of Yamato is doing when he should be doing this or that. However, the story has a good flow, neither too fast, nor too slow. There are some love-triangles and some love-conflicts which will finally resolve.
Overall, the story is good, with nothing special. It's a good romance plot for casual watching and for people who like the genre. No katanas, no blood and gore and no nudity. It's just a clean story that could be watched among family members, or at least with teens.
- [Enjoyment and Value] -
I think I can say I enjoyed Suzuka. It provided what I was looking for: No violence, just calm and serene scenes. I liked it, liked the story but HATED the ending. More on that in a bit. Suzuka could earn a rewatch from me, but not now. Just when I seriously need a break from my regular anime styles. But if you like the genre, that is sports and romance, Suzuka is for you.
Now for the ending. Without spoiling, the ending is kind of an unfinished one, considering that the anime ends almost in the middle of the manga. We do not get to see the end of the real story of Suzuka. It just ends there, in the middle of the good parts. You will be left with a "what will happen to these two?" sensation at the end and you will probably want to read the manga (which is tough to find). However, let me tell you that the focus switches dramatically in the manga after the time when the anime stops, turning more to the secondary characters. I will stop here since I wanted to justify my hatred for the ending, not to write a review for Suzuka (Manga).
Thank you for reading.. Hope my review is helpful to you.
