The story is pretty standard; boy moves to Tokyo and a girl immediately catches his eye. The boy in question is Yamato Akitsuki, a laid-back carefree high school student; the girl who he fancies is the athletic perfectionist, Suzuka Asahina, and of course out of his league. Luckily for Yamato, Suzuka is his neighbor in the apartment complex owned by his aunt. However, as much as he tries to get close to her, she does a bipolar act of being kind to him one moment and brushing him off the next. As it turns out there is something in the guarded girl's past that makes her hesitant to enter a relationship.
To tell the truth, there is plenty of good that could have come out of this material. However, like Yamato and Suzuka's relationship, it is one step forward and two steps back. There are a decent amount of twists and relationship shifts to keep the plot from going completely stale. Some moments even manage to capture the hardships of adolescence fairly well. The problem is, however, that the show is rife with the contrived melodrama we already see all to often in this kind of show. Every action the characters make seems to solely serve the purpose of making things as dramatic as possible. There is not a minute of subtly, as the show goes out of its way to spell out everything for the viewer, including things they could (and likely have) figure out on their own. This really spoils the fun for anyone who likes their drama refine and subtle; while doing nothing particularly special for fans of melodrama.
Yamato's internal monologues are particularly irritating; he spends his time wondering how to impress Suzuka or what will make him a good boyfriend. While this might seem to make him easy to relate to in theory, it is spoiled by the fact that he rarely makes responsible (or rational) decisions, and he NEVER shuts up! His infatuation with Suzuka goes well beyond the border into obsession, turning the sentiment from sweet into grating. Suzuka, for all the effort into making her sympathetic, is little more than a glorified plot device. Sure, her back story does invoke sympathy, but her mood swings come at the convenience of the plot. Whenever things seem to be moving smoothly for Yamato, Suzuka has one of her mood swings and throws a monkey wrench in things; ensuring maximum drama.
Honestly, the supporting characters more likable, though not anything great either. The one exception is Honoka, the quite girl with a crush on Yamato. Honoka brings some much needed, well-deserved emotion. Her endeavors to catch Yamato's attention are the sweetest moments of the show; her character revelations are the most heartbreaking. The rest of the cast, while more tolerable than the leads, are pretty run-of-the-mill. From Yamato's lady's man best friend, to the nosy track team girl, to the drunken residents at the apartment complex; all the characters are there to lighten the mood, or explain situations. None of them develop beyond one dimensional archetypes.
Visually Suzuka is exactly what you would expect from a slice-of-life. Not really bad, but not good either; it definitely looks cheap. Character designs and backgrounds are more of the same, doing little if anything to differentiate from other series. Animation fluctuates from completely static to just enough to be believable movement. The show pretty much gets the standard slice-of-life treatment; the animation acts as a visual aid for what would otherwise be a radio drama. The soundtrack fairs better, but it still is pretty much what is expected. Composed entirely of either sappy orchestrated pieces for dramatic moments, or bubbly music for the lighter moments; the soundtrack is really nothing special, though it is used adequately.
Plain is the word to describe Suzuka, or would be if it did not raise the melodrama to a nauseating level. The show offers up nothing special, everything is done by numbers. Unfortunately, it is also so rife with melodrama it is actually off-putting. Perhaps some fans of teen melodrama would appreciate this, but for a more casual viewer the drama is layered on too thick. And even for those who have an appetite for melodrama, satisfaction can be found elsewhere.
