Suzuka… I was really surprised to see that this manga had a better score and more readers on MAL than Fuuka, since I completely adore Fuuka, so I was really pumped to see what this manga had to offer, and I have to say I was a bit disappointed. It was another manga that made me feel frustrated with the way how its characters acted, and frustration is one of the most unwanted feelings I want to experience while reading a manga. However, it wasn’t as bad as in some other works I’ve read, so I was still able to enjoy it for what it was. It’s a shame I didn’t read Suzuka before I read Fuuka, because both of them would leave a bigger impact on me that way.

Art 6/10
It didn’t really stand out to be honest. I can’t remember a single panel that would make me go: “Wow, that looks good.” It was like eating food without any seasoning, it works, but it could definitely be better. However, my degenerate heart stopped at the first chapter, where I found out that Seo-sama’s ecchi signature was completely uncensored in this one. The raw uncensored nudity was a gem in the Art side of things. Seducing poses, great details, and of course a fitting character design.

Story 7/10
This was a bit of a letdown. I loved how Fuuka portrayed a strong romance story, even though the main plot was about building up a successful band. I was hoping for something similar when I read the synopsis, a few volumes, and knew some revealing details from Fuuka. It had a lot of things going on, but the most pushing element was Yamato’s and Arima’s rivalry. I was really pumped to see this rivalry develop and experience Yamato getting to the top through his hard work, but then it completely fell flat. Eventually the romance took over the whole manga, and because I wasn’t really interested in this particular duo from the first place, I was pretty much left with nothing enjoyable.
The romance drama was the biggest flop of the manga. It’s pretty much on repeat. Yamato does something (mostly nothing bad), Suzuka lashes out, calls him an idiot, stops talking to him, then Yamato apologizes (seriously, I haven’t seen a character use the word “sorry” more times than Yamato), and then Suzuka either lashes out again and goes for another round of ignoring, or she explains some ass-pull reason why she ignored him, like she was too shy or something. If someone is ignoring someone because they’re shy, they don’t give them angry looks or scream. That’s just not how humans work in my opinion and when you read through this premise over and over again, it really starts to get on your nerves. Even though I only criticized the story till now, it wasn’t all bad. Especially the first few volumes were really enjoyable, without any giant flaws. And most importantly, it delivered a satisfying ending, which is probably the most deciding factor for me.

Characters 8/10
I despise Suzuka. She pretty much blames Yamato for anything that goes wrong, and fails to communicate with him in the most crucial moments. She goes through some character development, but it didn’t seem gradual enough. She pretty much just stopped being a bitch at a random moment. Normally I’d say how I can’t understand why is Yamato trying to be with this girl, but since I was in a similar relationship, I can understand. Sometimes looks and the rare cuteness completely overpowers the stuck-up attitude and lack of communication. Love can just be illogical sometimes, and that’s what I think this manga tried to show. Yamato might seem like a 2D character, but I was able to see a lot of depth in him, which might just be my overthinking nature, but let me explain. He seems like he has no other drive in life other than chasing Suzuka. He starts doing track just because he wants to be with her, and whenever their relationship gets problematic, he questions why is he still doing it. I wish it was made a little bit clearer in the manga, but that slight realization Yamato experiences is kind of powerful. He sort of realizes he’s running because he’s grown to like it, and not because he’s forced. He might seem confident, because of his goals and persona he’s developed in front of other people, but he gets overwhelmed by the expectations and believes Suzuka that he’s the reason for everything wrong in their relationship. He beats himself in secret for not understanding her feelings, but because he has such a low self-esteem, he doesn’t see that Suzuka didn’t offer him any information that could possibly make him understand. I liked Hashiba because of her caring nature. I personally think she liked Yamato, but she never tried anything dishonorable to be with him. Instead, she tried to be helpful to him and be a good friend, and that’s why I pronounce her the best girl of the manga. Yasunobu was a dick, acting like he knows everything about relationships, and giving Yamato stupid advice. He’s portrayed as Yamato’s best friend and yet he adopts the same bitchy attitude as Suzuka, calling him an idiot anytime he gets a chance. And lastly, I just liked the buff captain character. He was a source of a few good laughs and believed in Yamato no matter how many stupid things he did.

Overall 7/10
Yes, I might be disappointed, but did I enjoy reading it? Definitely yes. Even though it wasn’t as good as Fuuka, I’ll still treasure this manga, because without it, Fuuka would never come to be. I love how Seo-sama tries to connect his stories. The appearance of characters from his other works makes your heart stop every time. It’s just like finding an easter egg in a game or a movie, and it just makes you more invested in the story. It also makes me want to read all of his other works, so I can understand all of these easter eggs. I’d recommend this to some more experienced readers, because the frustration you might feel with Suzuka might discourage you from finishing it, but if you’re willing to see the good sides too, you definitely won’t regret picking up this story.







*SPOILERS SEGMENT*



*REAL MAJOR SPOILERS FROM SUZUKA AND FUUKA, DON’T READ THIS PART UNLESS YOU’VE READ BOTH OF THESE WORKS*
Seriously, what is the deal with traffic accidents in Seo-sama’s works? Suzuka must have had some terrible luck to lose her first love and eventually her own daughter like that. It feels a bit cheap when the “tired truck driver” card is used more than once by an author, especially if the works share the same universe and characters. But at the end of the day, it’s not that big of a deal.