SUZUKA

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".

I expected this to be better than your average love-manga, and I was right. It wasn't all that I hoped it would be, but it still provided a good read.

The story is centered around a clumsy, yet sympathetic boy (Akitsuki Yamato) entering high school in Tokyo (where have I heard this before?), where he almost immediately proceeds to fall in love with a girl (Asahina Suzuka) in the track and field team. The story then pretty much is all about how he tries to win her over while dealing with additional love interests and the ever obstinate Suzuka herself.

The story in itself isn't very exciting, but the author has still managed to make good use of it. A story like this is built on individual scenarios, all of which seem to play out in almost the same way. I applaud the author for skillfully repeating the same two patterns over 166 chapters without me noticing it too much.

The repetitiveness of each scenario is linked to the character design, where the titular character, Suzuka, is too "complex" for the good of the story. Most of the scenarios start out with Yamato trying to do something good towards her, while she somehow always takes it in a negative way. The frequency of which she does this is staggering, and it feels like the author has clearly gone out of his way just to think of new ways to misinterpret the intentions of Yamato. Whenever Yamato interacts with Suzuka, you can expect her to get frustrated in response to his actions at some point later on, it's just a question of when.

Other than that, I think that the feelings of the characters are conveyed well. Some actions and feelings are a bit questionable (yes Suzuka, I'm looking at you), but it's mostly the opposite. As the characters develop, so do their emotions, which gets portrayed relatively well. Story-wise, the strongest side of the author is probably the romantic climaxes (dramatic more than sexual), which are delivered with great timing and feeling. Thankfully, these are not as forced as many other story-related components.

The artwork is great, with nice backgrounds and well done characters. It shows that the author is already a skilled with the pen, and there is really nothing to complain about in this aspect. The good art is a solid cornerstone for this manga, which made it much more enjoyable than it otherwise would have been.

All in all, I did not feel that I was let down by this manga. There were some parts which could have used some work, but they weren't too much of a nuisance. I can recommend this to fans of high-school romance mangas, but perhaps not to people not already indoctrinated.

“Suzuka” at the beginning looks like another clone of “Love hina”, but it isn’t. Although theirs always a couple of cute girl around Yamato, it never change into the harem manga. After first volume Yamato even stops landing in somebody’s breast or vagina.

The sport plot is rather interesting and I’m surprise that it wasn’t exposed more. A like to know people have something else to do then crying into the cushion, witch is, sadly, the most popular exercise in other romantic manga.

The story it’s pretty realistic, Yamato’s problems are similar to our and, witch I treasure most, he isn’t afraid to confess his feelings (you know something like: “I wont tell that I love her because I’m afraid of rejection”). On the other hand Suzuka is annoying “pain in the ass” chick. Which is good. It’s nice to read something where heroine don’t act like a little kitty. She is more like a Russian roulette, you never now will you survive next conversation.

Unfortunately ending is lame. Seams like Suzuka was brain washed. Well until you get there you have around 150 high class chapters, so enjoy it!

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.