Suzuka Anime Review

Written by: Raye on 6/5/2006

Introduction

Akitsuki Yamato moved to Tokyo for a change of pace. Upon his first day at his new high school, Yamato passed by the track and field club practicing, only to witness something that would take his breath away. The image of a beautiful girl leaping over a raised bar would be embedded in his mind forever. After returning to his residence, an all-female boarding house/public bath owned by his aunt, Yamato is surprised to see that his new neighbor is none other than the girl who caused his heart to skip a beat. She is Asahina Suzuka, an aspiring high jumper and the prettiest girl Yamato has ever seen.

Over time, Yamato can't help but fall more and more in love with Suzuka. He even goes as far as to join the track and field club just to be closer to her. Still, Suzuka does not warm up to Yamato so easily. Are the two just friends or is there something more than that underneath it all?

Review

Suzuka is an anime title that could easily create its own live action spin-off. Everything about it screams soap opera. The show takes modern teenage drama to the extreme, and in the process, can cause viewers to have a mixed reaction towards it. It'd be best to warn people that this series may prove immature for some. The show mainly focuses on the relationship between Suzuka and Yamato, which isn't anything along the lines of award-winning. The two of them seem to be a bit of an odd couple. On one side you have a girl aspiring be the best high jumper in Japan and on the other you have an average joe.

It seems to be the trend of these shonen series to have a boy fall in love with a girl who would be considered out of his league. At this point in time, all of that seems far overdone. Most of those male characters in the past have typically lived amongst harems and magically fell in love with one of the girls. Yamato may not be surrounded by women who want him in bed, but rather, the series suffers from the cliche of how a clueless boy can fall in love with a popular girl simply by doing nothing to win her over.

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Conclusion

Even the worst soap operas may prove to be interesting. That's exactly how Suzuka is. Viewers may initially be turned off by the relationship between Suzuka and Yamato, but because of what happens down the road, they might not be able to stop watching until they reach the finale. Suzuka may not be the best series of its genre, but it definitely has interaction with its viewers. Most likely, people will scream at the characters and question their actions. Think of it as a teenage drama and nothing more. Attempting to rank Suzuka amongst better drama anime titles would somewhat of an insult. Still, the show is amusing to watch and should be given a chance regardless of what kind of anime fan you are.