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Yamato Akitsuki travels to Tokyo alone to study in one of the high schools located within the area. He lives in with his aunt who operates a public bath solely for the ladies in the local district and begins his normal high-school life. One day, he chances upon a girl in school and is immediately mesmerised by her beauty. He is shocked when he realise later that the girl, Suzuka, is actually living next door to him. From then on, Yamato's ordinary life begins to change little by little.

Some eyecandy



Currently subbed by:
Lunaranime
Yukata Dropped
Hotaru Dropped

Despite the synopsis, this anime surprisingly does not fall under the harem genre unlike Love Hina (which the above synopsis closely relates to) nor does it feel like Ai Yori Aoshi. If there is one anime that I would liken it to, it would be Boys Be (the anime, not the manga). Both of them have some slice of life, romance as well as sports elements into it (as far as episodes 1 and 2 are concerned).

Characters
As mentioned, the characters are definitely not like Love Hina's. The main character in Suzuka, Yamato Akitsuki is not your typical loser or pervert (a bit gullible and dense maybe but definitely persistent). He has principals, he has good morals, is not attracted to every single women who make moves on him and does not go into delusional fantasies. Same goes with the female characters. Their personalities are what you would call normal and they have their own normal lives to lead. None of them are attracted to the male character and their actions are more grounded in realism (no outrageous antics involved). Surprisingly, they still remain fairly interesting till the end.

Story
Nothing special nor does it break new grounds just like Boys Be. However, every new discovery about Suzuka (via narration from Akitsuki) is something to look forward to. There seems to be a fairly good character development here; their problems, secrets, personalities under different situations, etc. Pacing of story is not too slow nor is it too fast either. There is a good load of drama early on till the end and none are depressing.

Animation
Not flashy at all. Female characters are drawn not too excessively pretty too and male characters are drawn not too masculine (muscle-packed) either. Animation quality varies and can be inconsistent from one moment to another but it�??s not too bad. Well, I don't really quite mind in this department since the characters and story are the main draw here.

Music

Opening theme: Start Line
Ending theme (1): Aoi Field
Ending theme (2): Kimi no Koto

The opening and first ending theme has that sporty feel (especially the first ending theme) which is quite catchy. As for the second ending theme, it is slower and has that longing feel to it. A very sweet song which I will never get bored of listening. All the opening and ending themes are sung by COACH�??. Background music is sprinkled with a lot of piano instrument. Not really something that catches you ear unlike .Hack//SIGN's or Noir, but I don�??t usually notice the background music since my attention is more on the story and dialogue aspect.

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Verdict

A must watch for all anime lovers, both hardcore and casual. Character development is solid and plot progresses at a comfortable pace (i.e. not too slow, not too fast). No issues are dragged out for too long nor are they resolved in a rushed manner and the characters can really charm you into having a place for them in your heart no matter how unbecoming their attitude at times may be. Ending is sweet but do leave out a bit of issues unattended. Point to note is that this anime is not truly a sports genre anime but more of a romance anime with sports as a vehicle for driving the story at crucial points.

REVIEW REVISION: 11/01/2006

I think Yamato is one of the most dense guy ever. I know this is only after two episodes, but he's so dumb! However, I like this anime because it deals with a girl who has high expectations. I can tell right away that obviously those two will fall for each other, the guy being inexperienced with girls and the girl trying to focus on her high jumps. I think this anime has great potential despite my annoyance with Yamato. I'll still watch it though, hoping that the guy gives me a better impression as the story progresses.

I think this series is a little better than Boys Be, well so far from what I can tell, graphic and soundwise. But I wonder, why is Suzuka's breasts so big? For a track and field athlete, aren't her breasts are a little too big and won't it hinder her sprinting and jumping? Don't get me wrong, I am just asking (not because I'm a pervert).

...

Yes, Lunar has the third episode out!

OMG! OMG! Suzuka has a "rival". XD

This anime is...... Nice. Goals lots of girls, and perverted-ness. Another romance. I've seen it so far, the first episode drew me in but the second episode, that perverted guy reminds me of my cousin who proclaims himself Perverted. So I'm gonna watch the next episode and see how it is.

The anime is nice. It's just average, but something makes me enjoy it. oh yeah, i'm a guy... almost forgot...

I think Yamato is one of the most dense guy ever. I know this is only after two episodes, but he's so dumb!

I wouldn't actually call it dense. I believe it's more accurate to call it his "it-doesn't-really-concern-me" attitude. But seriously, after watching the third episode, I kinda like how he waited 5 hours for Suzuka.

You know, his character reminds me a lot of Fujita Hiroyuki, the main character from To Heart (the original anime, not the sequel). I believe he has hidden potential that isn't clearly noticed by Suzuka.

I'm not so big in this series. It's kinda a mess, but I'll keep watching it. Yamato turns out to be great sprinter.

I really had a bad impression with this anime but after watching episodes 4 and 5, I misunderstood a lot. Looks like it is a decent anime afterall, with the typical romance theme. The way it's going, it seems as if Suzuka could be a 12-13 episode series, but I could be wrong on that too.

I only downloaded the first eps. and... it doesn't seem like an interesting or deep anime
but if lunar subs it i guess it should b good

It seems that there will be 26 episodes. And I love this anime! It reminds me the good times watching Love Hina...
My favourite harem-anime for this summer after SHUFFLE!.

What are you talking about? Suzuka is totally not harem anime.

No time to do a follow-up comment 4 episodes into the series. Too much pre-occupied with SHUFFLE! :P

Maybe end of this week. Friday probably.

Anyone cares to chip in with their comments?

I really love this series its soo dam good. its awsome suzuka chan is sooo hot!

I love this anime too it is little close to the real world...

This anime is not bad :D

Episode 4

Not bad for a reversal of fortune. And Yamato manages to score some major points with Suzuka. ;)

Can't really comment much about episode 4 since the whole episode is like a spoiler in itself. Kinda feeling a bit sorry for Sakurai though but gotta give credit to her for trying to hit on Yamato. Can I say that Sakurai is being Suzuka'ed (gotta give thanks to Mentar for coining that term) by Suzuka? XD
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Episode 5

oh...Yamato actually experiences the feeling of having "rivals". And we learnt one big shocking thing....Yamato's singing is bleh.....

And I love how one simple action and one simple quote can bring so much difference in the humor department.

Shake...shake...


Shake...shake...shake...shake...


Stir...stir...


Udon from hell indeed.


COMING TO TERRORIZE LOCAL CINEMAS NEAR YOU SOON!


Well, there are other things going on at that time, but I won't spoil the fun.

As APN puts it, definitely the sleeper hit of the year. It's so under-rated seeing the competition that it has to face, i.e. SHUFFLE!, Da Capo Second Season, FMP: TSR, Bleach, etc.