Suzuka

Teenager Yamato Akitsuki has moved from the Hiroshima countryside to Tokyo to begin his high school career. In return for room and board, he has agreed to help his aunt and cousin run their bathhouse and the adjacent girls-only dormitory where he will be staying. On his way to meet his relatives, he passes by a local high school track and is mesmerized by a high jumper practicing her technique.

Later on, Yamato finds out that the high jumper is not just another resident of the dorm, but is also his neighbor. Suzuka Asahina is a heavily scouted track and field athlete who is attending the same high school he is enrolled in. A perfectionist by nature, Suzuka is put off by Yamato's clumsy and carefree attitude and finds it difficult to be near him.

Determined to win her over, Yamato joins the track team after discovering his hidden talent for sprinting. Through his interactions with the track team, his classmates, and the ever-inebriated college students in the dorm, Yamato finds the resolve to become a better athlete and a more suitable companion to Suzuka, even if it means pushing himself to the point of exhaustion.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Asahina, Suzuka Main

Mitsuhashi, Kanako Japanese

Akitsuki, Yamato Main

Nakamura, Daisuke Japanese

Sakurai, Honoka Supporting

Hosono, Yumiko Japanese

Hashiba, Miki Supporting

Hosokawa, Seika Japanese

Hattori, Yasunobu Supporting

Ooyama, Takanori Japanese

Fujikawa, Miho Supporting

Akesaka, Satomi Japanese

Saotome, Yuuka Supporting

Suzuki, Masami Japanese

Asahina, Suzune Supporting

Tominaga, Miina Japanese

Sasaki, Kazuyuki Supporting

Ikeuchi, Ken Japanese

Newspaper Girl Supporting

Nakagawa, Rie Japanese

Cook, Justin Producer

Maruyama, Hajime Producer

Fukutomi, Hiroshi Director, Episode Director, Storyboard

Hamano, Kazuzou Sound Director

Reviews

Apr 25, 2024

Rusette

Recommended

I have to say after seeing the whole series even though a lot of people said it sucked..it kinda left an impression on me.

The people who enjoy romance, drama, and/or "slice of life" anime should make up the general audience. Or just someone who's interested in giving it a shot. Therefore, I recommend checking out other anime if you're seeking for something lighthearted with a hint of fanservice and a few action scenes. XD I recommend this anime to those who watches realistic anime under the romance-drama genre. Yeah, this might be a little entertaining for fans of sports anime.

The anime revolves around ... the relationship between Yamato and Suzuka.

There isn't much to complain about the aesthetics of the series. The character designs are pretty good and the music is okay. I love the piano background music when the characters are in somewhat not good situation. The areas where this anime truly shines are within the characters, their interactions, and their development throughout the series.

The main male character, Yamato, who is lot less whiny than Love Hina's Keitaro XD, narrates the entire anime for you. The character interactions and development are done quite effectively and very realistically. (I could almost relate to Suzuka)

The narration by Yamato really provides some great insight into what goes on in the mind of a guy who has a crush on a girl. I was giggling every time Yamato tries not to make a fool of himself whenever he's with Suzuka. XD There aren't any other interesting characters because there are quite a few. Although I find the supporting characters very useful especially towards to developing relationship between Yamato and Suzuka.

And Miss Suzuka here, our main lead female character, is my favorite character in the series. XD She's simple, nice with a cool attitude. I wonder why most of the people who decided to watch this, hated her guts. I mean, ok, she tends to be bitchy and bossy but she has her reasons. >:E

All in all, its a good series. I enjoyed watching it. ^^ Especially the ending episode.

The continuation of the series can be read through its manga. Go read it if you want to know what happened to them after the series. ;D

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Jun 21, 2009

angelofutopia

Mixed Feelings

There's something wrong when my favorite character is the cat.
I didn't really like much about this show. I thought that the music could be better. I thought the art wasn't anything to talk about. I wasn't all that crazy about an of the characters, and I think they cheated on the plot a little.
First off they dedicate a lot to track and feild in this show. And yet in the end it's sorta ignored for other things. I couldn't stand Suzuka half the time and Yamato wasn't my favorite character in the later part of the series either.
My major disliking for the ... show is Suzuka. One second she was warm and then she was cold and you never got to know her well enough to understand. You know next to nothing about her but that she's mourning over someone that she can't let go of. And yeah I can understand that but she had mood changes that made me want to just give up. Yamato was childish and ended up hurting people. He was also selfish and even though he said he got it he never really did. I didn't like the plot. I didn't like the characters, and by the end I was totally disintrested. Maybe this show is for some people but it's not for me.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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Nov 10, 2010

jai88

Not Recommended

The story is fairly simple - a young man moves from the country to Tokyo to start a new life at highschool, and falls in love at first sight with a promising athletic student (the titular character of the show). In short it's a love story, and while the premise sounds bland, so do those of some of the very best animes.

Suzuka, however, is not one of them. It's often described as "character driven" but this is a terrible thing because the majority of the characters (including the two main ones) are barely likable and have few redeeming qualities. Yamato ... and Suzuka both play to archtypes almost to the letter and this is incredibly frustrating to watch. Although the entire series is based around their romance, you are left with an overwhelming idea that this romance only exists because the writers said it does.

Yamato is ridiculous in his submissiveness, but there are certain points where you can at least feel some empathy and sympathy for him (those these are rare) - he also demonstrates a desire to try, which everybody likes to see. However, Suzuka is intolerable for basically the entire series, and since you as a viewer weren't written to love her like Yamato, you end up spending 26 episodes wondering why you're watching an anime that is literally about her. Quite a few of the side characters are far more likable, but they have almost no backstory and screentime, and can't carry the series.

The art and animation is also fairly poor - I'm not sure when the series was adapted, but it is low quality and not very good. The music is also uninspiring and sometimes I felt it was extremely dissonant. Apparently the sound switches between mono and stereo inbetween certain episodes. I'm not sure if this causes any of it, but the soundtrack as a whole isn't a strong point.

Through the entire show you are just left with a sense of pointlessness as the characters advance nowhere, widdling away screentime with obvious and drawn out internal monologues. It quickly becomes obvious how the show is going nowhere and how easily all of the development could have fit into a series half its length. From what I have read of the manga (which progresses far beyond the anime) things sound like they get quite interesting - but the anime adaptation is very stale.

I honestly can't believe the scores this show is getting - but I know there are other people like me out there who are unable to drop a series once they start it. I hope that those people read this review - and instead of starting Suzuka they find something better to watch. That wouldn't be very hard to do.

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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Olympic Sports (excl. Major Leagues)

by MyAnimeList

79 Entries · 10K Restacks

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by LeGoldenWolf

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	Poll: Suzuka Episode 1 Discussion ShanaFlame - May 28, 2009	12 replies	by user_sakanigadik »» Jun 21, 10:07 AM
	Poll: Suzuka Episode 26 Discussion ( 1 2 ) ShanaFlame - May 28, 2009	69 replies	by BlaizeV »» Mar 6, 5:29 AM

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