Fuuka

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Alternative Titles

Japanese: 風夏

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Information

Type: Manga

Volumes: 20

Chapters: 204

Status: Finished

Published: Feb 12, 2014 to Apr 4, 2018

Genres: Drama, Romance, Ecchi

Theme: Music

Demographic: Shounen

Serialization: Shounen Magazine (Weekly)

Authors: Seo, Kouji (Story & Art)

Statistics

Score: 7.43¹ (scored by 21,014 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #3516²

² based on the top manga page. Please note that 'R18+' titles are excluded.

Popularity: #361

Members: 49,161

Favorites: 1,682

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Kodansha USA

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7.43

Ranked #3516Popularity #361Members 49,161

MangaShounen Magazine (Weekly)Seo, Kouji (Story & Art)

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Volumes: /20

Chapters: /204

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Synopsis

The story follows the life of Yuu Haruna, who recently moved into Tokyo with his sisters after their father is forced to transfer overseas on work.

On his way to buy dinner while looking at his Twitter account, a high school girl suddenly crashes into him. Thinking he was taking upskirt pictures of her, the girl takes Yuu's phone, breaks it, and slaps him before leaving Yuu lying on the ground. As it turns out, this girl—Fuuka Akitsuki—also goes to the school Yuu is transferring to.

Unlike most people, Fuuka doesn't own a cellphone; she even listens to music using a CD player. Eventually these two become closer, and decide to form a band with their friends and enter the professional world of music. With Fuuka around, what will now become of Yuu's new life in Tokyo?

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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Background

Fuuka was simulpub in English by Crunchyroll since April 15, 2014. The series was published digitally by Kodansha USA from November 3, 2015 to January 8, 2019.

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More characters
Characters

Akitsuki, Fuuka

Main

Haruna, Yuu

Main

Aoi, Fuuka

Main

Eba, Yuzuki

Supporting

Asahina, Suzuka

Supporting

Kirishima, Haruto

Supporting

Akitsuki, Yamato

Supporting

Hinashi, Koyuki

Supporting

Eba, Rin

Supporting

Iwami, Sara

Supporting

Reviews

Oct 13, 2020

AnotherAutumn

Recommended

This review is spoiler-free, however, I recommend you read the series completely blind. If you hate it, you hate it; if you love it, you love it; but you'll do yourself no benefit trying to understand why others have such strong feelings around it. Figure it out for yourself and come back to compare.

Fuuka is a story with a lot of problems. If someone asked me to go through commentating each chapter, we'd probably end up with another CinemaSins clone. Overused tropes here, bizarre characterisation there, lewd filler throughout, and a plotline with so many random elements thrown in that it's ... no surprise that people find themselves overwhelmed. However, as rough and ridiculous as the core is, there's an unexpected believability and charm brought out by its honesty.

I think it's impossible to talk about this series without mentioning the twist. While I won't spoil it, the before and after might as well be two completely different series. For those of you that read up until that point weekly, keep in mind that this was close to a year in the making. Fuuka sets itself up for future arcs, characters, themes, and solid expectations; before immediately taking the story in the opposite direction. For many readers - especially fans of the mangaka - this was a dividing experience. The first section, while well-written, is fairly stock-standard. It's a light-hearted 'follow your dreams' romance series, with the sort of convenient coincidences that you won't find outside of anime and manga. An average shounen protagonist crosses every chance encounter possible - from celebrities, to online friends, to solutions to obscure problems. Despite this, it's self-aware enough to not constantly push it in the reader's face. Rather, the ridiculous nature of the series is worn on its sleeve, rarely overstaying its welcome. What we're left with is a collection of likeable characters on the road to fulfilling their dreams.

And then the series changes direction entirely.

I've never enjoyed narrative arcs where hopes are dashed for compromises. You see them coming from a mile away; sign-posted from the beginning and rarely given enough time to build a relationship with the reader. Fuuka portrays no indication. It's abrupt, unexpected, and against most narrative rules I've been taught in writing classes. It's no surprise that people hated it. When a story 180s, yelling "where the HELL did that come from?" is something that I'm certainly not innocent of. Some of my favourite story orientations have been destroyed by illogical, last-second attempts at shock factor or pandering. The reason Fuuka isn't one of those instances is that the following narrative was built around the sudden change. The shock was the point; not the excuse. The overarching plot then follows the same notes, but from a different perspective. If the first 40 chapters are about finding hope, the next hundred are about understanding it. We found hope, but what do we do with it? If it's true that life comes at you fast, what are you going to do about it?

I've noticed that a point of contention relates to the series' pacing. It moves abnormally quickly, but that generally only adds to the experience. One of the reasons I was never a fan of Kouji Seo (or drama manga in general) is that, at some point, it gets tedious; tiring. While some people may enjoy dramatic arcs that attempt to split the characters apart, only for them to overcome that challenge; I was never one of them. I always feel that characters do themselves no favours by jumping to conclusions and refusing to communicate. I have little interest in rooting for a protagonist that continues to make the same mistakes, only to forget the lesson they previously learnt in solving them. The pace of Fuuka allows for these situations to resolve in a lifelike way. While there are overarching concerns throughout, the smaller-scale issues work as a stepping stone towards fixing them. It's not all at once, or never at all; it's step by step. This builds a sense of trust that makes the relationships on the romance side feel believable and healthy. Often times, while I may enjoy the end-point, I can't help but think that the effort the characters went through just emphasised why they weren't right for each other. Why love someone that you don't trust?

If I'm to complain about anything, it's the final resolutions. Because there are so many characters and mini-lines throughout, often their brief conclusions lack concrete depth. Shelly's arc, for instance, while complete, misses its chance at pay-off. She makes claims about her independence, her final song, and her challenge to those around her; but that plotline contradicts her other backstory: her guiding inspiration. In effect, one of the two narratives has to give in to the other. This is also a frequent occurrence with side-character romance. In an attempt to provide every character with a resolution, many are forced into unnecessary love stories. Makoto's - avoiding spoilers - is perhaps the worst case. His main character arc is genuinely heartwarming, but it's let down by attaching unnecessary additions.

Despite this, I rarely found myself caring about these issues. I was always swept away by the hopeful themes, the likeable cast, the interconnected narratives, and the unexpected twists along the way. Would I enjoy it as much on the second read, knowing everything? Probably not, but I feel like I'd still be entirely invested in the emotional believability. I enjoyed it as much reading its entirety today, as I did reading it by release up until chapter 50. Fuuka is rough, ridiculous, and rambunctious; but it's those aspects - collected in a poor attempt at alliteration - that add to the lifelike charm of the series. While it's not for everyone, it'll probably be a read that'll stick with me for a long time.

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May 21, 2018

Pipe

Mixed Feelings

Fuuka is not a fantastic story as Suzuka. It has good and bad points. The hard question: Is it Suzuka’s sequel? For me, it is not. Some characters from the previous series appear here, at some point in the story, you will notice a disjuncture separating Fuuka from Suzuka, however. On the other hand, we can appreciate Seo’s style in the story. Furthermore, the story has some interesting twists that could get you happier and angry at the same time. It is hard to describe my feelings towards Fuuka but it is not Suzuka and never will.

If you are a fan of Suzuka, you ...

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Apr 8, 2016

Caimthehero

Not Recommended

Preliminary (103/204 eps)

I can't tell you why I read this far. Here's how I imagine this series got created.

Author: What's the most formulaic way to make a popular manga. Let's take another androgynous lead and make a bunch of archetypical girls to form his harem! Wait we need another hook. Screw it, throw in some music and talk about climbing to the heavens or some bullshit. Wait we need Drama and angst! Let's kill off a character early in! That'll show that I'm edgy and anything can happen.

Seriously the art isn't anything special and is filled with fan service to keep 13 year old boys happy. ...

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Poll: Fuuka Chapter 195 Discussion Stark700 - Apr 3, 2018	38 replies	by daredevil_x »» Sep 27, 2024 1:20 PM
what seo had to say about the future of Fuuka Spider-titan55 - Feb 18, 2015	21 replies	by ersdtrycgh »» Sep 29, 2022 8:13 AM
Poll: Fuuka Chapter 184 Discussion Stark700 - Jan 9, 2018	10 replies	by HectorBlaze »» Apr 20, 2022 4:55 AM
Poll: Fuuka Chapter 1 Discussion ( 1 2 3 ) -Karoshi- - Feb 8, 2014	111 replies	by daywithoutgames »» Mar 8, 2022 11:56 AM
how related is fuuka and suzuka PremiumCascade - Nov 30, 2014	12 replies	by efbaei »» Jul 14, 2021 12:17 PM

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