New Anime, Suzuka

New to DVD this week from FUNimation Studios is the first installment of Suzuka. On first glance, Suzuka appears to be a sports-based anime like Battle Athletes Victory or The Prince of Tennis, but once you actually open the case and begin watching, you realize that it's really a highschool-based romantic comedy that's a lot closer to Kimagure Orange Road (KOR for the otakus). I realize that's a really hefty comparison to make, especially after only watching FIVE episodes, but unlike a lot of other romantic comedy pieces, Suzuka makes no attempt at being a cross-genre hybrid. For fans of big robots, superhero characters, or magical fantasy worlds, you'll really have to look elsewhere for your fix. What Suzuka does do, however, is exactly what most romantic comedies are afraid to do -- sell themselves solely on the merits of character development -- hence the comparison to KOR, which is probably the best example of this type of work.

Set in modern-day Tokyo, Suzuka is a boy-meets-girl anime with the opening scene involving our young male protagonist, Yamato Akitsuki, walking by his new highschool and marveling at the beauty and grace of a female high-jumper, Suzuka Asahina. Through a convenient plot twist, both characters end up in the same highschool class and, interestingly enough, residents at the same boarding house (neither is originally from Tokyo.) Of course, no Japanese anime would be complete without a love triangle, and here it comes in the very cute form of another female classmate, Honoka Sakurai, who is the feminine antithesis of the outwardly indifferent and jock-like Suzuka. Granted, I'm probably not doing the series any real justice by outlining the blow-by-blow details, but let me just say that for fans of character development, Suzuka is really a must-watch series that I'm definitely looking forward to seeing more of. I would highly recommended it for any romantic comedy fans.

The Smug Dude

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