Fuuka

This review has no spoilers, safe to read.

For the story, I gave it a 9, this manga is about highschool kids forming a band and aspiring in the big stage. The story is a bit cliche, but they add in a little spice, that makes this worth reading. The fast pacing is actually nice in this manga, even though they seem to rush the manga, they gave out the informations really well. For a music genre manga, of course it would be fast pacing, since it doesn't really have a music in it to fill in the gaps for time. Pretty sure if it were adapted into an anime, that would fill in the gaps and make that worthwhile to watch.

For the art, I gave it also a 9, the art was very good, it was pretty detailed; I mean the backgrounds took a whole lot of effort to draw. Not really much to say about the art since this is almost the standard in any manga, but this standard is what other manga tries to achieve but fails at it.

Characters, I gave it a 10, the characters were colorfull; the way they were describe in the manga were very accurate, there was no inconsistency among the characters, they acted the way they should have. The characters are the main reason I read this manga. They were all different to each other, that they fill in the gaps that were lacking in some other characters.

Enjoyment, As a musician myself, I hear the sounds even though it is a manga, I'm not exaggerating. The reason I read this was I need an inspiration in writing my music and I got the inspiration I needed. I really enjoyed this anime, but for those who didn't enjoy this very much, I respect your opinion. I highly recommend this for people who likes fast pacing story, but for those who doesn't I don't really recommend this that much.

I can't believe that I read Fuuka first instead the prequel Suzuka. So, I've come a prequel that need to be done. By the way this is my first time read Seo Kouji's work, I'll give my opinion based on my experienced reading fuuka not to compare with another Seo's work. I like the story even though a little bit cliche, but who cares? I enjoy the art that Seo's gave so beauty and clean. The development on characters are really good although a little bit being rushed. And I'm impressed with the way Seo's afflict me to be emotional with the conflict he put. Overall, I think Fuuka is worth to read.

[WARNING: SPIOILERS AHEAD!]

------------------------------------

So this will be my first review, so if I make mistakes I'm terribly sorry.
Fuuka starts off as a really good sequel to Suzuka as we are introduced to her right away and from the very beginning you can see the personality of not olnly Suzaka but also Yamato, and the story continues with a very nice flowing ring to it with the male lead Yuu. However the this manga then attempted to go down a path that nobody saw coming and it kinda all fell to pieces with (SPOILER INCOMING) the death of Fuuka after only 36 chapters. Here's why it doesn't really work out.

Story: 6
The story of Fuuka is one of a romantic comedy up until Fuuka's death, it shows how very determined both Yuu and Fuuka are to build their relationship while Fuuka also organises to make a band. However after Fuuka's death the romantic comedy genre is seemingly mostly lost, as it attempts to turn itself into a music tragedy sort of thing, but this is working off the Storylines of Suzuka and Kimi no Iru Machi (somewhat with this one). It's attempt to space itself from the two and make it into something it's not, just doesn't do justice to the stories we've seen in the past from the author.

Art: 8
Now I will say that since Suzuka and Kimi no Iru Machi, the art style has improved a lot more than what it used to be. Very good shading of characters and even when some may have similar facial structures or hair, the art makes them individuals which is sometimes an issue with other manga.

Character: 5
Now the reasoning for my lowest score to be on characters is simply because although the character of Fuuka was designed excellently to be the daughter of Yamato and Suzuka, she's basically the only real developed strong character and when she dies, Yuu (Male MC), Makato, Sara and Kazuya aren't really developed and really are connected to the story by Fuuka herself. It feels awkward to see all of these characters as you keep reading and see how it is they somehow get along after Fuuka.

Enjoyment: 7
Now my overall enjoyment of the manga was at it's high as I was reminiscing of the good stories of Suzuka and Kimi no Iru Machi, which before Fuuka's death it would have been about a 9, but with how stale it's currently going at, not sure how it'll end up.

Overall: 6
In the end Fuuka attempts to be something it's not and is not something I would recommend to new readers who haven't read Suzuka and Kimi no Iru Machi, and instead should mostly be read if you respect the author enough to read through the heartbreaking tragedy.

Ok, just a bit of warning, I will put up some spoilers in here. But I'll start off with a spoiler free review then move on to a spoiler review. I'll put up "SPOILERS" right before I start the 2nd review to warn you guys. Also, another warning, I like to babble a lot so this may be a pretty lengthy review.

Ok, here we go. In case you don't know, this manga is a sequel to one of Seo's first works and quite possibly the very manga that made Seo as famous as he is today: Suzuka. The fact that we got a sequel to this 10+ year old manga is insane. The main protagonists of Suzuka's daughter is the main character of this manga, and the title is basically all about this character: Fuuka. Let me tell you that Fuuka, as a character, starts off being quite similar to Suzuka in the sense that Fuuka inherited the tsudere trait of Suzuka which is shown in like the 2nd panel of the manga. Then we have Yuu Haruna, a quiet, shy kid who is obsessed with his phone and afraid of facing the real world. Of course our two protagonists, Yuu and Fuuka, meet up and start being friends. In my opinion, the development of Fuuka and Yuu throughout this manga was amazing. I can say with sincerity that this manga was going to be my favorite manga with how it was going, the story was easily a 10 for me, art is great, nice and smooth and easy to see what's going on. I mean, this is a romance manga so it's not like we'll get some crazy action-packed panels. And the characters, although Yuu is quite on the shy side, his development with Fuuka and how he progresses throughout the story is such a beautiful sight to see. Not to mention that Yuu helped Fuuka as well find her dreams. I apologize but I can't really explain WHY I really love this manga without spoiling it, but I'll tell you that if you liked Suzuka and Kimi no iru machi, Fuuka is an amazing manga for you. Fuuka is just such a joyful girl, it would be impossible to not like her. Now that I've gone through this, you're probably wondering, why is my story, enjoyment and overall scores so low compared to what I'm saying here? Well, it's actually because the story takes a massive turn at around chapter 30. I mean, an INSANE twist happens. While many might consider this twist to be genius, I can't help but say that it ruined the plot almost completely. The pacing for the first 30 or so chapters was at a slightly faster pace than usual Seo works, but that's what set Fuuka apart from Kimi no iru machi and Suzuka. However, once this unexpected twist happens, the story goes on a halt, and basically goes at an EXTREMELY slow pace. I really have so much sympathy for the people who had to wait a week to read the chapters after the twist, cuz I'll tell you that I marathoned the 71 chapters of this manga thus far and even I got depressed reading the digustingly paced chapters. There were a few new surprises after the incident around chapter 30, but the story and enjoyment simply went completely downhill all the way to where I am now. Now for the recommendation. If you have read Suzuka before, I'll warn you. Fuuka might ruin your experience with Suzuka. Reading Suzuka before Fuuka will simply make the feels worse than they already were, but I'd still recommend reading suzuka first anyways since it's the prequel and a lot of things in the Fuuka manga will make more sense that way. If you're not someone who enjoys unexpected twists, you have been warned. Alright, that's all I gotta say for the spoiler-free section.


"SPOILERS"




What the FUUK. What the FUUK. Seo. Really? REALLY? You guys know what I'm talking about. Fuuka's...mother...FUUKING...death. I found it so hard to believe when I whitnessed it, and I have to say I feel so sorry for you guys who had to endure it when it first was revealed way back in october. Luckily, I marathoned this manga so I'm not as hurt. But still, Fuuka was such an AMAZING character. She is the very reason that makes me rate this manga a 10 for characters. My lord. She's cheerful, she's mature, she's a tsudere but not nearly as much as suzuka, AND she was the one to kiss Yuu FIRST!!! She's not the average scared, girly MC. AGH! And then after she died, the plot moves into some generic, tragic musical where one band member takes over the dream of the band member that died... the romance is gone, the pacing disappeared, AND, we didn't even get to see Yamato and Suzuka's reaction TO THEIR OWN DAUGHTER'S DEATH. WHY??? This manga had so much potential. If Seo was trying to be different, THIS BAND CONCEPT SIMPLY ISN'T WORKING. I mean, I know a school romance is generic too but that's what Seo IS KNOWN FOR BEING AMAZING AT. And with such a delicate character like Fuuka too...WHY? I can't imagine how the Suzuka fans from like 2005 feel after knowing that the baby that stopped Suzuka and Yamato from pursing their dreams DIED AT THE AGE OF 15. COME ON SEO. Fuuka has been built up so much, from the suzuka specials to the kimi no iru machi cameos. And guess what? We got a Fuuka clone? Fuuka Aoi? What the actual FUUK IS GOING ON? Well, at least Fuuka Aoi seems to be a pretty nice character thus far. Nothing really to hate about her honestly, but mostly because she hasn't really done anything drastic yet to progress the plot. If Fuuka Aoi eventually becomes the main heroine for this series, I'm not sure how I'll feel. The only thing I want right now is a supernatural tag to be added in, where Fuuka's soul will somehow be connected with Fuuka Aoi's soul, and they're memories can connect or something like that. Well, sorry that this turned out being more of a personal rant, but this is the spoiler section after all, not like this part can help newcomers or anything. Hopefully the series picks up the pace soon.

Story: 9
The story to Fuuka is well paced, light-hearted, funny, romantic... It's heart-warming to read stories like this. Kouji Seo puts amazing effort into all of his stories.

Art: 10
Every piece of work done by Kouji Seo has out-of-this-world art. This manga is no exception. You can see how much work is put into this every day, just by looking at the art, without even reading anything.

Character: 10
Honestly, I like the characters in Fuuka a lot. Fuuka's character is a music lover who needs music to feel complete. Haruna is a likeable character who keeps to himself, and values peace of mind. Although, he's a bit dense. The best character in my opinion is the gay guy, Mikasa. He seems like he's got Haruna's back no matter what, and will help him build his relationship with Fuuka. As I said before; I like the characters. But liking characters isn't enough to give them a 10. What made the characters worthy of a 10 was the cameos from other manga written by Kouji Seo! If anybody has read Kimi no Iru Machi, you see Haruto crying on the train after he breaks up with Yuzuki. Then a little girl walks up to him, hands him the fallen ring and says "Boys shouldn't cry." What's this girl's name? FUUKA! Time skip several years to the final chapter of Kimi no Iru Machi, and a girl bumps into Haruto as she's running through a crowd. Who's this girl? FUUKA! Now, we get to the cameos in Fuuka. When Haruna is looking at the movie tickets in his hand deciding who to take, the movie was Half & Half. AN OTHER MANGA BY KOUJI SEO! Then on the train, Mikasa is wearing sunglasses, then asks him "Where did you get those sunglasses?" He says "Mizumoto Restaurant." Who owns Mizumoto Restaurant? MIZUMOTO-SENPAI FROM KIMI NO IRU MACHI! *sorry for the rant*

Enjoyment: 10
So far, I'm in love with this manga. Even before chapter 15, Haruna realizes he's in love with Haruna. By then, I knew I was hooked. I'm seriously enjoying this. It's awesome!

Overall: 10
All in all; I'd recommend this manga to anybody who reads manga in general. This will have you statring at your screen, waiting for the next chapter. I wish there were more stories like this in the world. Oh wait, there are. ANY OTHER MANGA WRITTEN BY KOUJI SEO!

**DOES NOT CONTAIN SPOILERS**

Simply put, many of the bad reviews for Fuuka are due to a single plot twist. Just one.

A plot twist so atypical of this genre, so uncharacteristic of the creator, and so devastatingly unexpected given the premise of the story that it was *bound* to divide readers into two very distinct groups: those who drop the series on the spot vs. those who can't stop reading if they wanted to.

After slamming my laptop shut, storming out of my living room, and screaming off my balcony for 15 angry minutes, I found myself in the latter.

IF YOU ARE THINKING ABOUT SPOILING IT FOR YOURSELF, PLEASE DO NOT. I don't think I've ever been so emotionally shaken by a single chapter of fiction—manga, literature, or otherwise—but despite the rough ride, I've found myself wishing I could forget it all to experience it again.

If you can push through the psychological trauma, the payoff is well worth it. The characters are vivid and unique. The plot is expertly-paced and unforgettable. The art is expressive, attractive, and not overly-stylized. Seo Kouji, a legend of the Slice of Life/Romance genre, is at the very top of his craft.

While many may disagree, as a fan of Kouji's Suzuka (the prequel series), I find Fuuka to be a massive improvement because of—not despite—the apparent differences. Suzuka was more steadily-paced and the plot developments were slow and incremental. It was defined by long chapters of anxious internal monologues and running-gag fillers in between short bursts of romantic drama.

Of course, this is the standard fare for the Slice of Life/Romance genre, but I found myself loving being swept up in the whirlwind of passion and character-driven plot movement that is Fuuka. There have been no "minor/forgotten" characters. There have been no "back where they started" filler arcs. The lack of hesitation in advancing the story has been unbelievably refreshing and addictive.

If you read Slice of Life/Romance for the scenic, slow-to-grow love stories, you will enjoy Fuuka, but you may not fall in love with it. If the moments of passion, character development, and emotional tension are why you gravitate towards the genre, you will not be able to put this down.

Yes, it's a rocky ride. Yes, it's not what we expected from Seo Kouji. No, I would NOT have it any other way. Fuuka is as close to a "perfect" manga as I've ever read.

SPOILER ALERT!

This is my first manga review and the first time I have sat down and read nearly 150 chapters without stopping. I loved it and can't wait for more!

Much of the criticism comes from the early death of the title character. In my opinion, the death is what allows the story and characters to go far beyond a typical high school slice of life/band story. The tragedy allows the characters to have much more depth and maturity. It is a catalyst to allow the characters to become stronger as individuals and as a band.

The love interests are all realistic and as someone who's first love passed away during college, it really resonates. These emotions allow incredible music to be written and act as an outlet for the emotional overload caused by tragedy.

The characters all have their own unique personalities and quirks. Even if you don't like a character, the character/story development allows you to at least understand that everyone has their own reasons/experiences for why they do what they do.

Art work was really solid and consistent. Also, it's nice to have a story that starts in high school but isn't a high school manga. It is just the first step in their journey. My favorite part starts after the tragedy and them leaving school. Lastly, I really like how much the manga has focused on the music/band lifestyle and difficulties of becoming pro.

Cons/things people might not like. (none of it bothered me)
*lots of nude scenes
*sometimes the pacing during songs/concerts went a bit too fast.
*sometimes you want to slap yuu-kun for not being a bit more forward with the ladies.(JUST KISS HER ALREADY!!!)

Overall, if you want a mature story about starting a band and one that forces you to confront difficult emotions, this is the perfect one for you!. It has music, love, heartbreak, friendship, real life shit, humor, and much much more. Enjoy Fuuka and thanks for reading my first manga review!

Spoilers so be alert: I have just started reading Fuuka yesterday May 4 2016, so I'm a bit late about the shit that it is happening.

So Fuuka, Akitsuki Fuuka, the daughter of Akitsuki Yamato and Akitsuki Yamato, both main characters of "Suzuka" is already dead, and followed by another girl who is named is Aoi Fuuka the child of the one who is driving the truck that hit Fuuka, at first I can't believe that she died and both Fuukas are knew each other just because of the guitar pick which has been missing and soon have been found, and both of them separated each other after that.

The question is this, who is the real Fuuka? the Fuuka who is alive? or dead? What if she isn't really dead, the Akitsuki household just wants to hide Fuuka's real status, that she maybe in a coma because of the accident, then just held a funeral, because to avoid all of the ruckus that may happen because she is also a daughter of two legendary athletes. Well that's just what I want to happen, because she died so early or yet why did she have to die in the first place? Just to be replaced by Aoi Fuuka? Why was she at the cover page? Why is she the one who bumped Eba Yuzuki after Kimi Machi?


I really like Seo sensei's manga stories because I read all of them non stop, I just don't want the cast of Suzuka being sad and all because even the title just like her mother's has been given to her, then there is her death and another Fuuka, why sensei? Well even though this pisses me off big time, I still want to read how the story will be portrayed, even if the real Fuuka that is being mentioned in the title is Aoi Fuuka, who right now in Chapter 106 is being pursued by Haruna Yuu.

background:
I'm a new fan of Seo, Koija I started with Kimi no iru machi and then went to read Suzuka now Fuuka. So I was quite excited to read this. It is a continuation of the same universe of the three stories. They have some cameos of the other characters from both series which is always fun and nice.

Story: What is this about? Well its about Yuu-Haruno your typical shy guy who can't communicate in person but is obsessed with twitter. That all changes with a chance meeting with Fukka. (Who is the daughter of Suzuka and Akitsuki). They become friends and meet some other character and they decide to create a band. Then something F****** TRAGIC happens. That s*** shook me. It almost made me want to stop reading because it came out of no where. It was so unsuspected but I trusted SEO writing and continued reading. The story in the end was quite wholesome. It deals with the tragedies of loss and coping with hardships. I really enjoyed the story as a whole. It was one of my first music based manga's I've read. I would absolutely recommend reading this story by SEO but warning it will hit you in places.

MC: Usually you get really annoyed at the MC for being shy and having no gall but Yuu-Haruna is different. He feels more real as a character/person. He acts in a realistic in the way things happen. He may be too optimistic vs the usual pessimist.

Fuuka tells the story of 5 students (initially) who decide to start a band after some events. It is a very common plot in this type of work, but the way it is counted makes all the difference.

Things you need to know:
Seo-sensei(author) has a unique universe in which some of his works take place in parallel, they are:
- Suzuka; prequel to Fuuka (tells the story of his parents); You don't need to read to understand Fuuka..
- Kimi no Iru Machi; Which has no connection with the previous two, but takes place in the same world and sometimes the characters interact in their works.


Strong points:
- All the characters are extremely pleasant (of course, they have their difficult moments, but none hateful).

- The protagonist and most of the supporting characters have real development and growth, you really feel that each situation happened to make you someone better. And yes, understand that he was a NEET and so it starts out super dense, but there is a lot of evolution in that part.

- There is real romance and not those meaningless flirtations of some works that do not advance or take a lifetime to show affection (kiss)


Story 7/10
As I said, it is a very common story and has nothing very original, what makes it good is the way it is told and the development of each situation (yes, it deserves recognition). I will talk about my considerations at the end with spoilers, because I could not give a higher score in this regard.

Art: 9/10
The character designs are fantastic, especially the female ones. I have never seen in any work the care for body curves that this author has. Beautiful faces, fantastic scenery (especially in the presentation) and best of all, the pictures convey a lot of feelings!

Character: 8/10
This should be 10/10, but some of the author's decision making during the work made me step back. Make no mistake, all the main characters are very well developed and some of the support characters to, but in my final remarks I explain why I couldn't give a higher grade.

Enjoyment: 8/10
I read Fuuka twice and once more starting from chapter 130, so you can imagine if it's enjoyable or not. The reason for not being a score of 10 is more a matter of opinion about some events in the work.

Final Conclusion
**There's a lot of SPOILERS, so just read if you're like me. When I get spoiler I feel even more eager to see this happening on paper**

Yuu Haruna is a NEET who meets Fuuka in a funny situation. They become friends, Haruna ends up meeting his bandmates through Fuuka. Then we met Koyuki Hinashi, a childhood friend of Haruna with whom he was always in love and both share the same dream. So far cliché.

* Reasons why I consider the general story (not the character development) to be the weak point of this work

- 2 point:
The author has a courageous decision to kill the female protagonist at the beginning of the work, I thought it was fantastic (although sad) the development of the other characters was fabulous, but then he cowered and created a second Fuuka female main character. In my opinion the outcome of this work should be Fuuka as a kind of motivator for Haruna's songs while he continues his life with his bandmates without ever losing his affection for her (Fuuka) but overcoming his feelings to open up to something new . At this point he would have 2 female characters as possible for his sequel in the novel, Koyuki or Sara. Why don't I consider Shelley? Because she has a solid career that she would have to give up to be part of these possibilities. This question of Haruna overcoming some things due to having met another Fuuka has weakened in my opinion the real value of the character's development.

- 1 point:
Hinashi, Koyuki. As I said, almost all the characters are well developed, but Koyuki is forgotten during a good part of the work after his "main arc". As I said above, for me, she should have been Haruna's romantic couple due to the influence that Fuuka had on both of them. She confessed her feelings to Haruna because she was afraid that Fuuka would steal him, she became stronger after the way she saw Haruna after Fuuka's death, she always supported him. I believe that the feeling of "we are grateful that you existed Fuuka" in a relationship between Koyuki and Haruna would be fantastic and in the end make them lovers, but rivals (with Koyuki on the hedgehog vocals) would give a great outcome to the work. But I believe it was strategic for the author to forget about Koyuki to focus on the development of Fuuka Aoi.


Excuse me because I am not a native English speaker, I hope you enjoy this fantastic work.