Anime Pilgrimage RTT

Suzuka – episodes 23-26

It’s over, and I’ve got to be honest: If I wrote Suzuka I would have appended the word “bitch” to every time that Yamato conceded defeat to Suzuka’s harrassment.

Suzuka turns out okay; the problem inherent in this kind of series is that it’s always some kind of stubbornness holding characters back from one another and preventing them from anything approximating honesty. I will admit that Suzuka’s block and self defence had some kind of rationality behind it, but she was tapping into her own fear to prevent herself from going ahead.

What we end up with here is standard romance, dressed up with an ice queen female protagonist, a lot of internal monologue, and a dead-end sports plot. Suzuka is okay, but it’s not overly pretty or well done and the penultimate episode descends into pure cliché of the highest order.

Spoilers hereafter
Continue reading Suzuka – episodes 23-26…

Suzuka – episodes 19-22

I won’t complain about how contrived all of this drama is. Okay, I will. Also I find the idea of instilling Yamato with a selfish dedication to track with only four episodes left to be a semi-insult. Simply put, how can one guy manage to say entirely the wrong thing on so many occasions? I can’t comprehend.

Spoilers yonder. Additional warning: editorialising even in episode summary.

 Continue reading Suzuka – episodes 19-22…

Suzuka – episodes 15-18

Yeah! Everyone’s using everyone! Or, more accurately, Yamato is using Honoka, and Suzuka is using Yamato. Man, they’re all doomed.

Spoilers ahead
Continue reading Suzuka – episodes 15-18…

Suzuka – episodes 11-14

A spot of very good stuff right here, almost certainly destined for a fall. I find it sad just how much Suzuka panders to the plot with her wildly fluctuating mood.

All Suzuka entries from now on will be spoiler mine fields
Continue reading Suzuka – episodes 11-14…

Suzuka episodes 6-10

Images come from episodes 8, 9 and 10

I got some great feedback from my last Suzuka ramblings: “I liked it too, at first,” was the gist of the arguments, “But by the end I wished all of the characters were dead.”
As a result I’ve decided to return to my old style of writing completed series in instalments as it’s a hell of a lot easier to write and my initial goal in writing this site was to chart how I felt towards a series as it progressed (hence “pilgrimage”). Basically it’s selfish writing, but I like it.

Right now, Suzuka is walking a very fine line between frustration and enjoyable drama. There are surprises in these episodes, and a new character, but Suzuka partially reverts to type in a big disappointment.
Continue reading Suzuka episodes 6-10…

Suzuka – advance review (episodes 1-5)

For the life of me I can’t find time to sit down at my computer and watch anime and cap it at the moment. I’ve been watching Suzuka on the train, though, so I’ll say a few words about it.

Suzuka is one of the most horribly derivative anime ever made, if you go by a general series overview; it’s about a teenaged boy who moves to his aunt’s house for school. His aunt’s house happens to be a female only dormitory with its own bath house built in. Plus he has a crush on a high jumping girl who turns out to be his neighbour and upon whom he makes a bad impression.

Yet, despite that, there’s an air of charm to Suzuka: it doesn’t play to the violent stereotypes of this genre, nor does it emphasise fanservice. In addition to this, it is on some level a sporting anime and is presented in a distinctly unpretentious fashion.
Continue reading Suzuka – advance review (episodes 1-5)…