Run Time: Feb 12, 2014 - Apr 4, 2018 Author: Kouji Seo Publisher: Kodansha Volumes: 20 (195 chapters) Welcome back everyone! This week will be another manga week. The reason why I've been writing about mangas lately is because it's just more convenient for me to read mangas during my downtime at work and this week has been pretty hectic. That being said, I have read this whole manga from start to finish in three days... If you have been following me on my social media, you definitely know how addicted I was to this manga. Writing about Suzuka last week got me curious to read Fuuka since it is kind of the sequel to the former. I have watched the anime and was really into it, so I wanted to check out the manga. Boy was I in for a treat ɷ◡ɷ Kouji-sensei really has outdone himself with this series and I have read his other works including Suzuka and Kimi no Iru Machi. I was lucky enough to start reading it when the series was already completed. Waiting weekly for some chapters would have left me dying... Let's go ahead and learn what Fuuka is all about! Synopsis: Yuu Haruna is a high school-aged boy who recently moved to Tokyo where his older sister lives. Yuu-kun and his two other sisters were forced to move away from their hometown because their parents decided to move overseas for work. Yuu-kun is your typical anti-sociable kid who spends most of his days on twitter; narrating his life to his followers. On his first day in Tokyo, he was charged to get dinner from the convenience store to feed himself and his three sisters. While tweeting on his phone, a random girl bumps into him whilst running. Upskirt scene ensues and the girl, thinking that Yuu-kun is taking a picture, smashes his phone and runs off. Stunned and confused, Yuu finds something that the girl dropped: a CD. He picks it up and holds onto it, thinking that he will return it to the girl if he ever meets her again. Yuu-kun is found at his new school finishing off the transfer paperwork and tours his new school. On his tour, he sees the girl who ran into him and destroyed his phone, Fuuka Akitsuki. An argument ensues where Fuuka thinks Yuu is just a pervert who wants to keep taking pictures of her panties and throws his phone off the rooftop. Fuuka soon learns that it was all a misunderstanding and that he is actually a nice guy and their bonds quickly strengthens. As their friendship grows, Fuuka searches for her calling in life and discusses this emptiness she has in her heart. Trying track and field like her parents, it was not the thing she needed to fill that emptiness. After going to a concert for Yuu's childhood friend Koyuki Hinashi, a popular idol, Yuu suggests that Fuuka start a band. Inspired, Fuuka enlists Yuu as her bassist and starts off her dream to become a musician. Storyline: OH...MYY....GOSSHHH... YOU GUYS. This story is by far one of the best stories I have ever read. This whole series has got me turning pages nonstop throughout the volumes. This manga has made me laugh, cry, depressed, excited, anxious, etc. I have never felt so many emotions from a series other than Clannad. This series is a not-so-conventional love story that grabs your attention and heart and never lets it go. This can be seen by Fuuka's determination to become the greatest band in Japan just like the famous Hedgehogs (pictured above). She does not like to take other's criticisms and forges her own path, causing everyone she comes across to follow her lead. She sticks in the minds of everyone and causes them to push themselves more. That type of charisma is something that only Fuuka can have and is made clear in the story. Her care-free, go-get-them attitude is a stark contrast to Yuu's shyness and timidness. The other characters that are introduced later on completely rounds out the group. The band initially plays covers of their favorite band and quickly grabs people's attentions. The band then starts making their own music and makes a name for themselves, signifying that they are not living in Hedgehogs' shadows anymore and want to grow. Unlike its predecessor. Fuuka is a love story that is not a love story. In Suzuka, the two leads are the main focus of the manga and how their relationship develops. In Fuuka, it starts off similar but quickly changes direction and tells you a different story. The love interest between Yuu and Fuuka is just a spark to ignite the flames of the true story revealed later on in the manga (if you guys read the manga, you know about the infamous chapter 36). It's still technically a love story, but a story about the love for music and for the people that help the band become the greatest that they can be. The story is so rich that every character you meet essentially has a back story as to why they got into music and why they need to reach their goals. Even the side characters who are not directly affecting the Fallen Moon have some type of background. I love this because it shows you the humanity between people and how their interactions with each affects the lives of the others. You root for each character you come across because each of them has their own aspirations and goals they want to achieve in music. This story is so well-rounded and beautifully written that the more I think about the series, the more I fall in love with it. It is so well written that even during the concert scenes, I was still getting goosebumps despite not being able to hear the music. This may be due to the way the art was drawn, but I felt like I had to put it here because understanding the story behind the songs makes the impact more meaningful. I am a big fan of Kouji-sensei's work, but I have to say this is his best work yet. Art: The art in this manga is simply fantastic. Kouji-sensei was able to capture all of the beauty and atmosphere of the scene. It is clearly seen when bands are performing and the accents he puts into the panels really makes you feel the impact of the song even without hearing what it should sound like. Facial expressions are also important in getting the emotion across to the reader. You can see the conflicts the characters are experiencing or lost in thought (look at Fuuka above) or just in awe of what they are witnessing. As you can see, Kouji-sensei is particular about the details and makes everything clean on his panel transitions. Despite most of the concert scenes coming from rock bands, you never get lost in what's happening nor is there too much clutter. The panel transitions are pretty self-explanatory for people who are used to reading in a right-to-left format as he follows the traditional template in a majority of his scenes. The characters are also unique in their design. Even though some characters look similar, they are deliberately drawn that way to confuse the characters and the readers of that person's identity or to catch them off-guard. Just like their backstories, each character has a different type of fashion style or stance that defines who they are as a person and as a personality on stage. Their demeanor also changes when they are in private versus when they go on stage or around certain bands. The most prominent in personality changes is seen with Yuu-kun. He really has the most character growth out of everyone in this series starting from a timid boy to becoming the unnamed leader of the band. His facial expressions are on spot especially when he puts his game face on. You can't but help to feel inspired and follow him! Anime Adaptation: There was an anime that aired back in 2017 during the winter season. It only has 12 episodes with no indication that a second season will be worked on. I actually watched the anime before I read this manga and I loved it. I did read some bits that the manga was drastically different than from the anime, and they were right. The beginning was pretty similar but then diverges. It's not a bad thing per se, but it does set the tone for the story differently between the two. The art styles are pretty similar except that in the colored pages of the manga tend to have darker shades and tones than the bright and lively anime. The biggest thing about having the anime adaptation is that they actually had songs created for the three most used songs in the manga. Being able to hear the music gives it that extra push and I am unashamed to say that I listened to them on repeat while I was reading the manga. I even sometimes play the songs in my head. That's another thing that Kouji-sensei really stepped it up and went beyond what was needed for this series. Recently, he even was able to collaborate with an artist (stage name Lynn) to create the final song that Yuu writes for the band, "Wings of Light". I will post it after this section so you can hear it. It really is an amazing song. WARNING- THE VIDEO HAS SOME SPOILERS FROM THE MANGA. Overall Impression: I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE THIS SERIES ⊙▽⊙. I can't stop thinking about how good it is and I might be hyping it for you guys too much but this is how I feel. I can't say but good things about this series. The only bad that I can think of is the stuff that happens in the anime with its inconsistencies within its own story. As for the manga, I have no gripe with anything that Kouji-sensei wrote and loved the direction he took with the story. At certain points, I hated him and his decisions but learned to now appreciate it as the story developed further. If you don't want to read any of the other recommendations I made earlier, AT LEAST READ THIS ONE! YOU WON'T REGRET IT. Thank you guys for making it to the end of this really long post. I tried adding some things that I thought would give you more of an idea of the series so you can make your own opinions. If you read or watched the anime, let me know your thoughts on my twitter (@jamesleuterio) or comment below! Also, I will be at AX2018 tomorrow (7/7/18) with PanduhJess so come meet us if you see us walking by! We would both love to meet you all! 'Til next week friends!
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Coffee senpaiJust an Otaku who also loves his coffee. Grab some coffee and watch anime with me ٩(θ‿θ)۶ Posts for this blog every Friday!
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