Suzuka: Volume 5

Introduction

"Soap operas thrive on regularity, but Suzuka's one volume every 4 months is ridiculous. You want to see the definition of self-discipline? Watch me avoid the temptation to import…"

I wrote that line with my tongue in cheek back last August, a little facetious note to end my review of volume 4 on. Now, 9 months later, it just seems ironic really. Revelation Films began their release of Suzuka with a schedule of one volume every four months. They then went on hiatus at the end of the year, and when they resumed releasing anime in January just gone, the trickle had become a drip. The way things stand now, it seems impossible that the remaining two volumes of Suzuka will be released this year, let alone this summer. It just seems ridiculous to have to wait over a year for the next volume in a serial anime story. I want to know how this romance ends, while I still actually have an interest in the story. So, I did finally succumb to temptation and imported the final volumes of Suzuka. The moral of this story… Even a hard working reviewer who is more used to receiving discs in exchange for blood, sweat and tears, toiling over a hot keyboard, can be pushed to letting the moths fly free from his wallet. This then, is the review of the Region 1, Funimation release of Suzuka: Volume 5.

Yamato Akitsuki is in the first year of High School, and to highlight the significant change in his life, he's decided to leave Hiroshima and head for the big city, Tokyo. The only way he can get away with this is if he lives with his aunt at her apartment complex. Aunt Ayano runs a girls' dormitory for high school and college students, renowned for its complex of baths, and Yamato will have to earn his room and board by acting as cleaner cum handyman. So far so Love Hina, but it's when he encounters athlete Suzuka Asahina that his life changes. He's entranced by the graceful high jumper; she thinks he's a dork. It's a match made in bedlam.

Do you remember what happened in volume 4? I didn't, which is why I watched the series from the beginning again before starting on volume 5. Tired of the cold shoulder, and twisting every which way trying to figure her mind out, Yamato gave up on Suzuka, and started dating Honoka, the manager of the track and field club. It was a sweet deal too, as Honoka has been burning a torch for Yamato since they were children, and he wouldn't have to develop strange mental powers to figure out what she was thinking. Except that Honoka knew that Yamato had a thing for Suzuka, and lacking self-confidence had a hard time seeing them together, even as just friends. Yamato on the other hand overcooked the attentive boyfriend thing, and just made things worse. He tried too hard on Honoka's birthday to find the right present, going as far as asking Suzuka for advice. Honoka found out, which is why we left volume 4 with Yamato having had the present thrown back into his face…

Four more episodes of Suzuka are presented on this Funimation disc.

19. Break Up
Yamato may have made his first smart decision, and started ignoring Yasanobu's advice, but it may be too little too late, as Honoka has no interest in even looking at him. When Suzuka finds out that they have been arguing, she starts feeling guilty at being the cause, but Yamato is determined to patch things up, and goes over to Honoka's house to try giving her the present again. He doesn't get the response that he's hoping for. The last thing he needs after being ditched is analysis, but the college girls are waiting for him when he gets back home, and as they get drunk in his room, their observations cut closer and closer to the bone. Of course being loud and drunk means that Suzuka hears all the gory details. When she talks to Yamato to find out what happened, he can see that she blames herself for the break up; so to save her feelings, he lies.

20. Support
Solitude isn't easy on a guy. Honoka's avoiding him, Suzuka thinks he's an irresponsible idiot again, and when the guys in track and field find out just why their delectable manager isn't coming to practice anymore, Yamato finds himself sent to Coventry. Suzuka grouses about him to her friend Miki, but something doesn't seem right to her. Yamato's too depressed to have casually dumped Honoka, and when Honoka turns up to practice the next day, it's obvious that their break up was amicable. Despite being asked to join the relay team, Yamato is worried about his motivation as an athlete, so to cheer him up, Miki asks him to treat her to dinner. She eventually pries the truth out of him, that he lied to protect Suzuka's feelings, but then he also swears Miki to secrecy.

21. Regret
Life has taken a wrong turn for Yamato ever since the break up, and it's beginning to affect his performance on the track. He can't even hold onto the baton in the relay, which is drawing the ire of his teammates. Miki decides that it is time to tell Suzuka the truth, but Yamato has somehow developed a backbone. He decides to tell her himself. He's expecting anger, abuse, anything; he isn't expecting her to just walk away.

22. Preparation
It's Yamato's second athletics meet, and he's still moping around. But for once this is constructive moping. He knows that he wants Suzuka, and he finally admits to himself that she is the main motivation in his athletics ambitions. He also realises that admitting his feelings to her will be just as unproductive as the last time. After all, he is competing with a dead guy, Suzuka's former mentor Kazuki Tsuda. The only way to earn her appreciation will be to exceed Tsuda in her eyes, and that means becoming the number one sprinter in Japan.

Picture

Suzuka gets an unproblematic 4:3 transfer, the difference here being that the Region 1 NTSC disc is a little sharper and crisper, if of a lower resolution. I also learned here that the US discs get multi-angle credit sequences, and while the re-edited English credits have those problems with aliasing, the Japanese credits are unblemished.

The animation itself is dynamic but fair, the character designs are very pleasant, and the backgrounds are simple but effective. This is a show that really doesn't need the bells and whistles, and does perfectly well without them. The pastel palette, and the lighter feel, all contribute to a generally pleasant atmosphere and the show does very well in that respect.

Sound

You get a choice of DD 2.0 English and Japanese, accompanied with translated English subtitles and a signs track. This isn't an action led show, and the dialogue is clear throughout, so the stereo track is called on to do little more than establish some atmosphere and music. I tried a little English and the dub is up to Funimation's usual high standard, but my perennial bugbear of teenaged girls apparently voiced by mature women is apparent here with the English voice actress of Suzuka. Your mileage will differ depending on how you like your dubs. Incidentally, this is one of those dubs where the theme tunes are re-recorded with English lyrics. I haven't seen that in a while, but it's a pleasant addition.

Extras

Suzuka comes in an Amaray case with a reversible sleeve, and the inside image offers the slightest hint of sauciness, 'girls in changing rooms' kind of thing.

The disc autoplays with a trailer for Instant Star Season 2, and the only way to skip it is with the title button on your remote.

On the disc, you'll find the textless credits, the Aoba High School Yearbook gallery offering a 45-second slideshow, and trailers for My Santa, Peach Girl, School Rumble, Case Closed, Tsubasa, Suzuka and the Z-Store. There's also a trailer for The Slayers Next, which is currently being released by MVM in the UK. However I was surprised to learn that the Funimation version has been remastered, and looks a damn sight better than the UK discs.

This disc also sees an actor commentary. Caitlin Glass (ADR Director) squeezes into a booth with Rob McCollum (Yasanobu) and Brina Palencia (Honoka) to talk over episode 19. It's a nice track to listen to, some ADR anecdotes, and a little girly gossip over who should be really with whom in the show, as opposed to the scripted story. They also talk about what makes the show work, and how it strikes a chord with the audience.

Conclusion

It feels like I'd never left the Suzuka universe, although rewatching the first four volumes certainly helped. The path of true love still steadfastly refuses to run smoothly for Yamato Akitsuki, while Suzuka continues to waver over her feelings for him. Half the fun is watching them inch inexorably closer, only for foot in mouth syndrome or crossed wires to thrust them apart again. If the will they won't they stage of a relationship isn't to your liking, then Suzuka isn't the show for you, as it's all about the delaying the moment. Of course if you've stuck with the show this long, then you already know that.

At the beginning of this volume though, Yamato and Honoka were an item, which is a major impediment on the road to his eventual happiness with Suzuka, but fortunately Yamato's own ability to say the wrong thing signalled the death knell for that relationship. It has to be said though, that Honoka's unrealistic expectations didn't help. The interesting thing to note at this point is that Yamato's finally beginning to grow a spine. He's been wishy-washy and indecisive, reacting to events, and not following the strength of his convictions. There's finally some promise, when he ignores Yasanobu's advice and decides to do things his own way. His way isn't ideal though, and while at least he and Honoka manage to end things on friendly terms, his wish to spare Suzuka's guilty feelings about the break up make him out to seem crass and objectionable. He really shouldn't be surprised that Suzuka suddenly finds him obnoxious.

In a way though, it is the best thing that could have happened to him, as all of a sudden he is alone and without support. He has to question just what he is doing, and what his motivations are. It means finally being honest with himself, although it does seem to send him back to square one. He realises that he is attracted to Suzuka, and she is the main reason why he is in the Athletics Club. The difference being that he has the ability, confidence, and training behind him that means he's actually competitive. Or he did have the confidence until Suzuka started hating him. It means clearing the air between them, and there is a charming scene at a Laundromat where they talk things out. Of course Suzuka's reaction leaves Yamato even more perplexed than before, but he must be getting used to that by now.

Then comes the fateful decision, one that is flawed in so many ways. Yamato decides that the only way to earn Suzuka's affection is to exceed her first love. You can see the logic of it. After all, Kazuki Tsuda holds a special place in Suzuka's heart, and Yamato can see that she can't help comparing everyone to him, but it's the last thing that he would want her to find out about. Suzuka's reaction is a little odd though. She's always nagged Yamato about being irresponsible and careless, but all of a sudden when confronted by new, single-minded focused Yamato, she seems a little sad, as if she misses the old idiot.

As usual I'm scratching the surface of this volume, there's so much else going on that I'm surprised that it all fits neatly into 20-minute episodes. I also find that I'm holding a torch for Yasanobu and Miki, as with their constant griping and teasing of one another, they obviously belong together, and I'm just waiting for them to realise it. Suzuka still impresses me with how realistic it all is for an anime. When anime romances usually revolve around the harem genre, or with stereotypical characters that play to anime conventions, such as the meek, compliant girls who cook packed lunches, or tsundere girls who can be warm and loving, when they aren't punching their love interests to kingdom come, it's refreshing to seen teenaged characters written as teens, faltering their way on the path of first love. This Region 1 disc is just the thing if you are as impatient for your anime as I, and to cheer me up even more, volume 6 arrived in the mail this morning.