Suzuka Vol. 2 – DVD Review

Hey, everyone’s favorite psychopathic bitch is back in Suzuka Volume 2! Who am I referring to? Hint: her name is Suzuka.

DVD Blurb:
Realizing he might never amount to more than just a friend, Yamato finally finds it within himself to confess his feelings for Suzuka. But whoever said change is good didn’t think things completely through! Unfazed… Okay, maybe slightly fazed, the young man decides to step up his efforts. And what better place to pursue a high jumper than at track practice?

As mixed signals and high school hormones keep the gang busy running in circles, it seems as if just about everyone’s jumping to join the team! And as Suzuka tolerates nothing but the best from her teammates, setting the bar pretty high… Well, Yamato’s best just isn’t good enough!

Analysis:
This volume of Suzuka is both really frustrating, and really entertaining at the same time. I can’t really relate with the main characters Suzuka and Yamato. Suzuka is just a bit too bipolar for my tastes, and Yamato turns into a stalker in this volume… I still like Honoka, though she’s maybe a bit obsessed with Yamato as well. The only normal ones are Yamato’s playboy pal (I can’t remember his name) and Miki, the new hotness on the track team. Miki has such a hot voice!

The entertaining parts come when the characters fail. Like when Yamato confesses to Suzuka and she rejects him. Then he cries. And THAT is entertainment. Probably the best part of the anime so far is when Yamato quits the track team. Suzuka taunts him for quitting, even though she wasn’t the most encouraging person around. Yamato basically hands it to her and she ends up slapping him. AWESOME! I really have to say, this is emo high school drama done to perfection!

Maybe it’s bad that I get entertainment out of watching these characters (who I really dislike) failing at life. Nah.

In the last episode of this volume, we sorta find out why Suzuka is such a crazy bitch. Apparently the guy she liked was hit by a truck on his way to a track meet. But somehow I don’t think that gives Suzuka the right to go postal on Yamato. He should just totally go after Miki or Honoka. Or both.

Animation:
I noticed that around the 6th episode, the animation consistency and quality took a total nosedive. Like the characters faces looks way funky. I mean, Suzuka’s ears are always way too big, but Miho started looking really weird. Luckily the quality seemed to revert to “average” towards the later episodes of the volume.

Conclusion:
I’m probably enjoying this anime for all the wrong reasons (or the right reasons, in the case that the creator of this story is an emo mastermind). But hey, Suzuka is way too entertaining. The story plays to the pathos for sure, and in this case, it wins.