Fuuka

One of the anime I was eagerly looking forward to in 2017, after being a fan of the manga for a while now, I was filled with anticipation with the anime release.

Fuuka is romance-drama story, set in the backdrop of the modern music industry, following Yuu Haruna, a meek and shy high school student who was thrust in the world of contemporary music while working hard to be honest with himself and thoroughly convey his feelings, thoughts and wishes to his friends and to the object of his affection.

The animation and production was done very well, and the I think the seiyuu they picked for the title role of Fuuka Akitsuki was spot on (really captures the kind of girl what I had imagined while reading the manga). The way the songs are done really live up to the expectations I had of the Hedgehog songs; the energy, tempo, and overall feel of the lyrics and vocals. Actually, when I first heard the song in the teaser trailer, it added to my eagerness to see the series.

But that was all that is good with the anime. The story fell short of the essential things that made me took interest in the series in the first place. Some of the character's personalities were watered down, so that the plot can be fit in a 12 episode anime without creating any holes in the story. Though the anime took a more pleasant, less heart breaking turn towards the end compared to its manga counterpart, it did leave a less bitter taste as the anime concluded.

I don't know how the anime version would stand to those who haven't read the manga, but in my opinion, the anime adaptation paled in comparison in terms of the depth and development of the characters.

As the anime of "Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun" led me to take interest in the manga... with this series, I didn't quite get that feel. The way the characters are made didn't make them lovable enough to make me look into them further.  But it did do a good job of tying up the end of the story as the manga is still on going.

(note: after learning about the origin of Fuuka's parents from the series "Suzuka", it did stir quite an interest in me to watch/read about it as it was likened to another series that made me fell in love with anime, "Love Hina")