Koji Seo (瀬尾 公治) is a Japanese manga creator from Shobara, Hiroshima, Japan.
He debuted in 1996 with the one-shot HALF & HALF in Magazine Fresh. His two hits, Suzuka and Cross Over, both mixed the genres of sports with high school romance. Suzuka focused on track and field while Cross Over used basketball. He was an assistant to Tsukasa Ōshima, and respects Fujiko F. Fujio and Masahito Soda. In 2009 he designed the High School Girl Kimchi for Hokubi Construction food company.
He has stated in an interview that he was a member of his high school's track and field team and that he loves to watch baseball both emphasized in his hit manga Suzuka.
Yuu Haruna is a teen introvert who lives with his three sisters while their parents are away, and the only thing he has for companionship is his cell phone. He gets a big surprise in the form of Fuuka, a teen girl with a vibrant personality who loves music. Despite their bad start, she quickly takes a friendly liking to him and both even attend the same high school and hang out with a friend of her. Yuu slowly becomes more and more curious about her with a few surprises in store for him.
“Fuuka” is a pretty simple “boy meets girl” story that has many fun moments while also being a bit serious. The title character is the perfect zing to this manga as she helps Yuu be more social and getting him out of his shell. For now, it’s a wonderful story that looks like it’ll have romantic issues and “will they or won’t they” moments. A- (91%/Excellent)
Kodansha's digital summer sale brought another shelf-full of new-to-me manga. First up, an entry in a genre that doesn't really exist in Anglophone comics - the romance comic for boys. However, while it may not exist in comics, it's not like I'm unfamiliar with the wish-fulfilment conventions here: the one-of-a-kind quirky girl who turns a shy boy's life around, and the sensitive boy who doesn't realise how secretly crushworthy he is, are semi-familiar figures from Hollywood and indie pop. The wish fulfilment doesn't end with the casting, of course: Fuuka announces in its first scene that it has no fear of fan service panty shots.
It's not just the upskirt camera angles that make this stuff somewhat icky - as with sensitive-guy indie and manic pixie blah blah, there's a feeling the audience here is being sold a pup, and a pup with every potential of growing up and turning mean when actual human beings don't turn out as adorable as this. So a fairly urgent question with this stuff is always: how close do these people seem to actual human beings? In the case of Fuuka, not very, which is annoying as the pacing, execution, and the fact that it's a romcom about pop fans and stars gives this real candyfloss appeal.
So I doubt I'll be reading more - but I'm glad I checked this out, if only as a benchmark for shonen romance manga so I can better appreciate the series that improve on it.
New awkward boy meets a popular but strange girl discovering the bond that pulls them together. Of course there are going to be even more awkward moments, Occasional violent outbursts, mistaken intentions, and a potential love triangle in the future but this is an interesting manga with good character interactions that at least by the first volume seems to have potential for a fun time. If you are looking for a new slice of life school story try giving this one a try.
Intriguing premise about a young man obsessed with tweeting and the girl he meets who doesn’t even have a cellphone, let alone social media accounts. It’ll be interesting to see what kind of an effect they have on each other’s lives, especially with the addition of the high school friend angle.
I lost count of the underage panty shots, which would have been annoying enough if this was an engaging story to begin with. But I never was invested in the story, perhaps because I was annoyed by three panty shots in the first chapter alone.
Teenager and social media nerd Yuu, who moved into a new town, joins a school and accidentally encounters a strange girl named Fuuka Akitsuki who does not have a cell phone and who listens to music from an outdated CD player. Could this be the beginning of a new friendship for Yuu, or a love relationship?
"Fuuka" by Kouji Seo is the sequel manga series to his older manga story "Suzuka". Published around ten years after "Suzuka", the manga "Fuuka" is a direct follow-up in that it focuses on the character Fuuka who is the daughter of Suzuka and Yamato Akitsuki, both of whom were athletes in their school track team in their younger days. Their daughter Fuuka, however, is more interested in music despite inheriting her athletic physique from her parents. And now that she found a friend in Yuu, she can attempt to follow her dream of being in the music business someday.
"Fuuka" Volume 1 starts off as a typical romantic comedy manga from the early 2010's with cliches from the time (shy boy meets outgoing aggressive girl), which are carry-overs of similar cliches found in 2000's manga. However, the antics are more restrained here and deal more on the character relationships side so far. We also get introduced to some supporting characters that are expected to play major roles later in the manga story.
The artwork is well done and crisp, with a balanced mix of bold and transparent lines in the character designs. Fresh expressions are seen in each character's face and funny moments are not too exaggerated. Background art is superbly drawn, as realistic as it gets in drawing format. Readers will get a nice taste of Japanese scenery in the drawings.
Overall a great start to a new manga series, "Fuuka" Volume 1 is a real treat to fans of Mr. Seo's previous manga "Suzuka". A nice bonus story is featured at the end of the volume that humorously shows Fuuka's parents discussing what Fuuka is interested in. As the volume contains adult situations, it is for mature readers only.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Lievästi sanottuna hieman omituinen sarja, joka alkaa siitä kun teini-ikäinen poika Yuu Haruna on ottamassa kadulla kännykällä kuvaa ja tuleekin vahingossa ottaneeksi kuvan eräästä tytöstä ja tämän alkkareista. Tyttö raivostuu kuvaamisesta niin paljon että rikkoo Yuun kännykän. Tyttö poistuu vauhdilla paikalta mutta pudottaa maahan cd-levyn.
Yuu tapaa tytön, Fuukan, heti seuraavana päivänä uudestaan, sillä he käyvät samaa koulua. Yuu palautta levyn Fuukalle ja he alkavat jutella. Ja vähän ajan kuluttua Fuuka päättää, että Yuusta tulee hänen poikaystävänsä. Ja jotta tilanne kävisi entistä sekavammaksi, kuvioon tulee mukaan Yuun lapsuudenystävä Koyuki, josta on tullut suosittu pop-laulaja, ja joka on myös ihastunut Yuuhun.
Juoni vaikuttaa kerrassaan käsittämättömältä, eikä tapahtumissa tunnu olevan mitään järkeä. Välillä tuntuu, että kohtaukset etenevät pelkästään pikkuhousujen vilahtelu ja pervo -huutojen voimalla. Lisäksi Yuu on niitä hahmoja, joita tekisi koko ajan vain mieli läimiä päin näköä, niin onnettomalta nössöltä tämä twitterin koukussa elävä poika tuntuu. En voi käsittää, miten kaksi tyttöä alkavat suorastaan kilpailemaan hänestä, mutta ehkä tämä antaa toivoa niille japanilaisille pojille, jotka tunnistavat Yuussa itsensä. No, minuun tämä ei ainakaan tehnyt vaikutusta.
Como con todos los cómics o mangas que leo... Usaré el primer tomo como señal de que lo leí completo. Es una buena historia, ligera, optimista (pese al montón de tragedias y problemas que ocurren en la obra), provoca aprender a tocar el bajo y salir con una banda a recorrer el país. Entretenida, con un muy buen dibujo y algunos paneles preciosistas
No obstante, arrastra muchos de los problemas que ya le había detectado al autor en obras como "Kimi no irumachi" como el hecho de que muchas situaciones rayan en lo telenovelesco, absurdes o sencillamente alargados innecesariamente. Siento que unos treinta capítulos menos le hubiese beneficiado.
Pese a todo, lo disfrute bastante y puedo recomendarlo por sus Personajes entrañables y su mensaje optimista.
This series is 10/10. It will make any musician for a new love for his craft, it will make (almost) any reader weep, and laugh, and smile to themselves. Kouji Seo has created a world that is entirely absorbing, one that anyone with musical experience will be able to relate to and immerse themselves within. I can still remember the first time I every played on a stage... Fuuka captures the feeling perfectly.
DON'T WATCH THE ANIME! The manga is MUCH better, as anyone who has experienced both will tell you.
This was a cute romance story that was somewhat marred by some creepy inclusions of scantily clad women, with gratuitous upskirt views and oddly explicit images of our male main character's sisters at home. Some of the characters are a bit weird, but this is manga, and that's kind of a tradition. Most of the story is cute, wistful, and mysterious, but the fanservice is a bit too much for me, and there are a few places where it is difficult to figure out who is saying what, so this might not be something I keep reading.
Je n'étais pas très emballée par le début mais la fin m'a un peu plus convaincue. Le thème de la musique me plaît, et bien qu'il y ait un peu de fan service (chose que je ne supporte pas), les personnages dégagent quelque chose qui m'intrigue et me donnent envie d'aller voir de plus près le tome 2 si l'occasion se présente. Loin d'être charmée mais pas dégoûtée non plus. A voir la suite !
I read this manga as it was released. It was so good, the anime pales in comparison. It is a must read, but bring on the tissues, you will be crying so much.
Ah another Kouji Seo series, something that simply does not exist in western graphic novels.
The Seinen/Slice of Life/Melodrama/Romance novel is a guilty pleasure of mine, it's so different from the comic books that I read that I love to read them every now and then to just feel different emotions than the ones I'm use to when reading English language comic books and Seo is one of my favorites.
World: Yes I know it's sexist, yes I know it's a bit dirty but man do I love the character designs of Seo, they are just lovely, it's not the ecchiness that I am drawn to it's the emotions on the face and the framing of emotions that makes me enjoy his art, it's so beautiful and subtle. The world building is pretty much all that matters this arc, as it's the first and there to establish the world and the main characters. It does follow the formula the Seo is known for, which I'll get to in the story section, but just different enough to make it engaging. Good stuff.
Story: This is a male perspective soap opera/wish fulfillment/slice of life/romance/comedy book. There is nothing like this in Western comic books and this is why I love this genre so much, it's different and give me a change of pace of all the explosions and fights and doom and gloom of comic book (which I love to bits). It's a story about a boy and a girl and their journey. It's about the quiet moments and the little looks and interactions that make up day to day life. The story is paced well, it's classic Seo and it's wonderful. If you are looking for a fast pace story this is not for you, if you are looking for a slow burn you will love it. The set-up and structure is pretty much similar to all Seo books where it's boy meets girl, boy falls in love, obstacles, obstacles, melodrama, misunderstandings, rivals...so yes a soap. But what I like about his stories is the slow slow slow burn and this is exactly that. This is the first arc so there is a lot of set-up but the interactions and the slow build of the relationships feels organic and that's why I like it so much.
Characters: Fuuka is a wonderful character as is Yuu they are different enough from Suzuka and Kimi no Iru Machi to make for a difference. Sure, there is a lot similar but yeah they are different enough to make me enjoy it. The set-up of the characters and the side characters is the point of this first arc and it's good. Misaki is a good edition and I think it's very good to have that third character in this relationship and a wonderfully progressive (at least for now) move to have him in the book. Good stuff, the best part of the book is found here in the subtle little dialog and stares and interactions. Gold.
A good start that makes me want to read more, wow I feel so relaxed after this compared to Blackest Night which I just finished.
Do you remember the very first manga that I featured on the blog? It was Unmasked Noise by Fukuyama Ryoko, if you haven’t read it, go check it here. Well, Fuuka is a bit, only a bit similar to it, because we have to deal with a band which wants to become famous. Well, if you have read my reviews you might be familiar with me not liking the mangas where there are either singers or artists, due to not always imagining colors or sounds come out of the paper. The exceptions are Chiba Kozue and Fukuyama Ryoko’s works. However, here in the beginning I was not really feeling the characters singing, not it was still amazing, but there was no sound coming out. Now, when I read either 40th or 41st chapter, I felt it, the sound of their voices reached me. And it was breathtaking. Maybe it was the situation too, but nevertheless it was amazing.
Manga may be starting both slow and fast. I am not making any sense, am I? Well, how do I explain it, there are only 50 chapters out or so, however the manga is only starting but it already had a lot in it. The real adventure starts now, but the prologue was a really fascinating one. I do not want to say why the manga is just starting, but if you read it, you will even understand my very first exclamations and you may even support me. I hope you take up this manga, because it does teach us to follow our dreams and that sometimes even if we are hit hard we need to find strength to stand up and keep moving, because it is our life and only we can change it.
In the beginning you may not like the characters, hell, I thought some of them were too annoying, but you will have no time to think twice about them, because they will change your life. I hope you will like it as much as I did, and when the manga is finished I will post another review, where will be quite a bit of spoilers. But that’s for later. Enjoy it to the fullest. Happy reading and don’t forget to share what you think with me!
i am enjoying myself surprisingly well for a manga that keeps pulling out panty shots
(serious q: is that actually a draw for anyone? what's the point? there's hentai out there for those in it for the perv potential so why you gotta throw these into an otherwise decent seinen storyline?)
anyways it's pretty typical kiss kiss slap slap dynamics but ehh. cute. the twitter thing feels very of the moment. also ngl, am mildly entertained by yuu's tendency to constantly note how hot mikasa is. i feel like he's going to come to some important self-realizations by the end of high school at this rate
ahhh I love it so much, what a wonderful plot line (at chapter 141) it actually made me quite emotional at times. one thing I hate --- all the up skirt shots/disgusting shots there's NO NEED for it!!!
some unrealistic details though - how they went from 100 fans to 3000 in a week
Tüm seri için yorum yapıyorum, böyle bir turn of events hayatımda okumamıştım. Karakterlerin kişilikleri ile çevrenizdeki gençlerin örtüşmesi mükemmel kurgulanmış. Filmi çıkarsa şaşırmam.