Fuuka (2017)

[風夏]

Director: Keizo Kusakawa
Studio: Diomedéa
Starring: Yusuke Kobayashi, Lynn, Saori Hayami
Episodes: 12

Synopsis:
A socially withdrawn boy gets roped into an energetic girl's dream of starting a band.

Impressions:
I stumbled onto this series and decided to give it a try. I'd seen the cover of its predecessor Suzuka and the title character there had always managed to catch my eye. Given that the eponymous Fuuka is the near-identical daughter of Suzuka, just as a matter of visual appeal, I was willing to give it a shot. There's a fair bit of sophomoric fanservice at first that thankfully gets toned down a bit as the series goes on. I pretty well liked the aesthetics and there was just enough to the character dynamics to keep me going. As the plot focused more and more on music, it got increasingly unrelatable for me, but that wasn't much of an impediment. The melodrama is fairly predictable and the way it all plays out isn't terribly satisfying. The anime diverges dramatically from the original manga and I have to admit that I was more entertained by the fan response than the series itself. It's not a terrible show by any means and if the characters sufficiently click with you, you stand a good chance of enjoying yourself. I have much more mixed feelings, however, and can't recommend it any stronger than a take it or leave it. Avoid Truck-kun.

Rating:
50/50