This review contains major spoilers for chapter 36 of Fuuka Fuuka was... certainly something I suppose. Though I suppose did it to myself. For any fan there will undoubtedly be an anime/manga that will leave a mark on them leave them with a lasting impression that they wont quite be able to shake. Neon Genesis Evangelion Ranma Cowboy Bebop and Akira are just a few such anime for me if you were wondering. That isnt to say the impression is always a pleasant one. Fuuka is also an anime I just cant shake no matter how much I want to. Its one of the few anime Ive completed that just left a bitter taste in my mouth that no amount of mouthwash can erase. This review isnt for the anime so Ill give you the quick and dirty Fuuka initially started as a sliceoflife about a shy awkward boy and his outgoing classmate. The animes focus shifts onto music but what will stick out more is a frustrating love triangle and the annoying two main characters. Infuriatingly the lesser of the two love interests wins out. Most notably towards the end of the anime Fuuka is seconds away from being hit by a truck. This would be the most dramatic the most interesting moment for the show. She inexplicably survives and the mediocre anime concludes predictably a few episodes later. Anyone who follows this anime knows that in the manga Fuuka does indeed perish due to the vehicle named Truckkun by viewers. Ill make no bones about it. I picked up the manga so I could see Fuuka die. 220https://pm1.narvii.com/6367/a31afc62dfbbd3f67b4a9186db801e48dafbe84fhq.jpg 220https://images.sgcafe.net/2017/03/truckkun.png And I was satisfied. She was in fact quite dead. The question becomes what comes after? Is it worth reading until the end? Is it even worth reading up to the arrival of Truckkun? Fuuka starts off interesting enough. Sure Fuuka may be annoying initially but the premise of a socially awkward boy whos obsessed with Twitter opening up to people is interesting enough. Its surprisingly not too hamfisted either. Compared to the anime at least the lovetriangle is handled fine and I care about the band members. The character dynamic is good and it actually doesnt take forever for relationships to progress. The band aspect is interesting theres genuine conflict and the characters are likable enough. I was actually surprised that I ended up liking Fuuka as much as I did. I hate to admit it but I was actually kind of sad in addition to gleeful when her day of reckoning came. So over all yeah Id say the manga starts off pretty solid. Its funny its interesting its fastpaced. And the truckkun incident is handled pretty well too. It comes out of nowhere yes but I enjoyed seeing the grief that the characters dealt with as a result of Fuukas death. Allinall pretty good stuff. What comes after is when things start to fall apart. The main character Yuu soon decides he wants to carry out Fuukas dream of having their band perform at a famous concert venue where The Hedgehogs their favorite musical group played. After getting the band back together they decide to start chasing the dream they shared in order to make it a reality. Soon Yuu runs into a singer whos coincidentally also named Fuuka and bears an uncanny resemblance to the Fuuka we know. The two soon grow closer and any reader whos even a bit savvy can guess what happens next. This alone will make many roll their eyes but there are even weirder plot points to come. I actually think plot points such as these are some of Fuukas greatest strengths. As insane and/or contrived as they are they keep the story interesting and keep readers on their toes. Unfortunately these are few and far between and were left with more mundane nonsense plot points which are great at irritating readers. Not to mention Fuukas greatest weakness poor plot progression. They say the journey is more important than the destination but Fuuka wants to cross a country in a brokendown jalopy. We get nowhere fast and even as the band plays more and more concerts and gains notoriety it always seems like theyre in dire straits with no clout to speak of. This is my biggest problem with Fuuka: the plot seems to slow to a crawl and become cyclical in nature. Band is struggling and practically unheard of band overcomes struggle and become more famous band is struggling and practically unheard of. The manga cant really seem to shake this until close to the end of its 195chapter run. I dont doubt this is how it is for many bands in the real world but that doesnt make it any more enjoyable to read in my opinion. It just really gets tiring after a while. With Fuuka however youll come to enjoy boredom because when Fuuka isnt boring its infuriating with idiotic plot points and characters acting dumb. You have no idea how many times a character frustrated me due to a stupid misunderstanding. In particular one character acts nothing but horrible to the main characters but they learn to love them and brush the behavior aside as tough love or something. But...I dont know the series certainly has its moments. The last arc in particular was terrific and adrenaline pumping. The long journey finally seemed to pay off with the main characters growing their skills being shown and all the friends they made along the way having meaningful roles in the end. Its a little too late but Id be lying if I said it didnt bring a smile to my face make me exclaim in shock and think the journey was pretty good in hindsight. Do I think Fuuka is a good manga? No. The last paragraph might just be stockholm syndrome speaking. Fuuka as the sum of its parts is average at best. It has some genuine great chapters but theyre grossly outnumbered by chapters that are meh at best. It isnt terrible but if theres merit to it then who do I recommend it to and how do I do it? As a general reader the evolution of a band is a cool concept but Im sure there are other manga that do it better. The romance grows more and more lackluster as the series grows on. Really the only person that might get something out of this are fellow viewers of the anime adaptation. If you saw the anime and for some reason want to see how things could have turned out you could pick up Fuuka. Even if its not that great on its own it still blows the anime out the water and perhaps youll feel that your time wasnt wasted after all Koyukis still largely a joke though. But I try my best not to rate fiction in relation to other works. With this in mind Fuuka simply isnt worth the time investment. On concept its great in execution its painfully average six times out of ten. 5.9/10