A Town Where You Live - manga deep dive part 2 - First Tokyo arc

 A Town Where You Live (君のいる町) is a shonen romance by Seo Koji.  The manga ran from 2008 until 2014 and has been compiled into 27 tankoubon.  It also received a 12 episode anime adaption in 2013 that covered the first two arcs of the story, with the first arc being largely glossed over.  The series and its characters are indirectly related to Seo's prior work, Suzuka, and the ending leads directly into the continuation of that series with the manga Fuuka.

Click here to read the first part, the Hiroshima arc if you have not already.

    With that Haruto heads off to Tokyo.  He will be staying with his older sister, who lives in the same all girls dormitory that was featured in Suzuka.  He has doubts about moving to Tokyo, purely to find Eba.  Its caused a lot of trouble at home and he may be jumping to conclusions.  he has literally uprooted himself and everyone around him for the off chance that she really doesn't want to remove him from her life.  He meets another weird girl his first day there after she attacking him, fearing he was a burglar.   The girl, Mishima Asuka, lives next door and is in the same class as Haruto in his new school.  That same night he meets another classmate, a boy named Kazama Kyousuke.  Both of them try to befriend Haruto in their own ways

    Haruto doesn't have any time to bother with getting chummy though.  AFter the first day of school ends he heads directly to Eba's home only to run into her sister Rin and be rejected from meeting Eba.  Each day he repeats the process, desperate to run into her, becoming a stalker in the process.  he is bound and determine not to take her note on face value and wont be satisfied until she tells him to his face.  He suspects there is something wrong and he wants to be there to help him.  His obsession is hurting his social standing with his class.   On a day off from school Kazama wakes him up early, with Mishima in tow.  He takes them both to a race track outside of Tokyo where he pracites racing on his crotchrocket.  He tells Haruto about his dream to be a pro level racer when hes older.  Mishima tells him when they are alone the reality of the situation.  Kazama is battling some unspecified illness and theres a good chance it will prevent him from acheiving his dream.  This gives Haruto a new perspective about his brand new friends and causes him to slow down a little bit and interact more with those around him for the time.

     When one of his classmates invites Kazama with her to an event put on at the all girl high school Kyouou, Haruto jumps at the opportunity.  This is where Eba goes and he thinks this will be his best chance of running into her.  Desperate, he begs his classmate to take him with her instead.  Reluctant at first, she makes him help her put away a large collection of books donated to the schools library in exchange.  He becomes embarrassed when he sees her panties while helping her.  She misinterprets it as him being shy around her due to liking her.  After cooling of over the idea of being more popular than she though she agrees to let him go with her, as a trial for dating.  Unsure what her plans are he agrees even though it could be a problem is Eba see's him with another girl.  Kazama confronts him about his desperation to go to the all girls school, astutely figuring out its related to a girl.  left with no choice, Haruto tells him the basics of why he transferred to Tokyo.

    The classmate is in full proctor mode and considers this a date, with a grading system planned out.  Haruto is distracted however and neglects the needy girl.  As her frustration builds, she forces him to go through one classes haunted house, even though both of them are not into scary things.   The tour ends horribly and she runs off, considering him little more than a sex crazed pervert.  Unfortunately for him, Eba did see him with her, as she was part of the haunted house.  As hes makes his way out of the school grounds she confronts him and tells him what he had been waiting to here since he decided to chase after her.  In no uncertain terms she tells him that she truly did decide to break up with him and has a new boyfriend.  Now with his reason for coming to Tokyo evaporating, Haruto has to figure out what to do with him self.

    The following day in school Kazama quickly figures out what transpired.  He determined that Haruto was able to meet the girl he was chasing after truly did reject him.  In order to try and cheer him up he takes Haruto out on a ride on the back of his bike.  After driving for a while they stop to chat and reflect.  Before they can head back Kazama collapses onto his bike.  Fearing the worst, knowing hes dealing with some serious health issues, he calls an ambulance.  In the hospital Kazama chides him for over reacting, telling him it was just a bad case of anemia.  Mishima comes rushing to the hospital and confesses that she told Haruto about his health issues.  To distract them he reminds Haruto that he is going to help him fight for the girl that dumped him, just as he does Eba walks through the door, leaving Haruto speechless.  Kazama eagerly greets her and introduces them to his girlfriend.  Haruto and Eba pretend that this is the first time meet each other.  What is Haruto to do?  His new best friend is dating the girl he is chashing after.  The girl he himself said Haruto should take back from her boyfriend.

    Wanting to wrap things up he waits for Eba the following day at her home.  This time he is able to talk with her and she tells him whats been going on.  When Kazama learned she moved back to Tokyo he came to her, telling her that he had a terminal illness and wasn't expect to last a year.  Out of desperation he asks her to go out with him, hoping that being with hr can improve his attitude and work towards healing.  Caught between the long distance relationship with Haruto and giving the boy who has been chasing after her for 4 years a glimmer of hope, she decided to go out with him and leave Haruto to his own devices, not anticipating him chasing her back to Tokyo.  Haruto isn't ready to throw in the towel yet and after spelling it out to Mishima in a few words, he decides hes not going to hide anything from the man he considers his friend.  The next opportunity he has, he rushes to the hospital and lays down the challenge to Kazama.  He knows he doesn't have long to live but isn't going to let that stop him from taking Eba back from him.  Now with the secrets out of the way for everyone, Haruto feel's he can look his friend in the eye and not lie to him as he lives out the last of his days.

    In the battle to win Eba's heart, Haruto does the only thing he can think of, get to gere through her stomach.  Each day he cooks a food item, which Kazama eagerly consumes, while Eba tries to resist.  One day he shows up to find a new girl, a series girl named Kiyomi.  Kazama tells Haruto to leave but he has already overheard Kiyomi castazing him about refusing to go through with a surgery that could save his life.  The next time he sees her, Eba is there as well and the other girl digs into her, calling her a murderer, convinced that she has changed Kazama's mind about the surgery.  Haruto takes her outside to cool down where she explains why shes so made at Eba.  Haruto realizes that she is also in love with Kazama.  He now has a partner in his mission to get Eba back and he encourages her to tell Kazama about her long held feelings.  After a failed attempt she decides to give up, knowing that he is happiest he has ever been, even as he stares down his mortality, all because he finally has Eba as his girlfriend.  Haruto is not so easily dissuaded and continues the battle.

     Kazama decides to go ahead with the surgery, hoping that if its successful it will give him the opportunity to truly steal Eba way from Haruto.  He's convinced that she is only dating him out of pity and he wants to prove that their relationship is real.  Before the surgery Haruto cooks a meal and they gather for a celebration.  Kiyomi breaks down and assaults Eba, finally confessing to Kazama about her feelings for him.  As everyone is leaving, he pulls Haruto aside and tells him to try and go after his childhood friend, sicne he will have Eba for a long time.  As to be expected...he dies shortly after the surgery.  The day after the funeral, Eba drops off Kazama's motorcycle helmet to Haruto.  Kazama was serious when he said he wanted Haruto's restaurant to be the front and center sponsor for his pro racing team.  As she leaves, she tells him that they need to stop seeing each other.  Leaving him by himself, with the memories of a good friend and better rival in the helmet.

    Following the passing of Kazama, Haruto and Mishima become closer friends.  Just before winter she tells him that she likes him, but follows it up with more, obscuring her true intentions.  As winter break approaches they meet with Kiyomi for coffee.  Kiyomi notices tht something is off when Mishima excuses herself to take a phone call.  She tells haruto that she likes him and that he needs to figure it out before it ruins their friendship.  He tells her that the final confrontation with Eba has put him off from relationships for the time being.  Out of an off handed comment he ends up inviting Mishima with him back to his home over the break, due to her fascination with snow.  To make things less awkward he forces Kiyomi to join them.  Everything is going well on their first day back in Hiroshima...until Akari arrives and everyone goes to a hot spring.  Mishima knows that Haruto and Akari had kissed at one point and she sees her as a rival for his affection, even though she hasn't been honest with him about her feelings.

     Someone he didn't anticipate seeing was his first love Nanami.  After a day of everyone playing in the snow she sat down to have a deep conversation.  Akari had filled her in regarding the drama Haruto was involved with in Tokyo.  She also notices something with Mishima and tells him that he needs to make a decision sooner than later, given he has feelings for her even though he can't admit it.  That idea seeps into his brain and he begins to ponder the truth of it.  Mishima and Kiyomi decide to return to Tokyo after only a few days and the eve before they leave Mishima asks Haruto to talk in private.  She tells him that he should move back home after graduation instead of going to college with her in Tokyo.  He counters saying he wants to be with her and asks her to go out with him.  They don't do to well in keeping their relationship hidden as his friends force him to join the girls on the way back to Tokyo, so he can spend time with Mishima.

    Now that they are a couple how much will things change for them?  They bicker over everything but seems to be doing well enough, each finding comfort with the other as they move beyond the lose they have endured.  What will the future hold for them, we will have to wait for the next arc of the story as they enter college.

Part three, the college arc.

Goodbye Eri

 Goodbye, Eri (さよなら絵梨) is a one-shot manga by Fujimoto Tatsuki.  The manga was originally published in 2022.

    On his 12th birthday Yuta is given a smartphone as a present but also as the catalyst for a daunting assignment.  His mother is dying and she wants him to record as much of her as he can while she is still living.  He goes about capturing hour upon hour of his families lives, saving candid moments of posterity.  As his mother approaches her end she asks him to make sure he films her death.  On their way to the hospital he refuses to enter let along capture her passing forever.  The scene cuts to him running away from special effects of the hospital exploding and we learn that the images so far have been part of a movie her edited and submitted for his schools talent show.  The reaction from fellow students and staff is one of revulsion and disgust.  They laugh at it and call him strange for dishonoring his mother with the film, unable to understand his grief over her loss.  He decides to record one final moment on his camera phone, his good bye message as he plans on jumping off of the roof of the hospital his mother died in.  But someone stops him while hes on the roof, a girl who tells him not to kill himself here, as it will ruin the places reputation.  Suggesting that he should do it at another hospital in town, where she feels the staff are ass holes.

    Instead of killing himself he follows the girl to an abandoned warehouse and she forces him to watch movies with her.  When he presents her enough about her motivation she tells him that she wants him to make a better movie than the one he showed to the school.  She tells him that he needs to understand film first before he can write a new movie and demands him watch movie after movie with her in what ends up being a year long process.  Once she feels his grasp of cinema and story telling is strong enough she tasks him with beginning to write the new film that he will present again to the school, with the goal of moving everyone to tears instead of ridicule.  Through the girls encouragement and prodding he concocts a new tale, one he hopes will have the ability to elicit the response they both want.

    This manga has been on my want list for quite a while now and I finally picked it up after I watched an anime adaption of another Fujimoto one-shot, Look Back.  On top of my original interest in the manga I was motivated to see if Goodbye Eri was able to impact me in the way that Look Back did.  Chainsaw Man did little to interest me and the first episode offered nothing interesting or new.  Look Back was a phenomenal and powerful story and Goodbye Eri falls in the middle.  I may have expected more out of it than it was able to deliver and set myself up for failure.  That's not to say it isn't a bad story, but there is a weird meta about it that I am not sure if he did intentionally.  The entire manga is presented as if everything is only coming from Yuta's recordings.  The first part, the initial concept of the birthday present to record his mothers last days takes a turn as it ends to reveal that we have been seeing the movie he edited together to present to the school.  We are seeing her peers reactions to it from the point of what his cellphone captured.  The moments he spends afterwards with Eri, sorry, the girls name is Eri, are from the perspective of what he records.  The movie idea he comes up with is the entire make up of the manga up to that point.  The movie is about a boy who fails to move his classmates with a movie he was forced to make about his mothers slow death and then how he is saved from suicide by a weird girl who tasks him with making a movie.  Eri goes a long with the idea that he presents but stresses that something is missing from it, some weird twist that would mark it as something he makes.  In the end...the manga its self deals with the exact same issue...and I don't know if it was good or not.

    Again, its very hard to tell how much of the art copying life aspect that unfolds in the story is on purpose...I suspect it all is.  But the story literally ends in a way that doesn't seem satisfying, which is the dilemma that Yuta faces when trying to make his second film.  I think I need to read it again, it took my less than 30 minutes the first time and I may have artificially rushed the story just to knock it out and get another review out.  I think I need to return to it in a few months and go through it more slowly, digesting it with the knowledge of what transpires in its pages and the fact its layer upon layer upon layer of the same thing through out, its...difficult to really get into detail about how the story truly unfolds without spoiling some twists.  Aside form the writing its self, I am not a fan of his art style, but I can appreciate it the design choices he makes.  I should really just pick up the manga for Look Back to see if the movie had another peoples influences to make it what it was...but I suspect that isn't the case.  Either way...I am interested in other shorter stories that Fuyimoto comes up with.  There is some interesting creativity lurking in his process that may just need to be unleashed more by his editors.

The manga is being published in English by Viz.

A Town Where You Live - manga deep dive part 1 - Hiroshima arc

A Town Where You Live (君のいる町) is a shonen romance by Seo Koji.  The manga ran from 2008 until 2014 and has been compiled into 27 tankoubon.  It also received a 12 episode anime adaption in 2013 that covered the first two arcs of the story, with the first arc being largely glossed over.  The series and its characters are indirectly related to Seo's prior work, Suzuka, and the ending leads directly into the continuation of that series with the manga Fuuka.

    Kirishima Haruto is about to enter his first year of high school in rural Hiroshima prefecture.  His easy going and idyllic life is turned upside down with the appearance of an unwanted house guest, Eba Yuzuki.  Yuzuki, who's father is childhood friends with Haruto's father, convinces the Kirishima's to let her board with them.  She has decided to get out of Tokyo and spend some time in the country, planning to attend high school there.  Haruto want's nothing to do with the weird girl from the big city and sees her presence as an invasion of his privacy.  His mother see's no problem with the bubbly girl staying with them for the foreseeable future and ignores her sons pleas.

    Yuzuki's first day with the Kirishima's turns out to be a series of problems for Haruto.  First his mother forces him to show her around town.  He tries to get out of the task by loaning her his bike, so she can give herself a tour instead.  Yuzuki tells him that she doesn't know how to ride a bike, further reinforcing his distaste for what he sees as a spoiled aloof girl from the glittering capital.  He begrudgingly bikes her into town, obligated by his mothers request.  As they stop at a convenience store he attempts to distance himself from her, forcing her off of the bike.  Coming out of the store is a classmate and object of unrequited love, Kanzaki Nanami.  Haruto is desperate to distance himself from Yuzuki, to prevent any misunderstandings about their relationship, especially when it comes to Nanami.  The plan fails and Yuzuki excitedly introduces herself to the bewildered girl, hoping they can become friends once school starts.

    Before more damage can be done to his fragile ego, Nanami heads home.  Yuzuki grills him about his behavior at the convenience store, suspecting him of having feelings for the other girl.  Lying, he rebuffs the accusation and pedals faster to get home and away from her.  His home doesn't shield him from further complications as his best friend, Yura Takashi, pays a visit.  Unable to hide Yuzuki from him, he tries to paint her in an unfavorable light, working to establish his level of disinterest in her.  Takashi on the other hand is smitten with the new girl.  He first challenges Haruto for her attention then asks to him help her see him in a favorable light.  Before he can push him out of his house and find solitude Yuzuki needs to go back to the convenience store.  She fell into his families pond and needs to buy some more underwear.  Kanzaki misunderstands the reality of the request and fears shes going commando while wearing a revealing dress.

    With this idea in his head and understanding she will have to ride side saddle on the back of his bike, he tries to force Takashi to go home.  Instead, wanting to spend more time with the new girl, he follows them into town.  During the trip Haruto tries various tactics to help Yuzuki protect her dignity form the prying eyes of his friend.  When they reach the convenience store he stalls him from entering, so he won't find out why she's there.  Takashi again lays down an ultimatum about trying to date the new girl and forcing an unrealistic rivalry with Haruto.  In the end he forgets to buy something from the store himself and continues on home, leaving Haruto alone with Yuzuki once more.  On the return trip she questions his erratic behavior.  He comes right out and tells her he was trying to prevent her from flashing Takashi since she didn't have any underwear on...at which point she tells him she did and just needed more for when she changes clothes after taking a bath in the evening.  After the first, entirely too stressful day, misunderstandings lead to careless actions by Haruto related to this troublesome girl that he doesn't want anything to do with.

    Due to the size of the school, all of the freshmen are grouping in a single class, meaning Haruto is stuck with Yuzuki all day, every day.  To try and prevent people from getting the wrong idea about them, he plans to make her walk the last leg of the way to and from school instead of on the back of his bike.  The first day goes relatively smooth, with Yuzuki being the center of attention among his classmates.  He senses an opportunity to walk home with Nanami afterwards but needs to ensure Yuzuki gets home.  Since Takashi is interested in her he ask him to give her a ride back to his house.  Haruto then follows after Nanami, struggling to have any meaningful conversations with her. As she parts ways with him she expresses her desire to become better friends.  Before he can absorb the implications of her statement, Takashi calls him, telling him he never found Yuzuki.  Frustrated, Haruto back tracks to the convenience store where he finds her hiding nearby.  She didn't know about Takashi's plan to take her home, taking to heart Haruto's concern over people seeing them together to and from school  But, with the implications of Nanami's intentions buzzing around his brain he can't be too bothered with Yuzuki's personality quirks and misunderstanding.

    Thinking that Nanami would be joining the cooking club, like she had done in middle school, Haruto joins, claiming to be have the goal of opening up his own restaurant in the future.  His plan fails when he learns she was forced to join the baseball team instead.  Faced with this pointless gesture he struggles to find a path forward.  As she heads out to the first meeting of her new club, Yuzuki drops a bomb on Haruto.  She realized why he joined the cooking club, further proving her suspicions about his feelings for the other girl.  Teasingly, she offers to be his object of affection instead, since he keeps failing at getting close to her.  Shocked by the sudden joke, Haruto brushes it off as her being mean to him, but it sticks into his brain none the less.

    Haruto's club rarely meets, so he spends most of his afternoons waiting on an empty classroom for Yuzuki's club activities to end.  To make it up to him, Yuzuki invites him to visit a hot spring on their way home, enticing him further by inviting Nanami as well.  The following day he comes down with a strong fever at school and is taken to the hospital.  While resting at home, worrying about how Yuzuki will get home she enters his room accompanied by Nanami.  As soon as they arrive, Nanami has to excuse herself to answer a phone call from her older brother.  Sensing an opportunity and grasping at still unknown motives, Yuzuki leans in to kiss the bedridden Haruto.  She tries to explain away the kiss by saying it was a way to get rid of his cold, but he's not buying such a flimsy excuse.  He fights with her, accusing her of being a flirt, playing with any boys emotions that looks her way.  She tries to protest but his anger doesn't let him listen to her words.

    The next day his cold keeps him from school.  His mother tells him that Yuzuki will be getting a ride to school from Takashi.  Believing that she really has just gone to the next victim in her twisted world, he settles in to recover for the rest of the day.  Later, after school has let out, Takashi calls him to let him know about Yuzuki's behavior at school, telling him she was different than she had been previously, sitting alone, eating barely anything and arriving late.  For whatever reason she had lied to Haruto's mom about getting a ride to school with Takashi and had walked the entire way.  Worried about her, he rushes out of the house to find her before anything happens to her, ignoring the lingering exhaustion from his fever.  When he finds her on the road, she breaks down and accuses herself of being so useless with out him around.  Both kids remain silent on the way home, Haruto dwelling on why she had been behaving so erratic the past few days and what her intentions really are.  As hes about to settle in for the night Yuzuki calls him, instead of coming to his room, to talk.  She tells him she was happy when he came to find her and that she had turned down Takashi's offer because she only wants to rely on Haruto in those kind of situations.  Before she hangs up she asks him if he's going to ask her about why she kissed him.  When he tells her he doesn't want to know she morosely accepts and hangs up.  The following day she has returned to her normal carefree self...confusing Haruto further.

    Haruto struggles to make Nanami understand that he and Yuzuki aren't dating.  At first she thinks Haruto has an unrequited crush on the new girl and offers to help him with any advice, as a friend.  While he tries to make Nanami change her viewpoint, Yuzuki openly expresses her wishes to Haruto.  She hasn't been acting on a whim or to toy with him, she generally wants to date him.  When he tries to convince her she's being impulsive and wonders why she wants to be with him, she answers, she likes who she likes.  Haturo feels Nanmi slipping away from him, brought on by the introduction of the obnoxious girl from Tokyo who suddenly falls in love with him.

    Haruto's other childhood friend, Akari, rope he and Yuzuki into joining her on an outing with Nanami's older brother, Narumi.  Akari has a crush on the older boy and is hoping this will be a good chance to get closer to him.  During the outing Narumi questions Haruto about Yuzuki, telling him he likes her.  Haruto is astonished, knowing how much Akari wants to date the older boy but is unwilling to let her know that his attention has shifted to the new girl.  Nanami accidentally tells Akari that her brother is interested in Yuzuki, causing her to skip school to get over her broken heart.  Nanami, concerned for her friends well being, confides in Haruto about the dilemma.  Not sure how to broach the topic in a way that will present him in a favorable light, he bumbles into a confession to Nanami.  She doesn't respond to him, fleeing the music room they had gone to for their discussion, leaving Haruto to worry over any damage his confession may have caused.

    Things become awkward between Haruto and Nanami and he tries not to interact with her.  He can't avoid her during a school trip they take and she tells him that she just wants to remain friends, crushing the dreams he has held onto for three years.  Sensing his depression, Yuzuki tries to cheer him up, telling him that even if he's just friends with her for now, that doesn't mean the friendship won't turn into love later on.  Reinvigorated by her encouragement, he works to normalize his growing friendship with the girl he likes.

    While Haruto tries to return to normal with Nanami, his life at home becomes significantly more problematic when his older sister suddenly moves back in.  Aoi is going to college to be a teacher and has come back home to serve as a temporary teacher at Haruto's high school to help complete her certification process.  She and Yuzuki quickly become friends, causing more trouble for Haruto, who feels a need to take care of both of them.  Everyone quickly plans to throw a welcoming party at the Kirishima's house for Aoi, including Nanami.  During the celebration Haruto elects to cook more food and Nanami decides to help him out.  As he agonizes about not getting to date her and hoping that eventually their friendship will blossom into something more, she tells him that he should wait for a proper answer to his confession.

    As Haruto settles into a comfortable peace, with Nanami undecided about dating him, Aoi brings up a lost memory for the past that suggests Yuzuki and he met when they were younger.  After digging through the storage room, looking at old summer diaries, he remembers meeting her in 3rd grade at the summer festival.  She was lost and upset and he did everything he could to calm her down.  She had gotten separated from her family and was frustrated with her father making her come to rural Hiroshima.  Haruto remembers something he said from that time, that if she ever needed help again, to let him know.  He mulled over that declaration and if there was some hidden reason behind Yuzuki moving in with his family.

    He didn't have long to mull over his premonition though as he was faced with a dilemma of obligation on the following Saturday to either help Yuzuki practice riding bike or to help Nanami do some shopping for her brother.  Haruto catches a break when Yuzuki heads back to Toyko for the weekend instead, due to something unknown that has come up.  She tells him it isn't anything to worry about and he forgets about it, seeing it as fate working to his benefit.  This quickly evaporates as his mother urges him to accompany Yuzuki to Hiroshima to catch the train back.  She tells him Yuzuki is returning to Tokyo for her grandfathers funeral and is worried that the girl will run into trouble on her own.  Once there he has to force her onto the train, Yuzuki having severe reluctance to follow through with the trip.  Haruto finds himself stuck on the train as well, heading to Tokyo, forced to cancel his plans with Nanami.

    Haruto makes a point to accompany her all the way to her house, suspecting she will try to avoid whatever shes avoiding.  Before they reach her house they run into her parents, who greet him and take over escorting her, like she's a prisoner.  Haruto backs out of their invitation to come with and spend the night with them, telling them he has other things he needs to accomplish.  Free of Yuzuki, he goes to his sisters apartment to clean it, upon her request.  As he heads out to catch the night bus at Tokyo Station a young woman appears at his sisters door.  The girl claims to be Yuzuki's younger sister Rin, she is looking for the older girl and thought to check if she followed Haruto to his sisters apartment.  Once satisfied he doesn't know where she is, the girl turns to resume the search.  He convinces the younger girl to allow him to tag along.  They search around, not finding her.  Haruto mentions that Yuzukia had talked about not wanting to return home, reluctant to run into someone.  When he mentions this to Rin, the younger girl replies that the person Yuzuki is avoiding is her, that she is the reason her older sister went to live with Haruto's family.

    The kind and courteous girl suddenly transforms into a cold and calculating woman when she begins to talk about Yuzuki with honesty.  Complaining about having to look after the older girl and watch her seduce people to do her bidding.  Accusing her of appearing to be helpless as a calculating way to get attention.  Haruto finds himself dumbstruck with the sudden change in Rin's personality and questions his initial impressions of everyone he has met in her family to this point.  Before he can figure out whats going on, Rin receives a call from her mother about Yuzuki returning home safe and sound.  Rin quickly bids farewell to the boy and runs off, leaving him alone, questioning what happened and needing to catch the bus back home before he is stuck over night in Tokyo.

        Haruto never gets on the bus, receiving a phone call at the last minutes from Yuzuki.  He knows she's lying and suspects that Rin and her mother were lying earlier when they said she returned home.  He tells Yuzuki to stay where she is and he rushes off to meet her.  He tells her that she doesn't have to go back to her parents home, if it causes her that much trouble, instead she can stay at his sisters empty apartment for the night. (Suzuka side note: they end up watching a show on TV where Honoka talks about meeting Yamato as kids when he fixed her shrines broken bell).  Yuzuki tells Haruto that her siblings are step-siblings from her fathers new wife.  The reasons behind Yuzuki suddenly coming to live with his family comes into focus.  He understands the discomfort she is feeling, faced with living with 3 new members of her family, due to her father remarrying.  Not wanting her to feel isolated, he tells her that she can consider him family as well and for her to let him know when ever she needs help, that he will come and save her any time.  Setting the stage for further development in their relationship.

    Before the night ends, her older step-brother Itsuki knocks on the door and introduces himself, relieved that Yuzuki is staying that night at Haruto's sisters apartment instead of returning home.  Before he leaves he asks Haruto to talk with him in private.  Itsuki explains to him that the friction between the two girls is due to Rin's obsession with her older brother.  The merger of the two families and Yuzuki's outgoing nature has caused the younger girl to see her as an enemy, who is trying to take her brother away.  This perception has lead to a lot of aggression and antagonism from the younger girl, putting strain on Yuzuki, who is trying hard to have a normal life with her step family.   Haruto gets angry with Itsuki and punches him, just as Yuzuki arrives.  To break the tension she tells Haruto that she's going to go home and talk things over with her family.

    Left to his own, Haruto returns to his sisters apartment and finds he missed a call from Nanami.  He calls her back and finds out she felt guilty for inviting him out to something as trivial as shopping with her.  He does his best to persuade her that he was really looking forward to it  He doesn't tell her the real reason he has to cancel, affraid knowing he went all the way to Tokyo with Yuzuki would negatively impact any feelings she may have for him.  The easy nature of the conversation reinforces his feelings for her.  In the morning he meets with Yuzuki and her sister at the train station, by all appearances things honestly look to have been patched up between everyone.  Rin admits to him when she leaves to buy their tickets that her opinion changed about her older sister from competitor to idiot, not worth the bother.  Haruto isn't convinced that this is the end of problems from the scheming younger girl.  They return to Hiroshima and an end to the tumultuous adventure in Tokyo.

    The spring semester comes to a close and as the last day of school ends before summer break, Nanami
asks Haruto to walk home with her.  Jumping at the opportunity he finds himself alone with her again, wondering about the status of his proposal.  Before he can press her about it they get caught in a downpour.  While waiting for the ran to let up she invites him to go to the beach with her the following day.  His thoughts of being alone with her at the beach are quickly squashed when it turns into a group event, chaperoned by her older brother Narumi, who is driving them to and from the beach.  Haruto has a phobia about open water so chooses not to join the others playing in ocean.  instead busies himself with a sandcastle.  Nanami seeks him out when she realizes hes by himself and joins him on the beach.  She asks him is he wants to come with her the following week to the summer festival, alone.

 

     Haruto's lazy summer comes to a halt when Yuzuki's step siblings arrive to stay with his family.  Rin is bored being on the country, with nothing to do.  The entire group goes to a cook out and Rin notices the chemistry between Haruto and Nanami.  Rin also overhears a conversation between Haruto and Yuzuki where Haruto brings up Yuzuki wanting him to fall for her.  Recognizing the potential drama she can unleash, Rin is suddenly more interested in being there.

    On the day before the festival Rin joins the others on a trip to buy yukata.  She casually brings up Haruto going all the way to Tokyo with Yuzuki.  Internally Rin connects the dots and realizes that he lied to her when he told her why he had to cancel going shopping with her.  That night when Haruto calls her to finalize the plans for meeting up she abruptly cancels it and hangs up on him.  Unwilling to let it slide, confused by the drastic change of attitude, he sends her a message to meet him at the convenience store so they can talk.   At the festival Rin gets bored and decides to head to the convenience store to harass Haruto.  She tells him that Nanami isn't going to show and explains why.  She was hoping for him to get angry at her for tattling on him, but he accepts that the situation is his fault.  Frustrated that he's not falling for her bait she leaves him, bound for Nanami's house.

 

    She concerned about the older girl, who despite cancelling the meeting is dressed in a yukata when she answers the door.  Rin coxes the story between she and Haruto's relationship out of her.  During the course of it Nanami realizes that she needs to tell him how she feels instead of dragging it out, waiting for feelings that may never come.  She rushes off to meet him, afraid he has already left.  When she gets there she is prepared to tell him her feeling but us interrupted when the others who also arrived, talking about how they aren't sure where Yuzuki is.  Haruto rushes off to find her, realizing she is probably at a secluded spot where he first showed her the fireworks reflecting on a pond 10 years earlier.  His hunch was correct and he finds her, lost but safe.  They head back and find only Nanami waiting.  Yuzuki, realizing shes a third wheel, runs off ahead of them.  Nanami confirms what Haruto suspected and she declines his confession and tells him she isn't able to date him.

    The following day Haruto is worn out from the depression of having his heart broken.  Rin on the other hand is quite pleased with herself.  When she finally decides to return to Tokyo, he is forced into making sure she gets there safely.  Wanting to mess with him more, she continues to come up with distractions causing her to push-back which bullet train she will take home until she gives up on toying with him.  She had expected him to lose his temper after a while but has come to realize his caring nature knows no bounds.  She returns to Tokyo with a different understanding of Haruto but is still satisfied in her mischief.  Haruto can finally get some well deserved rest for the remainder of the summer break.

 

     According to Rin the reason Nanami isn't able to date him is due to his undying commitment to Yuzuki.  Time after time he has left Nanami's side to aid Yuzuki in something and Nanami is unwilling to compromise her love.  She doesn't want to share Haruto's attention with another women.  As she leaves, she tells him that he needs to come to terms with the feelings he has for the girl living in his house.  Haruto mulls over this, frustrated at Nanami's inflexibility.  Bur her words bury themself into his psyche, strengthened by his sister telling hims something similar when she pries information about Nanami from him.  He suddenly begins to question whether its true, looking at Yuzuki in a different way.  But just as he begins to see her in a new way she confesses to him that she is planning to return to Tokyo in a few months.

     The fall semester brings preparations for the cultural festival.  Yuzuki volunteers herself and Haruto to be part of the executive committee.  They along with the two other members, Kimuro a boy who is on the baseball team and Kikukawa a shy girl, must formulate the plans for the classes event.  The class decided on a cafe and its up to the committee to flesh out the details.  Through being bullied into it by Yuzuki, they decide on a maid cafe and learn that Kikukawa is adept at sewing, leaving the costumes in her hands.  Kimuro tricks Haruto into talking with Nanami about getting apples from her families farm for the cafe.  Since she rejected him at the summer festival things have been awkward between them.  The conversation is normal enough that Haruto decides to ask her once and for all the reasoning behind her rejection.  He jumps the gun during the conversation, thinking he understands what the reason is and prematurely cuts her off.  Satisfied he was told the truth from Rin, he asks her not to tell Yuzuki, fearing it would destroy her if she was the reason Nanami rejected him.  Nanami slaps him in anger, furious with what he proposed without knowing the truth, only assuming things on his own.

 

    Haruto and Yuzuki end up having to walk home together one day and he takes a chance with holding her hand.  She only lets it slide for a little bit and pulls her hand away, leaving an awkward silence fill the gap.  She begins to avoid him and as the cultural festival nears Narumi begins to turn up, flirting with Yuzuki.  He is going to help them pick apples and bring them back to school from his families farm.  This gives he and Yuzuki plenty of time alone together.  At the same time Kikukawa misinterprets Haruto's kindness and begins to openly flirt with him, hoping he will confess his feelings for her at the end of the festival.  Haruto has really shifted his romantic attention to Yuzuki but is uncertain about why shes behaving the way she has been.  Kikukawa is nowhere on his radar for romance and he fears if her misunderstanding continues the let down will be devastating.

    Their classes maid cafe is a smash hit, near the end Haruto and Yuzuki are sent on an errand to get more supplies.  He gathers up the courage to ask her if shes been avoiding him because of holding her hand.  She confirms his suspicion and he tries to play off the act as nothing more than innocent communication between friends.  She asks him to take her to the bonfire.  Shocked, he brings up his suspicions about her going with Nanami's older brother.  Her mood shifts and she tells him it was just a joke.  Confused he struggles with what to do during the bonfire, actively avoiding Kikukawa.  Yuzuki comes up to him and asks him to dance with her.  Shocked at first he goes a long with it but soon destroys the mood by asking what happened with Narumi.  Frustrated by how dense he is and how little he pays attention to subtle clues, she leaves the bonfire and lets him mull over the problem on his own.

    Haruto chases after her but they are both stopped by Narumi.  He tries to get Haruto to pay attention to Kikukawa, leaving Yuzuki to himself.  Instead Haruto drags her out of the area so they can talk more in private, closing the door for both Narumi and Kikukawa.  He confronts Yuzuki about his feelings but downplays it, saying it is hypothetical.  She tells him it would never work out if he was really confessing to her, since she would be moving in six months.  The reality of the situation dawns on Haruto and he drops the subject, never talking with her about it until the day she leaves for Tokyo the following March.

    The day shes set to leave for Tokyo, he wakes her up in the early morning.  He has a surprise in sotre her with a natural formation in the nearby river that only happens in the dead of winter, ice clusters that form flower like shapes.  While there he broaches the subject of dating again, saying they could do it as a long distance relationship, telling her he means it and has liked her for a while now.  She declines again, voicing her concern that the distance between them would make things unstable, especially if he decides that he has feelings for Nanami still.  He accepts her rejection and stays quite all the way up to when she boards the train back to Tokyo.  Before she leaves she tells him that she has changed her mind and would like to try dating him long distance.

    Haruto struggles with their relationship, unsure if shes actually interested in him or not.  He has a hard time interrupting their conversations and gets annoyed when she wants to talk about her new pet bird.  Takashi and Akari try to convince him its mostly in his head but caution him when it comes to his selfishness in their conversations.  A month into the relationship an opportunity to see her presents its self as the class will be taking a trip to Tokyo.  After setting up plans to meet with her during the trip he joins Akari and Takashi doing part time work at a restaurant over Spring break. 

    Haruto chooses to work in the kitchen instead of as a waiter due to his dislike of interacting with people and his confidence in cooking.  Shiho is an 18 year old, who has worked part time at this restaurant for the past three years.  She has enviable talent as a cook and her confidence and prowess has earned her respect from the full time staff.  She is tasked with breaking in the temp employee and boy does she break him in.  The first day he drown in a mountain of dishes, doing nothing but washing bowls and flatware for 10+ hours.  She then makes him do a bunch of prep work to finish out the day. When she questions him about why he prepped shrimp the way he did he tells her it was to reduce the change of water being left over for frying.  This insight and understanding makes her trust him a little more.

    The next day she starts to have him do some of the line work, putting together some of the dishes.  When she challenges his attempt to short cut at one point she demonstrates why he was wrong.  He immediately recognizes why what he did was wrong but his pride gets in the way and he feigns ignorance.  At that point hes back on dish duty.  That evening, sensing shes upset with him, he admits that he recognized the mistake he had made and apologizes for being stubborn about her lessons.  She makes him food during a break on the third day and they begin to talk about long distance relationships.  She warns him that it didn't work for her when she tried it and it may not work out for him.  With that concern in his mind he finishes up the grueling work, earning some respect along the way, and has some cash to buy Yuzuki a present when he meets her in Tokyo.

    They get into the city early on their first day and Haruto hastily makes plans to see Yuzuki that day.  She decides to get his present first and gets stuck on a train after a fatal accident shuts down the line.  As hes waiting for her, Nanami comes to tell him the teacher is waiting for everyone for their first event.  She then asks him to pretend to be her boyfriend for the trip so that she can impress an old friend of hers that she's meeting.  Before he can turn the request down, the old friend arrives and immediately assumes hes her boyfriend.  Haruto is now stuck having to pretend to be Nanami's boyfriend for part of the time, while also juggling meeting with Yuzuki.  Knowing the past between all three of them, Haruto knows it will be hard to explain things rationally to Yuzuki if she catches wind of what hes doing for the girl he used to like.

    Nanami's friend Haruna is bold and unapologetic.  She susses out the truth pretty quickly but lets it pass.  As they part ways, Haruto tries to convince her of the false relationship one last time and holds Nanami's hand as they watch her train pass by.  Before they break the ruse Yuzuki sees them from across the platform.  He quickly rushes to meet her and explain things but she boards the first train that arrived and he has no idea where she is going.  Nanami feels terrible for the mistake and they both wait for Yuzuki at the spot he was going to originally with her.  She never shows and refuses to respond to any emails or calls from either of them.  There is little he can do now and they return to the hotel.

    After trying to get a hold of her into the evening he decides he has no choice but to sneak out of the hotel and go to her house, figuring she will at least be there so he can try and explain things to her.  Nanami and Haruto explain the situation to Takashi and Akari and all three agree to help cover for him, alone on his own at night, away from the confines of the school trip.  He rushes over to her house, only to realize he left his phone at the hotel.  Rin comes up to him and tells him she saw her sister shopping.  Unsure what to do, thinking shes avoiding him and without his phone his options are limited.  Little does he realize the mistake he made in leaving as Yuzuki comes to the hotel they are staying at to visit him.  Not wanting to wait for him at the hotel, her best opportunity is to wait for him at the train station he would most likely pass through as he tries to make curfew.  After Haruto exhausts himself checking the nearby shopping district he decides to call it quits and head back, only to run into her where she decided to wait.  They reconcile and connect on a level they had not been able to reach before.  She gives him his present, but he had left hers back in the hotel.  They spent as much time together as they could, cherishing every moment, but that time was too short and he had to return, unsure when he would see her next.

   Yet that was the last chance he had to talk with her.  When he got back from the trip her number was no longer available.  After their heart felt reunion and bitter sweet departure, Yuzuki appears to have cut off all connection with the boy who had given her his heart.  Yuzuki ghosting Haruto isn't a secret and weeks after she stopped communicating with him and everyone else in Hiroshima, Nanami struggles with how to break him out of his funk.  Akari thinks that he just needs to get another girlfriend, even if its for a short time, to help free him from his feelings for Yuzuki.  Nanami thinks that she could be the person that can help heal him, still conflicted over her feelings for him and the complications surrounding their relationship.

    In an attempt to get closer to him, Nanami quits her position as the manager of the baseball team and switches to the cooking club, of which Haruto is a member of, but never goes to.  Akari forces him to go with her on the first day and a series of mishaps at Nanami's expense brings a little bit of light to Haruto's eyes.  That evening, Nanami gets a phone call from Yuzuki's younger sister, Rin, who tells her that Yuzuki has apparently started to date a new guy.  It hurts her how badly Yuzuki has treated him and she struggles with what to do with the information, fearing it would do more damage to him just as hes beginning to perk up.  In a moment of panic she confesses to him.  He replies with the same thing she told him last year, to give him some time to respond to her. 

    Haruto is prepared to reject Nanami's confession.  He doesn't want to hurt her with his lingering feelings for Yuzuki, especially when so much is left unanswered.  The day they decide to talk it over she surprises him by coming to his house.  He tries to let her down gently, but she tries to persuade him that any lingering emotions for Yuzuki are not a deal breaker.  He knocks over the present Yuzuki gave him in Tokyo, never opened, spilling a letter out of the bag.  Nanami convinces him to read the letter.  In it is Yuzuki's admission that she was leaving him for another guy, a guy that she liked in middle school.  Haruto can't believe the letter though, thinking it to be something else, perhaps a prank by Rin.

    Haruto tells Nanami that he can't date her.  He needs to find out the truth behind whats going on with Yuzuki and is determined to go to Tokyo to find that out.  She resigns her self to that and tells him that she will wait for him a bit longer to make up his mind once and for all.  On the final day of class before Summer break he stuns the class when the teacher announces that Haruto is transferring to a school in Tokyo for the fall semester.  He is going all in to find out whats going on with Yuzuki and to try and reconnect with her.

    A Town Where You Live takes place in the same universe as Seo-sensei's previous manga, Suzuka.  The apartment complex that Haruto's sister lives at is the same all girls dormitory that Suzuka takes place in.  While he is there the first time there is a passing reference to the two drunken college students who frequently pestered Suzuka's male lead, Yamato.  During the class trip to Tokyo, there is a passing reference to another character from Suzuka, Sakurai Honoka, who had become a fashion model in Suzuka.  The first portion of the manga is really little more than set up and character establishment.  The building of the relationship between Yuzuki and Haruto and the complex interactions with the other kids hes grown up with in his rural community.  Seo-sensei has a passion for drawing teenage girls who look like adults and then exposing their panties and nipples as much as he feels he can get away with.  The fan service doesn't detract much from the story but it does suffer from some rather rote trappings of the genre.

    Romance stories aimed at a young male audience fall into a some similar trappings, story arcs and character personalities that appeal to them.  Vulnerable women, 'every man' main characters and ridiculous situations where drama is forced and insincere.  this manga isn't an exception to those styling, but it also moves away from some of the more annoying traits.  This story is really slow though.  The Hiroshima arc is covered by 79 issues of the manga, ending halfway through the 9th tonkouban.  There is still a long way to go though with the story, sometimes a little too much.  The next phase brings in some interesting plot points and a hope for a more mature story.  All done and said though...Haruto is a fool to throw away Nanami.

Next up, the First Tokyo arc.

Servant x Service - manga overview

 Servant x Service (サーバント×サービス) is a slice of life comedy manga by Takatsu Karino.  The manga is compiled into 4 tankoubon and 2 omnibus editions in English.  The manga also received a 13 episode anime adaptation in 2013.

    The in depth overview of the plot of the story can be found here, the revisit of the anime.  This separate look at the story is largely to compare the source material with the more accessible anime adaptation and to debate the need for one over the other.  For a quick recap, the story primarily focuses on 20 year old new civil servant office worker, Yamagami Lucy.  She has joined the ranks of government employee in her Hokkaido based city in order to exact revenge on the person who rubber stamped her birth registration paper work.  Due to her parents indecision, Lucy ended up with a first name comprising of more than a dozen names, frequently being listed on official documents as "Lucy (abbr)".  The oddity of being named Lucy alone would be difficult enough to deal with as a child, but the continued name length encouraged rampant harassment by her peers in grade school.  This has led her to a life of meekness and self hatred.  Her goal, find the civil servant responsible for allowing her name and giving him a piece of her mind.

    Lucy has other things to worry about in her new job, working in one of he public welfare divisions, as her peers and immediate coworkers have their own eccentricities.  A fellow new hire, Hasebe Yutaka, plays the part of a lose playboy with low morals and even lower work ethic.  He's following in the steps of his older family members who have been life long public servants.  Hes talented, intelligent and confident but chooses to put as little effort into life as possible and blatantly demonstrates his lack of work ethic.  As time goes on he begins to openly court Lucy, using her inexperience in dealing with men to his advantage, stopping at the line of dangerous behavior around her.  Lucy believes everything hes doing is designed to harass and tease her, instead of him being awkward when dealing with a woman he likes for the first time.  Their co-works convince Lucy that Hasebe is an untrustworthy playboy, who is just interested in her as a one time conquest and would leave her in the gutter as soon as she responded favorably to him.

    The anime adaptation was faithful for the vast majority of the content in the manga.   It followed the progression of the books in roughly the same order while greatly enhancing the effect and flow of the story through expanded scenes and a greater depth of the characters through animation.  In this alone, the anime is the superior version of the material, breathing a lot more life into the cast an their antics than the manga was able to do in its yonkoma format.  The anime does not cover everything in the manga though.  If someone wanted to know the entire story but not retread the same plot lines covered by the adaptation, they could pick up with "Work:55" in the 3rd tankoubon/2nd omnibus and start from there with almost all new material.   The additional material beyond the anime expands on the relationship between Chihaya and Ichimiya, delves deeper into Hasebe's dilemma surrounding his courtship of Lucy and more.  As with many adaptations, the reason for the divergence in story is that the anime was produced before the manga was concluded.

    Overall I feel the anime is a stronger product, taking the amusing source material of the manga and significantly enhancing its delivery and appeal.  Not to belittle the efforts of Takatsu and their art, but the story really shines with motion and sound, filling the space between panels with more comedy than the manga can achieve.  Sadly, this means a large portion of the manga is unneeded following the production of the anime.  That doesn't mean it isn't worth reading, but the anime does such a better job at delivering it that it's almost pointless to pick up the first volume.  The story is cute, lovable and mature in an immature way.

The manga was printed in North America by Yen Press an compiled into two omnibus editions that are readily available. 

Suzuka - manga deepdive part 2 - the post-anime arc

  Suzuka (涼風) is a shonen romance by Seo Koji.  The manga published in Weekly Shonen magazine between 2004 and 2007.  The series was compiled into 18 tankoubon and had a 26 episode anime adaptation in 2005.  This second part is a overview of the second half of the manga that continues the story where the anime left off.  Beware, this will spoil plot points of this series...which is 20 years old at this point.

    Part One can be found here.  If you are coming to this post before reading that one, perhaps wanting to see what happens after the anime, carry on.  Otherwise it might be a good idea to read through part one before continuing.

 

    Things seem to be better between Yamato and Suzuka.  While she didn't come right out and say she likes him, her confession at the grave of her dead first crush suggest that she has feelings for him.  He isn't sure if they are officially dating or not but when he asks her to walk home after school she gives him the cold shoulder.  Bewildered he heads home and ends up waiting for her on the stoop for hours.  When she finally returns, her anger is palpable and she yells at him about being so late.  Unsure what happened he goes about the rest of his day until he notices two text messages from her.  She had asked him to meet her, outside of school, to walk home, to avoid embarrassment.  The second text signaled her anger, as she had waited for two hours for him to meet her.  Realizing the miscommunication he immediately apologizes to her, the perfect start to their semi-relationship.

   The change in their attitude towards each other doesn't go unnoticed.  After school one day Yasunobu and Honoka end up spying on the pair as they meet up after school, confirming for themselves that something like a relationship has begin.  Yasunobu consoles Honoka over drinks at a restaurant and asks her if shes going to quit the track team now.  Wondering if there's something she has more talent for than being the errand girl for the club.  As she dwells on that at home her friend Nana calls.  The response to a photo shoot that Honoka was tricked into doing with Nana had been good and Nana's talent agency wants Honoka to work for them as a model.  She takes them up on the offer as a step into a bold new direction.

    As another track meet approaches, Suzuka begins to distance herself from Yamato, wanting to be alone as much as possible.  He doesn't realize she is intent of focusing solely on her performance, trying to achieve a new record and cement her status as the best high jumper among high school girls in the nation.  When he comes to cheer her on before the event starts she yells at him about trying to sabotage her efforts.  Instead of backing down, he presents her with a good luck talisman he bought at a shrine on his way to the event.  Out of either confusion or plan negligence, the charm he gives her is for safe childbirth...not success in her event.  His mistake is endearing to her, so she accepts it for what he meant it to represent and settles down to focus on her event.  Perhaps the charm worked, or her change of heart regarding his line of thinking, but she goes on the win the high jump event.

    Honoka announces to the team that she will be quitting as manager.  Yamato feels guilty about her decision and goes to talk with her after school.  He meets her at her family shrine and she asks him about he and Suzuka's relationship.  He admits they started dating.  Honoka pivots from the awkwardness of the conversation to tell him she is going to start working with her friends talent agency doing modeling.  She tries to eleviate his guilt by telling him the decision to quit the team was so she could put all of her focus into modeling.  She thanks him for being a catalyst she needed to change her life and take action.  She is ready to move beyond her love for him and face a new future with out him, thanking him for the time they spent together.

    Yamato decides to tell Yasunobu about dating Suzuka.  When Yasunobu tells him he and Miki already know, he becomes crestfallen.  Yasunobu asks him what has changed in their relationship now that they are officially a couple.  Yamato admits it hasn't really change from how they acted before.  Yasunobu suggests trying to change something to make it more meaningful, like calling her by her first name instead of by Asahina all the time.  When he tries to do that both of them become embarrassed to the point he decides to drop it and be content with the way things are.

    They decide to go on a date in Yokohama on their next free day.  Suzuka has something to take care of at her home but afterwards they plan to do things in the city its self.  Yamato meets her older sister, Suzune again, and she warns him against meeting their over protective father.  Suzuka expected Yamato to have a plan for their date, he expected her, the life long resident of the city, to be the one to take the lead on their activities.  She reluctantly agrees to his expectations and they wander around trying to find a nice place to spend time together.  None of the places fit her vision and they wander aimlessly from area to area, frustrated that things are not working out well for them.  As night falls they return to one spot, hoping for the crowds to have cleared out, and find some beauty and peace for a moment.  In the end their day ended up being good for them and they return home, later than expected.

    Even with their date ended on a high note things still seem strained between them.  Suzuka seems to be having some issue but isn't willing to discuss it with Yamato.  He ends up going home alone one day after school and runs into one of the college drunks, Megumi.  She drags him to a pub, where she uses him to vent about her recent break up.  The topic shifts to he and Suzuka's relationship and how its not really any different than before they became a couple.  Megumi brings up the idea that hes not reliable enough to talk about important matters with, making him a bit nervous.  As he returns home he finds Suzuka chatting with Souichi about a serious topic.  Yamato confronts her after the older boy leaves, upset that she doesn't think of her boyfriend enough to confide in things with him.

    Realizing his concern, she tells him about whats been bothering her.  She has been given the opportunity to participate in a training camp over the winter break and is concerned how he will feel being separated from her during Christmas, since they are a couple now.  Yamato doesn't immediately tie the two events together and doesn't understand why she would be angry with him as he encourages her to participate in the camp. The following evening she visits his apartment and asks to make some tea.  When it takes him too long she begins to criticize his slowness, then she critisizes the temperature of the tea then about him still wearing his school uniform.  When he angrily goes to remake the tea she surprises him with a hug from behind, making him drop her mug.  Embarrassed she runs out of his apartment and back to the safety of her own, leaving him bewildered at her behavior, still no closer to understand whats bothering her.  He doesn't understand that she's upset about not getting to spend Christmas with him, upset he doesn't even realize that and is trying to figure out his size for a sweater she is trying to make as a present.

    Once again Yamato finds himself entertaining the drunk college women.  It is at this point, talking with them, he relies that Suzuka's anxiousness may be related to Christmas.  He asks Souichi if he can join the training camp as a way to ensure they can be together for the holiday.  Unfortunately he won't be able to join so close to the event so that plan ends as quickly as it began.  He begins to concoct a plan to meet her there on Christmas Eve but needs to know their schedule so he can meet her and still make it back to Tokyo that night.  He wants it to be a surprize but she immediately becomes suspicious when he starts to question her about the schedule.  She tells him that Souichi mentioned his attempts to join the camp.  Realizing he doesn't need to lie, he tells her he was trying to get there to be with her for Christmas.  The idea surprises her, but the realist in her knows it won't work and opts to celebrate it before she leaves instead.

    When the day to celebrate Christmas arrives, Suzuka ends up being stuck in a meeting about the upcoming camp.  The length of it causes them to cancel their dinner reservation and they resolve to meet at home later for cake and presents.  Yamato had been waiting at the train station for her when she informed him of the delay.  Dejected, he begins to head back home when he runs into Yasunobu who asks him to join him for dinner.  Unsure when Suzuka will be done he reluctantly agrees to go.  Unknown to him, the dinner ends up being a group date.  Reluctantly he agrees to stay for a while but sneaks out to try and find out when Suzuka will be done with her meeting.  One of the girls from the group date, a bubbly and energetic girl named Amami Yui follows him out.  She begins to aggressively flirt with him.  He tries to get her off of him, but its too late, in dramatic timing Yamato is caught with another girl hanging off of him by Suzuka...who happens to be walking with Yamato's rival, Arima.  Suzuka, furious with Yamato, leaves with him chasing after her.  They argue all of the way home, leaving Yamato to wonder what he could have done better in his situation.

    Suzuka leaves for her training camp with things unresolved between them.  Concern over the mystery girl fresh in her mind, as well as his reluctance to fully realize his errors in judgement.  Yamato struggles to accept he is fully to blame, considering her being stuck at the pre-camp meeting longer than expected, the true catalyst for the break down.  Expecting a call from her, he begins to stress out about the lack of communication.  Over the hours and series of texts he admits to being in the wrong and apologizing to her, but she still refuses to reply to him.  The following day Yasunobu visits, begging him to go on a double date with him.  He refuses at first, recognizing how damming and hurtful doing so would be, given the trouble they are having right now.  Yamato's willpower caves under Yasunobu's pressure and he reluctantly agrees to help his 'friend' out with his double date.  Yasunobu hit it off with one of the other girls from the mixer and is bringing Yui along as the second.

    Out of loneliness, boredom, guilt and maybe anger, Yamato finds him self 'dating' Yui on Christmas, while his real girlfriend is away at her camp, angry with him for what he did on the evening they were supposed to be together.  The double date takes place at the same amusement park Yamato first confessed and was rejected by Suzuka.  The day goes well enough but Yasunobu has to leave, due to another date he has planned in secret.  The girl is disappointed that hes leaving, not knowing hes seeing another girl later, but Yui wants to still do things.  She asks Yamato to stay out with her a little longer.  not seeing any reason not to....like faithfulness to his real girlfriend, he agrees.  Yui wants to see the night parade, the same event that Yamato was rejected during.  She confides in him that the same thing happened to her, the two bond over being rejected in the same way.  Talking about the effort he put into dating Suzuka with Yui makes him realize how lucky he is, despite their arguments.  His sense return to him and he understands what he needs to do to try and make up with her.

    He rushes out to meet her at the training camp, unconcerned with what time he will get there.  He arrives to find the gate closed, as everyone is beginning to settle in for the night.  Suzuka notices him by chance from the window of her dorm and rushes out to meet him.  He came with cake, but without thinking it through the container had the name of the amusement park on it.  she quickly deduces what transpired and gets angry with him and his lack of consideration.  She vents at him about her frustration over his poor decision making skills and lack of judgement regarding how he needs to treat her.  Desperate to make her understand how sorry he is, he agrees to let her slap him.  She reels back, ready to make a lasting impression on his face but surprises him with a kiss instead.  Then follows through with a severe slap and reluctantly accepts his apology.  She lays out some ground rules and expectations for him, opening up honest communication for the first time between the couple, in hopes that he will be more considerate to her feelings moving forward.

    At the first shrine visit of the New Year, the couple wishes for a better year together as they discuss when they each first developed feelings for the other.   Perhaps this last incident was the test that was needed to cement their true feelings for each other.  Before that continues the story takes a break to focus on the background of one of the drunk college students, gyaru styled Saotome Yuka.  Yuka tricks Yamato into helping her with errands, only to bring him to a meeting with a man named Sasaoke Hiroshi who works as a sales rep for a sporting good company.  Yuka ran into him over New Year when she returned to her rural home in Akita prefecture.  She used Yamato as an excuse to see him, saying the young track athlete was interested in getting custom shoes.  In reality the meeting was a way for her to try and reconnect with the senpai shes been in love with for years.

    Yuka grew up with Hiroshi, who is two years older than her.  In high school she struggled to tell him how she really felt about him.  He treated her like a kid and when she gathered the courage to confess to him at graduation he told her he loved her like a little sister.  Crushed by the rejection of the man she had sought for so long, she decided to change herself, to reflect a growth form the version of her that was seen as a little kid by him.  By chance, Hiroshi is interested in providing custom shoes for Suzuka and comes to visit her at school after the start of the new semester.  While thinking over the offer of custom shows, Suzuka lays into Yamato about his laziness, letting him know she expects him to be with her at nationals and the various training camps.

    Suzuka ends up agreeing to the sponsorship deal with Hiroshi's company.  Something feels strange to Yamato though, as Hiroshi needs to meet with her parents for the finalization.  The day they head to Yokohama to meet with them Yuka lets a secret slip.  The deal isn't about track shoes, its for Suzuka to go to America for training in the Fall.  When he confronts her about the plans she admits to it.  He becomes infuriated with her, making decisions without him and hiding things from him.  After sulking about this problem for a while he talks it over with her, first with anger then with understanding.  They resolve to enjoy the rest of their time together as best they can and strive to keep in contact over the year she will be gone. 

    Yasunobu convinces Yamato that he will need to get a computer so he can keep in touch with Suzuka via email.  Getting one is easier said than done.  Yamato realizes he will need to find a part time job to earn enough money.  He struggles to find a place willing to hire a first year high school student who is only willing to work one day a week.  After dozens of places reject him he ends up interviewing at a business run by the family of the girl from the group date, Yui.  She is surprised to see him there and tells her father to hire him, vouching for him.  Yamato realizes how bad this would look and rescinds his request for employment.  Yui chases after him and finds out the story behind his job hunt.  she understands and agrees that it wouldn't look good for him to suddenly be working with her, even if its to save money for a computer so it will be easier to stay in touch with Suzuka while shes' in America.  In the end Yamato realizes it would be a mistake and doesn't accept the job.

    Yui, not wanting to give up and feeling a little guilty for causing so many problems for her, ambushes Suzuka the following day at the bath house.  The two end up having a long heart to heart, Suzuka growing to like the girl she thought was a rival.  Yui tells her about Yamato's problem and why he ultimately decided to decline the only job he was able to get.  Yamato learned the two of them were having a confrontation and was quite surprised when they came out of the bath acting like friends.  Confused, Suzuka tells him that he should really go work for her family after all.

 

    The following Monday, Yamato begins working at the cafe owned and operated by Yui's family.  Things don't go so well for him, as he isn't prepared for the demands of a service industry job.  Yu's father is patient with him and understands that it will take time for him to get good at it.  In time the job comes easier and Yui and her father continue to express their gratitude for his help.  One day Yui decides to treat him by cooking his shift meal, unfortunately her cooking abilities may be worse than Suzuka's.  Instead of suffering through the terrible dish, Yamao offers to make the only thing hes good at, okinomiyaki.  The two are so impressed with it they decide to make it a temporary menu item.

    Worried about Yamato and all the time he's spending with the girl she still thinks of as a rival, Suzuka visits the cafe with Miki.  Yamato makes his signature dish for them, surprising Suzuka with how good it is.  Satisfied, she doesn't stick around any longer, using Miki as an excuse for an easy exit.  The following weekend the two are able to spend the day together shopping and seeing a movie.  Suzuka is concerned with how little rest he is getting, with him even falling asleep during the movie.  She presses him about how much he is neglecting his training, particularly the inter high qualification event in a few days time.  He reassures her its not a problem but when he fails to quality again, posting worse times than the prior year, she gets angry at him.  She tries to pin his efforts to earn money to buy a computer for her trip to America as the reason he failed this time.  Incensed by the efforts, altruistic in his eyes, to keep in contact with her when she's overseas, Yamato tries to defend his performance but it only backfires, causing a rift to form between them.

 

    Reflecting on his actions, Yamato decides to reduce his hours at the cafe.  The following day he tells Suzuka about his plan, trying to get her to be less upset with him.  She congratulates him on his new dedication to track but remains skeptical.  Her skepticism is reinforced when he tells her he isn't able to take the time off he was hoping for.  Before he can explain why she leaves in disgust, reinforcing her feelings about his dedication to the team.  Yamato is frustrated with her lack of patience and mulls over his situation.  Yui's father asked him to work the days he had originally asked off for due to Yui being hospitalized for a bought of pneumonia.  Later at work, Yui;s father asks Yamato to take a change of clothes to her in the hospital while the shop is slow.  While in her room she presses him about how he's doing.  When he tells her about the status of his relationship she tells him that he should just break up with Suzuka.  Telling him that shes not worth his time if she becomes upset with him for doing things that benefit her.  He brushes it off and heads back to the cafe.

    Suzuka finds out about Yui's hospitalization from Miki, but still remains upset with Yamato.  She waits for him to return home after work, to tell him she knows why he was unable to take the time off.  Instead of trying to make up she leaves things unresolved.  Yamato moves to embrace and kiss her but she rejects him outright.  Frustration boils over and he doesn't know what he can do to make things better.  Time passes and the strain remains, further frustrating him, the seeds planted by Yui begin to take shape in his mind as he mulls over what type of future he could have with Suzuka if she leaves for America with nothing resolving.  When he gathers the courage to make things better he learns that Suzuka is packed up and ready to move back home before she leaves for America.  Lost for words, he lets the door close on his chance to make up with her and she leaves the next day.

 

    A few days later Suzuka supersizes Yamato by showing up at the apartment to celebrate his birthday.  She takes him to the same amusement park that has caused so many problems in the past and then back to the apartment when they are finished.  As she reminisces about the things they have done together she asks him if they should break up.  Defeated and reading her melancholy tone, he agrees with her suggestion, ending their time together with an official whimper.  Yamato is once again by himself, the girl he liked has moved out of his life completely.  Sensing something is wrong, Miki forces Yamato to tell her whats going on between him and Suzuka.  He tells her they broke up but she can't accept that.

    With Miki's urging, Yamato rushes to the airport as her plane is about to depart, to try and resolve things with her.  He realized the day he had to work to cover Yui being in the hospital, was Suzuka's birthday and he neglected to even acknowledge it.  He understands he can't sit around and let their relationship end without any explanation and he rushes to her and to try and win her back.  He finds he's in time and expresses his love for her, but she doesn't respond, continuing to head off to catch her flight.  Yamato is unsure how to deal with her response to the outpouring of his heart and heads back home defeated.

    Depression sets in and Yamato shuts himself off, neglecting all of his duties and responsibilities.  Concerned with the number of days hes called into work, Yui contacts Yasunobu to find out whats going on.  He tells her that Yamato and Suzuka broke up and he's been secluding himself in his room since then.  He suggests that she go and invite him to the upcoming summer festival to try and break him out of his slump.  She goes along with the suggestion and heads to his apartment.  While she tries to convince herself she is only trying to help him break out of his darkness she lets her feelings for him move forward, now that Suzuka is out of the picture.  One thing leads to another and she throws herself at him, desperate for his affection.  He rejects her advances though, set deep in his depression.  Yui can't understand why he won't acknowledge her feelings for him and leaves in tears, rejected and embarrassed.

    Resolve begins to build in Yamato, resolve and perhaps insanity.  He takes the money he had been saving for a computer and donates it all to the temple he and Suzuka went to for New Years, much to Yasunobu's horror.  He hopes that a sufficient enough offering to the gods will bring him some form of success moving forward, regretting the measly five yen donation at the last visit.  He resolves to quit working at the cafe, for himself and for Yui.  As if the gods heard his prayer he runs into Honoka, who has been busy with her new career as a model.  Since she quit the track team and they wound up in separate classes as second years, they have not crossed paths.  Time has eased the sadness of their failed relationship and a return to friendship might be possible.

    Before he can worry about that, Miyamoto approaches him about being captain of the track team once the seniors graduate.  He struggles with the recommendation, considering leaving the team all together.  Honoka challenges him about why he joined the team the first place and why he's continued to do track.  He did it initially to be with Suzuka, but he's put a lot of effort into it, even if he doesn't see that.  She impresses on him that those around him see his potential and are unwilling to let him go through life without ambition.  Sasaoka, the sport company rep who arranged for Suzuka to train in America surprises Yamato with a prototype pair of cleats due to his performance at the last inter high tournament, even though he didn't win.  Yamato accepts the gift and asks him to pass on a message to Suzuka.  With determination restored, he agrees to become the next captain of the track team, looking at it as a way to prove everyone who has supported him that they weren't wrong.

    A year has passed and Yamato has found some success as captain of the team, even placing third in the recent inter high tournament.  His cousin Miho enrolled in the same school and has joined the team as its manager, as well as moving into the vacant apartment which once housed Suzuka.  Yamato thanks the team for the past year of hard work and officially retires from it, having to focus on the next stage of his schooling and a recommendation to enroll in one college to join its track team.  Before they have to focus on testing, Yasunobu suggests they all go to the beach, including Honoka.  At the beach Honoka asks Yamato if he wants to date her again.  She plays on his surprise and tells him it was just a joke.  Later that night, as he wonders about her feelings shes sends him a text asking him again, further confusing him.  The next morning he is woken suddenly by the sounds of someone moving in next door...Suzuka has returned and has reclaimed her old room.

    He's tried to move past his feelings for her over the past year, but facing her returning to his life as if nothing happened, puts a lot of strain on his resolve.  On the outside she acts like nothing ever changed and he struggles with what she really feels.  The last time he saw her he threw himself at her feet telling her not to go to America.  She has returned, triumphant, picking up exactly where she left off...with one major exception, their relationship status.  He doesn't even know if they can interact in a friendly and casual manner at this point.  To complicate things further, he and Honoka have gotten closer over the past year and he has to contend with her conflicting messages the day before.  As he mulls over talking with Suzuka about dinner, Honoka calls him and asks him to go out to eat with her.  As he leaves, he finds Suzuka at his door, wondering what his dinner plans are.  Shocked by her appearance he decides he has to stick with his plan to meet Honoka and tells Suzuka he already had plans.  Without a second thought she cheerfully accepts his refusal and lets him leave.

    At dinner he mulls over her question to him about dating again.  But before he can convince himself to go for it she surprises him by telling him she started to date a guy she met through work and they will have to stop hanging out.  Rejected, he struggles with his emotions on the way home, on the verge of tears.  He isn't able to remain in that state for long as he comes home to an apartment full of smoke.  Fearing the worst he jumps I to action only to find that Suzuk la burned the fish she was trying to cook.  Nothing seems to have changed for her and maybe for him as well.

    As Yamato tries to work through his feelings for Honoka and the return of Suzuka another layer of discomfort falls on him.  His childhood friend and the girl he failed to confess to in middle school, Saki, is coming to Tokyo for the week to check out a university she's planning to attend.  While in town she will be staying at Yamato's aunt's dorm.  His aunt tasks him with meeting her at the train station and showing her around for a while.  The minute he meets up with her she demands a guided tour through out the city.  She is moving to Tokyo to try and break into the fashion industry and makes him take her to all of the trendy neighborhoods.  As the day winds down and they head to the dorm, she asks him if he just broke up with someone, sensing his melancholy.  He tells her it was more a situation of missing an opportunity to date the girl instead of being officially rejected.  She joking digs into him about his inconsistencies, poking fun at his failed attempt with her out years earlier.  She picks up on a deeper reason why he didn't push forward with Honoka, suspecting he has lingering feelings for someone else.

    Much to his horror, Saki lays out three years of heart Yamato heartache in-front of Suzuka and his aunt and cousin during dinner.  Retelling his failed confession to her and his recent heart break over a missed opportunity.  Not missing a beat, Miho interjects about Yamato failing to catch Honoka and also causing Suzuka to break up with him.  With all of his failed relationships out in the open things become tense.  Later in the evening Saki tries to comfort Yamato with dessert and friendly joking.  The following morning Yamato is woken by a call from the school about a recommendation to a different college.  While discussing it over breakfast, Saki tells him that she is going to attend the school his first recommendation is for and makes him pinky swear with her to go to the same school.  At training he learns that Suzuka is going to the other school that he was recommended for.  Yamato is faced with a choice; college with his first crush or college with the girl he still can't get out of his mind.

    Yamato joins Saki to take a tour of one college.  Miyamoto is waiting for them and leads them around the campus and bringing Yamato to the training facility for the track team.  The other members of the team are excited to meet him and encourage him to join their school...with the exception of Arima, who can't understand why Yamato is there instead of the school Suzuka is planning on attending.  That evening Yamato's aunt throws a party to celebrate everything going on, as the festivities extend she asks him to get more soy sauce from the store, prompting others to add requests for drinks and snacks.  Suzuka offers to help carry the groceries  back and the two reminisce about the first night together in Tokyo, doing the same thing.  The following day he accompanies Saki to the train-station.  She tells him to keep following Suzuka, understanding that she is the one he can't keep out of his mind, letting the lingering feelings for him die off.

   Yuka tells Yamato that she is going to express her feelings to Sasaoka once and for all.  A last ditch effort to find the happiness she desires.  Yamato wishes her luck and doesn't think about it again until he runs into Sasaoka later that day.  Confused as to why he's at his school instead of spending time with Yuka he brushes it off and tells him he wanted to let them know he is moving to America for a number of years.  Later Yamato finds a miserable and drunken Yuka and does his best to console the lost woman.  He can't see any other option for her happiness and forces her to chase after him in the airport, to truly appeal to him from the bottom of her heart.  In an unexpected twist he confesses that he has a fiance and will be married shorty, ending any hope for the love lost woman.  

    Instead of being morose, Yuka finds a weight lifted off of her shoulder.  She loos to the future with a new goal, one that will allow her to be true to herself.  Her success in failure reinforces Yamato's own conviction and he decides that no matter what, he wants to be with Suzuka.  Yuka forces him to tell Suzuka that he's decided to go to the same college as her.  Fearing that she will start berating him for making such a decision without thinking it through, especially when his entrance isn't guaranteed, he loses his nerve and tells her about his lingering feelings.  She flees his room, not wanting to deal with a confession from him again.  Rejected once more, Yamato wallows in misery, unsure of what to do next.  Yasunobu chides him for being too rash, suggesting that things have been going well since Suzuka came back because she wants to have a friendship like they had before dating, when things were simpler.

    Yamato rushes off to apologize for trying to disrupt the normalcy Suzuka was working to maintain.  For the first time they sit down together to discus their feelings.  Suzuka explains that she's rejecting him to protect herself, that she would rather remain as friends instead of lovers, if that means she won't be hurt again from his actions.  She doesn't want to repeat the mistakes and drama of the past, even though he brings her happiness.  Yamato can't accept her reasoning and pushes the issue further, expressing his frustration.  Laying out his beliefs for why their relationship failed the first time, why it languished in misery as the pair couldn't effectively communicate with each other.  Suzuka, keeping her feelings and worries to herself, for fear of pushing him away.  Yamato struggling, focusing on how to be the ideal partner, when in reality doing everything other than paying attention to her wishes and needs.  He presses again, saying this time it will be different but she rejects him and runs off.  But something changes, she expresses he desires, she wants him to not give up so easily.

    Through all of the misery and suffering the two have decided to become a couple again, hoping this time will go differently than the first time.  Things are more serious for Yamato now though as he faces the qualification test for the university he wants to attend with Suzuka.  A greater threat appears on the horizon, threatening to crush Yamato's bright shining future.  His academic performance in the final year of high school has been horrific and he is in danger of failing outright, eliminating any chances of getting into college with Suzuka.  Instead of hiding it from her and struggling through it alone, he tells Suzuka about his dilemma.  After criticizing him she offers to help, reinforcing the need for open and honest communication in their relationship as well as the need to rely on the other.

    With studying well under way its time for the qualification race.  Yamato is distracted by everything in his head and has a bad showing in the 100 meter sprint.  Convinced he's failed to meet the selection requirements his future doesn't seem as guaranteed.  His academic skills alone won't be enough to help him get into college through general admissions.  Even if he takes a year off to study before entering, the kind of strain would this put on his relationship causes him more stress.  Would Suzuka be bothered by him and lose interest while he stalls behind her?  In the end his worry was for naught as he was picked for admission, even with his poor performance.  The future brightens once more for the young man and his life with the woman of his dreams.  To celebrate, Suzuka takes him to a baseball game in Yokohama, remembering how passionate he is about the sport.  Not wanting to end their time together prematurely, he walks her back to her parents house.  They waste a little more time at a nearby park, just enjoying their time together when a new threat to their happiness appears, Suzuka's father.

    Surprisingly Yamato survived his first meeting with Suzuka's parents, even if he embarrassed himself.  When telling Yasunobu about it he questions what he's actually doing by dating Suzuka.  Counting their previous run at it and the current time, they have been a couple for a year.  He wonders why they haven't gone further physically.  Yasunobu pressures Yamato into making a move to initial sex with her, saying he's wasted so much time at this point without getting to that level in their relationship.  After picking up a magazine talking about teenagers and their average sexual experiences Yamato becomes emboldened to try and move their relationship to a different level.  That evening Suzuka invites him to watch a movie with her, he sees this as a sign that she wants more as well.  The movie, a romance, includes some erotic content, further convincing him that the time is right.  He moves in to initiate, groping her, only to have her rear back in revulsion and slap him. 

    Yamato is lost with what to do and tries to talk it over with her.  She tells him that she is satisfied with where their relationship as it is, with them spending quiet time together.  Yamato, out of frustration says he wants more, digging a deeper hole for himself.  After realizing his false steps and forced ambitions he comes to truly apologize to Suzuka, not wanting to destroy what they have both worked to build for themselves.  Suzuka admits that she isn't against being more intimate with him but wants to move at their own pace, outside of the pressures and norms of their peers.  She confesses she is ready to be with him that way and they spend the night together.

 

    As the end of the year approaches the couple plan to go on an over night trip, to make some more memories before becoming adults.  They have to do it in secret as all of the guardians would stop them for eloping in such a manner.  The arrange for an overnight stay in Hakone in secret and drag Mika and Yasunobu in as alibi's.  With everything in place and the exhilaration of breaking the rule propelling them, the couple heads off to their destiny, a night away from family and friends in a different city, all alone.  Before they even reach their destination the plan is foiled by Yasunobu being careless.  Frustrated at being alone for the Christmas season he hits the streets to try and pick up a woman, unfortunately for him, the first one he hit on is Yamato's aunt, who believes the two are supposed to be on an overnight skiing trip.  Unaware, the couple spend a relaxing evening together, enjoying the peace.  A peace comes to an abrupt end in the morning when Suzuka's father appears at the door to their room.

    Suzuka is taken away to finish out the winter break at her parents house and she isn't answering her phone.  Yamato's aunt stresses to him that he needs to apologize to her parents as soon as possible.  When he calls her house, her father cuts him off and hangs up on him, leaving things unresolved.  His next hope is a short track camp before the end of the year, but her parents have prevented her from attending that as well, citing a cold as the reason.  When he returns home, he finds movers are clearing out Suzuka's apartment, causing the stay at home to be longer than winter break.  Suddenly, as thing have become so nice for them, it has come to an end through their indiscretions.  Left with no other choice, Yamato heads to her parents home to talk to them face to face, hoping to salvage the situation and allow his relationship to continue.

   Her father refuses to hear him out, sending him away when he arrives to talk with them.  Yamato persists, coming again and again to apologize to her father.  His perseverance pays off and he accepts but gives him a stern warning about their future, as they move on to college.  Things aren't able to return to as they were before, Suzuka will be finishing the last few months of high school while living with her parents.  The challenge melted away in the face of earnest intention and perseverance, its only a bright future for the two young lovers now.

    At Yamato's insistence Suzuka finally goes to a clinic about her persistent fever, worried that it has lingered as long as it has.  The visit brings to light a far more complicated problem then their innocent interloping to Hakone.  Suzuka is pregnant, further along than their escapade in the beginning of the winter break would suggest, exposing they crossed that intimate boundary earlier in the fall.  The future is now truly unkown.  Both are uncertain how to proceed, whether with an abortion or to see things through.  If Suzuka chooses to keep the baby, it would mean an end to the collegiate career she has been working hard to attain since middle school.  Her entire future would be uprooted and changed to being something completely different than she planned.  The harsh reality of parenthood weighs down on Yamato as he ponders what direction she might go.

    While mulling over the decisions he ends up telling his rival Arima about what is going on.  Arima shows his true colors and says if he was in Yamato's shoes he would force Suzuka to have an abortion, caring only about track.  In anger, for Arima's lack of concern over the woman he loves, he fights him.  Suzuka arrives for the New Year shrive visit to find her boyfriend bruised and bandaged.  He brushes it off, telling her it was just a run in with Arima that went a little too far.  After they each prey for the New Year at the shrine they reveal to each other it was related to the pregnancy.  They begin to discus what to do, leaning towards an abortion, fearing physical risks.  In the end, through persuasion on Yamato's part, wanting to continue pushing toward a life with her, they decide to continue with the pregnancy and do what ever it will take to ensure a successful future.  They know it will be difficult and their immediate goals will disappear, but they strive to establish new dreams together.

    Little did they know the hardest part was going to come sooner than expected.  Yamato invites his parents to Tokyo so they can tell them and his aunt at the same time.  His father takes the news rather bad and begins to beat his son for being reckless and foolish.  Suzuka arrives in the middle of the beating and pleads for them to accept their choice.  Yamato's mother soothes her husband and they give the young couple their blessings but stress how important it will be to talk with Suzuka's parents as soon as possible.  With no other choice, they head off to Yokohama to face the biggest hurdle immediatly.  Her parents surprisingly accept the news right away.  In exchange, her father demands Yamato remove himself from her life and the child will be raised in their home.  Unwilling to concede to such a harsh condition Yamato persists in convincing her father to give them his blessing to marry instead.  After a heart to heart about what being a parent means and what is important in raising a child, her father relents and agrees to see them continue their live together.  The young couple just won't be receiving any financial support from him.

    Next hurdle is to inform their teachers about the sudden change in their lives' direction.  Though disappointed they are allowed to finish their high school career but the cancellation of both of their admissions to college means less consideration in the future for their high school track athletes to have the same opportunity.  They conclude their apology tour by telling the track team about their personal developments and what that will mean for everyone's futures.  The under class-men offer their full support and send them off with a lighter heart than they expected.  The final hurtle, employment.  Yamato struggles after multiple interviews to set a good impression for any company.  Knowing the trouble he is having, Suzuka talks with Sasaoka to see if there is something he could help with in the job department.  Much to their surprise he is able to offer a recommendation for another company affiliated with his.  The future begins to take shape as they face a life together, raising a child, but through everything, those around them offer the couple their full support.

    With that we wrap up the story, Yamato wins the heart of the girl he fell in love with at first sight, through stress, heartache and uncertainty.  All it took was a year apart and for him to knock her up.  As I've said before, Suzuka is the story that really got me to become obsessed with the romance genre in both anime and manga.  It isn't the best story out there and definitely has a target audience of teenage boys.  With its flaws and its seemingly pointless fanservice segments it also contain bits of realism in its story.  Yamato isn't the hollow protagonist who fumbles his way through success.  Instead he has to grow as a person and work to understand those around him more.  While not able to fully break out of his impulsiveness and selfish decision making habits, he is able to grow into someone more confident with himself and how other see him.  Suzuka changes as well over the course of the story, from the distant perfectionist, hyper-focused on one thing, to someone who is willing to be more relaxed and accepting of the things she can not control.  The real moral of the story, if one exists, is how important communication is between couples.  Almost all of the strife was caused by lack of communication, instead of solely relying on their internal monologues, filled with doubts and fears.

     While Yamato's own failures were enough to cause his misery, his continued reliance on the Faustian advice of Yasunobu led to far more trouble that help.  Out of all of the characters actions, it really comes down to the terrible advice he continued to give Yamato that caused the majority of the problems in his relationship not only with Suzuka but Honoka.  In the end though, Yamato was able to push through his friends terrible support and find his own truth...but its hard to deny that Yasunobu is not a guilty participant in how the two lovers lives ultimately wound up.  He continued to hammer on the idea that they needed to have sex, again and again, forcing the issue, stressing its vital importance to Yamato. In the end even Suzuka caved to that advice.  If it wouldn't have been for Yasunobu, perhaps the couple would have had a different, more fruitful future together in and after college.  But they stuck with the hand they dealt themselves and worked to do the best they could.

    Suzuka has its flaws as a story.  It grinds away at the back and forth of everyone misunderstanding everyone else for too much of the drama.  As it winds down this smooths out and the characters interactions become more mature.  The reader could consider this as another layer of them growing into better people, or it could be lazy writing.  Either way, in the end it balances out and we are left with a satisfying conclusion and the set up for another story set fifteen or so years in the future.  Yet before we can get to that we have to leave the Akatsuki family behind and follow the story of another love lost boy from the country side of Hiroshima in Kimi no Iru Machi.