Suzuka

Ok, well I decided I would go through a few of my favorite mangas/books/etc. till I finally catch up to what I'm reading at present. I should be knocking these out a lot more often then when I finally catch up to where I'm at now. Suzuka ran from 2004 March 3, 2004 - September 21, 2007 and spanned 18 volumes with 168 volumes. There is quite a bit of fan service at the start of the series, now that I went back and read a few of the chapters to refresh my memory, but it fall off a bit towards the middle and end. Not to say that it is gone completely, but more that the service doesn't feel as forced, and is more just part of the adult story that unfolds. I'm personally of the mind that fan service is fine, since in real life you'll run into situations like, but not as exaggerated, as some that you find in mangas. I think its only good though if you make it natural and believable. I really did enjoy reading this series though, and it was the first sports story I actually stumbled onto. The set up with one guy in a dorm full of girls was very Love Hina set up like, and especially having the protagonist living next door to the love interest, Suzuka, with a hole in the wall connecting their rooms. It's not a hole in the floor/ceiling like Love Hina, but you can tell the author, Koji Seo, defiantly read Love Hina. I don't think he was copying Love Hina though, it felt more like he was tipping his hat off the the classic of this boy living in girls dorm series. After that though, Ill have to say that the two series are very different.
The series revolves around a track and field high school team, but its not a hardcore sports manga where the sports is the center of attention. A lot of development does revolve around the team, but it isn't a sport series like Eyeshield 21, where sports is the main focus of the manga. This manga was tied for second in my favorite slice of life mangas, tied with Love Hina, but the two of them got knocked down to third place by Koji Seo's new manga, A Town Where You Live (Kimi no Iru Machi). Koji's new manga is just below my all time favorite slice of life, Ichigo 100%, both of which I'll review later. Also, as a side not, I generally don't rank my favorite mangas, or anything, since my tastes are constantly changing, but I think I'll always mention Koji as one of my favorite manga writers if I'm ever asked. He really does know how to make three dimensional characters that you care about, root for, and cry for. I really suggest taking a look at this series if you are looking for a manga with great romance, and a lot of real life issues that not many mangas tackle.