Potato Sprout
I figured a poll would be interesting, because I am seeing a lot of people question Seo's writing. Do you think:
A. Seo planned to kill Fuuka from the beginning in order to guarantee DRAMA
B. He started writing Fuuka and decided midway to kill Fuuka to create DRAMA
C. He wrote himself into a corner, and decided to kill Fuuka to create DRAMA
Honestly, any of these options seem viable, but I'm leaning towards B because, Seo...
Potato Sprout
Potato Spud
I agree with #2, Seo is definitely a man who plans ahead and lets only the small details be influenced by readers' comments and feedback. He probably already has the major turning points and basic plot, from beginning to end, all planned out.
But I doubt he's gonna turn to the supernatural, since it'd make for a very odd mix together with them playing music.
As for the legend part, Seo first showed that Fuuka is an extremely good singer. But while he was killing her off, he also made Yuu take her place as a musical talent, which is why so far, the legend seems to be pointing towards Yuu's journey to becoming famous.
In case it wasn't clear, this is of course all speculation on my part.
Potato Sprout
Potato Spud
This is a great plot twist. But too twisted.
I don't understand Seo right now. He use Suzuka's story part to bait us to read his manga, and then he kills her after it gets an attenttion.
In the story, Her parent don't shed a tears they said, it feels like : "My first daughter is dead ? Well, I didn't need her before." or maybe : "Good, everyone believe Fuuka is dead. Let's go to our second plan hubby, Fuuka is still on healing" (just a joke)
Edited by Lolipop Candy, 29 October 2014 - 06:07 AM.
I smell a loli here.....
Potato Sprout
Potato Spud
Here's hoping that Fuuka having "wings" from waaaay back (chapter 6) is not just Yuu seeing things.
I mean come on, Yuzuki can scare the living hell out of Lucia, Satan's daughter, herself. Surely Seo can use some sort of fail-safe scenario just in case the heat from Fuuka's death becomes too much to handle.
Edited by shinya78, 29 October 2014 - 08:27 AM.
Potato Sprout
Potato Spud
However I think this will only be used If reactions in Japan (I am pretty curious to the reactions there) are extremely bad/furious. But I think that is wishful thinking and we should accept that the fysical Fuuka is dead. (Although I really really wish see wasn't)
I actually went and looked up the reactions in Japan. So far, the reactions I saw are:
- Then the story develops to where another girl who looks just like Fuuka shows up right?
- Eeeeh? Fuuka's really dead?
- Time to go search for the dragonballs.
- This is too harsh!
- First, Suzuka lost her first love, then her own daughter. Does the author have some sort of resentment towards Suzuka?
- Next week, we'll go back in time, and a naked girl will suddenly show up!
- This overlaps with [Ushinawarete Mirai wo Motomete]!
- There's going to be a timeskip after this right?
- What were you thinking Seo?!
- Stop viewing the boards and get back to work Seo Sensei!
- This happens because the author has been drinking too much!
- I hate mangakas who can't write stories without killing a character off.
- This is from the guy who wrote that shitty manga Kimi no Iru Machi right?
- I'm more surprised that this manga is actually popular.
and so on...
Reactions also mention Adachi's Cross Game, Hisoka Returns, Touch, Key's works in general, and how this development has been done before.
Apparently, Fuuka isn't popular in Japan, probably had something to do with Seo's last work being a rage fest for the readers.
As far as I can tell, the majority of heat Seo is getting right now is from outside Japan.
Edited by shinya78, 29 October 2014 - 04:25 PM.
Potato Spud
Actually, I have some theory for what will happen.
as oddball said, If Fuuka is really a manga which is centered around Fuuka Akitsuki. I don't think this manga will be keep moving without Fuuka in the story. There are 3 possible options :
The second theory might be the biggest possibility for me. Even in ch. 36 there were some scattered feather, maybe from those angels who prevent Yuta to impregnate Lucia.
Seo's style is sometimes too twisted so that people can't guess what will happen in the next arc.
Edited by Lolipop Candy, 29 October 2014 - 02:02 PM.
I smell a loli here.....
Potato Sprout
Potato Spud
Actually, I have some theory for what will happen.
as oddball said, If Fuuka is really a manga which is centered around Fuuka Akitsuki. I don't think this manga will be keep moving without Fuuka in the story. There are 3 possible options :
- The publisher use their "Authority Axe" to drop Fuuka because the intial sale is under their expectation, Seo is raged with this decision and decides to kill Fuuka to express his rage. End of Story
- Seo is really wants to be like Nasu Kinoko (Fate/Stay Milk, Kara no Kyoukai, Mahoru), creating his own universe where all of his works are linked inside one world. Suzuka was crossing with KimiMachi, Lucia was crossing with KimiMachi, Fuuka is of course Suzuka ~After Story~. What if I told you that Fuuka gains a second chance to live or gains supernatural ability by Rie & El's angel friend or maybe The God who is involved in Half & Half.
- Fuuka becomes an earthbound spirit. Only Yuu can see her. (This one is worse than Authority Axe theory. meh.....)
The second theory might be the biggest possibility for me. Even in ch. 36 there were some scattered feather, maybe from those angels who prevent Yuta to impregnate Lucia.
Seo's style is sometimes too twisted so that people can't guess what will happen in the next arc.
1. Plausible on the account of its apparent lack of popularity. Though I have some doubts on it getting the axe.
2. I'm disappointed that you didn't mention Tsukihime. Seoverse continuity nods have been around since Suzuka. I remember Yamato watching a basketball match from Seo's earlier manga Cross Over on TV. It was on Suzuka vol. 3 if memory serves. It became obvious that Suzuka and KimiMachi are set in the same world when Suzuka and Fuuka (who appeared with brown hair in the first KimiMachi OVA) appeared when Haruto and Nanami was at the family restaurant pretending to be a couple. Fuuka even tried to cheer up Haruto in KimiMachi chapter 257.
3. I'm going to go with oddball's opinion on this one.
We clearly saw Yuu putting down the bass and stuffing it in a cabinet, so the "legendary band called Fuuka" theory won't be realized any time soon. Not to mention that we still have a lot of stuff in the story that are left unexplained. Like Fuuka's "wings" (and feathers falling down whenever she does something that stands out), why do Fuuka and Koyuki sound like Tama (the original singer from the band they both like) herself when singing together, why does Fuuka seem to resemble Tama in the first place, when will the foreign girl show up again, is Fuuka's "special ability" just synesthesia, and what does the seemingly random shot of the two birds from chapter 36 mean?
Edited by shinya78, 29 October 2014 - 04:28 PM.
Potato Spud
Lots of posts that I'll be referring to, so I won't bother with the quotes.
But anyway, oddball, when you say that Seo mentioned something about Fuuka having an ability, did he phrase it as nouryokusha or as sai?
And the wings seems more likely to be a visual representation of how Yuu viewed her at those times, kind of like a bird spreading its wings. A bird spreading its wings is universally synonymous with maturing, and further along the line, actualization of one's talent(s).
Basically, Seo visually reinforced the impression he was trying to convey by drawing the wings, and feathers were referring to this.
And Seo hasn't connected the universes of his slice of life stories and his supernatural stories yet, so I'm still very skeptical about him suddenly turning towards the supernatural in Fuuka's universe.
I don't really remember the crossover between Lucia and KNIM, but he still didn't connect the universes since it never affected KNIM. It's to be viewed more as a standalone rather than a true connection between the universes.
As for the supposed hints to the supernatural, it seems more like you went in with a predetermined mind, and didn't look at those "hints" objectively, but more as trying to find stuff to help your case.
And yes, it was quite clear that Yuu isn't feeling inclined to continue with his music atm, which is why I mentioned in my previous post that it's possible it might turn into a coming of age story, with him researching about her past to begin with and later turning into something more. It'd fit in with Seo's methodology to make him first take a sort of sabbatical from the shared interest he had with Fuuka, and later returning to it after some soul-searching.
Of course I know about Japan and their religious beliefs, but that doesn't mean they will include spiritualism in every story that's created, regardless of genres. Technically speaking, it'll be a sudden and very strange mix to include the supernatural in this universe all of a sudden.
As for the legend being about starting a band, the statement that it's 'not enough' is your own taste and probably a lack of imagination. Let's say it's about them coming to terms with their own lives, where everybody can have their own slice of drama, and then about them showing incredible musical talent while doing it, and also affecting Japan (in Fuuka's universe) at the same time, do you honestly think that would not be legendary? And then you can also picture them keeping their image of Fuuka as the core of their band, affecting their lives each day, and what if they would try to get some kind of message out there at the same time?
I'd call that legendary any day of the week, since it'd be the author who controls the reactions and would be able to turn them into living legends if he does it properly.
I'm not denying the possibility that it might turn to the supernatural, I'm merely arguing my view on things. This should in no way be construed as me trying to flame or say that you're wrong, but at the same time I do not agree with your conviction that it's bound towards the supernatural.
If you want to refute anything in this post, then I respectfully ask of you to keep a civil tone while doing so. I am not looking for any kind of fight, nor will I reply to anything hostile. I'm not saying any of you WILL turn it into a fight, but I'm getting it out there just in case.
Potato Sprout
Potato Sprout
I am thinking that after basically creating issues to push off Haruto from starting a famous resturaunt with what's his names helmut being a center piece for it. That he was dispointed that he didn't make the move sooner and finished up the manga without it really happening.
2-3 Volumes for someone who has had several long serializations isn't anything in the planning stages. It the filler stuff that messes with you. Unless that was the final issue of Fuuka, then he had her death planned all along. It will lead to the legendary Fuuka band storming the world. Assuming that the manga lasts long enough. I think it was a poor choice to use a kid from a previous manga series to be the martyr for this cause. But I think he felt the death needed more weight because he wanted to get it done with relatively soon. I think most experienced ones will have an outline for serval years worth of material and have a set in stone beginning middle and end. But it's those parts in between that can change the story at the end. You can force your way back eventually, like with Hurato, but it takes time and either him or the publisher had enough with Machi. Killing off Fuuka early keeps from him trying to find the perfect spot to kill her. It also gives him almost a year of work just building Yuu up to the point where he can even participate in the band again. 2 Years of normal band issues. 4 years (from the Death) for him to get over Fuuka. Probably add in several years of issues between Him and the eventual pick first couple years with her feeling she is battling Fuuka. Then probably issues her and him having issues with his participation in the band (being away for nearly a year at a time and so on). Near it's end one of the band members will have a kid named Fuuka.
Problem is I don't think this manga will last very much longer. I don't think the publisher pushed in a way that lead to Fuuka dying. But they just killed off the polorizing character. She was by this point a major reason in why someone was or wasn't reading the Manga. My guess is as people have to deal Fuuka's dead elephant while dealing with Yuu, people might continue to give it a chance. But I think as people start to realize that the manga is drifting away from Fuuka the character and towards Fuuka the group and that all the character building and care that went into creating Fuuka (a character that he stole from another manga) purely to be the creator, near killer, and then cause of a band I think people will drift away from the manga. Specially as the members mention her less and less.
Potato Spud
In case if any of you guys didn't know a special chapter of Princess Lucia & KNIM X-over
I smell a loli here.....
Potato Sprout
Fuuka will be a good manga just like any of Seo's previous works. Fuuka's spirit or memories will probably be residing on the guitar. Either way, Seo killed Fuuka to create a fresh storyline (as it as getting boring anyway) similar to Solanin.
Potato Sprout
It is also worth mentioning that the band name is named after Fuuka so it is possible that the manga is more about the band than about Akitsuki Fukka. Which would mean that yea it was planned from the beginning.
I will say I do like that there are stories with a beloved character's death since it shows a side that not many people like to acknowledge in life and stories.
Course I am not a big fan of stories that have things forced it to happen or reverse due to wishes outside the author since it makes it seem like it is no longer the story they wanted to share, so I am hoping it was part of Seo's plan.
Potato Sprout
It is also worth mentioning that the band name is named after Fuuka so it is possible that the manga is more about the band than about Akitsuki Fukka. Which would mean that yea it was planned from the beginning.
I will say I do like that there are stories with a beloved character's death since it shows a side that not many people like to acknowledge in life and stories.
Course I am not a big fan of stories that have things forced it to happen or reverse due to wishes outside the author since it makes it seem like it is no longer the story they wanted to share, so I am hoping it was part of Seo's plan.
I agree it was probably planned from the beginning. My issue with it that one Seo didn't build up the other Characters to kill of the one of the two characters with any depth. For me Fuuka had so far been the only redeeming character in the manga. If this was an action manga I could deal with it for what would probably be some gruesome revenge. But for a character driven love/life quest drama a MC that I can't stand and Fuuka were the only well established characters almost a full year in. What's makes it worse is that I know what is going to happen with Yuu for the forseeable future and all the progress Fuuka has done is going to be erased and its going to be another 40 chapters before he gets back to where he started the manga at. My other problem is the selection and then offing of Fuuka was cheap. By using the Suzuka's kid he had an instant fan base and knowing he was going to kill her off it allowed him to have the emotional effect waaaay outwieghing the years worth of growth he had put in
He wanted this to happen in Machi but there was several issues, people knew the character was dying (which doesn't stop Onnanoko ga Shinu Hanashi from making you weep like a baby, that's on Seo). He was an obstacle from the start, while a psuedo friend, a lot of people wanted his death so the story could get on track. The final and I mentioned it above. In Machi the resturant never really opens. For the longest time you could tell that he was hgoing to be a Famous chef, but so unsure of his hobby actually being good enough, he always afraid to take the risk. But time wasn't on his side and so much dancing around it and inaction from Seo with declining readers caused the publisher to tell him to rap it up and therefore it didn't happen.
But you are right I think more mangas should deal with major character deaths more often. A lot of character development can go on dealing with that kind of adversity. Hell if it was 200 chapters in an Seo found the need to kill of Fuuka off for better growth by the MC and so on it would have more impact and be more understandable. I just think that using Fuuka in particular for a character you know you are killing was a bad decision (even if the random girl was exactly as he wrote Fuuka) and cheap, and I think he killed off the character waaaaaay to soon for the MC to stand on his own.
Potato Spud
I'm not sure about rankings for WSM, but Fuuka really isn't any less popular than Kimimachi was book sales-wise. It's been doing the usual 70-80k per volume before disappearing from the charts, which is about the same Kimimachi did throughout most of its run, even after it got the anime and what not. Basically, for someone like Seo it just seems like he's got his faithful audience and things don't change too much in terms of sales.
Also, I really don't see we taking another 30 chapters for Yuu to get back to being how he was. Or, rather, to at least start walking a new path after accepting what's happened. That seems like way too much time to spend on something like this. If I had to say, the fact Suzuka and Yamato weren't shown at the funeral is because they'll be playing a part in getting Yuu back up once again, probably because Fuuka is bound to have commented about him to her family before. She's the talkative type, so I'm sure the "very kind friend" and/or boyfriend was mentioned to both of them -- and she'd been her happiest as of late, which I'm guessing is something both Suzuka and Yamato will also acknowledge as it being due to Yuu's existence and support.
Anyhow, I think it's a pretty interesting setup he's got here. It's very reminiscent of Mitsuru Adachi's stories, where the death of a loved one is usually the catalyst that brings up changes to our main character(s) and pushes them on towards a certain dream/objective, and that kind of story, when told right, makes up for some of the most earnest drama I can think of. Of course, Adachi is a master at his craft, and I've no idea how Seo's gonna pull this off, but at the very least whenever Kazama was brought up in Kimimachi it made up for some good pages. The visits to the grave, the finale, they all came across as very emotional scenes, so I'm willing to trust him a bit on this one, too.
However, I can obviously understand why some people would be less than pleased with Fuuka having to die for this. I mean, depending on how big a role Yamato and Suzuka play out and how relevant a character they become for this story, people will pobably calm down, but it's still a weird decision to kill the daughter of one of your most beloved characters in order to advance a new story. It risks, just as it did, pissing off a part of the fanbase, and arguably you could have done it with a "new" girl just about the same thing. On the other hand, though, Seo has been playing around with his "Seoverse", where you can catch glimpses of other characters' futures even after their stories are over, and as such I guess an unfortunate accident like this is not impossible -- it's something that could happen to anyone in real life. Looking at it from that prism, there's a lot you could do with Yamato and Suzuka after this, even further enhancing their bonds after having to comfort each other in such a desperate period of their lives. And for this, at the very least, the fact that the readers are familiar with the past and struggles of these two would obviously be required for Seo to make the most out of it.
All in all, though, I'm left very intrigued, and definitely interested in how he's going to play his cards now. I guess it helps that, unlike most people, while I did enjoy Suzuka, I was never too big a fan of her character, so I'm probably taking this best than most people. I imagine that if something like this were to happen to Daiki, Yuzuki and Haruto's son, my reaction would be far less understanding, as I have a big fondness of that couple and their story.
Community Forum Software by IP.Board
Licensed to: Vatoto!
Sign In
Create Account
Back to top
