Picture Perfect Paranoia

Opening Theme

Start Line by COACH☆

Ending Theme

Aoi FIELD” by COACH☆
Kimi no Koto by COACH☆

I admit it. I’m not a romance buff. Being exposed to various televised novels of struggle involving lovers - affectionately called telenovelas here in the Philippines - I was not pleased with how cliches on love, such as “love conquers all” and “love prevails”, were used to ensure a happy ending for the “love team”. Clearly, there is a demarcated line between the fated lovers and the eternal rivals of the “love team”.

Even in the realm of anime, that is, until the anime boom of the 1990’s, the situation is no different. The proliferation of so many series of the harem genre further strengthened my bias on the field. We see the common staples: flying managers, weak males sought after by girls with stereotypic qualities, magical girlfriends, and the like.

And then came Suzuka, the latest romance anime to grace the TV screen in 2005. At first glance, you would infer it to be a harem anime of standard fare, with the occurence of a boy living under one roof with many women of varying personalities, from the icy Suzuka, to the consoling cousin Miho, to the drunk Yuka, to the busty Megumi, to best friend Yasunobu, and finally to kind girl Honoka. Everyone will be playing their respective roles in this series.

The only striking difference of this series from the others in last year’s line-up of romantic shows is the lack of any fanservice from the first episode. What’s more, the pacing of the story is what you would expect in a soap opera, only it’s animated.

If you’re both a romance buff, like I am now, loves to watch soap operas, and wants a change from the overused cliche of romance in anime, watch this.