a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Kouji Seo. The series is a character-driven romance story that uses the athletics of track and field as a subplot. The story primarily follows the life of the teenager Yamato Akitsuki, who moved to Tokyo to change himself, and his main love interest Suzuka Asahina, a talented and highly scouted high jumper who lives in Yamato's aunt's dormitory and attends his new high school. Suzuka was serialized in the Japanese magazine Weekly Shōnen Magazine published by Kodansha. It was adapted into a twenty-six episode anime series and aired on TV Tokyo in Japan between 6 July 2005 and 28 December 2005. Both versions of the series have been licensed for release in North America by two different companies. The manga has been licensed for publication by Del Rey Manga under their mature line. The anime series has been licensed and is being released by FUNimation Entertainment. Suzuka has also made the transition into other media. A twenty-six episode anime directed by Hiroshi Fukutomi and co-produced by Studio Comet and Marvelous Entertainment ran from July through December 2005. The anime was later translated into English and released on DVD by Funimation Entertainment. Two light novels written by Ayuna Fujisaki based on the series have also been released