Hello, Kyra here! This is Onamae wa? #39, our weekly encounter where we pick Anime character’s names and look for anything interesting in them.

Picking a character early on in the Season has the drawback of less content to dig for treasures, but luckily we had two episodes already for this one and, on top of that, it was packed with gems for our weekly adventure.

Our guest today is 秋月(aki.tsuki) 風夏(fuu.ka), protagonist of Fuuka, a drama Anime currently airing in Winter 2017. For the sake of this post, it is recommended to have watched up to Episode 1 e 2 to avoid having your mobile broken by spoilers. No manga spoilers, only considered aired content for this.

e2-107

秋月(aki.tsuki) 風夏(fuu.ka) is a 15 year-old easy going and energetic high-school student who loves music. In contrast to her usual inspiring behaviour though, deep inside she feels empty, as if something was missing. And here enters the male protagonist Yuu, who will change her life forever. Let’s check her name first before we go any further. お名前は？

 

Family Name: 秋月(aki.tsuki)

%e7%a7%8b月

秋月(aki.tsuki) isn’t a popular name, these two sites (here and here, Japanese only) showing it not even among the 2000 most used ones in Japan. Even then, it is mostly read as Akizuki rather than Akitsuki. The idea it conveys is rather straightforward though and there are some neat trivia on it, as we will see below.

秋 is the kanji currently used for 秋(aki; autumn/Fall), although there were two old variations in Chinese, 穐 and 龝, nowadays only used in rather obscure names. Other than simple words like 秋口(aki.guchi; beginning of Autumn) and 昨秋(saku.shuu; last Autumn), there are a few words that draw into the association between this season and loneliness, like 秋思(shuu.shi; Autumnal melancholy, lonely feeling of Fall) and 三秋の思い(san.shuu.no.omo.i; longing for loved ones). Another interesting word is 暗送秋波(an.sou.shuu.ha), depicting an amorous sideways glance.

e1-1450

月 is mostly known for 月(tsuki; moon) and 月(gatsu; month). We saw it briefly a few months ago on [Onamae wa? #21] when checking 桃月(momo.tsuki) from Momokuri but back then I couldn’t really find anything relevant. This time the only word that I found to be relevant was 月見(tsuki.mi), the act of purposely admiring the moon, as it ties well with 秋月(aki.tsuki) itself.

秋月(aki.tsuki) exists as a common word, meaning Autumn Moon or Harvest Moon, symbol of adoration during the previously mentioned 月見(tsuki.mi) or お月見(o.tsuki.mi), which are Japanese festivals honoring the upcoming Harvest, usually held in September or October in the Gregorian Calendar. It is thought that this tradition originated during the 平安時代(hei.an.ji.dai; Heian Period, 794-1185 AC),  when Japanese aristocrats would gather to recite poetry, drink and eat under the full moon.

The above event is an example of an event contrasting to the usual loneliness abstract idea associated with Autumn. Thus here I’d point out how 秋月(aki.tsuki), despite happening in Autumn, isn’t exactly a perfect representation of what this season entails. Similarly, our protagonist here might be silently drowned in emptiness and loneliness, but she is more than that.

Others 秋月(aki.tsuki):

Woah, only major works that I utterly recommend! Also, notice that the three of them are read as Akizuki rather than the unusual Akitsuki from Fuuka.

 

Given Name: 風夏(fuu.ka)

風%e5%a4%8f

I love this name, seriously. 風夏(fuu.ka; literally Summer Wind or Breeze) draws well into traditional naming after Seasons, brings up Nature, has a beautiful sound and is actually easy to write! It can also be read as Fuuna and some variants include 風香(fuu.ka; Scent of Summer), 風花(fuu.ka; Summer Flower) and 風海(fuu.ka; Summer Sea). Question is, does it tie into our character?

風 is mostly known for 風(kaze; wind). We saw it twice here, on [Onamae wa? #17] with Aoba-chan from New Game! and [Onamae wa? #30] with Koyori-chan from Shakunetsu Takkyuu Musume. From the first one, I quote:

As for 風, it is branched in two main ideas. First is wind or air related words, as in 旋風(sen.puu; whirlwind), 台風(tai.fuu; typhoon) and 暴風(bou.fuu; windstorm, gale). Second one is a way to describe manner, behavior or style, as in 風(fuu; method, manner, appearance), 風習(fuu.shuu; custom, tradition) and 風刺(fuu.shi; satire, irony, sarcasm).

Fuuka’s energetic style and strong running skills tie well in both meanings of 風. Like the wind, she is made of untamable, swirly emotions that can’t really settle down.

We roughly saw a bit of  夏 in [Onamae wa? #5] with Natsu, the bear from KumaMiko, though nothing much important. Here in Fuuka it adds power to her vibrant manner, adding a warmth that contrasts heavily with the loneliness depicted in 秋 from her Family Name. A peculiar word is 夏座敷(natsu.za.shiki), which describes the act of rearranging the room in order to facilitate air (風) flow during the heat of Summer.

e1-105
Meeting a Summer Breeze, Episode 1

After the initial events on Episode 1, Yuu described Fuuka by saying ‘sore ga natsu no kaze wo matotta youna shoujo, akitsuki fuuka to deai datta’, translated by Crunchyroll as That was how I met Fuuka Akitsuki, the girl who seemed to be wrapped in a Summer breeze. So what makes a Summer Breeze special? Sidetracking into non-Anime culture for a bit, here is a quote from the song ‘Summer Breeze’ , by Seals & Croft (1972):

Summer breeze, makes me feel fine, blowing through the jasmine in my mind.

The way I see it, a Summer Breeze is important because it happens during a Season where it provides the best sensation. In other words, it is all about timing. It drives away the heat, albeit for only a short time, but it makes you feel fine when you most needed it. And Fuuka is someone bound with this very same power, charming and relieving others. While Yuu was theoretically ok before this encounter, his life certainly did take a turn for a better direction after it. Another point of view would be that Summer Breezes don’t really last long, so maybe this feeling of satisfaction that Yuu (and Fuuka) are feeling might not endure forever. We shall see!

e1-212
The dream of the endless summer – The wind keeps blowing. Album dropped by Fuuka on Episode 1

No other 風夏(fuu.ka) in Anime, although plenty of ones whose reading is Fuuka:

 

Wrapping up!

e2-2303

秋月(aki.tsuki) 風夏(fuu.ka), the girl whose mood sways between Autumn and Summer like wind.

Thanks for your time, hope you enjoyed your reading. With two episodes aired, there are two things made clear so far in Fuuka. First, it has ecchi content. Pantshots, girls walking around in underwear. Second, it is a drama. So keep both in mind if you intend to keep watching it. If for some miraculous reason you don’t know anything about the original story (the manga is currently pretty far ahead), I recommend you to avoid reading or clicking anything, as they might contain HEAVY spoilers. Depending on how other shows fill my schedule, I might come back to Fuuka in a future post to cover Tama-chan and Yuu, as their names are also great. See you all next weekend!