Oct 1, 2014
A white shirt. That's what Ao Haru Ride reminds me of.
As more and more shoujo, school-life animes with all the romance and complications that come with it are released; people are starting to see the typical pattern of the girl meets boy or vice versa. Ao Haru Ride follows this pattern which is present in most popular shoujo/school/romance animes; however this does not mean it isn’t worth your time.
I gave the story a 7 (Good), for the sole reason of the anime exploring the changes that occurs in one’s life when they push themselves out of their comfort zones. The anime encourages young individuals to
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fully experience their youths and to never hesitate on their decisions which can positively affect their life. It also shows the importance of expressing a person’s individuality, especially in the society we live in now, where there are many pressures to change one-self, for the benefit of others. The 3 points lost was due to the fact that the story, romance-wise, follows a common pattern, mentioned above in the previous paragraph.
9 (Great) for the artstyle. The high points given were due to the expression of character as well as their situation and ambient feel. Ao haru ride uses common, yet effective ways to communicate the characters emotions and their environment to the audience.
Sound was also given a 9 because of how effective it communicates the character’s emotions to the audience.
The charactersation of the characters in Ao Haru Ride accurately reflects the attitudes of most people who are in high school, that’s why it got a 10 (outstanding). The main heroine protagonist Yoshioka Futaba is always putting up a façade in order to blend in with the crowd. The anime really excels at showing the progress as well as the few stuff ups she’s made to change her life throughout the series, and it shows that every little thing you do counts. The main male protagonist, Mabuchi Kou is complicated. He was initially a shy-boy during his junior highschool years, however his personality changed due to the events mentioned in the series. His attitude towards school is nonchalant, yet he always pushes the heroine to a better path whenever she strays from it. He is kind, but also distant. The other characters like Murao Shuuko and Makita Yuuri also are very realistic and interesting characters. Particularly Makita Yuuri, who, unlike the heroine, did not decide to put a façade in order to fit in at school. Therefore, the combination of realistic and interesting characters which makes up Ao Haru Ride has given it a 10/10.
The enjoyment throughout watching the whole series was 7 (Good). This is because I have personally watched many shoujo-romance animes which is reminiscent of this one, which takes away the excitement from knowing the outcomes of character decisions as well as situations. However, if you are still new to the shoujo-romance-highschool genre, this is definitely worth a try.
The overall score is 8. The main positives which contributed to the high score were the Art, Sound and the Characters. However the fairly common patterns in romance-shoujo animes are present in Ao Haru Ride, making it a pretty flat series. Despite this, like a white shirt, Ao Haru Ride, is simple, effective and suits every situation. It’s best for all ages, although younger audiences might gain more wisdom from the moral of the series as well as the characterisation.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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