Reviews

Oh glob where to start.

Okay, so Ao Haru Ride is about a simple, and at the same time complicating love story of an outgoing and feisty girl and a sharp-tongued boy. But the good thing is, even though the manga has a lot of the usual shojou manga stuff (the sparkly sparkly, doki doki, kawaii stuff that sometimes gets on my nerves or the boring twisting and turning of events like some new character shows up and ruins everything and shit) it doesn't get boring or annoying at all. (I only started reading this yesterday 'cause a friend kept bugging me about it and when I did I couldn't stop reading it. This rarely happens to me mind you. I'm not easily entertained with some manga, especially when it already has a lot of chapters)

Here goes my probably lame ratings~

STORY - 9

I love the story so much! The first chapters already got me crying like a moron. Kou and Fukuba having some sort of mutual understanding when they were in middle school and suddenly seeing each other again in high school and they slowly fall in love each other all over again can be typical. I've read a few mangas similar to that. But there's something different with Ao Haru. I'm not sure why, but maybe it's because of the characters. The author really put up a lot of work on the story 'cause it's just so great and realistic in a way~ I'm giving it a 9 for now, but I'm pretty sure it'll be a 10 soon XP

ART - 10

Next thing that got me hooked is the B-E-A-UTIFUL artwork! No one can deny this, Sakisaka Io's art is GORGEOUS. I love how she draws eyes. Not only are they beautiful it's great that they don't fill in the whole face like most mangas do. Everything else is awesome too! From all the chapters that I've read so far, none of them felt rushed at all. No weird body proportions. Nothing. I can find no error in her art. It is AWESOME

CHARACTERS - 9

All of the main characters so far are surprisingly likable. Usually in a manga, there's that one person that I would love to tear up and kill with a fork, but in Ao Haru, I like all of them! Especially Kou. I'm always a fan of the quiet, mean, mysterious guy. He's not like most of the emo/tsundere guys I find in some mangas. He's mean and quiet, but he's sociable too. I love Fukuba too, even though she reminds me of most of the usual shojou female protags. But she's also different in some ways. Like she doesn't cry much and stuff and she's pretty strong and stands up for herself pretty quickly. I'm giving 'em a 9 for now since the manga isn't over yet and there'd probably be more characters to come~

ENJOYMENT - 10

Like I said above, I read Ao Haru in two nights (I would've finished it in one, but I had to get ready for school and stuff the next day so yeah orz) 21 chaps, with around 45 pages each. Normally I really would've backed down and just added it in my "Plan To Read" list. But I couldn't stop. I was really trying to stop that time 'cause I wanted to sleep early...but I couldn't /sobs. That's how awesome it is.

OVERALL - 10

I don't know if putting a 10 is appropriate since this isn't even finished yet, but I really think it should be excellent. 'CAUSE IT IS. I can't find anything I dislike in the chapters so far, which made me think a 10 is a'okay. Ao Haru Ride really is a beautiful manga that can make you cry, giggle or squeal. It's not just about Fukuba and Kou's love story too. It also makes you realize how important friends are. How loneliness can be scary. How scary it is to confess your true feelings. And to make you understand who you want to be and what you really want in life.

I totally recommend this to shojou fans everywhere! :)