Ao Haru Ride

If you're the type of person who loves sweet romances, this is the anime for you.

The manga and the anime comparison:
Ao haru ride is one of the best romance manga i have read. I would say the anime didn't do much justice, as most scenes had to be cut to fit into the anime, so the ending had to be changed as well. However, the anime still managed to show the loving connection between the lovers and managed to keep the audience entertain with their relationship. As well as including the important scenes which makes us go like "why can't I have a relationship ... like that too?". So I would say the anime is still pretty good!

The Art and Songs:
I love the way each characters are drawn, as it portrayed the characters' personality well. For example, the guy ( (Kou Mabuchi) had a very charming face to show how charming of a person he is as well as the girl (Futaba Yoshioka) having a very kawaii look giving her a friendly aura. The background may not be as spectacular like Spirited away or Your Name, but it still gives a heartwarming effect. As for the song, it was sweet and upbeat which perfectly displayed how the anime was.

In conclusion, I enjoyed it and would highly recommend this to anyone who loves romance animes :)

The only problem of this anime is that it don’t have more seasons to watch and don’t have an end. I had to read the manga just to see what I want to see. I really don’t understand how a great shoujo like this couldn’t have more episodes.

I loved the story and the characters, I just had similar events as Kou did and I could understand what was passing trough his head. I was really interesting the way the past connect to the future, and the way that characters have grow up and adapting themselves to survive the days.

The main character, Futaba, she is amazing. ... I love how strong and courageous she is. I love that she is spontaneous, funny and very intuitive. Unfortunately some part I wish she didn’t doubt of herself but love always confuse our heads.

It was very important for me when she said that you can always restart from zero. It’s ok to start it again and again. And when she said that nobody needs to give permission for you to be happy.

The anime should have much more story, I’ve just read the manga and totally worth it. I totally recommend of all of you to read the manga after seeing the anime.

I'm very, very annoyed with Ao Haru Ride at the moment. I write this whilst hitting my head against a proverbial brick wall, wondering why I wasted four hours of my PRECIOUS life watching such a limp anime when so many of my friends told me to avoid it. I just had to be a rebel, didn't I?

I've got nothing against the shoujo demographic, romance or slice of life - I actually really enjoy it when its done well. Unfortunately, this was absolutely not the case with Ao Haru Ride. It spent 9-10 episodes doing nothing but play endless feeling ping-pong. Some semblance of a ... plot didn't actually kick in until episode 11, but by then it was too late because that was the penultimate episode of the anime. The story was so limp that the cheese dangling in front a mouse plot device used at the end of episode 12 did not excite me an ounce, because by the time the thing was finished I was barely paying attention.

I know this is a slice-of-life anime thus it isn't really meant to have an overarching plot because it's more about the characters, than the story. But when an anime has characters as flat, shallow and soulless as the ones in AHR the anime has a big problem.

There was hardly any character development from any of the characters outside of the main pair. The supporting cast were frankly irrelevant and a waste of screen time. I didn't know any of their names and you could have swapped others in their place and I probably wouldn't have noticed.

Kou was the only one who had significant character development and it wasn't anything exciting at all. You see, despite what some will say about him, Kou is nothing but a 16 year-old arsehole with angst issues. His character trajectory is supposed to make us feel like he's something else, but he doesn't even have a trajectory that makes him redeemable. Everyone else around him is doing all the hard work whilst he's just stringing them along and confusing them emotionally - this is especially the case with Futaba.

I know the difficult time he went through affected his personalit, but it isn't any justification for how he treated people. What he did was morally reprehensible: he always played push-and-pull games with people, without giving a second thought towards their feelings. I've seen people do that in real life and TRUST ME when I say that it doesn't end well. Nobody will put up with that shit for a long time - no matter how much they care about you - because people like Kou are highly taxing on one's emotional stability.

I'm annoyed with Futaba for loving Kou, but, otherwise, I actually like her. I think she's got some horrible taste in friends and men, but she's honest and she's got guts. I'm glad that she finally realised it's okay to be yourself, and be hated for it, instead of being loved for who you aren't. Her character development was incredibly short though, and she stagnated after the fourth episode. Nevertheless, she was the gem in the dust and I saw aspects of myself in her at times.

Makita Yuuri is the only supporting character I'm going to talk about because, for about 30 seconds, she was a plot pusher. The other lot are so irrelevant I can't even remember their faces (and I finished the anime just over an hour ago). I have no problems with cute characters, but Yuuri wasn't cute she was just plain sly. She says it herself, at the very beginning, that she only acts cute because she wants male attention and appreciation. Not only is that incredibly sly, but it sends out an absolutely awful message to young girls (and boys). I also don't get why Yuuri and Futaba are such "precious" friends - asides from being hated by girls for being cute, what do you they really have in common? Their relationship was so superficial. I also didn't like how Yuuri could be so foxy and pragmatic when it came to Kou, but could get away with it because she acted like a three year old.

The art and music in AHR might have been really pretty, but that doesn't detract away from the anime's clear and undeniable flaws that obviously impact on one's enjoyment factor. You can't save an anime from the poorly construed characters that are supposed to hold the show together.

This anime is full of heart-stopping romantic moments, I really enjoyed it. I can't quite believe it's not quite over that 8 rating yet, although it is very close. I love that the female lead has a specific, cute fetish about the MC, I really related to that. She also has a great character - funny, sweet, conflicted. The female relationships are also very relatable - it was heartening to see truly good hearts find each other and overcome many of the aspects of teenage life that would normally pull friendships apart. Overall, very relatable, really enjoyable, very funny in parts too!

This show is going to be weird for me to write a review for, i stumbled across it on my recommended list while wandering aimlessly on Hulu.

Two middle school students. A male and a female. The male asks out said female. She would have accepted but for some reason indirectly rejects him while trying to deny the crush she has for said boy. He goes away and then they are reunited as high school students. So she tries everything in her power to try to get them to start going out as they should have in high school but one ... thing leads to another and he says he doesnt have those feelings for her anymore. So she tries to make him fall in love with her and that's basically the entire story.

Now i don't know too much about the female's mindset but granted that the story was told from the perspective of the female protagonist Yoshioka Futaba. there is a lot for me to ponder about this show. Personally because i don't understand the whole thing about love and relationships and crap. (pardon my french)

Ultimately i wanted to put a boot in her face and watch her bleed out. But for someone who knows how this stuff works, i would both recommend you watch it, and then explain to me how her mind is working. That would be appreciated.

Ao Haru Ride follows Futaba and Kou two kids who meet in middle school and fall in love. A heart aching love story of two kids who fall in love and loose each other, but later on meet again for a second chance. You follow these characters in high school as they try to make friends and get through the everyday struggles of high school. Futaba desperately tries to make Kou go back to the way he was because now he isn't the same small soft middle school kid she once knew. But yet a mysteriously non caring high school boy, she remembers the boy ... she loved in middle school and knows he is still the same loving boy. So you watch her struggle to make him open up and be a happy boy like he was in the past and win his heart over again one more time... I personally loved this series I held it off for some reason but so glad I watched this on my top rated shows of all time for sure just fell in love with this series with the beautiful visuals, amazing characters, and heart warming story of two lovers.

Ao Haru Ride is your standard shoujo romance, nonetheless it’s still entertaining and a show I would heartily recommend if you’re a fan of the genre. The show starts out strong- a lot of progress is made in the first few episodes, but it wastes its head start by slightly lagging towards the middle and end. There are some sweet heart-throbbing moments peppered here and there.

I am obsessed with Kou. He is a hot guy with a sexy, husky voice. Kudos to his seiyuu! Seriously, I wish all shoujo guys sounded like him. Kou is also sort of a tsundere and can occasionally act ... like a jerk.

Futaba, the female lead, is persistent when it comes to trying to get Kou to open up. I don’t like her character design as much as Kou’s design; her eyes are super round and a bit too far apart. But that’s just me.

The side characters aren’t anything to write home about. I honestly didn’t care about them at all (though they do get a bit more development in the manga).

The OP is really cute and catchy.

This is your typical shoujo anime so there's nothing particularly unique about the story line. However, I must say there were many ridiculous WTF how did that just happen, cheesy, and overly dramatic moments in this series, especially in the beginning. I was actually very tempted to drop the anime after 3 episodes but if you bear with the terrible opening episodes you'll come to enjoy the rest of the series. I didn't really like the MC's Futaba Yohioka or Kou Tanaka/Mabuchi but I liked their budding chemistry and enjoyed their subtle romantic moments. Oh but I thought the third wheel Makita Yuri was EXTREMELY ... ANNOYING. I hated how she acts cute and pretends to be innocent while lusting after Kou. She really just needs to get over herself and accept the fact that someone else deserves her crush better than her. Also, I hated Kou's lethargic voice because I thought it was overdone, but then later discovered that the seiyuu for Kou also voiced Kenma from Haikyuu! which changed my disposition. I freakin love Haikyuu so the fact that Kou's seiyuu also voiced a character from my favorite anime made Kou's boring voice more bearable to listen to~ :D hehe. ... But overall this was a charming shoujo anime. If you're looking to watch a short anime filled with sweet moments, then I recommend checking out Ao Haru Ride.

Ao Haru Ride is your typical high school romance, which can be both a good and a bad thing.

The story is nothing new, a girl who wants to change her attitude to become more likeable has someone from the past who stirs her plans up, in this case the main romantic interest. I do quite enjoy stories like this but don't expect anything groundbreaking.

The art is good, it truly fits the show, then again, it's not outstanding. The sound however is something I didn't quite enjoy, all of the tracks felt like they belonged only in the background, instead of stirring up your emotions every ... once in a while, which is needed in an anime like this.

The characters are alright, but they are again, not groundbreaking. Your typical somewhat 'manly' girl who wants to act more girly and the 'I don't care about anything and don't really show emotions' boy.

As such, you can probably see the repeating pattern in this review, this anime is not bad, nor is it really amazing. It's a lovely little story, which is certainly enjoyable. The only thing is that nothing really stands out, therefore making the show quite forgetful. If you enjoy romance anime; you would like this one, if you are here for something special; you might want to give it a pass.

The story was a basic story line, with it's own spin on it and a lot of blush-worthy moments and heart-racing ones. The characters are all likable. The art was beautiful, I love the watercolor effect the artist used on the flash backs. It was very well done and the development of the characters got me attached. It kind of made me think of My Little Monster but the roles were reversed. I was kind of sad at the ending because I want to see more and know how it does end it because it leaves it open and I don't like it, haha. But ... I still rate it high because the rest of the anime was top-notch. Decent characters and funny lines along with dramatic scenes and a girl like a storm.

Well, [SPOILER] there's no actual romance in the anime, just a lot of romantic tension. Which was the most disappointing part of the anime because it starts becoming more intense right after where the anime left off.

Story: 6
It throws you into the story without any actual development, it's quite abrupt.

Art: 9
I love the colors and animation quality, very pleasing to the eye and I found it quite enjoyable because of that.

Sound: 8
Music compliments a lot of the scenes very well, and the OP and Ending songs are quite good.
...
Character: 5
I mean, the story sorta just throws you into the characters expecting that you know a whole lot about them. Character development was very poor, and I couldn't quite sympathize for the characters. I almost shed a tear at most.

Enjoyment: 10
I have a guilty pleasure for romance, the romantic tension had me screaming on the edge of my seat, however, no actual romance.

Overall: 7
Characters aren't lovable but they'll start to grow on you as you go from the anime to the manga. Anime was good but the plot escalates very slowly. I wouldn't recommend to those who want hardcore romance.

**POSSIBLE SPOILERS**

Loved this anime!!

Usually this romance based animes they're all the same, unrequited love but the guy/girl doesn't back down until the other person eventually gives in and they fall in love and whatever.
BUT with this one I've personally never watched an anime where the person actually gives up or tries to move on and that's what I found most refreshing. I love when there's drama attached, that chase and that's what I loved about this anime.

Although she loved him, she wouldn't just wait around for him and moved on and then he realised what he gave up and tries to ... get her back! So damn refreshing

If anybody knows any anime similar to this please do let me know.

Rate: everything 10/10

I really liked this anime because it is so Kawaii!

There are two ways to see this anime:

Beautiful form- teen romance, true friendship, leisure time with friends, happiness
Dark form- unrequited love, pain, false friendships, longing, withdrawal
And it's because it's not a honey-covered romance, it looks more like it was produced by bees, and because it's kind of "true" in some ways that I love it!

But, I think that should have a second season because I feel that there are little things that have not been explained. This anime has a Live-action movie, which I think is much more complete than the ... anime.

This anime is amazing but I'm actually sad bc there is no season 2.. I already read the manga and there happends a lot of things and it's my favourite manga of all tbh.

I recommend everyone who liked this anime to read the manga it's so deep, intense and painful.
I hope (I don't think so) there will be a season 2!! Kou and Futaba are really kawaii together. Especially Kou's voice is killing me (Eren Jaeger's voice *--*) It suits him sooooo well!

My favourite romance story of all and especiallt the art in the manga is also my fav.. Just look at ... him:
[IMG]http://i64.tinypic.com/24zkd1z.jpg[/IMG]

"If you laugh from the bottom of your heart, find something that moves you,
no one's going to blame you."

This is what Orange should have been. This is the vastly superior version of Orange & Bokura ga Ita.

I went in thinking this was going to be stereotypical and predictable. I was wrong. I found this from people dissing Say I Love You, which was boring.

I wish I had watched this while I was in college. For anyone who has ever tried to fit in, this was me. Futaba is a girl who first starts off having fake friends. It really goes well into the psychology ... of anyone who has tried to do that. Face it, none of us want to be alone. I have seen animes that take place in a school setting and none has really understood that.

At first you think it's going to be your typical Kimi ni Todoke stupid romance. But it becomes something more. It becomes a tale of friendship, of fitting in, of finding yourself, and of family and learning to forgive yourself and live freely. This is a slice-of-life, totally seinen vibes with a shoujo premise. The characters are really mature, and for anyone who has been to college and onward, you could relate to.

My best friend still remembers the time we walked back from school together.

This is everything that Orange wanted to be but couldn't.

Way better than Sangatsu no Lion, way better than the Hana Yori Dango drama even. I like how it plays out like a jdrama from repeating that same theme song over and over. Better than jdramas, for we know they have shit productions.

It ended where it needed to end. Believe me, once the manga outstayed its welcome, it morphs into a stereotypical love triangle infested mess. It picks itself back to where this left off in its final chapter, but I personally found this ending much stronger. It tied up all the loose ends surrounding Kou's family. It told what it needed to tell, and we know that they two MCs - Kou and Futaba like each other.

Shorter is better than Inuyasha where it long outstayed its welcome.

-- Contains spoilers

I personally thought that Ao Haru Ride is as refreshing as a spring breeze. It's quite short, 12 episodes, and the characters seem quite cliche for the shoujo genre if you watch the first few episodes.

Yuuri is the first friend MC makes after she decides to be herself, losing her fake-friend possay. Yuuri had to be one of my favorite characters on this show. She fell in love with the same guy as MC, but she didn't backstab her or judge her for it (what usually happens in shoujo manga's/anime's.
Instead, she accepted that they both love the same guy, and that ... they would always love each other as friends. I honestly thought that was a surprise, because I thought Yuuri for sure would turn her back on MC.

The love between MC and Kou was... quite odd at the start. They used to mutually like each other during middle school, but both agreed that they did not like each other anymore went they once again met at High School. However you can easily see that both are lying about it.

It takes the last few episodes to understand why Kou didn't openly confess to MC even though it was very obvious that he did care for her. The reason why he didn't confess at first was quite sad. I didn't really expect it.

In short; It's a refreshing short romance anime, however if you expect overflowing fluff, this is not the anime for you!

(English is not my first language. I apologize for the mistakes)

I have been seeing gifs of this anime for years and, often, I was presented as one of the most beautiful and most painful. I’ll be honest, I had higher expectations, but it didn’t totally disappoint me, in fact.
I mean, I haven’t suffered or found it among the best I’ve ever seen, but it’s got a lot of strong points I’d like to report.

The story revolves around this group of high school kids who face, in a different way, the school and its problems, creating a "group" with five totally different elements, which are always ... the classic characters all different: The silent protagonist, the chaotic protagonist, the shy girl, the girl who wants to be alone (in love with the professor) and the boy in love with the lonely girl.

Explained in this way it seems, in fact, the classic story with clichés and, in fact, some clichés are there and some scenes are predictable. But what made it so that I didn’t drop this anime?
There are some very significant moments and phrases.

It probably varies according to personal experience, but I found myself in the protagonist several times.
Especially when she wanted to pretend to be someone else so as not to be taken in dislike and, above all, not to be ready to let go of the past, because unable to accept this sudden present of a childhood friend found totally different.

Adolescence is contained in this anime in a wonderful way: leaving behind being children, to face growth, personality change, the pain of death and farewell, the different people that exist, the first loves and the first jealousies. Interface with the adult world and, at the same time, not be alone in this journey.
There is so much in this anime and I recommend it to everyone.
Moreover, many sentences reminded me of those years, which are not so far from me, realizing that if I had thought that way, many things would have been different.

"There are things you can only achieve together. So that someday when you look back, the people you experienced it with will see it as a happy memory with the same warmth that you do." - Kou Mabuchi
"To let my heart be moved, to laugh from the bottom of my heart, to find meaning in everyday life. I wanted to be given permission." - Kou Mabuchi

I reported these two sentences of the protagonist because I feel very much my own and to give you a reason to look at it.

To close the review, and be as honest as possible, I will say that there are also things I enjoyed less. One of these are the stereotypes of the characters: while they are deepened the protagonists, who is background remains secondary, without a characterization, and this is a shame, but maybe in 12 episodes you can not do much.
In addition, moving on to the protagonists, I found interesting the short development of the girl alone, but her person is little in-depth , on her relationship with the professor, which was forgotten and resumed only at the end, and the one with the character in love with her, he’s totally lost when it could have been more interesting.
Finally, I found heavy the two triangles between the protagonists and the professor, although one had a positive side, useful for the growth of the protagonist, but maybe I do not like these things regardless, so someone will have found them interesting.

So, I recommend this anime, because I liked it a lot, although I don’t totally love this kind of plot, but, at the same time, don’t expect anything totally innovative, a simple anime with which to spend time and in which you could find yourself.

Have you ever felt a feeling of "Damn, I really want another season." and you start to lurk down the internet, hoping a new season would pop up. This was the feeling I experienced. Take note that my vocabulary is not the best.

First, let's start at the story, it's your typical shojo where the main girl and boy fall in love, but somewhat it differs from many anime that is shojo. I don't know how to express what I'm feeling but this is quite unique, by the way, at first I thought the story had some connections with a delinquent falling in love with his ... boy because of the synopsis explaining Futaba being "Tomboyish". I postponed this to my Anime-To-Watch list since I HATE cliches. But oh boy I was wrong, this was more innocent than I expected. I didn't say the story is lacking, but it is more on the good side. If I would recommend the story to my friends, probably I'd recommend it.

Next up are art and sound. Both of these catches my eyes. These are the two highest ratings for this review. The art is simple yet astounding, the details on Futaba's hair are quite good to look at, the same goes for Kou. Although I dislike Yuuri's eyes, it's NOT CUTE AT ALL, well for me. I was creeped out, and Murao and Kominato reminded me of the beautiful characters of Kimi Ni Todoke. Sawako and Miura. BUT I DO NOT SHIP THOSE TWO HELL NOOOOOO. SAWAKO X KAZEHAYA SENPAI KUDASAI FOREVVVV. And also, Kou and Futaba reminded me of Orange's Main Characters. Naomi and Kakeru, they have VERY similar designs.

"Sekai Wa Koi Ni Ochiteiru..." Let us move on to sounds. The OP is VERRRRRRRY catchy. Even now, I cant hella get it out of my mind, I thought at first I thought it was just a way to show off the series's cuteness but NO. It presented the ups and downs of Kou, it was way deeper than I expected it to be. Futaba expressing "Oh please tell me (Oshiete)" Is referring to Kou, meaning she would like to know him better, which was her main goal. I can't say anything about the ED besides it being good. And also I can't forget the OST. It's so fitting and so like, "Shojouuiii". I saved it and I decide to use it when I plan to make videos. I like to use it for my OST. The voice acting is also a thumbs up. Cmon, let us just say Kou's voice is hot and Futaba is fitting and Yuuri is acting cute like cmooon.

Hmmm, Characters... I can say, character development is really important. I don't knowhow to explain this but I'll just say the roles in what I have in mind. Let's focus on the main couple. Futaba And Kou, have they shown hints of love towards each other-? Probably, Yuuri acted like a Love Triangle Gadget, and Murao and Kuminato just acted a one-sided love interest. Tanaka-sensei denies Murao's feelings and Kuminato still fights for Murao's heart. I think they did a fantastic job at expressing this. I really dont have anything to say besides being good.

I did enjoy it. Though some 'scenes', I get fckin infuriated by Yuuri. And just wanted to smash my PC. I even shouted 'Fck you' at my screen. :'D. I really enjoyed it.

Story: 7/10
Art: 8/10
Sound: 8/10
Character: 7/10
Enjoyment: 7/10
Overall: 7.4/10
Rounded Overall: 7/10

First off, take notice that I'm a male. I never thought I'd end up liking a shoujo work, but for me there wasn't much difference from what I usually watch at all.

Secondly, oh my god. I started it for the romance and drama, which it does offer, and it was absolutely great, but it didn't focus on them alone. This anime tended to jump from one topic to another for a very... important reason, because as much as I'd love it to be, this anime is not exactly about love, but many more feelings: desperation, depression, loss, struggle, friendship, social issues... It never reaches the ... conclusion I would like to see, and yet I did enjoy it, I did feel it a lot, and Ao Haru Ride is all about feelings. Besides, there's a lot of sincerely cute moments.

Thirdly, gotta admit, most of the characters are quite cliche'd, although it's merely supposed to make you feel the characters easier, and the anime keeps mystery where it's needed to be, so I say that's a good and fair move. Plus not many characters stay the same as they were at all.

To conclude: Ao Haru Ride offers you a lot of drama, character development, a whole mixing console of feelings and quite serious topics. I think this anime is perfect for people who are stuck in a lifeloop, searching for a cause to quit it and go on right ahead.

Ao Haru Ride is an amazing Anime. I would love to recommend it to those who want to watch Comedy romance. But it has only 13 episodes, and its manga is complete. So In order the know the rest of the story, I had to read Manga. And being very honest, I didn't like the story when I only watched 13 episodes. When I completed the manga as well, then I came to know how brilliant this anime is.

Story is amazing, so engaging, making sense, Very real. When I was watching this series I felt as if it happens in every high school in ... Japan. 😯👏🏼

ART and Graphics were TOO GOOD that I don't have words👌🏼😯

And Music ❤️😍 I'm amazed, how can directors make such a long list of OSTs and Songs for such a short anime of only 13 episodes. Its all songs are my favourite. I even enjoyed the background music while watching.

Character development is brilliant 👌🏼😯 I must say, Mabuchi Kou of episode 1 is entirely different from the last episode.
Yoshioka Futaba, who's madly in love with him, never disappointed the audience, not even once. She's just too Hard to be ignored, even by a Hard-core man like KOU 👌🏼😍

& there isn't much comedy, But it's a carefree anime. There aren't any fights or action scenes, So we can relax while watching it.

Overall its a GREAT TREAT OF EYES to watch this beautiful ove story.
I would give it 9/10