Ao Haru Ride

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.

Honestly, I had high hopes for this show. I don't really watch shoujo and prefer shounen as you can tell by my list, but I wanted this give this a shot as I really found the art style to be cute, especially the character design for Kou, the main guy character. I also watched it as Kaji Yuki voices the MC. But, I was greatly disappointed. I even read the Wiki to know the ending and I got disappointed with that, but of course I'm only going to discuss the anime.

Story: Very, very cliche. Sure, there were some funny moments that I enjoyed, but for ... the most part, I was pretty bored and ended up continuing to watch it for the sake of finishing it, and seeing Kou's face as I really do love his character design. It was slow as hell and nothing significant happened. Like, sure, maybe what we want to happen happens in the manga, but this is a whole season that ended with nothing significant. That's pretty lame. I didn't like the dialogues as well and were pretty lame and cringe at times. But, that just might be me not liking shoujo, or the fact that it really was lame.

Art: I love the watercolor art when it goes to flashbacks. Again, I really do love the character design for Kou. But, I think the overall quality lacked at times.

Sound: It was nothing special. I don't really like or hate the OP and ED. I prefer the ED more, though. There weren't any particular moments in mind that were memorable or struck me because of the BGM. So, basically, in my opinion, the BGM was okay, I suppose? But, not enough to evoke an emotion.

Character: I don't think they really showed the character's backgrounds well. I also hate the fact that one particular character keeps crying. We get it. You cry easily. Boo-hoo. The two main characters are also pretty dumb and are good at complicating things. It was annoying.

Enjoyment: Again, there were some times when I would laugh because it does have some comedic scenes. But happy for romance? Hm, barely.

Overall: I expected a lot more and was truly disappointed. I watched it for the sake of watching it. If you don't mind cliche and generic shoujo, feel free to watch this.

I thought this anime was a masterpiece. I don't read manga at all but I loved the anime so much that I watched it 3 times and I hunted down the manga and read it and I'm thinking of reading again. It's not too unrealistic like I hate to admit but most romance anime is, in the sense of the main love interest isn't so 'innocent' and 'love is easy'. The main couple went through trial and tribulation both giving up and then fighting for one another again. The main love interest has a backstory and is effected realistically by it. The people around them ... have backstories as well but not as well delved into as the main characters but still enough for you t appreciate them. The art is pretty good and I listen to the soundtrack as I do homework.
I am a romance anime connoisseur. I've been watching it for years and have seen almost every romance anime there is. I think that this one is my favorite out of all the ones I've watched over the years. I can admit there is better out there but this fits my taste almost perfectly. I would recommend it to anyone looking to quench their hearts thirst for love.

Story: 7
The story plot is a very typical shoujo anime plot with a cool male lead and a sweet female lead. The reason why I enjoyed this anime so much is because it's more realistic. The characters don't fall in love with each other instantly like all those other cliche romance stories. Of course they fall in love at the end because it's a shoujo romance anime, but the journey through their relationship is very unique. I'm actually not a big fan of romance shows because of how misleading and fake the relationships are. That's why I enjoyed Ao Haru Ride.

Art: 8
The art is very ... beautiful. Each character has a unique look that matches their personality. It has a 3D feel to it and the animations are not flat.

Sound: 7
I love the sound tracks in this anime. The voices in the subs are really good too. They fit the characters perfectly and the audio is great. Good music, good sounds and good voicing.

Character: 8
I absolutely love every character in Ao Haru Ride. They're all really cliche but unique at the same time. Futaba is the usual cheerful shoujo anime girl. She is hardworking and wants to be someone that everyone likes. Kou is the usual cool and silent type. These characteristics are very popular amongst shoujo animes but the reason why Ao haru Ride is so special is because the characters stay true to themselves. They don't lose their personalities but they develop themselves like real people would. They also do it in a realistic way.

Enjoyment: 8
There are many scenes in Ao Haru Ride that I love re watching over and over again. Many cute romantic scenes that'll make you feel warm and fuzzy on the inside. There's comedy, romance and romance scenes that will touch your heart.

Ao Haru Ride is a very cliched romance anime that shows us how to do cliches right by having insane emotional depth and getting you attached to its memorable characters. Its very essence is watching Futaba try to navigate the maze that is Kou and his past while trying to become part of his present life.

As a romance anime fanatic, this was one of the very few animes that I still remember clearly despite having watched it first nearly 8 years ago; that goes to show just how remarkable the character-building was in this anime, particularly for Kou. He starts out as a passive, aloof, ... and avoidant douche who has no aspirations or anything he cares for, which all of us find frustrating I bet, but we watch him slowly open up to Futaba and despite his passive aggressiveness, you can see that he still does care through the way he sees himself in her. I've truly never sympathized with a character as much as I have Kou, that goes to show just how well his character was built and I truly love this anime for it. Futaba also gets her fair share of character development, though not as angsty and personal, and it's not particularly remarkable, her main goal is to help Kou break out of his misery after all. The side characters are quite typical in the anime unfortunately since they did not get their time to shine yet, but they're all coherent and go well together as a group.

My absolute favourite thing about this anime that couldn't have happened in the manga is definitely the soundtrack. Each track is so engaging and the OP is quite literally forever engrained in my brain. The romantic scenes accompanied by the emotional piano just have me kicking my feet while rewatching this anime for the 8th time. Everything about the emotional intimacy between Kou and Futaba has me in awe wishing I could find someone who fits me that well. SHE LITERALLY FIXED HIM.

I genuinely believe whoever doesn't like this manga either has no business watching romance anime or cannot see past the surface level of emotional depth in each character. Kou IS a douche and Futaba IS pushy but it's all for a reason.

I definitely recommend reading the manga after finishing the anime if you think the side characters were lacking. There's still a lot more to the story that's yet to be animated. :)

I consider Shoujo Genre to be the hardest to enjoy genre in all of anime and manga. The major reason being that constructing a GOOD female lead is pretty hard and the Troupe of "Princess" is not a fit for a story focusing on coming-of-age romance with drama sprinkled all over it. While the surrounding and set-up are made more realistic,it is the characters who ruin such shows or at least make it boring and annoying at times. Unlike shonen, this genre doesn't have much sub-genres that fit it well that's why it is very very less popular then it's counterpart. Ao Haru Ride is ... one of the very few Shoujo genre stories which has almost ticked every box that would make watching stories like this a great watch.

THE ACTUAL REVIEW : With minor spoilers.

Art/Sound - 8/10. I'm not someone who critiques art style and sound design much. The art is very very pleasing to the eyes especially at emotional moments,it packs a punch and chops onions near the eyes of the viewers. The sound is pretty good too, there is no misplacement of tracks and it doesn't lessen the impact of story and character's emotions.

Story : 9/10. The best part of this series is it's story flow which is 50% due to unknown but realistic situations and 50% due to the decisions made by the characters. The story encapsulates the teenage psyche nearly perfectly in the provided setup and the author has used every stereotypes that fit in the story without making any "forcible" character decisions. The lessons that the characters learn after each incident can also be understood by the viewers. It wouldn't be a stretch to say that this story has the Soul of the Shoujo genre and is one of the best that this genre can offer. Now,now, I am not saying that this stories has no flaws but that the flaws can be covered by the better moments present throughout the story.

Characters. 9/10. The female lead is probably the simplest character of the story. She's not a "Princess" and she represents the psyche of the teenage girl at her age, not very mature but not immature either. Her love for the male lead is a genuine love that a girl her age would have,not completely childish nor too sexual. Her fascination is pretty relatable even to the person of opposite gender,like me. At moments,especially at the later half she suffers the THIRD WHEEL SYNDROME at a degree she shouldn't be. But it's not much bothersome.
The male lead is pretty good and has the most emotional changes in the story. Well, due to his circumstances the decisions he makes throughout the story is the most human-like which doesn't make him the typical 2-D Shoujo male models. so, he stands out to be a likable character.
The other characters like Shuuko represent a young teen who is pretty new to the matters of love and develops feelings for people who provide unconditional love to them, so her crush on the sensei is something that some young teens have. Yuuri is the "Princess" character of the story and acts as a third wheel to relationship of the MC's but considering her transition to adolescence and innocence to matter of mutual love, her character is not a forced presence in the story. And she learns a lesson at the end of the story completing her character arc.
The male supporting guy is a pretty good and understandable character. The two friends of female lead at the start of the story represent people who are left in mediocrity even in the real life and the Brother of male lead is a good brother character.

Enjoyment : 10/10. This is probably the only Shoujo/Drama anime that I've enjoyed to much extent without being annoyed by the characters. I'll re-watch it every now and then.

FINAL VERDICT: This story is short,sweet and enjoyable. The Shoujo troupes don't hurt this story much and make it one of the best school life romantic drama of this decade. Highly recommended to everyone who want to watch romance story without too much unnecessary DRAMA. My score for this series is 8.85/10.

Okay so this is my first review of a show but let me give this a shot...

I have maybe watched this show twice and maybe one if I'm lying. I actually overall liked the show and the romance was pretty good but god i wish there was more romance. the reason i rated the characters 7/10 because i felt like there could have been way more involving himself the of male MC. Like just be a little more chill and like the girl already. And i did like the main girl character however i do not see why she thought if she ate a lot ... guys wont look at her. Like bih ima eat cause food taste good. Alsooo Id wanna have a nice body for myself. But anyways the art was good this is the type of art i personally like and personally cant really watch a series if the art it bad and if the chracters kind of look baby like even if their highschool students. I like the chracters to look more mature yet still cute and i am gonna keep this review short cause i hate reading long reviews so there you go if you are looking for a good romance anime with not much actual romance as in physical this is an anime for you also a little bit of comedy too and would definitally watch this a third time.:)

if you're a fan of the shoujo genre then i definitely recommend this one to you !! likeable characters, main couple in a friend group, cute moments, build up to the mc's s/o backstory, etc.

it was a nice cute anime to watch. the characters were nice, the art is pretty, seiyuu's did a perfect job delivering their lines. though, after i finished watching it there was only a few scenes i could remember out of 12, TWELVE episodes. with 20 minutes each ep(minus op and ed) thats about 4 hours. i also kept fast forwarding a lot because it was so slow. so the thing ... i didnt like is the pacing. the first 2 episodes was nice, a good introduction to the show, the characters etc but i honestly couldn't remember anything after that besides the last 2 eps. i feel like this could've been better as a movie because theres much scene's could've been cut or replaced by something actually relevant to the story.

some characters were absolutely useless to the story. they didn't help with the story but i guess they were just there to be the mc's friends. the mc... ngl futaba was pretty boring as an mc. i like how they introduced her at the start with how she changed herself to fit in but after that she felt so.. dull. cute pretty character who has a crush and always gets flustered nothing more to her.

sorry if this review seemed so negative hahah. ig im just not that much of a shoujo fan. still a nice light hearted and cute anime tho :)

Having watched this twice now, I think it's about time I actually review it. Blue Spring Ride was one of the earlier animes I picked up after my "anime phase" had restarted and seeing it again has helped me appreciate it just a little more.

I've seen it be called generic a number of times and maybe I just haven't seen enough romances to agree with this. Or at least, I myself would've never labelled it generic. The story isn't anything special, I'll give you that. It's an anime that follows two characters that have realistic, normal problems. It deals with death, change and love realistically. ... The pacing of their relationship and their development is perfect. I usually hate slow-burns that hardly show any romance or don't even kiss, but Blue Spring Ride is the exception.

The execution was right. Though you don't see them together by the end of S1, it would feel wrong if they were. There is PLENTY of romance in this though, basically every episode fed the audience with sweet little moments. I have no complaints about them not getting together because the story was following a somewhat realistic relationship between two very flawed people.

The side characters did play their part, though I can admit that they did feel somewhat.. one dimensional. They had a reason for being there, and did help progress the story, but for their role, they should've been developed more. Within 12 episodes though, they did fairly well.

If the anime was given a S2, it'd probably get a much higher score. It feels unfinished, and from what I've heard from manga readers, it is. If the anime genuinely ended where episode 12 did, I'd feel pretty restless, so I understand those who are unhappy with the ending. But the romance and the main characters really hit the spot for me. It's definitely in my top 5 romances purely for their relationship.

Overall, Blue Spring Ride had the potential to be a 9, maybe even a 10, no matter how basic the first season was. The foreshadowing of what was to come would've raised it so much, but doesn't look like a S2 will ever come out. As a stand alone season, 8 is the highest I'd rate it. Can't be rating it any higher purely for the potential it has

Blue Spring Ride is an incomplete emotional ride.

It is decent shōjo. Its story captures the themes of romance, friendship, past trauma, and what it means to change while at the same time be true to yourself. It also brings out the best in shōjo from romance to drama to even comedy. The characters are also charming and likeable. The two main leads--Kou and Futaba in particular possess decent chemistry that doesn't have the negative implications Wolf Girl and Black Prince had. The friendships in the series is also heartwarming.

That being said, this is an incomplete story. To start, it doesn't cover the entire manga so ... the romantic chemistry between Futaba and Kou hasn't been officially resolved yet. I heard that the tension gets better in the manga, so it's a shame that there won't be any sequels anytime soon. That being said, the series still ends in a positive note so I guess that makes up for it.

The artwork and animation is well done. I love the way the former shifts to a more watercolor look for the flashbacks. The OST is great as well, I certainly love the OP and the other song used for the more emotional moments of the series.

Overall, Blue Spring Ride is an incomplete emotional roller coater that's definitely worth your time.

I really liked this anime, even though the ending left me a little disappointed in the romance department, it had a satisficing closure for the groups friendship. The characters, most of them we're pretty fleshed out, except for Kominato and Yuuri.
Kou, trying to get over the hardships of losing his mother and isolation.
Futaba, reconnecting with a middle school crush, growing as a person and understanding her worth.
Murao, where some might disagree about her having a fleshed out character, I stand with it. She struggles with a crush on her teacher, Tanaka-sensei. Obviously their love would be forbidden, an unrequited love. She had ... isolated herself, much like Kou never letting any in. Cold and blunt with others, it isn't a huge change she goes throughout the anime, but if you look closely you can see her warm up to her new group of friends.

I really liked the story, it did take a little bit to kick off for me. As at the start it did feel a bit repetitive with Futaba asking for the old Kou back, and Kou, being cold and distant saying that, the old Kou, that old version of him is gone after what he's had to experience, unknown to Futaba. After it is revealed what has happened, how his mothers passing has affected him, I think it really starts to work all together. Futaba giving him support, friendship and a caring person, as cold and distant as he might try to be. The sideline with Yuuri falling for Kou was interesting and added a good conflict for Futaba, as Yuuri was one of her first true friends and she doesn't want to betray or hurt her, but she also is in love with Kou. It was a very needed sideline to keep the story interesting, and I think it was worked smoothly into the story, and didn't feel forced at all.

The art style was appealing to the eye, a nice contrast of color, and contrast in character design. Very pretty scenes all throughout the anime.

I think all the supporting characters adding something to the story that made it stronger. Yuuri's backstory of being bullied and shunned because she is cute and gets attention from boys more often. Tanaka-sensei's battle with feeling remorse for not being their for Kou during their mother's illness.

This anime has an amazing message, and so many perfect quotable lines about life and staying strong. Showing that isolation doesn't mean you want to be isolated from others. That sometimes we need people to break down the walls we built around ourselves. To forgive ourselves after a traumatic experience has happened. Though the anime didn't end of with a confession or a relationship, I don't feel like it hurt the ending. I don't think it hurt the story to leave Kou and Futaba's relationship as friends; even knowing their romantic feelings for each other. Every rom-com, slice of life doesn't need to end with a relationship, a friendship might even be better than expected.

I decided to watch Ao Haru Ride after being recommended so many edits of Kou and Futaba. I would describe this anime as your typical cliche romance anime, but I happen to like cliches so I enjoyed this anime. I only had a few complaints that really tanked the review/and enjoyment of this anime for me, which I list below (SPOILERS AHEAD, TW for mention of assault):

1) The pretend assault scene was not ok
In this scene, Futaba follows Kou to see what he does at night. She sees that he is hanging out will teenage troublemakers and decides to interupt them. Suprised that ... shes there and put off by the gross comments his "friends" are making about Futaba, Kou and Futaba leave and go walking. They end up on hill and lay down next to each other. He tells her that the place he was at is no place for a woman and tells her that men, like him, could assault her. She tells him that she isn't worried about him assaulting her because she's comfortable around him and trusts him. Then Kou ROLLS ON TOP OF HER AND PINS her so she can't move and goes in for kiss but flicks her on the head instead of kissing her and rolls off. He follows up with basically "see I am man and could assault you" and Futaba begins to cry. Her inner dialogue says she was frightened, which gets promptly brushed off to show that she was excited that he was going to kiss her. Nothing about this is ok. Who the hell warns you of assault by pretending to assault you? That's traumatizing and shouldn't be used as a so called "romantic moment".

2) The ending with Tanaka Sensei and Murao was a little....iffy
I think from the get go I didn't like the troupe of Murao having a crush on a teacher. Tanaka Sensei did the right thing any teacher should do by rejecting her advances. But the ending of episode 12 was off putting. It made it seem like Tanaka Sensei was flirting with her. This a) makes no sense because he has been rejecting her this whole time b) very gross because student-teacher relationships aren't ok. Literally what was that.

3) if you like love triangles, this isn't for you because they go no where
There are two love "triangles" or just drama, one is Kou-Futaba-Makita, where Futaba and Makita both like Kou, and Murao-Tanaka Sensei- Kominato where Murao likes Tanaka Sensei and Kominato likes Murao. The only relationship explored in this show is Kou and Futaba, so Makita is barely explored at all and her crush on Kou comes off as a plot device for a friendship arc between Makita and Futaba. As for the second love triangle, it is never explored. All we ever know is that Murao likes Tanaka Sensei and Kominato likes Murao, with no reason or history for why they like their crushes. This leaves way too much in the air and I consider this a plot hole.

There are 3 extremely important warnings for anyone watching this anime:
1. IT HAS NO END. LITERALLY. So it's the most important warning. The 12th episode is like a regular episode ending. If you want to continue the story from the 13th episode (OVA 2) you MUST read the manga.
2. HE HAS 2 OVA THAT DON'T FINALIZE THE SERIES. The 2 OVAs released until the moment of my comment are 2 more common episodes, with the third warning below:
3. IF YOU STILL WATCH THIS ANIME, WATCH THE OVA 1. Because if you watch it later it will have no purpose because 90% of what is presented ... in it is presented during the anime in flashbacks, which are the main events of the two protagonists in high school when they first met, and it won't make any difference to the narrative if you watch it before the canonical episodes of the anime. The OVA 2 is a direct continuation of the 12th episode of the anime, that is, it is basically the 13th episode, even in the episode title (Page 13).

The anime is good. And I think it's because of what I wrote earlier that it doesn't have a high rating on IMDB. It has a slow pace. But the dramatic arc at the end is worth watching until you get to it. Futaba is very charismatic and, for that matter, worth watching. Unfortunately, I can't say the same about her crush, Kou, who is, shall we say, boring to the end, with negative charisma. But for her, for wanting the protagonist's love happiness, you keep rooting for her to achieve her goals. Which we can only see in the manga.

Note 8. If it had a closed ending like in the manga it would be an easy 9.5.

it is an exciting anime that makes one think of the girls who are in love what to do I am sorry that there is no second season of this anime but I wish there were, can not leave an open end or not?
I like the characters as they are made even as they are character.
The protagonist of the story is Futaba Yoshioka: because of the sentence "I hate all males" she pronounced, a misunderstanding was created with the only boy she liked, or Kou Tanaka. The two, among other things, could no longer clarify why Tanaka moved a few days later without leaving news. ... Now Futaba is in high school and has changed considerably: she has taken on a somewhat rough and not very feminine attitude to avoid attracting the envy of the other girls, who considered her too cute. However, the peace that had managed to create itself will be upset by the return of Kou, who, in addition to having changed his last name, is completely different from how Futaba remembered him.
Wanting to go and look for the hair of the egg, the premises described above may seem a little forced, as if the author had been puzzled to look for an original incipit and to entice the public to choose its product. However, the first episode of "Ao Haru Ride" turns out to be not bad, thanks to a very sweet flashback and an equally sweet encounter.
The real problem, however, lies in the development of the subsequent installments. As usual, the anime in question is chock-full of all the clichés and stereotypical situations typical of shoujo: the grumpy guy who shows his tender side only with the protagonist, the study session among friends, the friend who falls in love with the same boy as the protagonist, the girl infatuated by the professor and so on. To this we must add all the various scenes that make people blush and excite, in addition to the girl in question, even the spectators (see the boy who shows up with a bare chest or who tries shamelessly without ever going to the bottom).
The characterization of the characters is obviously closely related to the above themes. However, even in this regard, no excellent work has been done. Let's start with Futaba: all the good things I talked about earlier were partly ruined by the usual tendencies typical of the shoujo's protagonists: for example, she follows her lover like a stalker or goes into raptures for every aspect of her, from the “form of the pretty head ”(please?) to the smell of the shampoo mixed with the smell of sweat. If with Futaba there is, therefore, a relationship of love / hate, the same is true of Kou. Certainly one cannot remain indifferent to the motivations behind his change, and that unlike the girl do not derive from a voluntary choice. However, the boy with the "door of the heart" that must be broken through to kicking if he wants to open it, is completely closed and grumpy. Because, as mentioned above, sometimes it proves, even indirectly, to be sensitive and generous. This behavior is quite unnatural and planned to ingratiate the viewers (besides being obviously predictable and typical of this stereotype).
The two protagonists are the only ones to talk about: except for Yuuri, who is still a not so brilliant character, Murao and Kominato remain somewhat anonymous until the last episode. Another aspect that I did not appreciate is how the group was formed: the friendship between the five boys, which is so much bandied about inside the anime, seems to be born out of nothing. It follows that the relations established between them appear very forced.
Let's move on to the technical side. Character design and animations are perfect in the first and in the last episode, while in the remaining ones not a little waver. On the other hand, the backgrounds are always excellent: in particular, I really liked the watercolor colors used in the flashbacks. The OSTs are quite catchy, as are the opening and ending: the first is fresh and urgent, the second is slow and melancholic. Bella also the insert song "I will" proposed several times.
I found Ao Haru Ride a beautiful delicate and sweet soul like the breath of a summer breeze. Ideal when you have a heart full of love and good feelings. The opening is nice and catchy, the voice is sweet and the music really remains in the heart. In conclusion, 13 episodes are few for an anime that, developed like the manga, could have done better.

This is a great anime (and manga) to watch if you are getting to know about the anime world or you are looking for something new to watch.

Story: 9
The story doesn't sound so creative when you first take a look. It has some cliche scenes but mostly, it has unique parts to itself. You have to watch the anime to get a better idea. Kou x Futuba scenes are the most creative ones I've ever watched lol.

Art: 10
The art was amazing. It is the type of art I like watching. I don't like animes with girls who look like a 3-year-old with an adult body, ... and boys who look like 30. But this anime's art just drags you in it. I love the backgrounds and the concept art. By the way, this anime has the most prettiest girls I've seen so far.

Sound: 7
The reason I gave it a 7 is because I don't remember being a fan of the music of this anime. The intro was nice but other than that, I don't remember much.

Character: 8
Ok, I love Futuba's character development as well as Kou's. She was a pathetic girl hanging with the 'cool' kids to stay alive in high school. Then she found true friends. Kou closed his heart to the whole world and acted cold, but after meeting Futuba, he became less heartless and opened 'the door to his heart'. The side characters had a lot of improvement as well.

Enjoyment: 10
I believe everyone will enjoy this show and like it.

Overall this is a 9/10 show that you must watch if you enjoy Shoujo and High-School Romance type of anime.

As it stands it seems this show has been abandoned after its first season and 9 years later in 2023 a live-action show started.

A decent romance show with no real surprises or impact.
It's not uncommon for a show to be rear loaded, but the weight of this particular show is almost entirely on the last two episodes. 12 episodes just isn't enough to really develop things.
It struggles to define itself and flip flops between the main romance and the main girl's experience of adolescence and social impressions. It doesn't marry the two things very well.

Let me go back a little to what the ... story is about.
Girl and boy, Futaba and Kou, are acquaintances/near friends from middle school. A short and very quick interest developed between the two but was cut short as Kou suddenly moved away and never showed up for the date he invited her to.

Present day they meet again in high school, both practically strangers and both changed quite a bit.
Futaba has gone from being cute to an on-purpose messy girl who overeats (but somehow isn't fat) and goes out of her way to have friends. Kou meanwhile has gone from being a gentle small boy to being much taller and more relaxed person who doesn't filter himself. Futaba describes him as being mean, but is confused as to whether he's actually mean or kind.

This is where the story doesn't work that well, because anyone who isn't a high schooler implicitly understands that he cares a lot more than he lets on and it's not subtle at all. The main crux of the story, besides the romance, is what happened to Kou and why did he change?

Instead of really getting into the intimacy of the two of them and exploring their issues, the show tries to do cutesy side stories instead like forming real friends (poorly told story), being student representatives (just an excuse for them to go on a trip) and doing study sessions (another excuse to move the relationship along).
The side characters have value, they are interesting, but they aren't well explored and we don't have the episodes to have things fleshed out.

The 12 episodes set things up for another season (which is likely never coming) but it does conclude well enough to leave it where it ends. It might very well be worth watching this, to then move over to the live-action show and see how things develop from there.

story-6
art-7
sound-7
enjoyment-9
overall-6 (fair)

ao haru ride is your cliche highschool story of a boy and girl falling in love and the things that follow. but what sets it apart is the feelings of the characters, because it takes you to the setting and you relive your school days. the way the characters react to certain situations of a love triangle, of jealousy, of friendship and all those emotions you lived in high school, it shows them and you will enjoy it.
----why I rated such an amazing anime so low (my problem with it)-----
what really kills the mood is that the main characters are extremely undecisive if not ... weak.
the boy and girl confess to each other in the first 15 minutes of the anime, and show feelings to each other all the way down to 12 episodes, but still can't put it to solid decision.
another problem is, that i would have wanted this anime to have a definite ending and not leave things on a cliffhanger(of course the mangaka wanted to make 20 more chapters and earn money), so in the end it sets off your mood.

overall this anime is a good entertainment and a must watch fr anime lovers

Ao Haru ride is a shojo with an average story and average characters, this anime is far from bad but it isn't anything special or great.


What I like about this show was the story they tried ( but didn't) aim. The story has the basic elements of a shojo but the idea of old childhood love rebuilding when the partners are older seemed nice to me. The show was not boring, that is why I finished quite fast, and the interactions with the characters won't boring at all. The reason may be the energetic movements of the characters and the quick animation.

What I ... disliked about this show was the lacking in writing, at times lines characters say sound outright mediocre and sound completely out of place. The character development is also lacking, the sub plot about yuri liking koa was over rushed and didnt have any sort of progression whatsoever. Futaba's reaction to the whole situation was even worst, she was acting like yuri and her had this strong bond even though their friendship just started. This sort of action doesn't allow the audience to sympathize with either of the characters as the creators intended. Another issue was the wrong use of the soundtrack, the soundtrack was fine but the creators used certain pieces in wrong timings. The editing at times felt sloppy and unfinished.

I truly believe this show could turn the tables and became something good but currently its stuck as plain average for me. I don't recommend if you're new to shojo anime or want something really good.

Are you looking for something to pull at your heartstrings? Ao Haru Ride is definitely just that. A beautiful shojou anime that explores the stories of Futaba Yashioka and Kou Mabuchi and their romantic relationship. On the surface, it seems fairly generic. However, unlike many romantic shojou animes, Ao Haru Ride does a wonderful job of developing the relationships of the Main Character outside of simply their love interest. Really, at its core, Ao Haru Ride is a story about growing up, learning, and moving forward. It becomes more than a romance, and becomes a lot like a coming of age story. ... Ao Haru Ride is beautiful, both in a visual and story-telling sense. The ending, although keeping the viewer wanting more, is wonderfully done and really suits the mood of the show. I really, really love this show and my only regret is not watching it sooner!

Beside I like Kimi ni Todoke, another anime I like from IG production is Ao Haru Ride. This anime is sweet, charm, a bit of girly hilarious and has a nice short story. It started with a female main character Futaba fallen in love with a guy Tanaka in middle school, they promise each other wait at the clock's Triangle park to date but turn out Tanaka's family issue and he went other place to study middle school. Futaba try to forget him by making a lot of friend and spend time with them, life turn out pretty well for her. However during high school ... of third semester, she saw him again at the high school., and he also change his name to Kou due to family issue again. And so the interesting story begins. I like their chemistry between them , he cold to her and tease her, and at the same time he just really care about Futaba. Of course there is a supporting character Kominato chill and easy going guy, Murao care about Futaba's brother and didn't fit to certain friend and of course story definitely need a love rival like little cute Makita who like Futaba. Most of the part I enjoy is their love chemistry and other than that still decent. Flaws of this anime is episodes are quite short and a bit rush and feel like a intro a bit, disappointed them didn't coming out for proper dating is cliffhanging ending story is like IG production wanna do another season but didn't in the end, Why Why??? and didn't mention other character much, sound for this anime is not that great. Hopefully IG productions will make second season of Ao Haru Ride like Kimi ni Todoke. Overall, I think this anime is pretty good and quite solid.
Story: 8.5
Art: 8
Sound: 7
Character: 8.8
Enjoyment: 8.5
Overall: 8.2 (high score if another season release, huge potential anime)
Hopefully after I giving good score, ig productions will consider making another season of Kimi ni Todoke and Ao Haru Ride.