Ao Haru Ride

ENG: if I summarize this anime in a few words it would be: "what a cute couple!".The story revolves around the discovery of love between the two main characters, it works well for a story of drama and romance (it has some very well done scenes by the way), but also does not bring great news for this type of story. The characters in general are very good, the highlight even goes to the main couple, showing very naturally the qualities and defects of each of them (although, the way the Futaba Yoshioka acts with the school boys at the beginning of the story is ... a bit exaggerated).The animation is well done for a shoujo genre (the design of the characters and some background scenes are very beautiful) and the sound part is very good too, fitting in a very harmonic way in the context of the anime. One thing not good is that the anime does not have a closed end (chances for a second season are minimal, unfortunately), having to go to the manga to know how the whole story ends (I hate when it happens!).

PORT: se eu resumisse esse anime em poucas palavras seria: que casal mais fofo! A história gira em torno da descoberta do amor entre os dois personagens principais, ela funciona bem para uma história de drama e romance ( possui algumas cenas muito bem feita por sinal), mas também não traz grandes novidades para esse tipo de história. Os personagens no geral são muito bons, o destaque mesmo vai para o casal principal, mostrando de forma bem natural as qualidades e defeitos de cada um deles ( apesar que a maneira como a Futaba Yoshioka age com os garotos da escola no início da história é um pouco exagerado). A animação está bem competente para um gênero shoujo ( o design dos personagens e alguns ambientes de fundo estão muito bonito) e a parte sonora está muito boa também, se encaixando de forma bem harmônica no contexto do anime. Uma coisa que não é boa é que o anime não possui um final fechado ( as chances para uma segunda temporada são mínimas, infelizmente), tendo que ir para o manga para saber como toda a história termina ( odeio quando isso acontece!)

The beginning premise is reminiscent of other romance anime, but what makes this stand out is the unique story-- or twist rather. The main characters are well fleshed out, and the problems they come across in their journey are unique, as far as popular romance anime is concerned. I was very intrigued, agitated, and frustrated at Yashioka's best friend as her role was different to what I've previously seen.

Overall, I enjoyed this show. The art is simply beautiful, and every time Yashioka appeared as the main subject matter onscreen I kept thinking "wow, she is beautiful." I also enjoyed the small artistic changes they made ... to her character as the series proceeded.

The only thing I can comment on is that some characters are not fleshed out, but I think that is a result of insufficient seasons, and the show most likely is there to draw a manga audience.

10/10 would recommend.

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.

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.

Besties. This is the first time I have ever felt the need to write a review about an anime. Lord. Okay first of all my rating overall is like a 5.5-6. I cried a few times so that is why its so high. Second the characters were INFURIATING!! Mostly Yuri, and Kou. Yuri because she started off with such a huge impact to the storyline and then she became what exactly?? The side chick I’m confused. Kou was so hard to read the entire time and the way that Futaba was described as a pick me girl really just.. baby why. Aya was annoying and ... could’ve been so much more and same with Shuko. Girl they were FLAT 2D characters. Even Futaba who was supposed to be changing so much didn’t change. She gained friends that’s it. Her personality didn’t change. Oh and I am NOT going to forget about the harassment scene WTF was that!!! The entire character of Yuri was wasted. I like her so much and they tossed her in the dirt! Futaba and Kou... their relationship doesn’t make sense to me. Like there are SOOO many times that they could’ve just kissed and gotten it over with but they had to skirt around each other like what??? It wasn’t even subtle either it was just awkward and so angering. NOT in a good way. Some good things, the animations, the feels, the music. That’s kinda it. Oh I did enjoy the voice actors as well that was nice.:)

alright so Ao Haru ride was a jolly experience its a great example for a shoujo.
(gonna try to make this as spoiler free as possible considering this is going to be read by someone who is trying to check the show out)

story: 8
The story features a cute comedic relationship between 2 high school students, personally i really enjoyed the story because i tend to enjoy raw, simple and easy to grasp concepts. Although i wish there was a little bit more being served i can confidently say that i got enough to live with.

Art: 9
One of the reasons i checked Ao ... haru ride out to begin with was how absolutely cute the characters were drawn.
I absolutely love the fresh look of the show and i absolutely LOVE kou mabuchi and his hot hunka dunk of a brother.

Sound: 8
features 『世界は恋に落ちている』as its opening song, i absolutely love how cute and bright this opening is, its a perfect fit for the show. It gives me a very very warm feeling and may i ADD its catchy asffff.

Character: 9
i love the many variants of characters featured on the show, a quiet and closed Kou mabuchi is met with the bright and somewhat obnoxious futaba, leaves us with a great amount of space for the characters to grow closer and develop overtime.
This show leaves me appreciating their differences, whilst i still catch myself off guard squealing and wheezing in awe. all jokes aside i LOVE THE CHARACTERS IN THE SHOW.

enjoyment: 10
I cannot express how much happiness this show has given to me. IT JUST MAKES ME SO HAPPY PLEASE WATCH IT.
ITS SO CUTEEEEEEEEEEEE.

overall: 9
i am slowly realizing how im just promoting the show, please its such a good shoujo ANYONE CAN ENJOY THIS. I <3 KOU.

To be fair, I may be a little biased because I was in the mood to see a cute shoujo anime. What I liked about this was that the interactions between the two characters are much more natural than in most anime of the sort. Yes, she blushes and cries, he knocks her on the head, calling her "baka", but the flow feels way more normal than your usual anime and they don't "combust" if they touch hands :P

Story - 8 Because yes, it has its tropes and it is pretty typical, but it has its depth and, as I said, a good overall flow ... to it.

Art - 9 I really liked how the characters were drawn, very cute expressions and the splashes of watercolors in the memory scenes were a very nice touch!

Sound 9 - The intro is really catchy and stays with you and the sountrack complemented the story and highlighted the major points. Also, their voices were very nice and some of her replies when upset/flustered/embarrassed were extremely cute. Also, his laugh...:)

Character 8 - Only 8 because not all characters had the required depth, there were a few tropes and stereotypes, but overall they were extremely likable

Enjoyment 10 - Very cute and fun, with a tinge of darkness and sorrow and well depicted adolescent confusion that leaves room for both errors and drama, but also growth and sweetness :)

Overall 9 - Because it felt cut short and I wanted more...it actually leaves room for more (the following OVA brings a bit more but still not enough). Then again, it is a high mark because, since the manga was ongoing and it only had 12 episodes, it managed to leave its mark.

For those who compare it to Kimi ni Todoke (and especially those who find it to be less) I have to say i can't find the resemblance, except, maybe, the fact they were both from the same period, treating the high school romance theme like many, many others. Also, Kimi ni todoke had a greater hype built around it, much more money invested in it and more episodes which made it possible for the public to enjoy more content and develop story end characters further. I, for one was not overly impressed by that one and prefer Ao Haru Ride.

This summer I have a lot of free time and still this anime took me a a little bit longer to finish. It's rather sad because after the first episode I thought it was going to be amazing and couldn't wait to see what else this anime had in store. But as more characters were introduced and time went on, the anime seemed to move so slow, and unfortunately became boring. The ending, while I won't give anything away, just didn't at all feel like a proper ending. While there are no cliffhangers or gripping questions and no one is on ... the edge of their seat, the audience is left hungry as if all twelve episodes were all for naught.

Thankfully, there exists a side story to this anime. The OVA episode called "Page 13" of this anime contains the true ending that probably would raise this series' overall score by a whole point. I recommend that episode more than I recommend half the episodes in the main series.

Ao Haru Ride does something that most shoujo anime adaptations fail to do, and that is allowing itself to be honest and mature, denying superficiality in the way it handles its core themes. It does so with grace and precision, allowing the viewer to observe and understand the reasons for a character acting a certain way and then letting them reflect upon it. This provides it with significant emotional horsepower that propels the characters and the plot forward in an incredibly satisfying fashion. As a whole, this isn't so much a love story as it is a story about grief, friendship, and allowing oneself to ... grow as a person by acknowledging and accepting your past, no matter how dark it may be; not every relationship is about attraction and frivolous personality traits, some are built on hardship and the strength required to overcome it. Ao Haru Ride exemplifies this in a way most shoujo do not, while still undeniably remaining a "shoujo" anime.

This development is primarily seen in the male protagonist Mabuchi Kou, a mysterious soft-spoken boy who moved away from his middle school due to unknown reasons. Now in high school, the main female protagonist Yoshioka Futaba, whom once liked Kou, meets him again and attempts to find out what caused him to become almost the antithesis to his former self in his personality and affinity to those around him. That's the main plot in a nutshell, and while yes, there is romance involved, it's not the anime's primary focus, particularly as by the end that story thread is left inconclusive. It is primarily focused on Kou's past and how he is a very damaged person incapable of opening up, and how he grows to become someone who can do so fearlessly through the help of Futaba. While this is the case, the anime is shown from her perspective and how she also deals with anxiety and doubt, particularly struggling to find friends she can truly bond with who understand her insecurities. This becomes a major theme in the show, particularly in the beginning, and interweaves with the show's main focus in a very satisfyingly elegant way. These two protagonists have brilliant chemistry and you can't help but root for them from the very beginning of the first episode. While Ao Haru Ride excels in what it wants to say and get across, it also has a very attractive but conventional shoujo artstyle and coloring along with a very good soundtrack that places similar musical motifs throughout effectively.

I find that the anime's main weakness is in that of the supporting cast. In fact, that name suits these relatively one-dimensional characters all-too-well; they are there only to support the main characters and not much else. While there are exceptions, most of them go through little character development over the course of the show and only appear when it is convenient for the plot. While not a large negative and pretty much a mainstay of most if not all anime and other general media, it can get distracting at times. Again, the way Ao Haru Ride handles them is nowhere near as bad as other anime, so I didn't find it to be something that brought it down as a whole. I would also find fault in the general creativity of the anime. If I had to describe it in one way, I'd say that Ao Haru Ride is the quintessential shoujo anime because it's a very generic depiction of what shoujo "should be" but done in an outstanding way. While other shoujo anime/manga like Orange have creative aspects to them, Ao Haru Ride doesn't and thus may deter certain viewers for being exactly "too generic".

I truly respect Ao Haru Ride, both the adaptation and the source material, for being very honest and mature work considering the genre it's placed under. It deals with some heavy topics such as depression, social anxiety, and how grief can make someone change themselves in a self-destructive way. However, it directly combats these darker themes with lighter ones such as forgiveness and acceptance, making it a perfect and rewarding blend of uplifting and serious. It can be deeply realistic and relatable at certain points to those who have experienced similar trauma to that of the characters, and that is to be commended. I can comfortably say that Ao Haru Ride is my favorite shoujo anime because of the beauty and elegance of its presentation, allowing one to feel and understand the guilt, trauma, and eventual absolution that its characters go through while providing a rewarding, respectful payoff.

Ao Haru Ride is in a word: A'ight

I wasn't impressed. In fact, I was a little disappointed because so many people hyped it up as a "must see Shoujo anime", but if you don't watch it you're not missing much.

I think the characters lacked personality, the story was mediocre, the bond between the leads was tissue paper thin, and the hyped "romantic" moments weren't all that romantic.

When I finished it, I wished that I had just re-watched Kimi ni Todoke instead.

If you are in the mood it watch something that you don't have to pay much attention to then this is the anime ... for you.

This show is your normal romance novel boy and girl fall in love.
The anime has the girl that doesn't really like guys because they are violent, but out of all them she sees one as gentle. In episode 0 which you should watch first, because you will love the "real" series just a bit more. Episode 0 came out later, parent story came first, I watched the series when it was finished and saw episode 0. Episode 0 if I remember it's just when they were in middle school how they first met. From issues they don't meet and then reunite in highschool if I ... remember correctly.
The girl if I remember correctly is trying to change her personality ( maybe a different anime), but anyways she still loves him. The boy has some life issues and the girl is there to help. This anime has a pretty good story and you should watch if you have some time available. Also this anime has some sad moments and some fun moments.
Story-8
Art-8
sound-8
character-8
Enjoyment-8
Overall-8

One of my first shoujo romance animes I have ever watched and I got to say it is one of the best as compared to other animes similar in genre to this. The story's pacing and character development is pretty good in my opinion.

The art, especially the scenic views in this anime is exceptionally breathtaking that I wish I was there. The characters are well drawn as well, much identical to the manga. For the sound, it was a good listen. The OSTs used in here is very good and addictive. So, no complains here as well.

Overall, I give this a solid 10/10 and ... I really recommend this anime to everyone out there because it is sure to remind you of your high school life and how some events are relatable to our daily lives.

This anime is about a girl named Futaba Yoshioka who, has had a past with a boy named Kou Tanaka. They were both in love with each other but one day Futaba said something to someone trying to bother her. She said she hated all boys, while Kou was coming out of the classroom. Kou was supposed to meet her at a park Futaba showed up but Kou never did. Kou moved to another city due to family problems and was disconnected from Futaba and his friends. A few years later passed now Futaba is in Highschool she one day bumps into a boy that ... looked like Kou but due to family problems he changed his last name so they called him Mabuchi. Futaba was embarassed that she was "mistakened" but, she wasn't. She later finds out that was actually the boy she once loved and he has moved back into to town. She finds out by hiding under a shrine while it was raining between some walls she discovers Kou there also and that how she confirmed that was the real Kou and he has changed a lot; personality wise and looks wise. It made them both nostalgic because during 7th/8th grade when they were both in love they were hiding in the exact same place.


In this series it takes about love complications and growing a bond with each other from people who were disconnected, anti social, and alone. To being a group of good friends together later on in the series. In the anime it doesn't have a season 2 but it leaves off in the manga at chapter 15.


The manga has lots of harem/drama and is very beautiful is you love the Ao Haru Ride series give a manga a go to finish the whole series.

#2
A series that has extremely powerful characters that you may or may not enjoy. I for one clearly enjoyed this very much and I hope you do too if you'll give it a shot.

People are fighting so hard in this world to be happy, why make it harder. This is how I would describe the situation in this series without spoiling anything. The characters have this natural aura to them that make them feel so real and present in each situation and the voice actors and sound team take that another step forward by crafting an atmosphere based on the tone the writing creates.

Its truly ... a joy to watch this and for some it might even be relatable. Well what are you still reading this for, your opinion is far more important then some wall of text so go create it~

Well, wasn't this a great anime!? I feel like it ended a bit too abruptly, with a lot left to offer from the plot, and no closure was given (if you haven't read the manga). That said, every moment of this was beautiful, the romance scenes were on point, no complaints whatsoever, I REGRET NOTHING! Really good (cuuute) OST, melts my heart every time. This whole anime melted my heart.
Overall [10/10] - All of the above, great character development, really shows Kou embracing his feelings and becoming more open, and oh man the romantic scenes were so good... Really brilliant anime, will never forget it, ... and will probably re-watch! Also, to anyone who hasn't, read the manga! You're missing out (since it looks like there may not be a season 2, even though I hate to say it)!

I just rewatched the entire show in a matter of two days. I did so because someone asked me if I had seen it and wanted to know my opinion. I couldn't remember the story or if I liked it, so I decided to watch it again. That right there is a red flag, because I normally remember most anime I watch. The pace of this anime is kind of slow, even for the slice of life genre. The beginning is a bit confusing because you're not quite sure if the two main characters know each other, but that's fine, we get the gist of ... this story arc by episode three.

The art is dreamy and sort of washed out in watercolors, very easy on the eyes.

The characters are developed well enough, but kind of one dimensional. Kou is interesting, though he made me mad many times. Futaba sort of just took his emotional beatings without worry of her own self. If she were a real person/friend, I would tell her to leave him for being so mean to her.

Someone mentioned not liking the voice of the female lead... My advice is to stop watching it in dub! Seriously.

Overall I thought it was pretty good, not really great though. I Enjoyed this more as a story of friendship, not so much a romance, mainly because it's a bit disappointing as a romance.

I know the opinions differ but I still think this is a great anime coming out of my re-watch. In it's 12 episodes it manage to make me care for it's characters, cry for it's characters and it also makes my heart race. It had a very small amount of problems for me, one of them being that it's too short, which is, of course not something that you can call criticism, just greediness on my part.

NO SPOILERS AHEAD

Now, I know it's not really a very original story. It shows things that you find in a loooot of shoujo anime, but to me it shows ... exactly those things that I like about shoujo anime compared to other kinds of fiction. It is character driven, sweet and thinks it's choices and moralities through. It's not just a big ball of hormones like a lot of American entertainment is.
Personally I started watching this in an attempt to fill the void that kimi ni todoke left. I found another sweet story in this anime. I love it's philosophy, and even though I can see the cliche's, they don't bother me that much. It shows me things that I wish I'd have the power to do: drawing people out and drawing people in, with trying, caring and a little guts.

CHARACTERS
So we have a good female MC, Futuba I like how she feels like a teenager, caving into the temptation and pretending to be who her friends think she is. I also like that she has courage. She has some great character development and is overall fun to watch while she balances her behavior between what her habits tell her to do versus what she wants to do. The male MC is lovable, he pretends not to care but obviously does, well, you know the type, imagine that stereotypical male MC with a great dry voice actor, actual backstory and then ten times better and you have our Kou. There are some other characters that don't get a lot of development but what do you want in 12 episodes?

PHILOSOPHY
Now I realize this is shoujo anime and that philosophy is barely relevant, but to me it matters a great deal if a story has something to teach me or something for me to wonder about. In the anime we see a couple of flashbacks to the Kou and Futaba in middle school, when they started to like each other. In those flashbacks they are both very different from the way they are when we get to know them. This is something I find very interesting personally, whether the fact that people change matters to the ones who really love them. Isn't unconditional love very illogical? If characteristics don't matter anymore what is it that we love? When you love someone who's changed, does that mean that you love them as someone new entirely? Or is there something in people that is always there, no matter how much they change? Or does loving them mean that you're just waiting for the person they were to come out again? Ao Haru Ride doesn't give you any answers but it does have a nice story about two characters who experience real change but either still love each other and/or learn to love each other the way they are now.

ART AND SOUND
The art is really great, it's just really pretty. It has nice body proportions, backgrounds, there are no animation issues that sprung out at me, it also has fantastic facial expressions.
I really love the music, too, I like the theme song and the song they end with, but it also has a beautiful soundtrack that is alternated with the amazing song "I will". The voice actors were also very good.

So I think you get that I liked it a lot. Don't watch this if you're looking for something different and original. But if you're looking for a short, sweet and well-executed love story you should watch this :) It won't take long so enjoy it while it lasts. Oh and watch the extra "unwritten" episodes, it might give you a little more closure.

This is one of my first anime I've watched, and it is so fabulous. *o* If you want some romance, nice art, music and feels, this is the anime for you~! This is the first anime that made me actually bother to read continue the story by reading the manga. That definitely tells you something ;)

Story: Really liked it, it's pretty interesting.

Art: Presentation is beautiful and really nice. Kou is so handsome. :3

Sound: Outstanding. The music totally matches the moods, and is really catchy. The OST 'I Will' is so good~ and you don't get sick of it, even though it's used a lot. Even ... though it's been ages since I've first watched Ao Haru Ride, I still remember the tune of this song. The songs are brilliant, and the voice-acting matches well.

Character: It is refreshing to see the characters gradually develop, like how Futaba started changing her views, thanks to Kou.

Enjoyment: Quite enjoyed it, some parts were a bit overused, but overall I quite enjoyed watching Ao Haru Ride.

Overall: Just my opinion, but this is a great romance shoujo anime to watch! I especially enjoyed the sounds. The plot was touching, and this anime makes you have feels.

Ao Haru Ride is one of the few romance animes that tug at my heart strings, maybe because the story is so tragic...the characters are so complex yet so beautiful at the same time... or I'm just a sucker for tragic romance with happy endings.

Ao Haru Ride does not gloss over a person's feelings nor try to simplify a relationship. And indeed people can be so much more complex than you think. There are many romantic scenes that made me go "doki doki" :) and I rooted for the couple from start to end, yet I felt for the secondary characters so much! After ... I completed the anime, I couldn't get all those feelings out of me for a long time that I kept listening to its theme song "I Will".

Ao Haru Ride's artwork is splendid, the characters are likeable, and there are many heartbreaking scenes that made me teared and my heart pounded.

It is one of the few animes that lingers in my heart long after it ended.

This is your average slice of life love story, but i still found very enjoyable with the way it differentiated from other similar story's and added enough unique elements to make the characters and story deeper.

I believe I also found it much to my liking through its nostalgia and similarity to my school life and not through the common blanket cover of school life common with everyone which they usually use in anime's like this, but instead delves a little bit deeper and onto topics less common but ultimately true and frequent events.

so i found my self relating to the characters, situations ... and events a lot of time engrossing me more into the anime and rooting for the good outcome like I surprisingly achieved at the end of my school life after many struggles.

Overall l recommend this anime if your looking for something wholesome and a tad bit emotional.