Kyou, Koshiba Aoi ni Aetara.
Chasing After Aoi Koshiba

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Although the manga is over, the story of "Chasing After Aoi Koshiba" has not reached a formative end. The first volume set up the dynamic between our main character, a popular girl, straddling with her feelings for her equally popular classmate Aoi, who has a seemingly uninteresting friend group. The second volume fleshes out these characters and the third volume adds a pseudo resolution to our main characters story arc. The fourth volume abruptly concludes the story, leaving a gaping hole in the reader's chest.

There are countless story threads that are set up in the first three volumes that will never be tied up. ... In the first page of the manga, we set up the expectation that we will learn about six female characters, but we only get four. The story relegates two of its supporting characters into nothing more than set dressing. One male character, at least, does get upgraded and becomes a prominent part of the middle volumes. The author perfectly sets up a story relating to how two characters who should hate each other become best friends in early adult hood, but nothing comes of it.

This manga was shaping up to be an above average romance story. The intrigue set in after the first volume. We had interesting stories and interesting conflicts. I was an avid fan, even though it wasn't heavily talked about.

It's hard to recommend something that feels like it abruptly ended. I don't want to say that the manga is not worth it, because there is a lot to like about the cast and the narrative, but why read something that will let you down? Who knows, you might think the ending is perfectly satisfying, but I'm sure most people who get invested in this manga will continue to daydream about what could have been.

Chasing After Aoi Koshiba follows Narita, a high school it-girl that is desperate to keep her popularity, who (kinda) falls in love with the school tomboy Aoi Koshiba. Its setup is a flashback format, following their high school reunion and the dramas of their friendship/relationship in high school.

The pacing in this manga is by far its downfall. For a drama, it is constantly setting up mysteries and plot twists (character backstories, hidden love interests), that are in theory significant plot points, but end up becoming washed out versions of their ideas that don't get any depth and aren't continued to have importance in the story. ... I believe that this is the type of story that's meant to stretch out across a long period of time, to really sink in their changing feelings. But it isn't. It drags.

This also makes all the characters seem incredibly over-dramatic for what's happening. In fact, all of the characters are unfortunately always teetering the line of genuinely unlikable. Several of the "main" characters are purposely made out to be bad people, with no redeeming or fun qualities. You're not made to feel like you really /get/ any of them, including if not especially the main character.

Speaking of the main character...I have a bone to pick with her. I think overconfident or ditzy main characters can be especially fun, and humbleness is not a trait needed to make an mc likable. But....her struggle with her sexuality is frustratingly confusing. It tries to be a coming-of-age, battle with "do I want to be with her or be her", story line. It is rather another result of feelings that could've been done well if stretched out across various developments, but instead are back-to-back plot decisions that make the characters superficial.

The best part about this manga is by far the art, which has a separate artist (Fly, who designed the Syrup covers) from its writing. It is what gives the drama any substance, and the characters likability.

The ending is very bad. A story doesn't have to give the readers what they want, but with this, it is sudden, misleading, does not correspond with the rest of the plot, and would not make any reader in any world happy. That is why I do not recommend reading this.

I was really disappointed and disgusted with how bad that ending was. it feels like the author denied who the characters were and their feelings to get to that ending. I don't recommend this as I have been reading this series for years and it has ruined my mood for about a week now. the ending is so bad I don't think anyone would be happy with it. as the story is set up in a way that makes you fully believe they will get together before shattering that with an ending so egregiously bad I don't like thinking about it. our main character gets ... ghosted at the end, and she wishes Aoi happiness??? not how about you get irritated since she ghosted you after the first time you meet in years and instead of talking to you she leaves you a note. it seriously feels like the author threw out their characters made completely different ones and said meet with her and then ghost her. this manga has no reread ability because the ending is so bad you can't enjoy the story. I can't begin to think what the author was thinking because from the beginning this was set up as a story of people meeting again and connecting again however, the ending literally seems to go against the entirety of the rest of the story. i would like to rate this higher but the ending ruined any enjoyment I could get out of any of the volumes.

I have come up with several ideas of endings that wouldn't be awful. at the end after spending a night together they decide to be together. they figure out their feelings and decide to be friends, this one is less satisfying than the last one. Aoi is caught trying to leave or while righting the note and is forced to actually talk instead of run away because wtf was that ending.

I am sorry for the bad righting but the ending pissed me off so much that I felt like I needed to keep other people from experiencing that.