Strobe Edge

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I'm about to finish reading this manga, so I thought I'd write a short review to let people know how overrated this manga is.
Basically this manga tells the story of a very clumsy girl who falls in love with a guy who already has a girlfriend. Instead of trying to steal the guy away or just repressing her feelings, she decides to treasure the love she feels for him. So, yeah a pretty average plot.
Regarding the characters, the male lead is someone you can relate to since he is someone who is constantly struggling to be honest with her girlfriend, while feeling attracted to Ninako ... (the female lead). What I really dislike about this manga is Ninako, she gets really annoying throughout the story, especially because she is the typical shojo girl with a really "kind" heart that compels her to cry for every little detail. I think that there is no chapter in which you can't see her shed some tears. What I mean is that if you like crybabies this is your manga.
This manga is far away from being a master piece. I don't even know why I bothered to read the whole thing. Well I do know, I kept on reading because of the supporting characters which have a really interesting back-story.

Ao Haru Ride is becoming pretty big but the story sounded like any typical shoujo so I was reluctant to start it. Yet at the same time, I wanted to give the author a chance to pull me into her storytelling, so I started with her completed work Strobe Edge.

How should I describe this manga?

…Meh.

Story: 7

There are plenty of clichés to point out, but ultimately, Strobe Edge covers what it feels like to fall in love and the heartache you’re bound to feel when it happens.

... Art: 7

It’s shoujo, but the eyes are especially big in this one. Other than that, everything’s decent.

Character: 6

I’m not going to say something stupid like I couldn’t connect with them because to me, characters don’t need to be relatable in order for me to like them. However, the characters in this manga are likeable. The protagonists aren’t annoying and the side characters have their reasons for doing whatever they’re doing.

But in all honesty, everybody was sort of bland. I didn’t really fall in love with any of them and neither did I cheer them on. Considering the fact that most shoujos have annoying heroines and “I’m too cool and cocky for you” love interests, these characters were more chill, so I give them a 6.

Enjoyment: 6

Okay, so far, it may sound like I didn’t really enjoy the manga. That’s…sort of true? I guess?

Look, this isn’t a bad manga. By no means is it a bad manga! It’s decent! Believe me, it is! But this is MY review of Strobe Edge, and ultimately, what I feel about it. So here’s MY issue with this manga:

It’s the emotions. When I read this manga, I felt like the author was trying too hard. That may sound harsh, but that’s what I felt when I read it. The emotions just felt stiff. When something sad happened, I felt as if the author was nudging you with her elbow and saying, “And THIS is what you’re supposed to feel! Do you feel it? It hurts, right? Right? Do you feel that? It’s the heartache. Right?”

Ummm……….riiiigghhht…….

The appropriate thing to say is “show, don’t tell,” which is really ironic since this is a manga. I guess one of the issues is the constant internal dialogue. The characters repeat their feelings over and over again internally that it becomes annoying.

And the author has her characters—especially the main character—say every single detail they're feeling about their love-life (internally of course). To some, that may not be an issue, but to me, it’s as if the author’s treating me like a fool. It’s as if she’s assuming I won’t be able to understand the emotions she’s so heavily trying to draw out of her characters and their situations unless she literally draws them out for me to read.

But the thing is that the author’s milked the emotions so much that now I have no use for them. I get it, their actions bring up consequences and those consequences affect their emotions that they don’t know what to do with. I get it! Do you really have to repeat the process over and over again, as if I didn’t get it the first few times with the first few characters?

Overall: 6

Strobe Edge is on the border between bad and good for me, leaning more towards good, but unfortunately, not there.

Now, will you enjoy this manga? If you enjoy shoujo tropes, then it’s VERY likely you will. Did I enjoy it? Not really, but I do acknowledge that it’s definitely a decent manga. There are deeper emotions to experience besides girl falls in love with boy, boy already has a girlfriend, yada, yada, yada, other teenage angst.

I actually went and reread the manga to see if my feelings about it had changed over the few months that passed since I finished it. I couldn’t handle it and skipped some (many) chapters, but I still shrugged most of the time and pursed my lips as the author spelled out every emotion possible. (Maybe this is why many people enjoyed it. Everything’s spelled out in front of you so you’re not confused as to what’s going on. But that just wastes time in my opinion. If this were a novel, I’d say there were too many unnecessary details). As you can see, my view of Strobe Edge remains unchanged from then ‘til now.

Again, if you’re into shoujo, give it a chance. You’ll most likely enjoy it. If you’re not into shoujo, the choice is up to you. A warning though: Strobe Edge is 10 volumes long, so you’ll be using up a good amount of time to finish it as a whole.

*Review contains spoilers*

Story 5/10
So, I do not want to call the story boring, but...nothing really interesting happens. There are no "wow" moments or any storyline that keeps you interested for long. With that being said, there were a couple of things that prevented me from giving story a lower rating:
1-nice twist having the love interest of main character have a girlfriend and initially rejecting main character. This sort of thing usually happens near the end of the story for climax.
2-even though they tried, no love triangles really start! the main character's feelings remained loyal to her initial love interest and she never led on Andou, ... despite his many confessions to her. (I have to add though that I did find annoying and sometimes couldn't understand Ninako's fixation with Ren at first, when nothing had actually happened between them).
3-no characters were annoying or felt like extra.
4-love story develops gradually, which makes it believable.
5-The story doesn't only focus in romance, but it has a strong theme of friendship.
On the things I didn't like:
1-Total cliche of main character being wildly popular and seeming "unattainable", when he wasn't even that cool.
2-Again, why was Ninako so fixated with Ren when the guy barely talked to her at first?
3-The story doesn't really take off.

Art 7/10
The drawings were nice and I really liked how some scenes were played out through the drawings (for ex. Ren and Ninako's confession).

Characters 6/10
I am going start by saying that even though all characters were likeable, none of them really stand out...maybe Andou and Manabu (my favorites). I still don't understand why the entire school had this infatuation with Ren...I mean he was nice and all, but he wasn't "out of this world" for all the hype girls had about him. Even Andou was better drawn that he was. Ninako was very very clumsy and should really get her balance checked by a doctor!! That girl couldn't walk 2 steps without tripping and falling.
Andou was very funny since the start and I often found myself wishing Ninako would chose Andou instead. Even by the last chapter I kept my hopes up that she would take Andou instead. Andou was definitely more interesting and proactive than Ren. Andou's story was actually more developed than anyone in this manga, which sometimes made me feel he was the main character, not Ren. I also enjoyed how easygoing and straight forward Manabu was.

Enjoyment 5/10
This wasn't a pain in the butt, but I didn't drop it because I am that type of person that would only quit reading or watching something if it is too horrible. There were some good scenes (like Ren and Ninako's confession, Ren confronting Ninako about her feelings).

Overall 5/10
So, this manga is just OK. I think it is overrated. If you like reading, then do it for the sake of reading something. If you are looking for an interesting, good story, look somewhere else.

Enjoyment: 5 it's simply boring. I started reading Strobe Edge because it's highly recommended (and overrated!). it's in several tops when it comes to shoujo manga and I enjoyed reading Haru Ride, which has written by the same author. But, despite the story unfolding so fast, I didn't feel any emotion or enthusiasm in the first 6 chapters and I started to find the main character irritating.


character: 6 - The way Ninako (the main character) fall in love with Ren and confesses is very hurried and poorly developed.
she's a naive girl who does not know what love is and She's the typical good girl ... who only wishes the happiness of her beloved without looking at her own happiness. In addition, she cries all the time (which I found very irritating because I prefer strong female characters).

Art: 7 - it's good. the girls are all very similar and the eyes are slightly large.
I thought the male characters were better drawn.

Recomendation: for those who like to read a light and more pleasant novel, I recommend the author Yamamori Mika: Tsubaki-chou lonely planet or my favorite - Daytime shooting star.

I would recommend this manga only to those people who are new to shoujo world...surely someone new can enjoy more than me....(I've read a lot of love genres)...it was a decent manga with lots of love complex....if you look at it from pros eye...it's pretty clear that school Life was way toooo typical...
So,
Story-6
It was a very simple story with no complicated story twists .from starting to end you know who main girl lead is gonna end up with.
And if someone has read ao haru ride before this manga ...than they can realize the striking similarities in events....events took place on mostly same location as ao ... haru ride.coming back to story..it was repeating...the same old happening...I didn't felt anything original...but if someone have time to spend they are recommended this

ART-7.. this manga had some great art...I only liked the fact that girl had small height than boy....but if you have hawk eyes then you can see in some pages height of lead girl grows -_-....that's a negative point from my side ...surely someone can't be as frustrated as me to see the close up of each girl looking futaba(ao haru ride lead girl).and nothing to say about the lead boy...since it didn't draws me in..T.T

Character -6...now let's talk about the..the characters....I found nothing special about the main leads ...there was no improvement in lead boy...I still haven't found the reason why they fell in love...but then again you can't say it's first sight since it took 43 chapters to realise their love. Coming back....other characters in the story plays great role in telling side stories...and only character I liked was andou..(lead boy's friend)...his cute side over that playboy personality was able to be seen . ANYWAYS I guess others have came so far to like even the main leads it's just me....so there is no problem with characters.

Enjoyment-5. Ok! I gave it less since ...I have read much better than this...and my temper is less for typicality... (why they main girl lead have to cry so much)...well I did found cute moments until they actually starting to notice each other...so someone can give it a try...and one shouldn't think much over main leads thoughts...since it really ruins the enjoyment(personal experience -_-)

Overall-6...so nothing was worse in it....or much great so it got 6 from My side...if not the story then anyone can enjoy the art ....so if you are new to love genres then give it a shot...

This manga is highly recommended to those who have just started their anime life...well to me it was an average manga cause there are a bunch of mangas like this out there.
Story-5
It have same old story.a dumb, clumsy, airhead girl ..nanaiko (main female lead ) have no experience in love starts liking ren kun(main male lead)..the most popular boy in school( yeah so new right...I know!) .and how she will make him like herself.you can find out by reading it.
Art-7
Miss Io (the artist) have a unique art style ..and it is the only thing I found good in this manga . But yeah it's really ... annoying that when zoomed every girl looks like she have futaba syndrome( futaba is a character from authors more better manga Ao haru ride...)
Character-6
Ah well it's not like there is some uniqueness in any of the leads .it's kinda typical to have female lead right and honest and kind in each event that happens in manga..
We get to know everyone's thought except the main lead that is for ,I think,to make him look mysterious but knowing Andou's thoughts( ren's best friend) make u feel connected more to him.And you start feeling only if he were the main guy . He is more developed in the end than other two.
Enjoyment-6
It will become someone's favorite if it were be someone's first or something.but for me I have read many great manga so I knew I won't be enjoying it this much until and unless it's some masterpiece . My opinion is you read it only if u don't want anything new or as I said in beginning if u are new to this genre .
Overall-6
Well it was a fine manga . If u like it then there is a better manga for you by the author i.e 'Ao haru ride'.that one is more of a masterpiece .but this manga won't make you feel like you wasted time .it's even though it is a bit boring in middle ending chapters make up for it.authour know how to put cute moments. It's worth a read.