Ai yori Aoshi

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Alternative Titles

Synonyms: Bluer than Indigo

Japanese: 藍より青し

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Information

Type: Manga

Volumes: 17

Chapters: 153

Status: Finished

Published: Nov 27, 1998 to Aug 26, 2005

Genres: Comedy, Drama, Romance, Ecchi

Theme: Harem

Demographic: Seinen

Serialization: Young Animal

Authors: Fumizuki, Kou (Story & Art)

Statistics

Score: 7.53¹ (scored by 5,766 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #2573²

² based on the top manga page. Please note that 'R18+' titles are excluded.

Popularity: #1339

Members: 13,063

Favorites: 311

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7.53

Ranked #2573Popularity #1339Members 13,063

MangaYoung AnimalFumizuki, Kou (Story & Art)

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Volumes: /17

Chapters: /153

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Synopsis

Kaoru Hanabishi is a kind, earnest college student with many friends and potential love interests. One day at the train station, he meets a beautiful girl wearing a kimono, who has plans to visit someone but is struggling with directions. Kaoru decides to help her find her way; however, upon arrival at the location, they find an empty plot of land. While searching for any outstanding clues, the girl shows Kaoru a photo of the person she is looking for.

As destiny would have it, Kaoru immediately recognizes the individual as himself with his childhood friend—the previously betrothed Aoi Sakuraba from the esteemed Sakuraba family—who is now sitting across from him. Their wedding was canceled many years prior after Kaoru left the highly regarded Hanabishi clan for personal reasons. Despite their time apart, Aoi remains committed to Kaoru.

With this fateful encounter, Kaoru and Aoi are reunited, though they must keep their relationship a secret to preserve the reputation of the Sakuraba family. This is only complicated by the different women that Kaoru finds himself surrounded by. Even so, Kaoru and Aoi wish to learn more about each other and stay together against their families' wishes.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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Background

Ai yori Aoshi was published in English by Tokyopop from January 6, 2004 to October 9, 2007. The company later released a 3-in-1 omnibus for the manga's first three volumes in English as Ai Yori Aoshi: Volumes 1-3 Collection on November 4, 2008. It was also published in Italian as Sempre più Blu from March 11, 2005 to September 8, 2008.

The series was adapted into four visual novels. The first was produced by KID Corp. and released on March 20, 2003 for the PlayStation 2; this version was later republished on the same platform by SUCCESS Corporation on June 23, 2005, including bonus footage and content. After the conclusion of the anime adaptation, J.C. Staff released two visual novels for Windows PC titled Ai yori Aoshi: Shunka and Ai yori Aoshi: Shuutou on May 20, 2004 and June 24, 2004, respectively.

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Related Manga

Adaptation:

Ai Yori Aoshi

More characters
Characters

Sakuraba, Aoi

Main

Hanabishi, Kaoru

Main

Foster, Tina

Supporting

Kagurazaki, Miyabi

Supporting

Minazuki, Taeko

Supporting

Minazuki, Chika

Supporting

Miyuki, Mayu

Supporting

Mayu's Father

Supporting

Hanabishi, Genichiro

Supporting

Aizawa, Chizuru

Supporting

More reviewsReviews

Jan 19, 2009

Archaeon

Recommended

Every so often an anime or manga comes along that forces you to rethink your perspective on a particular genre. Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou changed how I viewed sci-fi. Barefoot Gen redefined my idea of tragedies. Sanctuary altered my preconcieved notions of thrillers.

And Ai Yori Aoshi changed how I viewed romantic manga.

Ai Yori Aoshi (or Bluer than Indigo), was created by Fumizuki Kou, and was originally serialized in Young Animal magazine from 1998 to 2005, when the series ended. The title was inspired by a quote from the Chinese philosopher Xun Zi which states that "Blue comes from indigo, but is bluer than indigo", and ...

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Jun 23, 2008

Otaku1412

Recommended

This was an enjoyable manga. As a fan of the harem and love story manga/anime. This one came at originality in the beginning and then came on the girls which is different in other harems like Love Hina.

The story was very original to me and was a nice take on how love can be the bind between the two main characters. And as each new character was introduced into the mix, new developments on how the main characters react to the situation.

Character wise, they seem to have depth and backstories rather than the "Here are some beautiful girls. Enjoy Them!" type of harem manga. ...

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Dec 19, 2011

zaharat

Recommended

Ai Yori Aoshi is about a young women named Sakuraba Aoi and her betrothed partner named Hanabishi Kaoru. They were engaged since they were young(An arrange marriage that would benefit both the Hanabishi and the Sakuraba families), but Hanabishi Kaoru left the Hanabishi due to a traumatic and abusive childhood caused by them. So the story starts with Sakuraba Aoi trying to find her beloved after not seeing Hanabishi for 18 years. In those 18 years she had spent her time training diligently to become a good wife for Hangabishi(cooking, flower arranging, even wearing traditional Kimono everyday). Then one fateful day she meets him in ... a train station and their story begins.

Story: Ai Yori Aoshi is a romantic comedy that by itself differs from the average harem/ecchi types. The plot is fairly simple. It is 153 chapters, but when you read it, the story flies by fairly quickly. Mainly the chapters deal with the development of the relationships between Sakuraba Aoi and Hanabishi Kaoru as they try to understand each other, and reach true happiness together. Now that just seems like the average romance genre, but here comes the slight twist that makes this a pretty good romance and harem manga. The depth of the side characters makes the manga more interesting and enjoyable. Instead of having those side characters that are just "there" maybe for like a short arc, Ai Yori Aoshi takes it to the next level by making the side characters/love rivals have more depth. Like they first start out with no feelings or unsure feelings for Hanabishi but slowly realizes their feelings for him and start showing signs or attempts to capture his heart. So this is what makes Ai Yori Aoshi a pretty good mix of heart touching romance and comedic harem/ecchi type manga.

Art: The artwork was pretty plain and simple. Which helped reflected the nature of the manga. The scenery are always detailed and looked really good. The characters themselves looked pretty good and simple, not too much of the overly huge eyes you would see in most harem manga/anime.

Character: A strong point of this manga was probably the depth of not only the main characters like Hanabishi and Sakuraba, but also the side characters like Foster Tina and Miyuki Mayu. Not to spoil too much here, but what you will find in Hanabishi is that he is quite different from the average harem male. Whom most of the time is considered a "loser" in their series. In Ai Yori Aoshi, Hanabishi is not a "loser." He is actually quite intelligent, reliable, and caring. You can easily see this in the beginning and constantly throughout the series. Unlike other harem protagonist, where their "good" side is usually seen when it is used to capture a girl's heart. Sakuraba Aoi is also quite different from the average female lead in the sense that she is sure of her undying love for Hanabishi and also her ability to keep cool and self restraint. Where in most female leads in this genre they are unsure of it and when they are in a relationship they become somewhat overprotective. Now the supporting cast themselves are also quite complex. As you slowly learn about their problems and feelings the further you read. The depth of these supporting characters is probably by far one of the best I have ever read. And as mention before, there are multiple chapters that is used to help understand the supporting characters, so the story isn't just entirely focused on the two lovers, but also the people around them.

Enjoyment: This manga was a pretty fast read. Being a fan of harem and romantic comedy genre, I was not disappointed about this series at all. Instead it has raised my standards of the the genre and is a good example of what could happen if the authors of romantic comedy and harem genres tried more to cut down on the ecchi and add more depths in the characters they have created. So I would encourage you to give this series a try and hopefully you would enjoy it as well.

And I would really appreciate if you could give me some feedback if my review was good or bad. Thanks!

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Finished At Last! mdauben - Dec 12, 2007	13 replies	by epiccreep »» Apr 28, 2022 7:22 PM
Poll: Ai yori Aoshi Chapter 153 Discussion AsianKungFu - Mar 16, 2016	4 replies	by Glordit »» Jan 9, 2021 12:16 AM
Ai Yori Aoshi MomoDestro - Apr 13, 2008	7 replies	by Stockpile »» Aug 22, 2017 12:36 PM
Poll: Ai yori Aoshi Chapter 60 Discussion Genocyber - Mar 12, 2016	0 replies	by Genocyber »» Mar 12, 2016 9:19 PM
Which volume picks up where the anime left off? Hamminaptu - Aug 23, 2008	3 replies	by Volkova »» Feb 10, 2009 12:23 PM

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