Manga Review: Ao Haru Ride by Io Sakisaka
Hey everyone, Heartless Aquarius here! It’s time for another manga review. I got to read the first volume of the series Ao Haru Ride, by Io Sakisaka. If you can’t tell from the art style, it’s another shojo manga!
“Futaba Yoshioka thought all boys were loud and obnoxious until she met Kou Tanaka in junior high. But as soon as she realized she really liked him, he had already moved away because of family issues. Now, in high school, Kou has reappeared, but is he still the same boy she fell in love with?”
Ao Haru Ride is a romantic drama story about how Futaba, the main character, attempts to rekindle the love she had in junior high. You follow her through school while observing how she hates boys, except for Kou Tanaka from junior high. Both characters changed and grew while they were apart and struggle with accepting these differences.
Ao Haru Ride does a great job conveying the emotions and drama within a high school setting. This is especially noticeable with the interactions between the different female characters. Without going into spoilers, they dive into themes of loneliness, regret, and more while also veiling it in slight humor to keep the mood elevated. I honestly had a great time reading this manga. It’s a simple romance story that feels more modern than other shojo series I’ve read. Along with the story, I thoroughly enjoy the art style of this manga. It’s simple and classic shojo manga style with the soft facial structures and large, cute eyes.
The first volume of Ao Haru Ride is currently on pre-order at multiple locations, listed on Viz Media. It will be released on October 2, 2018. Thank you again Viz Media for sending this for me to review! I can’t wait to see how this series progresses. Are you going to check it out?
Heartless Aquarius is a cosplayer local to Arizona and has a huge passion for anime and manga! This makes her the perfect person to be dedicated to the sole task of consuming all of the Japanese content we receive and give her thoughts on it! When she isn’t turning pages and watching endless hours of Japanese animation, she is creating elaborate costumes that she features at various conventions and wins awards! Check out more of her information on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!
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