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Ao Haru Ride vol 2 by Io Sakisaka
Mar. 2nd, 2019 07:17 amNote: These images are from the Viz website.
High school shoujo romances are AMAZING. Ao Haru Ride is AMAZING. Let's jump right in.
Originally published by Shueisha, Ao Haru Ride follows Futaba Yoshioka who, in middle school, was shy, girly, and very much NOT into boys. Except for one, Kou Tanaka, who was her height, kind, and not intimidating at all. That first love fizzled, and now in high school, Futaba remade herself to be more tomboyish, eating ALL THE FOOD (yes, girl!), and distancing herself from her middle school image as much as possible. Then Kou Mabuchi, who looks amazingly like Tanaka, but all grown up, starts attending her school and surprise, surprise, Mabuchi is Tanaka! Only he's not at all like the Tanaka she remembers. In vol 2, they've started their second year, Futaba relatively friendless due to events in vol 1, and this one is all about volunteering as Class Rep and bonding with her classmates.
Their chemistry is really great
I actually don't know exactly what draws me to Ao Haru Ride so much? The situation? The characters? I ADORE Futaba, and Kou proves to be secretly charming under his "I don't give a fuck, but i can't actually say fuck" attitude. The side characters that will comprise their friend group are also wonderfully fun.
And the whole thing of meeting someone years later, and how they've changed is of course super great too. I really, really hope I've changed from middle school (and high school and college and even from a few years ago.) We're constantly changing as people, and especially in youth, those changes can be dramatic. Futaba often gazes at Kou and wonders what made him change so much, and Sakisaka talks a lot about how she loves that kind of thing, which was the whole impetus for the story.
It's going to be AMAZING when Murao and Futaba become friends!
Speaking of the mangaka, my FAVORITE part actually comes from the free talk in one of the chapters, in a side panel where, I'm pretty sure, brief character bios/this is the story so far show up in serialization in Bessatsu Margaret (the magazine in which the manga is published) and other similar magazines. That's not needed in the collected form, so the mangaka get to put basically whatever they want in there. In one, Sakisaka discusses a time where her acquaintance K (actually her older sister) dramatically dumped her boyfriend, and IT IS AMAZING. Go, K oneesan!
The leadership retreat shenanigans are fun - scavenger hunts and group projects no one wants to do and having to define concepts and why they're important take me back in good and bad ways, as are the delight of overnight school trips in general. It's nice to get out of the halls of the school, even if the activities themselves are school oriented, and I look forward to more beaks from school life as the year progresses.
Sakisaka's art is great - I love her character designs, with the lines under Kou's eyes and the way she does hair, and the style is light and cute, perfect for a romantic fun manga.
I'm really excited for more!
Ao Haru Ride is available in English from Viz.
Cover feat Kou
High school shoujo romances are AMAZING. Ao Haru Ride is AMAZING. Let's jump right in.
Originally published by Shueisha, Ao Haru Ride follows Futaba Yoshioka who, in middle school, was shy, girly, and very much NOT into boys. Except for one, Kou Tanaka, who was her height, kind, and not intimidating at all. That first love fizzled, and now in high school, Futaba remade herself to be more tomboyish, eating ALL THE FOOD (yes, girl!), and distancing herself from her middle school image as much as possible. Then Kou Mabuchi, who looks amazingly like Tanaka, but all grown up, starts attending her school and surprise, surprise, Mabuchi is Tanaka! Only he's not at all like the Tanaka she remembers. In vol 2, they've started their second year, Futaba relatively friendless due to events in vol 1, and this one is all about volunteering as Class Rep and bonding with her classmates.
Their chemistry is really great
I actually don't know exactly what draws me to Ao Haru Ride so much? The situation? The characters? I ADORE Futaba, and Kou proves to be secretly charming under his "I don't give a fuck, but i can't actually say fuck" attitude. The side characters that will comprise their friend group are also wonderfully fun.
And the whole thing of meeting someone years later, and how they've changed is of course super great too. I really, really hope I've changed from middle school (and high school and college and even from a few years ago.) We're constantly changing as people, and especially in youth, those changes can be dramatic. Futaba often gazes at Kou and wonders what made him change so much, and Sakisaka talks a lot about how she loves that kind of thing, which was the whole impetus for the story.
It's going to be AMAZING when Murao and Futaba become friends!
Speaking of the mangaka, my FAVORITE part actually comes from the free talk in one of the chapters, in a side panel where, I'm pretty sure, brief character bios/this is the story so far show up in serialization in Bessatsu Margaret (the magazine in which the manga is published) and other similar magazines. That's not needed in the collected form, so the mangaka get to put basically whatever they want in there. In one, Sakisaka discusses a time where her acquaintance K (actually her older sister) dramatically dumped her boyfriend, and IT IS AMAZING. Go, K oneesan!
The leadership retreat shenanigans are fun - scavenger hunts and group projects no one wants to do and having to define concepts and why they're important take me back in good and bad ways, as are the delight of overnight school trips in general. It's nice to get out of the halls of the school, even if the activities themselves are school oriented, and I look forward to more beaks from school life as the year progresses.
Sakisaka's art is great - I love her character designs, with the lines under Kou's eyes and the way she does hair, and the style is light and cute, perfect for a romantic fun manga.
I'm really excited for more!
Ao Haru Ride is available in English from Viz.
