Anime Reviews

Ao Haru Ride | Review [RAW]

"Ao Haru Ride" is one hell of an emotional journey.

 "Ao Haru Ride," a heartwarming romance piece, is a story that captures the heart with its beautiful art and intricate plot design.

Meet Yoshioka, Futaba, the main character. Because Futaba was always a cute girl in middle school, she was ostracized by her female friends. Due to this, she could never get her feeling across to the only boy she's ever liked, Tanaka-kun. She swears that upon entering high school, she will 'reset' herself life and image.
Once a high school student, Futaba is as unladylike as possible so her friends won't become jealous of her. However, she meets Tanaka-kun once more, now going under the name of Mabuchi Kou. Kou tells her that he also liked her in middle schools, but things can never be the same. Can love blossom out of a relationship that never even start three years ago?

In this lovely piece of art, Futaba is played by Uchida, Maaya (the voice of Takanashi, Rikka [Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai!], Iki, Hiyori [Noragami], and Alluka Zoldyck [HunterxHunter]). Uchida undergoes a marvelous transformation, suddenly becoming a jaded young lady with a weakness for love. Her portrayal of Futaba is wonderful in that she's not annoying with Futaba's needy mannerisms. Another gem of the voice acting world is Kaji, Yuki (voice of Finnian [Black Butler], Alibaba Saluja [Magi], and Eren Jeager [Attack on Titan]) staring as the voice of Mabuchi, Kou. This is literally the dark side of Kaji's voice, and I say sexy! Kaji continues to hit his target dead on by bringing the insecure and shut off Kou to life.

The most wonderful part about the anime is the character development. There are massive amounts of character development going on! And Sakisaka, Io, the author of the story, hits her audience with the most heartbreaking stories. Also, not to mention the art is just lovely. There are some many details put into the art from the characters to the backgrounds. The style alone just makes one feel like they're floating through a sea of beauty. The only sad part about "Ao Haru Ride" is that the concept is used quite often -- but it is still a worthwhile anime to watch.

Those who take pleasure in giggling at the budding romance of two characters will be sure to love this anime. There are many characters a viewer can connect with, and no one has to be limited to the main two. However, to the people who are jaded and think love cannot possibly exist (like me), you will simply wonder why all these characters behave like they do. This anime will simply not be an enjoyment. But regardless of one's personal feelings, this anime is a sweet, innocent romance that can give the feeling of hope to all who watch it.
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Story - 8
"Ao Haru Ride" has a delicate storyline that will capture one's interest immediately. Unfortunately, this type of romance has been explored many times. However, that does not mean that this isn't worth the while. It certainly is. "Ao Haru Ride" is like take a breath of fresh spring air.

Art - 9
The artwork is beautiful and so detailed from character design to backgrounds. Sakisaka, Io has a lovely style that conveys the message of sweet innocence. I can tell a lot of passion and hard work went into the art for this anime.

Music - 8
The music perfectly fit the mood of this piece. The opening was filled with cute curiosity with its bubbly, yet melodic tune. Ending the anime is a lovely piece that is relaxing, and makes everything feel right. The music inside the anime were also lovely pieces that were perfectly timed with the action.

Character - 9
There was a lot of character development. I got to see Futaba mature even though her childish qualities remained. I also got to see many sides of Kou that seemed unlikely to be in him, but they were and it made me happy. Even the side characters like Yuuri, a cute girl who was ostracized by the females like Futaba, and Murao, a mature girl who has a crush on a teacher, grew in unexpected ways.

Enjoyment - 8
I normally don't enjoy romances, but "Ao Haru Ride" really captured my attention. It was high on my hype list, and earned an ever higher spot as I was watching it. There were some point where I avoided having to watch this anime, but that was only because of the cliffhangers left by the previous episode.

Overall - 8.4
"Ao Haru Ride" was a great anime, and I'm glad I invested my time into it. Staring at the artwork and listening to the music were great treats for my senses. I even sang along to the opening song. But watching the character develop was really was the best part of this anime. It's a really good show for one that's been done so many times, and I really loved it.

*Anime in External Link

Favorite Character: The cat (I'm still wondering what happened to it....)

Favorite Ship: FutabaxKou, of course!

Favorite Song: 「I will」Chelsy