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This anime has ONE thing to say:
It is okay for a woman to be treated like trash, be constantly bullied, abused, rejected and belittled by her romantic interest. A woman should worship a man who has more respect for trash than for her, and her sole purpose in life should be to serve, idolize, and love him. As long as she continues to love him despite his utter lack of respect for her character, she will get a happy ending, because even though the man will always treat her as inferior piece of shit, he will eventually love her back. Kind of.

Kotoko's relationship ... with Irie is the epitome of an unhealthy, verbally abusive, unbalanced relationship. Irie completely controls, dominates, and constantly abuses Kotoko. He treats her worse than shit - he probably has more respect for the gum at the bottom of his shoe than he does for her. And yet she fawns over him, idolizes and loves him all the same? I'm sorry, but I wouldn't even consider dating a guy who called me "stupid", and Irie does much worse than that yet she pines after him. I can't stand these character types and relationships at all.

Kotoko is a cheerful, happy-go-lucky, sweet girl who is stupid, clumsy, useless and submissive. She gets absolutely terrible grades, but it's okay because she's pretty, cute, nice and cheerful! Actually, I didn't mind Kotoko being an absolute failure of a human being. What I hated was that she worshiped a man who went out of his way to abuse and belittle her daily. Who constantly called her dumb, annoying, stupid, useless and a failure. Kotoko is a nice girl who works hard, and I appreciated that she proved a point that working hard matters more than intelligence, because despite being naturally dumb, with hard work she got into the top of her class.

What DOES bother me is that Irie, her abusive object of affection, is the sole purpose she actually tries to do better in school. She becomes a nurse just so she can work close to him. I'm sorry, but that's the incentive she has for doing a job that deals with SAVING LIVES? NO. NO. Irie did not encourage and inspire her to want such a hard but rewarding career. In fact, he didn't believe she could do it and didn't go to her graduation. The fact is, Kotoko only lives to serve, love, worship, and follow Irie, who treats her like a wet piece of paper at best. And that's depressing, sexist, and wrong in more ways that I care to count.

If you don't mind an unhealthy, abusive relationship where the female is constantly belittled, has the emotional intelligence of a four year old, bows down and bends over backwards to the wants and needs of a selfish, cruel, arrogant, and abusive bully who dares to call himself a man, then by all means, watch this.

I can't decide whether to praise or diss this anime. I could write a review gushing about how great it is, or a scalding one about it's downfalls. I'll do both.
Pros:
-The romance itself is quite good. It's interesting to see the different sides of each other they bring out. They make one another less boring and have a truly touching love story, as sudden and maybe even forced as it was. They have heavy chemistry and you can understand why they love each other, even if seems that they fell in love rather fast.
-That being said, Mei's character isn't your regular happy, cheerful, submissive ... girl (well...), but she's interesting in that we can all relate to her pain and loneliness. She has had some tough experiences that were a bit dramatized and probably are...uncommon...but possible, and the pain she felt at being rejected by her classmates and being hurt over and over by her friends, is something we can all definitely relate to.
-There is no annoying waiting. The main love interest tells her he likes her quickly, and they don't take ages to get together, which is refreshing. They are also surprisingly honest with each other, which is nice to see and helps the romance come at a faster, better rate.
-The art is absolutely beautiful.
-The story is familiar, but it has some new elements that make it interesting and very unique.
-The romantic interest isn't a cold jerk to the girl for once. He is the cliche popular, rich, perfect player guy, but he is actually very kind, considerate and warm towards Mei, which is refreshing and interesting.
-They have a very balanced relationship. He is considerate towards her, and Mei is honest with him. There is no one person dominating the other. They have one of the healthiest relationships I've seen.

Cons:
-The romance is good in terms of chemistry, but it happens way too suddenly, way too fast. You blink, and they're in love. He's nice to her, sure, but at the same time, she doesn't come off as the type to be so trusting and loving right away after all she's been though....
-Talking about Mei, she goes off character many times. She goes from a cold, prickly girl to a moe, kawaii blushing cute girl in the span of four seconds. It's just uncharacteristic to change so fast. It's not character development, it's just conveniently changing her with no reason to make her cuter, more appealing, and better for the romance relationship.
-I can't stand the music, but some may, so I rated it average.
-The main male romantic interest is boring. I've seen him in nearly every shoujo anime - arrogant but kind, perfect, good at sports, good at academics, rich, popular, every girl loves him yet he chooses the loser girl, player....yeah. Been done before, and there's no development or even backstory for him. He's kind and a great boyfriend, but beyond that, very hollow, shallow character with little interesting things about him.
-A lot of the obstacles seem very forced, cliche, overdone and overdramatized. They take the smallest thing and blow it up to be some huge, mindblowing issue. It's just not that great story-wise. The plot is forced and kind of blind, despite some good themes it brings in.

It's rare that I write a good review, but Ao Hara Ride deserves it.
Ao Haru Ride is a breath of fresh air in the cliche-ridden Shoujo genre, where i seems like half of shoujo anime are carbon copies of one another.
Ao Haru Ride offers something new, interesting, and touching, with relatable but unique characters, great development, an interesting plot and beautiful, unique art and music that tugs at your heart.

The main heroine is the usual happy, cheerful type, but she has extra layers that make her complex, interesting, and unique Futaba changed her appearance and attitude in order to fit in with her group ... of friends- she eats a lot, wears no makeup, and makes her hair messy so she won't look cute, because in middle school she was bullied by jealous girls due to the attention she received from men. Who can't relate to this- this desire to change yourself in order to fit in? The desire to have friends so badly that you even believe there's something wrong with you, and you need to be different?
The story also makes a strong - and again, relatable - point that the friends you make when you change yourself and act like someone you aren't to fit in, aren't real friends- real friends love and accept you for who you are. The scene where Futaba is alone and starts crying, and Kou hugs her so her old friends can't see she is crying, and he tells her those aren't her real friends- that is one of the most touching scenes in anime.
The anime is full of touching scenes that resonate in your soul, leave you thinking and teary eyed yet smiling.
Kou, for example, comes off as an arrogant, cheeky guy, but he's actually very sensitive, serious and closed off to the world. Futaba has to work to understand him, the pain he's been through, and we can all relate to Kou as well- who built up walls to keep people out, only to see who would care enough about him to break down those walls. His character's changes were also very realistic, and his pain was relatable - lots of people experience what he did and react similarly.

Ao Haru Ride may look like just another sweet school romance anime, but it has so many touching themes and ideas. It touches on the importance, sweetness, and pain of relationships- both romantic, familiar, and friendship ones - and many other ideas that teenagers and everyone can relate to. It truly is wonderful, refreshing, and beautiful in every aspect. My only complaint was...I guess the animation could've been better?

Cliche. Average. Mediocre. Maybe even annoying.
It works if you like the typical shoujo where the female protagonist is a happy-go-lucky pushover and her main love interest is a complete jerk who always treats her like a subordinate toy he can order around- and let's not forget that she actually *likes* him for his sexist, jerk ways and bends over backwards to do whatever he wants.

I've never been a fan of such umbalanced relationships where the guy totally dominates over the girl.
The girl is your average shoujo heroine, the guy is a carbon copy of the extremely overdone, in-every-romance-anime "cold, bad boy who ... teases and is a jerk to the sweet/nice girl" male romantic interest that seems to be in every single anime I watch.

It was mediocre at best. It's basically a copy of every. single. bad boy/jerk likes nice girl anime EVER. Nothing special about it. Nothing great. It's just another copy. And if that's what you're looking for - a copy of all those other shoujo animes - then you've got the right anime here. Story is bland, boring, can be a tiny bit interesting at points. Art is decent, slightly below average. Sound is fine. Characters are average, a bit annoying at times. Enjoyment? Depends on what you want. Overall, mediocre af- and that's being generous.

How DARE people give Hanasaku Iroha a higher review than this masterpiece?! Even objectively, there is nothing remotely superior about Iroha in comparison to this. Let me commence my explanation as to why this is one of the best slice of life anime ever created. It deserves a great score.

--Art: 9--
One of the most aesthetically pleasing animes I have seen. The landscapes are absolutely stunning. This is the sort of art style that I personally love the most. The characters are cute, yes, but the landscapes and setting really took my breath away. I love the vivid colors. This entire anime is saturated with ... beautiful scenery and life. I especially loved the detail in the rocks and water.
--Sound: 9--
If I had to choose the most emotional and beautiful ending scene I've ever heard, the ending song for this anime stands out the most. Even years after watching the show, the song is so full of emotion that I can't listen to it or I will start crying. The singers soft voices fit in wonderfully with the mood of the anime. The opening song isn't as great, but it fits the anime flawlessly, and I still really love listening to it. Both songs have a very "summer" feel to the anime that I always love. The insert songs aren't as noticeable, though.
--Character: 10--
This anime has the most diverse and unique characters Each one has their own backstory that makes their complex feelings understandable and gives them depth, life and dimension. Menma, the main girl, is probably the least developed of the cast, but there's something interesting about her, too. While she's your usual "innocent, happy-go-lucky, cutesy" girl who is always smiling, there are parts of the anime that make you realize she isn't cliche. Because the show makes it clear that she's supposed to be airheaded, cute, and childish. But there are several scenes that show that Menma is more wise and mature than everyone else thinks.
The secondary characters are what bring this show together. Anjou seems like a shallow tsundere, but she's actually very insecure and open about her feelings. She suffered a lot, because she loved Menma, but she also resented her since Jintan loved Menma. That's something a lot of people can relate to. Anjou could've been annoying, but she ended up being...good. realistic. The other characters are just as wonderfully complex yet relatable. We can find a little of ourselves in each of the characters, and you will be rooting for every single one of them the whole way.

--Story: 9--
The story is heartbreaking. The death of a loved one is confusing and sorrowful enough on its own. What makes it more difficult in this series is that none of the characters had closure, and they were all kids full of confused feelings when their close friend died. That's another thing so many viewers can relate to. The ending had me crying buckets of tears. Also, the episodes were never pointless. They never dragged on- I never felt bored or like I was wasting my time. There were plenty of times in the series where I felt strong emotion, and the characters and story had a great impact on me. The story is done very well, but is also very heartbreaking.

--Enjoyment: 10--
I've said it before, but I hate wasting my time. I really do. We only have a limited amount of time left. That being said, I do take breaks to watch anime and TV once in a while, because I can't always be busy- I need to rest. But even when I rest, I want to watch a show that will IMPACT me. It will make me happy when I think about it. It will make me sad, or happy; it will make me feel emotions, it will make me think. This is what this anime gave me. I cried buckets of tears, but when I was done, I saw the world differently. I felt so many emotions while watching this show. And I'm thankful for the memories and feelings this anime gave me. I truly enjoyed it. I didn't find it a waste of my life, but rather, a good use of time. It's not pointless or bland or "light". It has a good mix of comedy and emotion. To me, this is the definition of slice of life done well.

**CONS**
There are no real cons. The only complaint I have is the fanservice. The show opens up with a boyfriend telling his girlfriend her breasts got bigger. And while the ecchi isn't all that present, there are some moments where I feel like the fanservice takes away from the emotion and depth of the series. Is it necessary to have fanservice and boobs/legs in EVERY anime?! That part frustrated me a lot. I felt like the fanservice and sexual references were very unnecessary, but they weren't abundant, so in the end I was fine with it.

OVERALL: 9

Okay, I'm going to keep this as objective as possible, and deter myself from breaking into an angry rant. Because I feel very strongly about this anime, and it isn't pretty.
Let's begin with the good points of the anime.

**PROS**
--Art: 7/10--
A 5/10 would be considered average, and the art is slightly above average. The scenery can be very beautiful- the train tracks, village, rain, and mountains are done beautifully. The characters have nice art, but outside from the occasional scenery, there was nothing particularly extraordinary. It was nice, that's all. The characters have nice highlights. The colors are beautiful- not too bright, and not too ... pale or washed out. It was aesthetically pleasing to look at, but nothing mind blowing like 5 Centimeters Per Second or Miyazaki films.

--Music: 7/10--
It was nice to listen to the music, but again, it wasn't anything too special. I liked that most of the music wasn't overly cheerful and energetic, which is often the case for shoujo anime. I didn't get sick of the opening, but it wasn't great enough that I listened to it. I skipped the opening after two or three episodes. Most of the music fits the mood and scenery.

--Story: 6/10--
Mediocre in every sense of the word. Now, this is neither a pro nor a con. Some people enjoy stories where every episode is basically some new, quirky adventure. The story is supposed to be about the main girl, who is abandoned by her mother and has to go to a hotel and work there in a new town, with new people. It's the sort of plot that could be great with good enough characters to make the viewer invested. While the story can be entertaining and full of laughter, it's really not 'slice of life'. There was nothing particularly deep or enlightening about this series. It TRIED to be deep a few times. It TRIED to PRETEND it was slice of life. But please. This anime is full of boring ideas. There is no real plot- every episode is about the cast getting into some cutesy adventure, really. Plot kind of starts to appear near the end, but by then, I kind of failed to care about what happened, so. Not to mention the endless plotholes in this. Overall, it's cute. It can be amusing. But don't expect anything deep or unique about this. It's something to do when you have nothing better to watch or to do.

**CONS**
--Character: 2--
I had to think REALLY HARD about giving this a 2 instead of a 1. The issue is that this entire anime is ruined by the lack of good characters. Every character was a shallow, underdeveloped cliche with no depth or originality whatsoever. And with the storyline, you would need great characters to make the story work. But this show fails to create characters that the viewer can get behind.
Take a look at the main girl. Ohana. She's nothing special. She's supposed to be like some sort of Tohru, all optimistic, selfless, cute, innocent and happy-go-lucky. Do you want to know how I'd describe her?
Bland. Generic. Lifeless. Flat. Static. Cliche. Bratty, even. I didn't find her endearing at all. She was flat and bland. She's supposed to be so positive and endearing but she was whiny, annoying, and weird. She whined and pretended to be "so hardworking". But we are given no background to her. Hell, she doesn't even get angry or confused when her mother ABANDONS her for e MAN. She's all, "oh ok, cool." no questions asked. Ohana is someone I can neither relate to because she's set up to be perfect and loveable, but she also has no real depths, no development. She's flat. Not terrible, but...hardly real or 3-d. Even weird in a bad way.
The rest of the characters are equally bad. The typical "tsundere" girl. The typical "cute shy girl who is a good wife". None of them have depth or real backstories. The main guy is tsundere and he falls in love with Ohana for no reason.
I also can't stand the fanservice, god help me. Do I WANT to see Ohana, who looks like she's hardly 12, prancing around in skin-tight chinese dresses that hardly cover her thighs? No, thanks. I'd go watch ecchi if I did!

--Enjoyment: 3--
As you can tell, I thoroughly hated this anime. The first 3 episodes were actually okay. But quickly, I started to get frustrated and annoyed by the bland characters, meaningless story line, and overall mediocrity. It's okay if you just want to waste time and watch a light anime, but that's not what I want to invest the time of my life in. If I'm going to waste my life watching TV, I at least want it to be good, meaningful TV that gives me an enriching experience, like Nana or Fullmetal Alchemist or Madoka Magica or Angel Beats or Clannad or...you know. Things that make you see the world differently, make you cry, make your heart feel things!

Anyway, I actually forced myself to finish the anime. I will never forgive myself for doing that to my poor brain.

OVERALL: 5 (Because I know some people ARE looking for light anime with nothing special)