Ao Haru Ride! I'm not one to write reviews, but after watching the anime, OVA's, and then reading the Manga and the side stories I can safely say that this Manga is a treasure and it now holds a special place in my heart. It captures the feeling of first love so poetically, the feeling you have when your eyes meet, when your heart races, the nostalgia of that feeling is so heart-warming, and yet bittersweet, much like this Manga. My review contains spoilers so if you are thinking about it and haven't read it yet, yes, I highly encourage you to read it and
...
indulge your heart in it, for those who have or can't contain your curiosity, press on! xD
(This mayy be a long read~ but I hope an insightful one ^^)
When I think of this Manga I think of this; Love, Loss, and the journey of finding love again. There a so many themes in this Manga that are perfectly tied together through the Love Story of our main characters that I can't help but praise it and hold it in high regard. Firstly the love between Futaba and Kou is so beautifully composed. I know that reading the Manga that it can seem like the opposite of beautiful, so many frustrating moments and unfortunate events, but the way Io Sakisaka uses these moments to grow the characters and shape the people they become is so amazing to see.
Kou and Futaba are far from being perfect people, but what makes them special is how relatable they are. They both stumble their way through life in both love and their relationships with other people. Futaba being self-conscious and always carrying the fear of being alone, like she was in Junior high, so much so that she loses her sense of identity in high school. Then Kou, having his world suddenly change at a young age, moving to a new city, a new school, while carrying the weight of slowly watching his Mom die.. it's too much to bear for anyone all alone, and not only that but holding the guilt in his heart that it's his fault, because he couldn't see that his Mom was sick although she was so near to him. Honestly, it's so heart-breaking that he had to endure that kind of pain, and telling himself that it's his fault.. When someone is in that state of mind, how can you simply tell them to forget about it and let it go? That's why, even years later in High School, Kou isn't able to move on from that time and shoulders the burden. Many people say they dislike Kou for the way he treated Futaba throughout the Manga, that he's a terrible person, but when I was reading I didn't see a terrible person who wanted to cause her pain, but a person who was battling the painful feeling of loving someone and trusting it enough to open his heart to it, that he made some rough decisions. He struggled so much to open his heart to love, that he couldn't even bring himself to adopt a stray cat he begun to care for at first, because as he said: "Caring for things brings a lot of Trouble.."
The situation with Narumi and Futaba would have been so much smoother if he could only communicate that he truly loves Futaba, but feels the need to stay with Narumi because he understands her pain, but he couldn't do that, because that would mean facing himself and the reality that there was someone he treasured, someone he loved, and someone he could lose.. who was Futaba. I really do think that through that stage Kou knew he loved her, but he couldn't bring himself to face it just yet. He even said to her later on, that he tried to forget about her, but he couldn't. One of my most favourite lines from Kou in the Manga is what he said to Narumi about Futaba: "Yoshioka is the centre of my feelings, and she won't move away. That is my reality. That's why.. I'm sorry." (Chapter:43)
Throughout the Manga sometimes it can be hard to know what Kou is really feeling, his expressions don't always show it, and the reader is left to feel like Futaba, confused and always wondering, but when we reach the end when he finally embraces love and opens up to her we know, ah.. he had always loved her, and only her, from the beginning.
As much as people dislike Narumi, and I have to admit, there were times reading the Manga where I thought I hate this girl (😂), I try to understand her perspective, from her perspective she has lost the only person who has ever loved her, her Dad. Her Mom and the rest of her family have shunned her and show no sign of comfort to a girl who is obviously hurting. And then there's Kou. The only one who understands her pain.. who may even be, her very first love..
Futaba, I find Futaba to be ridiculously cute, and I love her character! Most of all, I find her to be so incredibly relatable. Throughout the series she really matures and grows in love and in her sense of Identity, I really love her growth! (🥺) Now when it comes to understanding Futaba, and her undying love to Kou, we need only look to one scene. Chapter 1. Futaba in middle school, standing in the Shrine as it rains, crying to herself after she realised that Kou was gone... Some people overlook the "Unwritten" OVA, because it's mostly recounted scenes in the anime, but when I read the Manga I was surprised, and really happy that they animated that scene in the Anime, because from then I knew, how deeply Futaba really loved Kou. Kou wasn't just anyone, to her he was different from the other boys, she observed him closely and noticed every little detail like his scent, or the way his eyes met hers. He was her first love, his existence introduced the feeling of romantic love to her and the joy it brings, but before she could even get to know him deeply, before she could even express how much those feelings meant to her, he disappeared. That scene was really heart-breaking because in her position, she really had no idea what happened to him, there was no way of contacting him, and no way of knowing if she would ever see him again. After that she lost her friends, and spent the next few years of Middle School in loneliness, but as she said (in the Awaken Manga) that the one thing that kept her studying there and enduring that loneliness was for the slim hope, of one day being able to meet Kou again. That's a pretty powerful and sincere love. Her standing in the rain, at the shrine, crying to herself because of these intense feelings brings us to present Futaba. The Futaba that has and always will, love Kou. That's why, towards the end of the Manga what made her finally realise and decide to break-up with Touma was from the scene when she smells the muffler her Mom had washed. Scent has always been a strong motif for her affection for Kou, realising it didn't smell like Kou anymore, it brought her so much sadness and heartache because like losing the scent from the muffler, she knows the feeling of losing him. Once she finally realises this, she breaks-up with Touma the next day.
I personally don't like Touma (😂), mostly because he coaxed her into a relationship with him and even knew he was taking advantage of the situation. He's a kind person, and genuinely wanted to care for her, but even he knew that Futaba was madly in love with Kou and would one day realise it. Futaba also was not wise for deciding to be in that relationship, but knowing how torn and broken her heart was I also understand that feeling of wanting to remove the pain in that way. Touma promised her he would make her forget about Kou, which at the time is exactly what she wanted, but of course not what she needed. What she needed was to face her feelings for him and confront them, much like how Kou needed to do the same. In the end, I never shipped Touma and Futaba simply because there was no genuine love there. I admire that when Futaba was his girlfriend she really tried her best and was actually a good girlfriend for him with as much heart as she was able to give, even trying to block out Kou because she knew being around him would hurt Touma. but still, she never loved Touma, and she never realised it, not until the muffler scene. Even Touma said at the end of their breakup, that Futaba never realised that she never said "I like you" to Touma.
Touma was like the ideal and "perfect" boyfriend, but what I love was that what Futaba loved about Kou was not his perfection, but the fact that he was an imperfect person, growing and changing into a better version of himself everyday. His goodness, and kindness, was so pure and genuine, but was overshadowed by his hurt and grieving heart. By the end Kou's development was such an amazing change, and I can see why she wanted to be a part of it and see him grow more and more. No one can deny that at the end Kou became so adorable, a boy who had finally opened his heart to love. I still cry thinking about the 7pm at Sankaku Park Clock scene, and how he brought her flowers just wanting to see her happy face (😭❤️)
Futaba was the storm that woke him up to love and changed the way he saw the world, and Kou was the change she needed to realise what was important was true and genuine love and relationships with the people around her, the ones that count. They moulded each other into better people in so many ways, in the end they both experienced what it was like to lose someone, but learned what it meant to treasure someone precious to them. That's why we know, that their love is going to withstand the trials of life and the test of time and they truly are only ever going to be each others first and only love <3
Overall, Ao Haru Ride will always hold a special place in my heart. Every Circumstance and trial was needed for the characters to grow, realise and change into the happy, healthy versions of themselves and I'm just so happy knowing that in the end Futaba got to re-create the happiest days of her life.
All (8)FriendsAlso Available atRSS Feeds |
Feb 21, 2022
Ao Haru Ride
(Manga)
add
Ao Haru Ride! I'm not one to write reviews, but after watching the anime, OVA's, and then reading the Manga and the side stories I can safely say that this Manga is a treasure and it now holds a special place in my heart. It captures the feeling of first love so poetically, the feeling you have when your eyes meet, when your heart races, the nostalgia of that feeling is so heart-warming, and yet bittersweet, much like this Manga. My review contains spoilers so if you are thinking about it and haven't read it yet, yes, I highly encourage you to read it and
...
Feb 2, 2022
Dragon Ball Z Kai: Bring Peace to the Future! Goku's Spirit is Eternal, also known as episode 98 of Dragon Ball Kai! It was a really bittersweet end to the Dragon Ball Z Kai series and wrapped it up nicely making way for the Final Chapters :D definitely a must-watch for those who want to bring clarification for what happens when Future Trunks goes back to his timeline..
but *spoiler alert for the episode* it goes exactly the way you think it went xD ... |
