An utterly cute and charming first volume with a wonderful cast and beautiful artwork. There's already a lot of potential for a wonderful story to unfurl from the start.

This book was really cute. I loved the plot but I didn't love the main character. However, there were parts of the book where things improved and the relationship was interesting!

A really engaging first volume and I am super interested in checking out the rest of the series after reading this!

Ao Haru Ride is a tribute to the nostalgia of youth. It deftly captures the highs and lows of adolescence, the trials and triumphs of first love. With a cute and recognizable style, Sakisaka brings to life the high school love story of the awkward and uncertain Futaba. In junior high, she missed a chance to start a romance with classmate Kou after he suddenly moved away but gets a second shot when he appears again in her life. The tension and frustration that colors their budding rekindled friendship is palpable and readers will be left wondering where their relationship will go evoke rooting for them to get together.

Feels, angst, young love, fake friends....this is so high school! I don't think there's anything super new here as far as plot lines go, but there's more depth than some other similar manga, so there's that. We start with Futaba in middle school, where she doesn't like boys, but....there's something about Tanaka. Maybe she does like him. He asks her to go to the summer festival with him, and she agrees, but then there's a misunderstanding, and he never shows up. She later finds out he's moved away, and thinks she'll never see him again, she'll never get the chance to tell him how she feels. Fast forward three years to high school, where Futaba has remade herself to fit in better, and oh hey, guess who's back? Is he still the boy she knew? Is she still the girl he knew? Will they learn to be themselves around each other again? As this is the first volume, we get questions rather than answers, and we start setting up the cast of characters, which is fine, that needs to be done, right? We get to know the characters well enough to care about them, to be interested in what will happen to them in the future, and the emotions all over the place will make you yearn along with them. This may not be a never-done-before plot, but it's done well; I didn't get insta-love feels, it's more carrying-a-torch feels, and there's more going on than just love. The soft, wistful artwork fits very well with the story, and is just lovely to look at. Read this when you want a not-annoying love story.

#AoHaruRideVol1 #NetGalley

I really wanted to like this manga but the format that the files came in left me minimally able to read it. The parts that I was able to read left me confused because of the lack of continuity.

The art style is very cute. I love the big eyes and curved flowing hair and faces. I really think I would have enjoyed this manga.

I would love to read this without it being all chopped up and shrunk down.

This was an interesting graphic novel. A girl was shy in middle school but really liked this one boy who talked to her one day. They were supposed to meet one night but he never showed up and completely disappeared from school. Now it's highschool, the boy is back with a different name and a new attitude. An attitude that gets the girl thinking about the choices she made to be popular in highschool. I can see lots of teens loving this series. I liked it, but I will not continue. It’s more HS drama that I care for, but I know exactly whose hands to put it in.
#BBRC #Orangeyougladtoseeme
#PopSugar

Absolutely adored this manga. I was invested in the characters from the get-go! A lovely start to what can only be a great manga series. Super eager to start the second volume.

This is cute and sweet and doesn't take too long to read, but I found it a little hard to follow.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

A sweet (perhaps too sweet for me) high school romance. I thought the art beautiful (especially the detailed facial expressions), and the story did capture the social angst of middle and high school well ("who are my friends?" "does she like me?" "who am I?") but I'm not sure I'll go much further with this series. Just a little too sugar packed for my tastes right now.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this e-arc.

Cute manga that i really adored and appreciated even more after watching the first few episodes

4 stars.
This was really cute overall and I hope to see some bigger character development in volume 2!
Some of the characterization in this one felt a bit young and immature, which is what gives me hope for volume 2, especially how this one ended.
Thanks so much to Viz for the review copy!

This comic was way cuter than I had anticipated! The exact style of manga that I enjoy reading!
This is a story of lost love and finding it all over again throughout high school. Our main girl character reminds me of myself when I was young, so I feel a personal connection to her. I love that our main character stands up for herself when it came to her fake friends, and I cannot wait to see this blossoming friendship/relationship grow.
Will definitely be buying volumes of this one now!

Ao Haru Ride, Vol. 1 by Io Sakisaka is a popular shojo manga series that was adapted into the Blue Spring Ride anime. In high school, Futaba gets a second chance with her first love, Kou. 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 story that felt very classic to me. Girl that wants to fit in, but does not want to quite be the stereotype that she would need to act like to really fit the mold. Figuring out who she really wants to be, and how she wants to interact with other people. Trying to decide is Tanaka is who she thinks he is, and then where she stands with him, is at the heart of the story. However, being herself and figuring out the importance of how she interacts with others and being herself is a close second in importance. The story was classic for young adult literature in general, and this style of manga. I liked the art style, it was consistent and showed the emotion, motion, and mood of each moment very well.

Ao Haru Ride felt familiar and comfortable. It is classic high school story of finding yourself and figuring out what you want and who you want to be.

Thank you to NetGalley and Viz Media for the digital copy. I had read Ao Haru Ride in the past. I enjoyed getting to read it again. This is such a sweet and funny manga.In true shojo fashion. Perfect for those who enjoy Fruits Basket and the like. I give it 5 stars.

<I>Thank you to VIZ Media for providing me with an electronic copy of this graphic novel via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.</I>

This has been on my TBR list since I read Io Sakisaka's <u>Love Me, Love Me Not</u>, so I was super excited to find it on NetGalley! This emotional rollercoaster of a ride causes the reader to reminisce about their high school days, with the constant internal struggle between whether to do what is right or whether to do what is necessary to fit in. I love how Sakisaka effectively demonstrates that characters change and develop, for better or worse, between the awkward transitional phase of middle and high school, and how this can alter relationships with others and perceptions of themselves. The art was adorable, the characters well thought out, and I am intrigued to find out what happens between Futaba and Kou. The only downside to this is that I want volume 2 now!

This was actually really cute and fun. I liked the premise of the series: the return of the junior high crush who is totally different now in high school. I will be continuing on with the series.

This is a basic teenage manga, written with more relatability to American teenagers. Classic teen in love drama. I do like that they touch on self esteem and how it relates to friendships.

This review will be posted on may 29th


Today I have a graphic novel that I am so excited to share with you all. Ao Haru Ride, is about "Unfeminine" Futaba is reunited with First love Kou. Kou moved away years ago, before Futaba was able to confess her feelings, but now he's back. But the kind boy from middle school is no longer, in his place is a uncaring, cold boy. Can Futaba change Kou or will this love never blossom?

This was really cute story, Sakisaka did a really good job setting up the first volume and it's main characters. The writing is very sweet and felt so Innocent, painting high school as a place that I would have actually liked to be at. Before we get started one thing I really enjoyed were the little notes that the author sprinkled in. It made me feel as if it was developing a connection with the author and it gave me a bit of insight into what they were thinking as the writing was taking place something you don’t really see with other mangas. At first, I was not sure if I was going to like this. The Romance couple trope of Asshole and shy naive girl typically isn't my thing and is a bit played out but it turns out I was wrong.

While Kou is somewhat mean (but it seems mostly in a really innocent way and not a complete assholish way) there are plenty of glimpses of his more warm-hearted side. Futaba isn't just a naive girl either but as the first volume progresses we see that she Is someone who can speak her mind and do what's right when needed. There are a couple of side characters but you don't really get to know them well enough to really form a opinion. the ending really sets it up for the next Volume which I can't wait to read. Overall, this innocent little tale is exactly what I needed

Rating 5

The manga "Ao Haru Ride" by Io Sakisaka was a heartwarming story about a girl who fell in love with a boy who moved away. Three years later he returns and he slowly starts impacting her life by challenging how she views her everyday life. I really enjoyed these two characters because they had depth and emotion. The way they interact and how he looks out for her makes me swoon. I will definitely be reading the next volumes because I cannot wait to see how their relationship deepens.


Should you read "Ao Haru Ride, Vol 1"?
Yes! This was a quick read that will not disappoint you. It will leave you wanting more from the characters.

**Received an advanced copy through NetGalley in return for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. **