Chasing After Aoi Koshiba is a cute girls' love manga about popular it girl Sahoko and her crush, sporty and confident Aoi. The characters feel a little underdeveloped but that's pretty common with the first volume of a series. Sahoko is not a type of character I tend to like -- she's self-obsessed and overly concerned with image and being a cool kid, except when it comes to Aoi. Her attraction to Aoi leads her into unfamiliar waters and soon she's socializing with "side characters" in the home EC club and even trying her hand at craft projects. I'm hopeful that in future volumes she'll grow as a character and become more authentic. Aoi is definitely an intriguing character and it's easy to see why Sahoko spends her time literally chasing after her.

The story is told in two timelines; most of it is set during high school with intermittent scenes taking place years later at the high school reunion. I like that we get the start of the girls' relationship and these glimpses into their future. It's implied that something happened to make them drift apart after high school and I'm curious to know what occurred, as well as finding out if they'll reconnect at the reunion.

An interesting start with super cute art!

Cute read? Yes, I believe so. I am so glad I read this yuri because it showed me that not all yuri have fast-paced romance. It’s not that slow either but I thought that this manga took the time to let the feelings settle and develop. Especially when I compare it to my last yuri Citrus.
Sahoko is a real cutie and she is very funny. The fact that we kind of know how this high school romance ends is great because now, I am very interested in what happens in the middle, and not just on how the story ends. The story is really fun and entertaining. Moreover, the art is sweet and pretty, making the characters come alive.
I recommend it to yuri fans or people who want to try this genre.
4/5

This manga follows Sahoko, a girl who used to have trouble fitting in but now, after changing herself, is able to surround herself with friends and other people who admire and love her. In her high school days, she makes friends with Aoi, who she's immediately intrigued by and, as the title suggests, she literally chases after her. This volume primarily focuses on their high school days and shows how their relationship develops, which comes to an abrupt stop in the last chapter once we're introduced to a high school reunion and Aoi is not there, leaving Sahoko disappointed even though she's in University now.

Although the volume ends on a cliff-hanger and was pretty short compared to other mangas I've read, the story was really interesting and I wanted to find out more about what happened or what will happen next, like whether or not Sahoko will ever speak to or find Aoi. Throughout the manga, the story didn't really feel as developed as I would have liked it to be and felt like it went by too fast, but in the next volumes more information will probably come out. The manga was also very cute, like seeing how Sahoko acted when she was around Aoi, and I absolutely loved the art style, it's lovely.

However, Sahoko's character did kind of annoy me - although it was pretty realistic, I didn't like how self-centred she acted sometimes, focusing all on her looks and popularity. There was a nice juxtaposition between her, someone who fakes her identity, and Aoi, someone who doesn't seem to be afraid to show who they are, which could be why Sahoko was intrigued by her. Sahoko's judgement to other people did kind of throw me off too. But even with this type of character somehow she's still made loveable - she is very cute. Just like every other character in this manga, I loved the character design itself.

Overall, I feel like there could have been more development in the story and that it didn't feel rushed, but I really liked it either way! The story was still intriguing and adorable, along with the characters and art. I do suggest it to yuri lovers, or just manga lovers in general who are looking for a quick romance (that will probably have some drama in the upcoming volumes...)

This is a sweet and promising beginning to a new series. Told between high school flashbacks and her modern day high school reunion, the main character contemplates her lost(?) relationship with Aoi Koshiba.

A very cute start to what will likely be an adorable and well thought-out series. I love the love interest, however the main character annoyed me a bit

I decently enjoyed the first volume. This was a pretty read for me. The plot line wasn't all that new but it was cute. It deals with some topics like comphet which is always nice to see. The art was wonderful. Overall shows a lot of potential for the rest of the series. I'm very excited to read the rest!

Thanks to the publisher, Netgalley, and Takeoka & Fly for allowing me to read this arc in exchange for an honest review.

This was a really promising opening to a manga series,

I really like the fact that it’s told from a High School Reunion and then looking back on the High School days, with Sahoko searching for Aoi to reconnect with her, and figure out if she feels platonically or romantically towards her. I’m really interested to see where the series go, and watch their feelings develop, and those lines between friendship and more blur. I also really liked the characters, they had different side to them and weren’t just one dimensional. I wish Sahoko would stop looking down on people for people plain and calling them side characters in her head though, especially since she was previously like them, and still is, deep down. The fact she felt like she was at home in the Economics club was so cute.

All in all, I really enjoyed this, and am looking forward to seeing where it goes!!!

This title went into a direction that I wasn't entirely expecting, which makes me interested to see where it goes! I definitely would like more insight into all of the characters, which further volumes hopefully do. I absolutely love the art style of this, and it's definitely one of the highlights for me. It was an enjoyable read, though nothing out of this world. However, it still held my attention as I breezed through reading it.

While the art is gorgeous, unfortunately the characters and the plot were out the window for me.....

I thought initially this was a one-volume only kind of deal, but it ended really weirdly and then I saw it says 1 in the title, so I guess we'll get another one. It was cute, but also kind of shallow and not very in depth. Our main character is kind of shallow at times but also cute. There are lots of clichés in here but I didn't mind it too much. I got kinda mad at the way she described the "uncool" girls though. I understand she is supposed to be this shallow person who only cares about looking cute and pretty, but still.. leave the fatphobia and shaming of other girls at home sis.

I'd really like to thank the publisher, Netgalley, and Hazuki Takeoka & Fly for allowing me to read this digital arc!

Sahoko Narita has refined her image to the popular girl she always wanted to be. She hangs out with Anna Inaba, the "half-Japanese beauty" and Riko Watanabe, the kawaii girl with quite the personality. They're the IT girls. Everyone wants to be them, or fall in love with them. Narita-san also lives on her Instagram, defining her worth by how many likes she gets on a single post.

Aoi Koshiba was the basketball star of her Junior High team. She hangs out with the bros and is an active member of the home economics club. She often rushes home after school and doesn't have time to hang out, and Narita-san wants to know why. It's an unlikely duo the pair form, as Sahoko figures out how to navigate the feelings she develops for the mysterious Aoi Koshiba.

actual rating: 4.5 stars

+1: gay; gay gay gay gay gay!!! ugh the gay panic in here is so so good, and the characters surrounding Aoi and Sahoko just add to it, especially the dynamic between Aoi and Sahoko's friend group.
+1.75: art style; oh my god the art in here is beautiful. *chef's kiss* it's great and makes for such a compelling read along with the actual arcs the characters are going through. I think I finished this read in 45 minutes total.
+0,75: pacing; the pacing in here is definitely on-par for ~200 pages of manga. The time jumps were a bit confusing, but that's likely just because I'm not as used to reading manga as I am to reading standard novels. Also I am American, not Japanese, so it was a bit odd for me to have a class reunion only a few years into university, where here we usually have them like every 10 years.
+1: vibes; this honestly had such good general vibes and I don't have much else to say on this topic. I'm mad stressed about university and my classes right now, and this was a really nice little escape.
-0.5: character development; I feel like the development was a bit rushed here, but it is just the first edition of what I'm assuming will be a good series of mangas, so I'm not incredibly worried about this department.

Themes: comp het, gay panic (the fun kind), and authenticity.

I really dug this story. While I was not nor never have been a cute social media type, the story centering a young woman who openly admits to liking attention and being cute is great and relatable. The only person who bugs her for it is her little brother, but that's little bros, yo. What makes the story relatable is the inner struggle the main character has with her authenticity. Her public persona is very constructed and carefully maintained and this bothers her when she otherwise enjoys the attention.

The best part is the comp het and gay panic elements. Who among us hasn't panicked and kissed a girl you have some feelings for without totally understanding those feelings and then panicked even more because omg you just kissed her apropos of nothing and what if she hates you?!

I'm super looking forward to the rest of this series.

There is a full length review forthcoming on my site, MangaLibrarian.com and on my YouTube Channel! I go in depth on my analysis there.

A yuri manga with gorgeous art and a reference to Bloom Into You? Of course I needed to read this immediately. Huge thank you to Kodansha and NetGalley.

The story starts present day, Sahoko Narita is headed for her high school reunion party. She is in her third year of university right now and on her way she wonders why do people even go to these parties. She meets up with her two best friends from school and one of them mentions that a certain Aoi Koshiba is not likely to attend tonight. Sahoko feels sad and a bit embarassed and this is when we head to flashback territory - and see the girls at high school, as they are on the cover.

I was surpsied that we only got to see the high school years in the flashbacks. This is just my personal preference but I don’t really like stories where the present day character spends most of their time reminiscing about the past. It seems that the things that happened in the past will be a cataclyst for things to move forward in the present, and if that is the case I won’t mind it much. But this is mostly speculation after volume one.

Most of the first volume is spent in the past and I liked these chapters much better. We learned what kind of a person our protagonist, Sahoko is. And boy, is she a handful! Sahoko remembers having a boring school experience before high school so she did everything she could to change her life around. In Japan kids usually graduate from their previous school and attend high school for three years (essentially 10, 11 and 12th grade) and we see Sahoko as a 17-year old in her second high school year. She spends a lot of time and energy to look pretty, and to give others a good impression. She is obsessed with having a popular Instagram account and getting likes while also fishing for people’s irl admiration of her. She became friends with two equally cute and popular girls so she feels settled in her new life - while also secretly worrying about doing anything that would brand her as lame. Unfortunately, due to her new social status she also became a bit vain, easily writing off other students as lame, unpopular, etc. based on looks alone.

Things change when she meets Aoi Koshiba, who is just so effortlessly fun and people seem to like her even though she is a bit of a tomboy. Sahoko is jealous of her free spirited attitude find herself gravitated towards Aoi.

I liked this set up and I liked how the two girls started to learn a bit about each other. Aoi also admires Sahoko, and she has her own issues as well. But I felt the communication between them is something that badly needs improvement. Sahoko is rather pushy in wanting to get closer to Aoi and she never stops to ask if Aoi wants her around. Instead she worries about doing things that will make Aoi dislike her. There was a confusing moment where Aoi calls her annoying - which I get, she was a bit pushy - but then immediately wants to hang out with Sahoko. I was also not a fan of the first kiss - it felt rushed, and one sided, with both girls being really confused and it was hard to tell just how much of it was on purpose and how much of it was just an accident.

The girls also have a short talk about dating, but we don’t learn why Aoi brings it up and we don’t know if Sahoko ever really came to terms with her own attraction for Aoi during high school. She is clearly still in denial at the beginning.

Sahoko’s conflicting feelings for Aoi are super relatable though, finding the other girl really amazing and wanting to know her better while being confused if this was friendship or more. It is not clear what happened between the two yet, the dialogue suggests they had some kind of falling out, but present day Sahoko is still clearly hang up on what could have happened or could still happen between them.

I liked this first volume but the end of the book leaves me with more questions and no answers, I felt like too many things were left open for the next volume. I wish we got some answers at least, but for now so many things are waiting to be answered that it is hard to get really invested in the story. It is implied Sahoko is unhappy in her current
life, but we don’t know what she does besides studying. We don’t know if her and Aoi would even meet - she wants to but she doesn’t know if Aoi feels the same way despite saying that they do text sometimes. Instead she feels to be a stagnating character, waiting for Aoi to accidentally turn up at the reunion party.

While I liked the past chapters more, I was pulled into the story for a sweet high school romance after all, I hope that the present - past - present divide won’t be used for many volumes. I expect the next volume to still follow this set up, but in the long run this could quickly prove annoying, trying to guess what happened in the past while the present characters stagnate and don’t move forward.

I really really love the art, and the pacing and the paneling is done really well. I felt that the illustrator captured the feelings and moments really well. I loved that the scenes had enough space to breathe, sometimes we would have pages with only two panels, but it was needed so you can really get immersed in the story.

This book really tugged on my heartstrings! I'm interested to see Aoi and Sahoko's past play out. Takeoka and Fly conveyed the awkwardness of high school well, and it was interesting to see the dynamics between all the ensemble cast play out. If anything, the characters' personalities tended to blend together a bit, so I hope to see them more fleshed out in future volumes.

Fly's art shines. Their use of line weight conveys volume well, and their use of screen tones adds charm and detail while still preserving an organic feel. Paige Pumphrey's lettering also complemented the art well. The entire localization team did a great job with this title, and I'm looking forward to more!