ao haru ride review

as a wise crunchyroll reviewer put it... "the dark chocolate of romance has arrived". of all the romance anime that i have watched, this one felt the most honest to how i experience the feeling of love. i'm listening to i wait by chelsey as i type this and honestly feeling a bit emotional (　；∀；)

before i get into what makes this show truly special, let me briefly introduce it to you lovelies

kou, our special boy- previously tanaka but changed to mabushi after a divorce. kou was known as a soft-spoken and sweet-natured boy in grade school, but now 3 years have passed, and he seems like a completely new person.

he's now "taller, more charismatic, and more withdrawn" -mal, giving our main girl some serious hot n cold vibes! (i kinda luv it tho... ><; ) out of all the male protags in my romance binge, kou has been my favourite for sure.

yoshioka futaba, a very mild and cute girl in elementary, put herself through a major transformation to avoid being too popular with boys that her female classmates would shun her. (what a problem to have.. >> ) she's now energetic and eats a lot, but is still full of heart and determination to improve.

there's not a lot i can fault futaba for. she's an innocent girl in love who cares about her friends but isnt too bland. realistically, she might be a bit pushy- but here, pushy is just what kou needed.

finally, we have makita yuuri, who's only flaw is that she's "too cute". her peers shun her like they did with futaba in elementary, saying she fakes being cute for male attention.

i rooted for yuuri since the start, even before i knew her name. she's cute! she's kind! she's... cute!

most of all she's a good friend to futaba and likewise, which is really important. female friendship is no joke!! (๑•̀ㅁ•́๑)✧

there are a few others, but not incredibly important. besides tanaka-sensei, kou's older brother. he's a nice guy who wears cat-print sweaters and i think that's pretty swell.

kou and futaba were both in love with each other in elementary school, but kou suddenly moved away the day after they were supposed to attend a festival together. now, in high school, futaba notices a boy that seems to remind her of the boy she used to know, even though he is now so different.

and then its all dokidoki, angst, and vomitting (but in the good way). seriously, my heart was POUNDING ;; i had to take a step away a few times to try to calm down.

one line in the show that really stuck with me- "our eyes would always meet, then we would look away... but they would always meet again." dude, the fuckin ashdgha shy puppy love,, just too cute. i noticed that they would keep doing this later on in the show, when i was sure they both liked each other again. fuckin cute and i'm going to sleep on the highway tonight x__x

another thing that was repeated was seeing kou from the back, which im sure has some symbolism of like.. futaba feeling like she was left behind and is trying desperately to catch up with the new kou and understand him. she would always talk about his smell, though, which writing about it is a bit strange.. but for maidens in love this is a real deal, ok!!?

the realism i talked about- thoughts always drifting back to that person, being unable to focus when they're around, desperately trying to learn and understand them, reflecting on all the little interactions... man, fuck! it really is like this for me, more so than the usual "kyaa omg!" at a kabedon or whatever >_>

in conclusion...

★★★★✫ 4.5 lucky stars.

i really can't find anything to complain about besides there not being more of it. the dark chocolate of romance left a bittersweet taste in my mouth, and i find myself wishing it to stay.