Ao Haru Ride

Yoshioka Futaba is your normal High School girl, filled with insecurities and struggling to find herself. She's cute but due to harsh bulling in middle school because of it, she changed her image and became a rough and tumble loud mouthed girl. Her 'friends' aren't really friends to her, one day she stands up for a quiet and cute girl her friends are picking on, which results in her once again being excluded from her group- exactly what she never wanted to happen again.
But instead of letting it consume her she decided to work hard and change herself into someone she'd be proud to be. It's not easy and it takes some time but eventually she gains two close friends- Makita Yurri and Murao Shuuko
The girls are all quite different but they do share something in common, they're trying to find out who they really are and aren't satisfied with the normal attitude among girls in their school.



Yurri is cute, quiet and sweet but is left out by the girls as they're jealous of the attention she gets from boys.
Shuuko is stern and expressionless. She doesn't take any shit and doesn't get along with people who pretend to care about their friends.
Futaba pretended to be someone she wasn't so she wouldn't get mistreated like Yurri for being cute, but eventually the facade broke when she stood up for her.

But the main story focus' on her past and present relationship with Tanaka Kou.

In middle school the two shared mutual feelings for each other, but Tanaka Kou left before anything was able to develop. When Futaba enters High School she is reunited with her first love.
Both have changed but especially Kou, he's become dark and empty, it turns out he's had a troubling time since Futaba last saw him, but she's drawn to him just like years ago. She won't stop, she's determined to get him to reconnect with life and forces her way back into his life.

The two have a difficult journey, theres plenty of jealously, heartbreak and misunderstandings, which lead to more heartbreaks.
The manga spans over their High School careers, showing how the two begin to grow up and mature. They face many hardships, not all of which they manage to overcome.

This manga was incredibly realistic, I felt it really showed the struggles of love, friendships, relationships and life in general but also all the wonder and excitement that comes along with them.
I became so invested in the characters relationships and found it tough to stop reading and actually sleep or work. So i'm pretty sleep deprived but it's worth it!
After reading this manga I really came to appreciate how important it is to speak your mind and be honest with yourself and those around you, before it's too late.
'Time is slipping right through my fingers and I can never get it back'
So I guess enjoy every moment you can!
Before you're dead.
:)

Author/ Artist- Sakisaka Io
Released- 2011
Status- Completed
Genre- Comedy, Drama, Romance, School life, Shoujo , Slice of life

MANGAFOX RANK; 150TH