Ah... Ao Haru Ride. The latest romantic anime in a high school setting in my viewing list (there are probably a couple of others, but I haven't gotten around to them just yet). And no, I'm still not yet sick of watching this kind of storytelling, because Ao Haru Ride was a reminder of what makes the genres it falls under so much fun to watch. It doesn't matter if it's pure drama or if a hefty dose of comedy is thrown in, I'll give it a shot if the characters involved get the butterflies-in-the-stomach feeling because of a certain someone.
Hey, I can be girly sometimes, too. And stories like Ao Haru Ride is a great reason to do just that.
A lot can change in three years. Yoshioka Futaba is now known for being unladylike, a facade she puts up after being ostracized in middle school due to her cuteness and her likability. Then, she crosses paths with Tanaka Ko, who goes by the name Mabuchi Ko in high school, her former crush who moved away before she could confess her feelings to him back when they were in middle school. But instead of the quiet, thoughtful and kind boy she fell in love with back then, Futaba is dismayed that he has become a rude and sarcastic young man, with Ko quick to call her out on her own changed personality. Yet, Futaba still feels drawn to Ko despite his change in personality. She tries to find out what happened to him that caused him to change, while also re-learning to accept her true self.
In the course of their renewed acquaintance - and I say acquaintance, because Ko and his new attitude would mean that any friendship would be rebuffed - they meet people who slowly become a part of their lives. Makita Yuri experiences what Futaba went through in middle school; Marao Shuko shies away from spending time with her classmates and instead focuses on making her feelings known to her teacher and Ko's elder brother Tanaka Yoichi; and the always enthusiastic Kominato Aya, who has a crush on Shuko.
The relationship between Futaba and Ko is complicated, and fraught with the insecurities teenagers are usually so adept in experiencing, but the series punctuates each struggle with opportunities for self-realizations and growth for the two of them. With Futaba trying to be true to herself without the fear of judgment and Ko just trying to eke out a peaceful existence without the meddling of others or making any concerted effort, the two find themselves clashing on so many issues but nonetheless can't avoid interacting with each other. Despite Futaba's frustrations, which the audience is more likely to empathize with than Ko's, one has to ask "what if?". What if they met up for the festival that summer night as promised? What if Ko never moved away? What would have happened then? And these questions pervade every time they experience something that parallels their interactions in the past.
While the focus of the series is the central relationship between Futaba and Ko, the series is also about forging new friendships, and the inclusion of Yuri, Shuko and Aya isn't established just to create background supporting characters for them. Each one has distinct personalities, though Shuko, when not pining for Yoichi, tend to be a bit of a wallflower, but I guess that's what her character prefers... to always be in the background unless it's Yoichi who would be paying attention to her. Had the series been given a longer run than the twelve episodes it got, I think the three of them would have vied for more of the audience's attention and empathy.
The series features a mix of drama and comedy in its storytelling, with the comedy mostly centered on the awkward situations that Futaba finds herself in when trying to be more her own person or in trying to figure out the roots of Ko's changed personality. But the series is mostly serious, though never taking itself too seriously or too dramatic in its execution, with all the characters prone to first working out their frustrations with a lot of self-doubt and overreactions before making positive realizations as teenagers are apt to do. As an adult watching teenager centered stories, you would think that you're too old for this kind of storytelling, but Ao Haru Ride overcomes that by making you feel nostalgic instead.
If there's one drawback to the series, I do wish that there was more of a resolution at the end of it. With the manga still in publication at this time, I guess it was inevitable to leave the series where they did. But while it wasn't the ending I was hoping for, the ending they chose for the series (and hopefully not just its only season) was nonetheless the right one.
Happy viewing!!Labels: Anime, Ao Haru Ride, Comedy, Drama, Must-Watch, Romance, Slice of Life, TV
