Audience reviews
20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
aotani
If you like romances with closure, this anime most likely is not for you. While the artstyle, especially in the flashback scenes, is very beautiful, the storytelling of the main love interests is not developed very well. There are some heartwarming and funny moments that I think are entertaining to watch. However, there is never a true resolution to the relationship that these two characters have. The good thing is that the characters do have some development on their own, just not when it comes to the relationship dynamic. I don't mind that there's a secondary love interest besides the female lead, but the way they write in this Yuuri character is just done so poorly majority of the time
Basically, if you just want something to watch and you don't really care about the relationships, it'…
Read at the sourceHeidiMMFenix
I really love one comment I read saying this felt like it was written by two people: 1 trying to make an absolute masterpiece of romance and drama e the other... not. Well my view of the show, and I'm really just focusing in the anime here to be fair, is that most of the time goes towards the attempt to create a masterpiece. Some might bother, also did I, about the little teenage futile dramas and love triangle, and form a western point of view it might be even a bit more annoying some of the extra drama and behaviors. But in the end teen years ARE messy and overdramatic years everywhere and anytime you see, so by the end it might be annoying the feeling of unnecessary drama but its not far from reality at all. Well, now speaking of what I think is the amazing things about the anime: the m…
Read at the sourceelumizu
Blue Spring Ride appears frequently within shoujo discussions that often carrying a nostalgic reputation. However, the reality is quieter in this community. The series builds a gentle yet emotionally conflicted coming-of-age romance about identity, regret, and the quiet hope of reconnecting with someone from the past. Instead of presenting love as a sudden fairytale moment, the story focuses on how people change while growing up and how those changes can both reconnect and distance two individuals who once understood each other. The narrative follows Futaba Yoshioka, a high school girl who once behaved very differently from the person she appears to be now. During middle school Futaba was known for being soft-spoken and traditionally feminine, a personality that unintentionally caused jeal…
Read at the sourceHirenCloud
This anime seriously feels like it was made by two completely different people. One was trying to create a 10/10 masterpiece, and the other was just throwing random drama and bad writing in for no reason. One moment, I’m really into the story and connecting with the characters and then the next moment, everything just falls apart and the characters start acting super unlikeable.
There’s one character in particular I couldn’t stand: Yuuri Makita. She is so annoying, man. At first, I thought maybe I was being too harsh on her, but nope, she kept doing things that just made me more and more irritated. Every time I thought, “Okay, maybe she’ll redeem herself,” she’d do something that reminded me why I couldn’t stand her in the first place. So yeah, my hate for her feels pretty justified.
Tha…
Read at the sourceRq_13
It definitely needs a second season because the story feels incomplete, and there are still many unresolved or unfinished parts that leave the viewer with questions. The characters were truly a masterpiece—each one was written with depth, personality, and emotional realism. I especially loved how their development was handled throughout the show. The art and animation were beautiful, detailed, and pleasing to the eye. I didn’t experience any issues while watching it in terms of quality or pacing. I wouldn’t say 'don’t watch it'; in fact, I think it’s worth watching. However, in my opinion, the manga version tells the story in a much better and more complete way. Kou’s difficult life and Futaba’s effort to understand him were portrayed with care, emotion, and subtlety, making their relation…
Read at the sourceEffeffe
This anime won me over, surely because of my own experiences. The plot isn’t anything groundbreaking, but the dialogues are well-written, as is the development of the relationships. All the characters interact and grow throughout the episodes.
The focus is definitely on the protagonists, but you also get attached to the secondary characters. The plot twists are great.
The characters react to human events in a very realistic way, experiencing doubts and even making mistakes.
Many iconic exchanges between the protagonists, and the continuous flashbacks are also highly appreciated.
The delicacy of this anime is emphasized by the watercolor effect in some scenes.
After watching it, I fell in love with it, read the manga, and even watched the live-action (the full version, though less fa…
Read at the sourcethysupremefriend
I wish I knew what I was getting into before I started this anime. This anime is shoujo in the shallowest way possible.
Do not watch if you dislike when the male lead shows interest in another woman.
Do not watch if you dislike an annoying female side character that is interested in the male love interest and tries to sabotage the relationship between him and the female lead.
Do not watch if you want a happy (romantic) ending.
Do not watch if you enjoy closure.
The fact that this anime is considered shoujo is baffling. Do women enjoy love triangles centered around the male lead as opposed to the female lead? This anime only appeals to women who like drama. Framing interactions between the male lead and female side character as romantic made this anime unbearable to watch.
Read at the sourcepetethecatt
Blue Spring Ride
Watched this years ago but I still remember that I was really captivated by it. Would recommend to anyone starting to get into anime, it's a classic shoujo. Would recommend reading the manga after watching the anime because for me at least the anime left me wanting more like something was missing plus if your frustrated by the male lead Kou Mabuchi like I was his character gets better in the manga. Also in the manga the relationship between the main characters really flourishes, there are lots more cute moments too :) Overall it's such a cute and clumsy anime I love it !!
im still hoping for a season 2 even after all these years :(
Read at the sourcegriddyweeb
Frustrating, but not because it's bad or anything like that, it's because it's not a full adaptation. The anime ended while the manga was still dropping, a 2nd season never came, only 2 OVAs. If half adaptations are a dealbreaker for you then you're probably not gonna be pleased. At the same time, me personally I doubt I would've started this anime if I knew it has a missing 2nd season (that will 99% never come) but I'm happy I did anyways.
The story itself is pretty basic shoujo romance, almost like any other, but it does a good enough job telling the story to keep you interested, that's the most a shoujo romance can do 99% of the time. It keeps you on your feet, pushes your buttons all in the right way. There are no major issues with the 2 MCs, but the rest are just bland and empty. Of…
Read at the sourceLevixAckerman
*Title: Ao Haru Ride
*Story
- Who doesn't know the feeling of first love between two people? That's what *Ao Haru Ride* is about. Kou Mabuchi and Futaba Yoshioka were in love as children but never acted on it because Kou changed schools, and they hadn't seen each other since. In high school, they meet again and are initially unsure if they still have feelings for each other. If you like the story so far, you might want to give the anime a chance.
*Characters
- Kou Mabuchi and Futaba Yoshioka are the main characters.
- Kou Mabuchi: He always seems calm, composed, sad, and as if he's not really present. The fact that this all stems from his troubled past makes it at least believable. He has trouble opening up to others and prefers to be alone rather than letting people in. The problem is…
Read at the sourceasdathe
This anime was fine but the ending destroyed everything... i don't know how to say that but this anime had the best opportunity
and the ending was kinda dead ... i was expecting more romance and feelings and this is what we got... This anime has a kinda slow progression but in the same time fast , this anime should've been longer and show us a more detailed
story of them two , it wasn't very bad but in the same time i feel like i watched it and doesn't feel the spark.
You should watch it but don't expect that pure romance.
Read at the sourceRaijin_-_
Ao Haru Ride offers a tender and heartfelt exploration of young love, wrapped in a unique art style and complemented by its captivating romance aspects. As a viewer enamored with romance anime, I found myself deeply engaged with the story and characters of the show.
From the first episode, the series draws you into the emotional journey of its protagonists, navigating the complexities of relationships and self-discovery during adolescence. The blend of heartfelt moments and poignant character development resonates with viewers, creating a compelling narrative that keeps you invested from start to finish.
One of the standout features of the anime is its distinctive art style. The animation brings the characters and their emotions to life with a refreshing aesthetic that sets it apart from…
Read at the sourceSmilomaniac
As it stands it seems this show has been abandoned after its first season and 9 years later in 2023 a live-action show started.
A decent romance show with no real surprises or impact.
It's not uncommon for a show to be rear loaded, but the weight of this particular show is almost entirely on the last two episodes. 12 episodes just isn't enough to really develop things.
It struggles to define itself and flip flops between the main romance and the main girl's experience of adolescence and social impressions. It doesn't marry the two things very well.
Let me go back a little to what the story is about.
Girl and boy, Futaba and Kou, are acquaintances/near friends from middle school. A short and very quick interest developed between the two but was cut short as Kou suddenly moved away and…
Read at the sourceBadGuyBoog
This show is a tightrope, right on the edge of being absolute cringe and actually being pretty good. There were times where it seemed like both and times where it was more of one than the other. I can see people leaning both ways but I’m sort of stuck more on the cringe side on this one. I do appreciate this show having a focused narrative though, rather than just random bullshit shenanigans, so I do commemorate it for that. That’s not really a praise of the show but more of a problem with anime as a whole that this one doesn’t fall into. I’m not really sure what to say to this one. The characters seemed like they could be good and nuanced and interesting but they only tried with one character so the rest come off as bland and unimportant. The main character is likable enough but if you ha…
Read at the sourceteirux
Ao Haru Ride is a very cliched romance anime that shows us how to do cliches right by having insane emotional depth and getting you attached to its memorable characters. Its very essence is watching Futaba try to navigate the maze that is Kou and his past while trying to become part of his present life.
As a romance anime fanatic, this was one of the very few animes that I still remember clearly despite having watched it first nearly 8 years ago; that goes to show just how remarkable the character-building was in this anime, particularly for Kou. He starts out as a passive, aloof, and avoidant douche who has no aspirations or anything he cares for, which all of us find frustrating I bet, but we watch him slowly open up to Futaba and despite his passive aggressiveness, you can see that he…
Read at the sourcetrinetor2024
This anime is average. I am well-versed in the shoujo/romance department so I'd say it is quite cliche. If this is going to be your first exposure to the romance genre I'd recommend you to watch anothers like Kaicho wa/maid sama for example, Lovely complex, fruit baskets, nana, 5 centimeters per second, Kimi no nawa, kokoro connect.
This anime is very very VERY melodramatic (the manga escalates that even more, so it does not get better in that aspect). So if you are into that then go. It has cute moments and good comedy but it's not enough to keep on watching. It's not for me, maybe it is for you. If you like LOTS of DRAMA and "bad boys" who treat the protagonist like trash, then I'd suggest watch the OG "Bokura ga ita" and prepare yourself for tears.
Thanks
Read at the sourcepatikantu
I hate to see this anime being compared to other classic romance anime as well as recommended to the ones who watched animes like maid sama or kimi ni todoke.
To be brief, it’s terrible. The story is about a girl whose middle school crush disappeared and the reappeared with a completely different personality, from a sweet, shy boy to a “to cool to care” jerk. The guys a jerk. His genuinely horrible and treats her like crap. The worst? she seems to be a delusional masochist who actually likes being mistreated and played by him.
i got here after watching maid sama and finding this in the “alike section”, with a lot of people recommending it. No. If you’ve watched maid sama you know that even though usui's a complicated guy with some red flags he definitely isn’t a jerk to the fl, totally t…
Read at the sourcezimpp
"Caring for things brings a lot of problems"
"No-one will judge you for laughing from the bottom of your heart."
Oh my god, I can't bring myself together to even write this review as I just finished this absolute masterpiece.
The following review is *MY OWN* opinion and feelings regarding Ao Haru Ride.
Ao Haru Ride is something truly beautiful.
I have watched a bunch of anime throughout my life, and never felt emotional while doing it, no matter the scene, nor the atmosphere.
Ao Haru Ride made me really think a little about what love truly is, and what it really feels to genuinely be in love with someone. It must be really nice.
The characters, the soundtrack, the incredible way that this anime delivers the romance, while still including some little bit of comedy in between, enough to k…
Read at the sourceDouglas_David
There are 3 extremely important warnings for anyone watching this anime:
1. IT HAS NO END. LITERALLY. So it's the most important warning. The 12th episode is like a regular episode ending. If you want to continue the story from the 13th episode (OVA 2) you MUST read the manga.
2. HE HAS 2 OVA THAT DON'T FINALIZE THE SERIES. The 2 OVAs released until the moment of my comment are 2 more common episodes, with the third warning below:
3. IF YOU STILL WATCH THIS ANIME, WATCH THE OVA 1. Because if you watch it later it will have no purpose because 90% of what is presented in it is presented during the anime in flashbacks, which are the main events of the two protagonists in high school when they first met, and it won't make any difference to the narrative if you watch it before the canonical epi…
Read at the sourceFAKECROSS97
Part 1 English
Part 2 Bahasa Indonesia
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Well, well, well, what do we have here? It's Ao Haru Ride, an anime that's like a romance novel on wheels.
The plot is fairly standard fare - girl meets boy, girl and boy fall in love, girl and boy face various obstacles in their quest for true love. It's like a cheesy rom-com, but in anime form.
The characters are all likable enough, but they're about as complex as a cheese sandwich. The animation is decent, but it's not exactly blowing my socks off. But let's be honest here, if you're watching Ao Haru Ride, you're not watching it for its originality or groundbreaking storytelling. You're watching it for the warm and fuzzy feeling it gives you in your heart.
Overall, I'd give a score of 7.5/10. It's a sweet…
Read at the source
