Audience reviews
20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
Graciana
This anime is very quiet. The story moves slowly, and there are many long silences. While some might find this boring, the slow pace is a deliberate style. It feels like real life because it captures the awkward moments and quiet feelings that people do not always say out loud.
The characters feel like real people. Their confusion about love and growing up is easy to understand. The show avoids overacting and fake drama, focusing instead on honest emotions.
The art is one of the best parts of the show. It is soft and pretty, looking like a watercolor painting.
This series is best for people who like quiet stories about feelings. If you are looking for big action or exciting twists, you may be disappointed.
It also needs a few more episodes to truly finish the story.
Read at the sourceSakura131
I do not believe the Aoi Hana anime and manga receive the credit they are due. I feel too many are into the classic GL love story with a hidden crush, blushing, a confession, kiss, and perhaps maybe happily ever after.
Takako Shimura is a prolific LGBT+ mangaka in Japan and this anime is an adaptation of her manga work. The manga should be read before the anime and I recommend experiencing both. Being as prolific as she is in the LGBT+ genre, I believe she is best skilled in truly capturing the social awkwardness and internal conflict of being a teenager in love - especially when in love with the same gender. She depicts teenagers coming to terms with defining love, questioning whether they truly feel it, whether to reciprocate, and having no idea what to do with the new sexual feelings…
Read at the source_DOLOS_
The characters are new for me as GL is an uncharted territory for me.
The artstyle was what drew me towards the anime and the settings such as school combined with church, city on the seaside, local trains and the nostalgic railway crossing. If you have seen makoto shinkai's and Ghibli movies vibe BUT with a acquired taste. you would find these same background settings but only one in each they have combined them all to get this romantic-melancholic nostalgic vibe.
The story is not about love is more of a unrequited love path
The characters didn't develop much and were all over the place. It's like the director was given so many good options, he couldn't decide and ultimately deciding to take all.
After watching it, none of characters really put feelings behind their choices, it was like w…
Read at the sourceFirechick12012
I've mentioned before that romance isn't really a genre I find myself drawn to. Granted, that's not to say every piece of romance media is bad. I've never been in a relationship myself, so I never find myself relating to any characters that partake in romantic relations. While a lot of romance media tends to rehash the same cliches over and over again, I have found some genuinely good ones. Some of my favorites include the following: Ride Your Wave, a movie about a girl moving on from the death of her boyfriend that's brought to life with Masaaki Yuasa's sublime, lively animation; Snow White With The Red Hair, a low key fantasy romance with a couple that has great chemistry with one another; the Haikara-san ga Tooru movies, a fairly polished reboot of the old 70s manga, even if its second…
Read at the sourceribzqueen
As a slice of life anime, it's kinda slightly above average and okay. As a Girl's Love anime, it's a rare bit of representation of realistic sapphic high school romance. In short, if this anime wasn't gay, I probably wouldn't be recommending it. But then again, if you've even come across this anime, it's probably because you were explicitly looking for gay content (like I was).
Characters: The characters are sweet, but don't really stand out much and leave you kind of wanting more depth. The redhead was probably my favourite character but the protagonist was cool, too.
Plot: The relationship that was central to the plot was... eh. Like, it was okayyyy. I feel like it takes a lot of guts to make a realistic gay anime and input a freaking heterosexual wedding scene in the climax lol. And t…
Read at the sourceTheRogueFeline
Overall this was an ok anime. It is better in story then say citrus. Although I feel there could have been more to the story, more context, and answer alot more questions within the story. Like why does the character cry so much? Why does she feel the way she does? why can't she talk to the person that hurt her? The way they portray the "relationship" between the two MC's is lighter, softer and non aggressive compared to the BL that I have watched. If you are into that thing, then this is for you. I haven't found many other anime with in the GL genre that I can vibe with and that I feel represents more then one type of relationship that is out there in the world. I probably need to start reading more manga to find the stuff I am looking for rather then watching anime. So far it seems kind…
Read at the sourceDanreis
Sometimes, just sometimes, by sheer luck we find real inexplicably good gems... Aoi Hana was that gem for me.
In this story we follow the life of Okudaira Akira and Manjoume Fumi, two friends who had to separate in childhood and are reunited after years without any contact. It's the epitome of what a Slice of Life should be: there are no super villains or unnecessary plots, just our main characters and their friends living and learning about themselves and the world around them.
While the story can be summed up so simply I can't say the same for the characters as most of them don't get caught up in their usual stereotypes. Although the two protagonists are equally fascinating, it's easy to get lost and always want a little more from the secondary characters because it's very difficult no…
Read at the sourceLilloaded
ok so it starts with gwc (Girl With Glasses) being just informed that a girl she loves is getting married to a man. This makes her sad and a lil bit depressed, but going into her highschool year 1 she looks forward to it. After moving back to close to her childhood best friend she and her start as freshmen to 2 different high schools close to each other.
And so it goes on.
So it has been maybe 5-15 days since i saw the anime and i am not going to lie i am so disappointed in the ending! Do not get me wrong this anime is very nice and good, but the ending just makes it all dissapear in a 1nd because the ending really really is horrible. There is a manga that does the ending better but, like this the anime which covers 1/3 of the manga. Ive also heard that the ending in the manga is also v…
Read at the sourceNyyai030
i generally adore romance and shojo anime
i was curious about other genre of romance (shounen ai and shojo ai ) in general
for the shounen ai part threre were so much good works that even was better than typical shojo romance but for the shojo ai ???? naaaaa
in nutshell lot of them wasnt build realistically I just noticed that excess sexual look towards "fetish lesbian couple"
In addition, finding works of the shoujo ai classification is very rare, and therefore finding excellent and wonderful work becomes even rarer
But I can't describe my happiness after watching aoi hana
The pace of events was slow on the positive side, as it allows you to enjoy the characters and understand and assimilate their ideas.the Expressing of feelings was realistic, and the characters did well on highligh…
Read at the sourceThe_Namer
This is a pleasant, gentle yuri romance. As you would expect, it was an adaptation of an (at the time) unfinished manga. The opening titles of each episode include a provocative image that makes it pretty clear which pairing the overall story is meant to be about, but this 11-episode TV series never gets to that point. So it runs into the usual problem of not being a complete story, but it handles it in an interesting way.
By adopting a fairly loose slice-of-life structure instead of just the rigid tracks of the romance genre, it focuses on the overall knot of unrequited loves and lingering feelings for old flames that bind together the several major characters. Rather than spending much time on the lead-up to a pairing that we never see, it's instead about the messy, painful business of…
Read at the sourceJustykanna
Sweet Blue Flowers, and most romance anime in general, tend to be very character driven, but there was something about the story that made me wanting more.
Story: Sweet Blue Flowers is a slice of life & romance / shoujo-ai anime. We're introduced to our main character, Fumi, who is entering her first year at a new girl's school, and needs to join a club. We've heard this before because so many anime use this as a basis for our characters to do something once they enter school. Since she enjoys reading, she naturally joins the literature club, but shortly after, develops a crush for one of the club members. Meanwhile, we are then introduced to Akira, who was one of Fumi's best friends from ten years ago when they went to the same school, but unfortunately lost touch with each other when th…
Read at the sourceElenium_Type_95
Good Day,
See after the review what a 1-10 score means to me :)
Non Spoiler...
If you love light and cute Shoujo Ai Anime then this will be right up your alley.
Why I scored it an 8 (Likes) I would say the characters, especially our MC's Okudaira, Akira & Manjoume, Fumi. Akira is a very fun character with a big heart, you will always be rooting for her and then you have Fumi who you think you figured out but then some episodes her personality can take you by surprise in a good way.
Why not score it higher? (Dislikes)
Story is not concluded in the Anime.
Well, I believe the Anime is meant to drive manga sales and does a very good job at that as the Anime leaves you wanting a lot more. Definitely peeked my interest in the manga and I don't read manga at all.
P.S. I am not an Anime,…
Read at the sourcetamagolord
aoi hana surprised me with more mature themes than you'd normally find in a wlw (woman loving woman) romance, and strong characters with interesting, relatable dilemmas. despite loving the genre, it's not often that you watch a yuri anime where characters not only acknowledge their coming of age journey into their sexuality, but also acknowledge that coming out of the closet is not an easy thing to do, and approach this topic with maturity. aoi hana managed to defy my expectations and actually didn't end up being the best friends to lovers yuri cliche that i originally thought it would be, while also respecting the characters and not allowing anything to feel fetishy or overly sexual.
spoiler warning, ofc:
i think that one of the reasons i really loved this show is because the plot was s…
Read at the sourceAtohanie
The opening credits nearly turned me off watching this anime. We had a lot of beautiful shots of friendship and love, then the two of them naked; it threw off the tone. I know it wasn't explicit nakedness, not erotic, nothing more than an expression of how the two of them can be completely vulnerable with each other, but still, it threw me off.
This was an absolutely beautiful anime, going through the ups and downs of trying to find your way around love and relationships with others. I truly wish there was more. Through all of the various likes and loves, watching the love between the two friends, watching them realize the love they had for each other, was truly breathtaking.
Read at the sourcepocketcroc
i'd like to document some stream of consciousness thoughts here: partly to paint the emotional landscape that it brought out of me, partly to use my limited filmy/animationy knowledge to try and expound upon why i feel like i feel, and to touch on aspects of shimura's style i'm starting to pick up on after wandering son and this.
sleepy rhythms of a sleepy town.
breathes and sleeps in mellow. words and a deafening lack of words that echo for episodes after they're said. fickle loves that bloom, shrivel, detonate. loves that echo for episodes. loves that compete with others within you and in the hearts of others. loves that emerge from dark corners you never knew existed within you. loves that refuse to float away. it's a show about friendship, about not letting go of old pals who are ther…
Read at the sourcemoe_sama
Aoi Hana is bittersweet but at the same time one of the most realistic representations of real world relationships that I've come across.
Went in for the yuri, stayed for the story.
You're not going into Aoi Hana for fuzzy feelings or a wild ride through a wacky world of interesting events. You're going in for realistic relationships, believable characters, and the crushing reality of what romance really is and how fleeting that feeling can be. (Including the struggle of being able to "come out of the closet" to your friends and family).
Subtle animation and a muted color palette capture the tone and real-world feel of Aoi Hana. Much like reality, much of what you look at isn't meant to paint a pretty picture. It's functional and it gets that message across.
These characters are well wr…
Read at the sourcePlk_Lesiak
Aoi Hana is slightly different kind of yuri than what you're likely to see noways - it's slow-paced, practically devoid of fanservice, and even a bit inconclusive when it goes to romance. Visually it's somewhat dated and wasn't a particularly pretty series even in the time it came out. People that expect a lot of cute fluff and GxG kisses, or a dynamic storyline will quite likely find it dull.
Still, I think it's one of the most interesting and enjoyable yuri shows out there, if you approach it right. For the genre, it's surprisingly grounded in reality, with conflicts often rooted in the negative social perception of lesbian couples, and the uncertainty and self-doubt connected to it. This is represented the most by Yumi, who might seem like a meek and unappealing lead, but is above all…
Read at the sourceflib_grey
This is actually my first review. (No spoilers that can affect anyone who wants to see this masterpiece)
I'm writing this as I just finished the anime 1 minute ago, tears are still flowing down my cheeks.
One sentence striked me at the last episode :
Fumi looking at the horizon with tears and saying :
"I remember something really important for me." (Who was her first love)
Realizing that she was confronting her the whole time without realizing... I have to say that there is something really special in this anime that I've never really find in the others : The inclusion of the opening and ending during the episode.
It is done soooo softly and perfectly, it may seem like a simple detail but it is huge for me.
It is an old anime graphically speaking, but I still appreciate the style, you…
Read at the sourcecaptjoe213
(updated 9/19/18 for format and slight content revision)
Welcome to Robert's Too Late Review! Today we're tackling the masterpiece that is Aoi Hana. I am a fan of *good* yuri anime, possibly to the point of preferring what is considered class-S in Japanese culture, that of friends who are less lovers, and more 'soul sisters'. Having said that, my first two experiences with yuri-ish anime was Maria-sama ga Miteru, a firm class-S, and Strawberry Panic, an over the top full on yuri. Neither of them prepared me for the beauty of this anime. It is an experience not to be missed! I'll let you guess now if Aoi Hana made the RTLR wall of fame.
Story: 10
The story is a rollercoaster of emotions, taking us on a journey through childhood friendships, to contemporary same sex relationships, to the h…
Read at the sourceRasly2
This anime as many others could be a way better but even like this it is probably best shoujo ai i have seen. Drawing is awesome, it is well written, but kind of too safe, like i get we want a story but we want to see some huggin by two poster girls as well. i mean they are naked in every oppening but in anime they dont even kiss.
I loved this anime even thru all the weird plot lines but how is there no reward.
Usualy you show people go thru problems and then recive a reward and thats a good story. Here however poster girls barely show any feelings, in all episodes they just hugged und hold hands some times and till last 10 min of anime have not even released their love to eachother.
I do feel a bit fooled by the oppening and poster but it is still probably best shoujo ai anime.
Read at the source
