(L+CR) Ao Haru Ride

[jeroz]

Not helped by the fact that I watched Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun before this episode. I was having a hard time keeping a straight face throughout.

[Arya]

So far, so good. As always shoujo series appeals me at first, but then, the usual pattern they follow pushes me away. ( Protagonists quickly get together then pounded by tons of rising problems, so third wheel came into play saying hello I'm the third wheel, etc, etc ). I'm liking the male MC and I'm fine with the female MC, so I hope that this show will keep me engaged through the end.

[Kaoru Chujo]

I liked it. The main girl works for me, and so does the main guy. The look is good, especially the washy flashback part. And the emotions reach me, at least so far. I understand perfectly why the girl would want to not stand out. And of course the guy has been wounded by whatever happened over the past few years.

Sure, you could say there are cliched elements, but cliches become cliches because they have emotional power. The question, as Flower says, is how effectively the patterns are adapted and presented. And here we got a lot of effective story in one episode. By the way, anyone who enjoys standard shounen, mecha, or sports anime should think long and hard before criticizing shoujo for being cliched.

As for the seiyuus, yes, it's a relief that Kaji Yuuki is doing well. But Uchida Maaya continues to amaze me. A few years ago, she was more gravure idol than seiyuu. Now she is one of the best voice actors around. And the Seiyuu Awards recognized her as one of the best new seiyuu last year.

I only just now learned that new seiyuu Uchida Yuuma is Mayayan's younger brother. Here are photos of the two of them:

Images

Uchida Yuuma, Uchida Maaya

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[Houreki]

Of all the anime I'm watching this season, this series had the best first episode.
I'm looking forward to the next episode

Spoiler for That Face:

[pagan poor]

Considering that Kimi ni Todoke was made from the same studio, I'm not surprised by the resemblance. The female MC does look similar to the MC from Itazura na Kiss. Looks like a few of the typical shoujo things going on with this show so far, but I enjoyed the manga. So I'll be watching.

[dniv]

This was my favorite episode 1 so far, I think. I like Shoujo as well as everything else, and one of my favorite series is a Shoujo, so I'll certainly try this.

It feels absolutely excellent, so I can't wait for more of this wonderful anime. The first episode really set up the story very well.

[chaos_animagic]

Hmm, interesting, I sorta dropped the manga after 2 chapters like years ago, LOL.

But the anime seems promising, I'll watch it for a few more, tho I can predict mass drama incoming due to it being a Shoujo main.


Edit: just remembered why I dropped the manga back then... it was due to the girl hiding her true self to fit into the society, I dislike people that do that, it just makes them look untrustworthy.

[Lota]

Ok, so I finally got round to watching the 1st episode and it's pretty decent. I'm reading the manga, but I haven't read the first chapters in ages, so it'll be interesting for me to watch and remember the details. Like I said, it's quite good, and I absolutely love the manga, but I have one minor complaint: the music. I felt something was a little off and by the end of the episode I finally realised what was bothering me. The music is a little too melodramatic for my taste. It's probably just me though. I mean, I know it's a shojo and there is always some drama, but the manga had a slightly different feeling, the soundtrack actually made some scenes more dramatic than they actually were, I was basically face-palming by the end. A more understated OST would have worked better. It's not that big a complaint, and I'll probably get over it, but I was more aware of the music than I should have been (in a more... emm... negative way)

[dniv]

Originally Posted by chaos_animagic

Hmm, interesting, I sorta dropped the manga after 2 chapters like years ago, LOL.

But the anime seems promising, I'll watch it for a few more, tho I can predict mass drama incoming due to it being a Shoujo main.

The manga actually gets better later on. I started reading it. It feels much better than most light-hearted Shoujo's I've seen.

[Haak]

Very nice première. There were some pretty cliché and kinda dumb moments (like the "I hate boys scene") but it ain't called a shoujo for nothing and I was able to mostly roll with it. I also agree that the seiyuu performances were pretty good. Uchida's performance was especially good but it was also nice to see Yuki Kaji in a role that better suits him (particularly after his horrendous work in Black Bullet).

[kuromitsu]

Originally Posted by Haak

Very nice première. There were some pretty cliché and kinda dumb moments (like the "I hate boys scene") but it ain't called a shoujo for nothing

Hundreds of volumes of not-clichéd-high-school-romance shoujo manga are crying out in indignation right now.

[tntsgoboom]

I watched the first episode then I read all the manga content that has been released. I've gotta say it's pretty good.

[ookamigirl]

#2

Spoiler for plot:

Such a typical shoujo episode start.
There were so cute together.
Shame things aren't like that now.
OMG Futaba just met her past self.
No wonder she keeps acting anti-cute.
I was wondering when she'd snap at her friends.
Win some, lose some..
Guess she's evolving after all.
The window scene awwwwww (´ ▽｀).。ｏ♡
Great episode!

[Haak]

Ugh. What was it about this manga that I thought was so decent? I can't quite remember...

[kuromitsu]

Uhhh, is that girl going to use that voice for the rest of the story? Because damn it's annoying. It would work if she was being calculatedly cutesy, but that doesn't seem to be the case, so it's just really annoying. (She reminds me of Moematsu Otowa from Otomen, except Otowa is fun and is a subversion of a number of tropes, and this girl isn't either so far.)

And wow, bitchy girl vs. Futaba being decent, unsurprisingly it leads to a fallout because bitchy girl can't handle Futaba being a decent person with decent opinions. Well, at least Futaba is now friends with the cute and pretty girl, what plots may arise from this. And the least said about the window scene the better. (Maybe that made sense in the manga, but here it was just incredibly cheesy.)

I'm really, really trying to stay interested because I like the seiyuu (other than Kayano Ai being cutesy in a way that's really unconvincing, someone should've told the voice director that they weren't recording "Moe Moe Ichigo no Senshi Nyorin~"), but... yeah.

[Dr. Casey]

Friends-in-name only? Haha. Mabuchi definitely feels like an old soul... that's such a 'bitter old man too calloused to care about using tact' thing to say. He's easily my favorite character so far. He's tired, bitter, grumpy, worn out, and I love him for that.

[Grifis]

Trying so hard just to gain 2 fake friends. Life sure is rough for these girls. So main couple is warming up. Wavy blond hair guy carries the torch for long black hair gal who has a thing for sensei with mole on the cheek methinks. Well, will see how things go. My interest is intact.

[Flower]

For me this series is firing on all cylinders - it really is excellent shoujo, and I appreciate it for being done well, which includes all the hallmark aspects of the awkwardness and uneasiness of young souls slowly grappling with their reactions, interactions and relationships with other people. They discover things about others, about themselves, the mess up, they do impulsive things, they embarass themselves, they are struck by unexpected surprises and angles on things, etc.

Thus far Ao Haru Ride does this well, in my opinion, and I am very glad it is airing! ^^

By the way, the OP was pretty good, I guess, but after ep 2 I gotta say that I think the ED really hits the series on the nose and fits really well.

[cleo]

I really like how they explore the ' be yourself vs putting up a front' aspect. A minor gripe is how fast Futaba makes a turn-around, but I can live with it. I'm still pleasantly surprised by how upfront she is with Kou. And Kou is such a tease: always there to put a finger on her sore spot,

[Lota]

Mmmm, this is not going as well as I thought it would... The manga is great, but the anime is somehow comming off way cheesier.