Ao Haru Ride: Volume 7 manga revew

Ao Haru Ride Graphic Novel Volume 7 cover image

Futaba Yoshioka was a middle school girl who could not stand boys.  That was the case until she met Kou Tanaka, and she was immediately smitten with him.  Kou moved away before Futaba could really express her feelings for him.  Now, she is in high school, and she sees a boy who looks like Kou.  But is Kou the same boy she loved in middle school?

As Ao Haru Ride, Vol. 7 (Chapters 24 to 27) opens, Futaba realizes that Kou has been avoiding her since the festival when he left with his friend, Yui Narumi.  Futaba is confused; perhaps, Narumi is the girl Kou really likes.  After an unexpected chance meeting with Kou, Futaba decides it is time to confront Narumi, but how will the “other” girl act?  Meanwhile, Kou's older brother, the teacher Yoichi Tanaka, gets in trouble.  Does it have anything to do with Futaba?

THE LOWDOWN:  The Ao Haru Ride manga is a typical high school shojo romantic drama about lovelorn kids – with an extra bit of tartness.  The tartness and edginess goes good with the stylish art of this series from creator Io Sakisaka.

Ao Haru Ride Graphic Novel Volume 7 is a volume focusing on confrontations – the good, the bad, and the ordinary.  With Emi Louie-Nishikawa's translation, some of the conflicts here seem to blow up on the page.  Creator Io Sakisaka gives us reason to believe that Ao Haru Ride will not play it safe.  After reading this volume, dear readers, you will discover that there is some high drama and messy melodrama to come.  Whatever happy ending this series will offer won't come easy, and that is always a reason to read shojo manga.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of shojo high school romance will want to read the Shojo Beat series, Ao Haru Ride.

A
8.5 out of 10