I want to clarify that this rate and review are meant for the animαted series Ao Haru Ride,with the 12 episodes and 2 ovas,not the live action movie,which I have not and intend not to watch.
This is a story of two kids meeting each other in their middle school.Through simple and clear scenes we are given the very essence of teenage love,at a platonic level.You won't see anything too sexy here.Everything's in the eyes.Everything is so simple yet complicated,full of innocent and charming insecurity.The bonds are being formed through the simple act of caring.Nothing too complex,just people who listen to each other and even if their experiences differ,they try so hard to understand one another.
Personally,it took me back when I was still a lost kid,insecure,introvert and lonely.It reminded me of the sweet nervousness you feel when your crush is near.Not knowing what to say,afraid of been perceived as a potato all the time,wondering about every word or gesture,if they had a deeper meaning than what you just saw or heard.Your heart racing when your eyes meet and your voice wavers when you think about saying something to express some of your emotions...It was unbearably touching.
They were just so sweet and that feeltrip was heartbreaking.You mainly see the everyday lives of a group of teenagers,but among-st that simplicity you discover precious flowers,bloomed only for your soul's sake.It doesn't show anything about being in a real relationship.It is more like a flirtation-ship.They are at the stage that they care deeply for each other and while being too excited to be together,no one really openly admits it.You only get hints,that only get more and more obvious as the show progresses.
You sympathize,you can feel their fictional little hearts racing when their faces come too close....So close that you can smell the kiss,you can taste,just barely,it's magnificence at the end of their lips,and then they back away afraid or anxious about rejection...So painfully accurate.
I find myself many times thinking about these old happy and simple moments,when you felt most excited about someone and most wanted at the same time,while nothing really happens between the two,in the physical aspect at least.Not in a relationship nor becoming physical,but the period between the time you first felt that sting in your heart,that weird thing in your stomach,up to the point of the confession.All that excitement....It is the very definition of youth,fiery and limitless,yet tender and innocent.
You don't see a single kiss,but you get so much more and that's why you won't find yourself bored even for a second.You see the persistent Yoshioka,a young woman,so thoughtful and sincere,so sensitive and kind and outgoing and warm trying so desperately to find her way through to the heart of a distant and superficially cold but deep down kind male,named Tanaka.Watching them discover one another while,at the same time,they are discovering themselves is something you can literally fell in love with.His past is surrounded by mystery and pain,things that have changed and scared the once wide open and kind Kid.Now he is feeling empty,struggling between the lessons learned from his pain and his feelings for his friends and mostly for the girl that entered his life like a storm,trying to break down his doors of secludement,freeing him from fear,guilt and restraint.
But what of an ending was that!??I really wish we get a season 2,even though from what I've read it's highly unlikely.One thing I did not like,is the emphasis given on the orange hair young man.Yoshioka had an accident,she fell down,he was walking next to her and she dragged him down to the floor with her.During their landing she touched his private parts.At first I thought it was another typical clumsiness incident,a thing for her friends to make fun of,a thing to make her face red,in order to give a good laugh.But the way they kept showing him in the last episode again again made me realize that this was not random thing.Usually these are hints implying something for the next episodes.Something bad for the couple to be.But since we got no continuation for this,we are left with nothing....or you go and read the manga I guess.
Anyway,it's an easy 8 out of 10 for me.I enjoyed it beyond expectation,bringing tears to my eyes and a bitter sting to my heart,an echo from a past long left forgotten.I did not like the end but it was not supposed to be THE end anyway,since the manga runs longer.Watch it,clear your minds and love it!
This is a story of two kids meeting each other in their middle school.Through simple and clear scenes we are given the very essence of teenage love,at a platonic level.You won't see anything too sexy here.Everything's in the eyes.Everything is so simple yet complicated,full of innocent and charming insecurity.The bonds are being formed through the simple act of caring.Nothing too complex,just people who listen to each other and even if their experiences differ,they try so hard to understand one another.
Personally,it took me back when I was still a lost kid,insecure,introvert and lonely.It reminded me of the sweet nervousness you feel when your crush is near.Not knowing what to say,afraid of been perceived as a potato all the time,wondering about every word or gesture,if they had a deeper meaning than what you just saw or heard.Your heart racing when your eyes meet and your voice wavers when you think about saying something to express some of your emotions...It was unbearably touching.
They were just so sweet and that feeltrip was heartbreaking.You mainly see the everyday lives of a group of teenagers,but among-st that simplicity you discover precious flowers,bloomed only for your soul's sake.It doesn't show anything about being in a real relationship.It is more like a flirtation-ship.They are at the stage that they care deeply for each other and while being too excited to be together,no one really openly admits it.You only get hints,that only get more and more obvious as the show progresses.
You sympathize,you can feel their fictional little hearts racing when their faces come too close....So close that you can smell the kiss,you can taste,just barely,it's magnificence at the end of their lips,and then they back away afraid or anxious about rejection...So painfully accurate.
I find myself many times thinking about these old happy and simple moments,when you felt most excited about someone and most wanted at the same time,while nothing really happens between the two,in the physical aspect at least.Not in a relationship nor becoming physical,but the period between the time you first felt that sting in your heart,that weird thing in your stomach,up to the point of the confession.All that excitement....It is the very definition of youth,fiery and limitless,yet tender and innocent.
You don't see a single kiss,but you get so much more and that's why you won't find yourself bored even for a second.You see the persistent Yoshioka,a young woman,so thoughtful and sincere,so sensitive and kind and outgoing and warm trying so desperately to find her way through to the heart of a distant and superficially cold but deep down kind male,named Tanaka.Watching them discover one another while,at the same time,they are discovering themselves is something you can literally fell in love with.His past is surrounded by mystery and pain,things that have changed and scared the once wide open and kind Kid.Now he is feeling empty,struggling between the lessons learned from his pain and his feelings for his friends and mostly for the girl that entered his life like a storm,trying to break down his doors of secludement,freeing him from fear,guilt and restraint.
But what of an ending was that!??I really wish we get a season 2,even though from what I've read it's highly unlikely.One thing I did not like,is the emphasis given on the orange hair young man.Yoshioka had an accident,she fell down,he was walking next to her and she dragged him down to the floor with her.During their landing she touched his private parts.At first I thought it was another typical clumsiness incident,a thing for her friends to make fun of,a thing to make her face red,in order to give a good laugh.But the way they kept showing him in the last episode again again made me realize that this was not random thing.Usually these are hints implying something for the next episodes.Something bad for the couple to be.But since we got no continuation for this,we are left with nothing....or you go and read the manga I guess.
Anyway,it's an easy 8 out of 10 for me.I enjoyed it beyond expectation,bringing tears to my eyes and a bitter sting to my heart,an echo from a past long left forgotten.I did not like the end but it was not supposed to be THE end anyway,since the manga runs longer.Watch it,clear your minds and love it!
