I like shoujo just as much as the next person but the only thing that makes me mad about the heroine is when the girl make's the guy the center of her attention!! It's like she is completely obsess with him!! (following him, watching him, dreaming about him!!) and the guy have no interest in her and he pays her little attention. Get a hint, that he is not interested in a relationship.

Knowing this is a shoujo I should have dampened my expectations, but initially I thought the premise was good only if the author made good use of it, but it seems as with any other shoujo it's heading down the same generic path. Seriously why do they have to make almost all shoujo heroines a ditz?! I suppose it's still to early seeing that there a few releases. So fingers crossed.

I liked strobe edge because it was refreshing, cute and had lovely artwork with a breezy feel.
I had high hopes for this one as well, but lately the direction its heading is making me skeptical..
Its become cliche and the main female is heading into the annoying heroine zone

This manga is slightly cliched. All the scenarios are a lot alike other mangas, but i think the message that the mangaka is trying to get across is really beautiful. I really do hope that in further chapters the characters will appear more than they are, especially the main who i think is a very different type of female lead in the sense that she is trying to make friends but also cliched in that everything she does needs to be helped my kou in some way and that makes her stronger.
The latest chapter, chapter seven, the end was a real let down. I hope the mangaka can redeem herself because i really do like aoharaido. BTW I LOVE HER DRAWING STYLE.

EDITS-- no no, i'm sorry i'm disappointed this manga has left me in a bad mood as the latest chapter (chapter 11) is completely annoying. HOW COULD THEY BOTH LIKE HIM. I didn't like that but then this THIS. OMG if they did something i will drop this manga. If you don't know what i'm talking about read chapter 11.

... Last updated on December 20th, 2011, 3:23am

I have to admit, I was never the greatest fan of Sakisaka's works, but I think this one has finally earned her my affection. The female lead is just wonderful, and while not being cliche, you can tell that the author didn't try her hardest to make it such (those are even worse than the cliche stories, in my opinion). This, I think is probably going to be her best work, simply because I can feel the friendship and deepening relationships in it.
The female lead, surprisingly (in terms of shoujo manga), is very likeable. She actually thinks and learns from her mistakes, forging forward on her own while trying to help everyone else along without being pushy. Along with all these good personality traits, she's also cute, which is always a plus because in shoujo, beauty and brains never seem to go together with this kind of manga––the kind that's realistic. (Somewhat, because it's shoujo).
The male lead, though he might seem somewhat cliche seems quite perceptive, and less annoying than the majority of male leads. His interactions of her are either comedic, ridiculously cute, or almost heart-pulling. It's actually quite interesting.

In a nutshell, if you're a shoujo fan, try it.

I don't really agree with those who say Sakisaka makes cliche manga.
Cliche means doing something trite and unoriginal without bothering to make it make sense or be realistic...
It's not necessarily "cliche", for example, to have the hero win, even if it has been done a million times. It CAN be cliche-- but just because it's been done doesn't make it cliche. There's room for freshness and originality even in the most standard plot devices, depending on how the mangaka portrays them.

Now, I'll be the first to admit that shoujo manga is awash in mangaka who use the standard plot devices in the most nauseatingly cliche ways imaginable.

But I don't think Sakisaka is one of them. I'll admit that the end of Strobe Edge started to veer into that territory... But in general I think her characters are rounded and real enough to make standard situations feel fresh. Ao Haru Ride is no exception.

Yes, Kou is a standard male lead--- but unlike thousands of similar male leads, he feels like slightly more than a cardboard pin-up, in terms of having his own personality that isn't entirely one-dimensional and his own life outside of being the target of the romantic attraction.
And Futaba is a sympathetic female heroine who can actually make mistakes and take responsibility for her own actions. She's not thoughtlessly blushy or retardedly air-headed... She doesn't drive me up the wall, which says something, since so many shoujo heroines do. She's likable enough to carry the manga on her own sake.

... Last updated on August 3rd, 2011, 3:13pm

So far, the female lead is well-rounded. She's strong but she doesn't know it; she puts on a cheerful, gutsy facade so she thinks she's actually cowardly. (But it takes strength to keep up a facade..) She hangs out with fake friends because she's afraid of being ostracized and left alone, but this soon changes. I can't help but admire that. Even if there's only 5 chapters out, I already like Futaba and I have high expectations for her. The male lead, Kou, is good (only 5 chapters have been released so far) -- not yet great, because I have yet to see other aspects of his character besides his current cold/distant/somewhat-caring? personality, but we know that he has other aspects from when he was younger (and it starts to show in chapter 5!). High expectations for him, too. Since the supporting cast is just starting to get fleshed out (Makita, Murao, Kou's teacher brother, that blonde-haired guy who seems to know Murao), I can't say anything definitive except that, once again, I have high expectations. (This IS the same woman who wrote Strobe Edge!)

Even though it's just started, I'm already anticipating each chapter. There's just this kind of 'feeling' that runs through Ao Haru Ride and Strobe Edge...it's hard to describe it, since it's so subtle, but there's a flow. There's also some high school cliches, yes, but like with Strobe Edge, it seems like it's going to be a heartfelt (and funny!) story nonetheless.

Edit: I think I've got it--why Sakisaka Io-san's characters seem endearing and charming. It's all in the gestures. And the facial expressions that catch me off-guard. For example, I don't know, this one scene seemed so...it made me smile because the imitation of body language shows that the characters are on the same wavelength...and synchronizing. And Futaba's thoughts about Darnit, this mangaka is just trying to melt my stone cold heart! It's little details like these that give this manga that sensitive, human quality. Sigh, excuse my over-analyzing.

... Last updated on July 7th, 2011, 8:02pm

Kou is completly cliche. I already see where this is all going. The storyline itself is not all that original either, though thats not my problem. Its only Kou. I hate characters of his personality because they are just an easy way out of creating a unique character. I've seen his type many times before. Im not sure about this, but I'll contine for now. Only for the herione though.

First one that is said to be cute (come on most of the girls are not cute <_<), the guy...well he's kind of cold ._. would like to feel something from him.
(Maybe it's just me but he is perfect D: I'd like to be a little bit more weird or something), the story is pretty and interesting...

The heroine and the hero both are pretty cliched, but I like their unique names. The plot however, is quite nice, but is still waaay to cheezy and shoujo. Why does everything have to be about love and school? Honestly, this really needs some originality. Anyways, like I was saying, Futaba blames everything on herself and messes up easily, while Kou ends up being the typical bishounen and singles Futaba out, is hot, reserved, blah blah blah, bottled-up feelings like the SUPER cliched Kyouta from Kyou, Koi wo Hajimemasu. There's nothing remotely special about him, or Futaba. To add cheeziness, its a childhood love. They're just so unrealistic. But, the art style is very nice and refreshing. If your a shoujo-maniac, go for this. If you love good manga regardless of the plot, don't read this.