I don't know how I feel about this. It hard to judge, because it is different from anything I've ever read. Everyone is so nice, considerate, and understanding. Even the mean girl I thought" someone to hate had made their arrival" is a nice person too. All problems handled maturely like adults. This is a first. However, this is certainly not slice of life. It was nice...very nice I guess.

Although the plot was overdone (first love, some kind of love triangle, etc) this manga somehow pulled it off without making it seem incredibly cliché. The romance wasn't the worst I've ever seen either. Most notably is that she actually ends up with the guy that treats her well.

But I had one major problem with Strobe Edge... Ninako. Not her personality, because truthfully I admire that she refuses to go out with someone she doesn't have feelings for (something that, if done, rarely ends well). It was her face. In EVERY. SINGLE. SCENE she looks like a baby! It was really off putting! What healthy highschool girl has a face like an infant's?!

Needless to say, it bothered me a lot.

I dont feel like reading it anymore i cant bear it. its obvious that ninako and ren will going out anyway. the story is good, i dont hate any of the character they are all good even ren ex but I just cant betray my feeling. I support andou with ninako T^T poor andou ninako never even consider him because the story lead her that way.

I read some bad reviews about this manga, so I was a bit hesitant to read it -- I shouldn't have been! This is so cute!! Most shoujo mangas have awesome female main characters who call themselves normal, but Ninako-chan really IS normal. She's a pretty realistic girl, down to her reactions and mannerisms. Unlike in other typical shoujos where the guy just falls for her for no reason, Ninako actually has to chase Ren, but she doesn't do it in such an open and slutty way that Ren's girlfriend Mayuka goes bonkers. Near the end, she has to seriously consider her feelings for Ren and how her liking him affects those around her, and she does it in such a way that you can't help but understand. Others may find it annoying, but I thought it was impressive. Moving on...

Art: 10/10
GORGEOUS!! I love Sakisaka-sensei's work. Andou and Ren are freaking HOT!! Even the girls are beautiful. Sayuri was amazing and feminine. I wish I looked like her.

Story: 9.5/10
The missing .5 is because I was cheering for Andou, but whatevs lol. I liked the ending anyways.

Characters: 9.5/10
Like I said before, I was cheering for Andou. I can relate to him so much it's not even funny. I would choose him over Ren any day. Speaking of Ren, he's the reason for the missing 0.5. He reminds me of someone I know, so I am a little prejudiced, but he was still awesome. Other than that, great!!

All in all, a brilliant manga. I loved it!!

Although I don't hate this manga, I don't really like it either.
The story is nice. I like the realistic touch of the scenes and happenings, and the artwork is very well done. Very detailed and soft and..well...shoujo-y. Although I must admit, those weird pouty faces that Ninako makes irritate me beyond my own understanding.
And also...I don't like Ninako. But hold up, I'm not saying that I don't like her because she's not tough and she doesn't punch people. (to prove my point, I don't really like Ayuzawa Misaki from kaichou wa maid-sama either)
I just don't like her because she's SO ANNOYING. Yes, she's sweet and nice and cute, and I like heroines like those but I dunno, I just think she's annoying. I don't like overly violent and perfect heroines, but this Ninako Kinoshita character is just too dumb and annoying for me to take. There are lots of manga heroines that are cute and nice and shy that I like, but that's because they were interesting. In this manga, my biggest turnoff is the heroine herself. I don't find her interesting. She wasn't shallow or bland, I just found her uninteresting.
I did like Ren though. He's definitely a sweet guy, and at least he wasn't mean to the main character.
Anyway, perhaps I'm just a person with bad taste. Read the manga to be sure, because I heard that lots of people like it. And also, I found it lacking in the comedy department, perhaps that's why it really failed to entertain me.

YES the girl is average and no bombshell beauty. But contrary to what another user said, she did not get all the cute guys. Unless everyone means two. She is an ordinary average girl (which makes her cute and very likable), which is why everyone was surprised that, and many other guys didn't consider her. The only other guy who liked her was *sorry i just had to clarify that. Onto my review...

This is one of the better manga choices of this genre. Normally, i prefer josei mangas, and the summary of this manga wasn't particularly appealing, but i gave it a shot because of the artwork and the raving reviews. The characters all are generally likable, even the side characters. Its also more on the realistic side, very slice of life-y. Its slow paced yet short and sweet. At first i was surprised at how fast the end was coming, because i wanted it to be longer. I was expecting it to be one of those shoujo's where the girl and guy get together earlier and then go through hardships, etc, as we watch them get closer. This one is more about one sided love, so the story and emotions build up without the two main characters already being in a relationship. Although i wanted more, i was very satisfied in the end, and glad that the author chose not to drag it out with shoujo cliche's. The extra chapters were also exactly what i needed. The author knows what the readers want throughout the series and gives them that closure.

The two main characters were very strongly developed and likable. Ninako is naive, innocent, cute, and tries her best which is admirable. Yea, she cries, but it didn't annoy me, because you can see that she's TRYING unlike other useless crybaby heroines. She didn't have some fairytale romance on a plate. She knew it would be painful yet in the end, didn't give up. Ren is seemingly mature and serious, yet naive and very cute on the inside.The art was clean, and the emotions were well depicted. This is a manga that will make your heart throb ... a pure, sweet tale of a girl's first painful love, and a guy's new found blossomed love-- proof that people do grow apart, and go separate ways despite loving each other, and that you can find a new love stronger than the previous.

I would reread this. And you know a book is good when you'd reread it again.

... Last updated on July 18th, 2011, 12:25am

This is one of the best shoujo I've ever read, hands down. Its so simple and pure that it makes me wanna fall in love too! Haha! And this is the first time I like all the characters; for I usually dislike characters like Andou, but in this case, I find myself wanting Kinoshita to get together with him too! And Ren is pure awesome. Lol I laughed so much at his "I'm impure" moment. This guy's so cute!

I read volumes 1-5 in one go because I just couldn't stop. The pacing and flow is amazing. I was either laughing, in suspense, or my heart was going 'kyuuun' all the time. Both male love interests are likable and it's hard to root for just one of them. Personally I like the 'other one' better but I can't help but want the female lead to get the one she really wants just because I want her to be happy. She's not annoying at all and even if some people think she cries too much, I don't think she does. I'm an emotional person and I cry when I feel like it. There's nothing wrong with it. She doesn't just cry over nothing, I think her feelings are justified.

And the male lead isn't expressionless as some have said. The point is that the female lead brings out the livelier side of him that he normally doesn't show to a lot of people. That's realistic. I know guys like that. They seem all cool on the outside but let go and unwind in front of someone they feel comfortable and connected with. High school boys usually put on a certain image at school, particularly the 'idol' ones because they have to in order to survive the masses of fangirls after them.

It's been a really long time since I've given a shoujo manga a 10 but this one definitely deserves it.

... Last updated on June 23rd, 2010, 11:46pm

Like many others, I read the summary and was like "ANOTHER one of these?? Really? Couldn't someone come up with a more original storyline?" However, as I started reading it, the characters became really likeable, and not just the main ones. Every one of them have their own special qualities, and there is no one that you can point out and say that they are pure evil, which is a common theme in many other shoujo mangas. It was interesting to read this from the point of view of the "other" girl and it isn't one of those where you are like "BREAK UP WITH YOUR GIRLFRIEND AND GO OUT WITH THE HEROINE ALREADY!" I have conflicting feelings about how I want it to turn out, but we'll see how it goes.

Overall, good art, good story, great characters. I just hope it doesn't turn into one of those super dramatized mangas.

About a manga and its characters before. I mean, I will like, dislike, love, and gush over characters (especially the men ) but Strobe Edge has this very humane quality to it that makes me love it so much. It's such a pure love story...a very true love story...about the complications of liking another person that's already in a relationship. I think this is one of the few manga I've read where the heroine is actually the "enemy" in some sense. In many manga, the heroine and the guy get together and then another girl will appear (whether it be old friend, never met before, or ex-girlfriend) and put their relationship in trouble. It's interesting to read from the viewpoint of an innocent girl trying to understand what it is to love someone and how to cope with it . I'm so happy with this work.