Blue Spring Ride 2

アオハライド [Ao Haru Ride] #2

by Io Sakisaka

Weil sie sich verändern möchte, übernimmt Futaba den Posten der Klassensprecherin. Überraschend wird Kou der zweite Klassensprecher, als sich sonst keiner meldet. In ihrer neuen Funktion fahren Futaba und Kou zusammen mit dem Eventkomitee, das aus Yuri, Shuko und Aya besteht, auf eine mehrtägige Fortbildung. Doch gleich zu Beginn verspäten sie sich und verpassen den Bus...

Genres: Manga, Romance, Shojo, Young Adult, Graphic Novels, Comics, Contemporary

196 pages, Paperback

First published August 25, 2011

About the author

Io Sakisaka (咲坂伊緒) is a Japanese manga artist. She also designed the characters for the anime movie HAL. Her works are:

-Call My Name (2001)
-Watashi no Koibito (2002)
-Bye-Bye, Little (2002)
-Blue (2006)
-Mascara Blues (2007)
-Strobe Edge (2007)
-Ao Haru Ride (2011)
-Sono Omokage o Shitteru (2013) (oneshot)
-Omoi, Omoware, Furi, Furare (2015)
-Otome no Itari (2020) (oneshot)
-Sakura, Saku (2021)

Reviews

[Archit · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the cutest Manga series. The story follows two teenagers Fatuba and Kou. Both of them have different personalities. Yet they have a connection. Is destiny going to be favorable in their case?

Recommended to shoujo manga readers.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

An easy 5 stars!

This volume of Ao Haru Ride was superb! Futaba and Kou become class reps and have the task of motivating their team - Yuri, Murao and Aya, during the overnight leadership retreat. Lots of super cute moments ensue between Futaba and Kou and I ship them SOOOOOOOOO much! I know Kou is playing hard to get but I really hope he does end up with Futaba - they are adorable.

Elsewhere Yuri overhears an intimate exchange between Murao and Mr Tanaka (Kou’s older brother and teacher) - btw, why is Murao so hot?! My goodness - she is stunning!

Having successfully got through the tasks, the team now have some nice memories to cherish with Futaba falling harder for Kou, however, at the end of this volume, Yuri also admits she has a crush on him too!

Cannot wait for volume 3! :D

[Romie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can't seem to put this manga down! I just love every second of it!
Also I'm really starting to like all the characters, they're adorable!

[steph reads (hiatus) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[Pinky · Rating 2 out of 5]

I know, I know, I should've finished Carry On by now, but I got distracted. I couldn't help but read another volume of this series, it's just really good! I'm loving the character development, in just a few days, the bonds between the characters and the pacing. I love how the characters impact each other and make a huge difference to one another. I can't wait to read more of this series, and catch up to wear I was in the anime.



Futaba was a super cute girl who hates guys. She felt isolated by her peers because a lot of boys liked her. But Kou was someone who was different, his was less manly, had a high-pitched voice and was very gentle. That was why Futaba fell for him and liked him. Before the two of them can talk and hang out more, Kou moved away and disappeared. Although he moved, she couldn't forget him and realized that she needed to act differently in order to make friends. A few years later, Futaba decides to eat more and act more aggressive, in order to avoid boys and make friends. Although she had friends, they weren't that great, but she was happy. She never knew she would run into her childhood crush in her high school and couldn't help but feel attracted to him, even though they both changed so much.



Futaba's character development is great in this volume and it's all thanks to Kou. Kou has impacted her life in a positive way and told her the truth to her face. I loved that, and I love their bond, they are so cute. Marou is very quiet and I hope to learn more about her. Yuri is honest and cute and I can't wait to see more of her. I wish Kou were more open to Futaba, but I understand why he is acting this way. It's been awhile since he saw Futaba, but I can't help but feel like they are meant to be.

The bonds between the characters, the pacing and the character development is done really well in this series. It makes the series more realistic, even though it feels like a fairytale. I am interested to see where this story is heading and what will happen next. I can't wait to read the next volume, but I am hoping to finish Carry On, even if I get distracted easily.

I'll be off to live life, I guess. Lol.

[Keiko, the manga enthusiast ♒︎ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yuh, I definitely forgot how I liked the friendship dynamics here so much! And, Kou and Futaba's closeness is breathing life into the dead butterflies in my stomach! And why?! I didn't recall it being this funny and so easy to digest. I might finish half the series tonight! Or maybe not... because my stressors are about to come out (on the next volumes, ye good luck me): Yuri just declared her feelings for Kou, to Futaba.

[clauu · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Don't worry. It's better to feel your weight...so I know you're really there"

OMGGGGGGG

[Laura A. Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

VIDEO REVIEW HERE: https://youtu.be/a4XU75uG8Bw

"If you give up now, it won't hurt anyone. By the same token…if you keep at it, it won't hurt anyone either."

Okay, unless something DRASTICALLY changes between now and the end of this series, I am going to go ahead and claim that this is my favorite series from Io Sakisaka thus far!

I know I've only read Strobe Edge, but this volume was absolutely amazing! I loved it even more then volume one and a large part of that is because I adore the growth in our main girl! While Strobe Edge is focused a lot more on the romance, I deeply deeply love how Futaba is wanting to grow as an individual. When her and Kou have a conversation one early morning, I think Kou was right in saying he doesn't know if she is weak or brave. I feel it captures the struggle we see Futaba have and feel on a personal level it is SOOOO relatable because that is exactly how I feel about/see myself!

With all of this, I really loved the cast of characters! They are such an interesting group and enjoyed seeing them argue/disagree and then come together by the end. It was satisfying and truly believe that Futaba has found a great group of friends, even if technically she is only friends with two of them for now.

Lastly, this is the first time that I have found myself loving a shojo manga so much that I want to go try the anime ASAP! I have never felt that before (not even with Kimi ni Todoke, which I absolutely adore!) and was such a surreal feeling (but also a warm fuzzy feeling because I haven't watched any shojo anime before *hides*). If I continue to love this series (which I think I will), I'm definitely planning to check it out!

I cannot wait to see where this romance goes! We get those few swoon worthy moments that were SOOOOOOO good and 1000% here for it!

Such an excellent series so far!!

[Jasmine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review on IG: @xojazzle
Okkkk I loved this volume! This was such a good episode in the anime. I really loved the retreat because I feel like we just saw this group getting closer and I LOVE their friendship! I think each person brings something super special to the group. Also really great futaba and kou moments hehe when they’re laying down and all of a sudden facing each other, he pretends she’s his gf lol, and when he carries her bc she hurt her ankle :’) also love seeing the friendship between futaba and yuri grow stronger! Love this girl duo 🫶

[Dani ❤️ Perspective of a Writer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Check out more reviews @ Perspective of a Writer...

In middle school Futaba Yoshioka thought all boys were loud and obnoxious... except for Kou Tanaka. They agree to meet to go to a summer festival together but he never shows up. Fast forward to high school where she meets Tanaka again, but he's totally different and that even includes his name! Will they be able to rekindle what they had in the past?!

I really, really enjoyed Ao Haru Ride vol 2 as it totally sets up class reps and we find Futaba and Kou taking that mantle. To help them out we have Makita, Murao, and Kuminato joining them from their class! Then off to a retreat so they can become a team. At first Futaba is the only one who really wants to participate... even though we learn each of the others had their own reasons to volunteer. I enjoyed seeing them come together, even though its in a rather typical way. I look forward to them becoming good friends!

Futaba is the heart of Ao Haru Ride and the same is true in Ao Haru Ride vol 2. She wants to improve and have a really great high school experience and that means putting herself out there. This she does and I love that people already in her orbit join her... we can already see that things are changing because she took this step. She has different relationships with each member of the group and I love that... that is how groups of friends really are, things are a little different between different people and things change as you gain more social skills. And I just love the positive female empowerment going on!! Yes she likes a boy but its about way more than that...

I felt a lot more tension in the first volume than in Ao Haru Ride vol 2. I think that is because it was clear what was going on in the plot... this is about this little group becoming closer and bonding as they will be working together on a daily basis. Or at least there is the possibility of that!! I did find all the love triangles fascinating and am just glad that it isn't about Futaba. And I hope that this is just the reason the group came together but it moves beyond being about crushes and develops more of a friendship vibe.

I still like the art of the covers the best... Don't get me wrong the character designs are great and this time there was even backgrounds! This may be one of those manga where I wish it was all in color... I can totally imagine the soft watercolor effect a full color art would have. Still the black and white works well and I enjoy it.

Ao Haru Ride vol 2 is a fun slice of life story about a girl in high school who is trying to have the best experience she can... that means developing more social skills and putting herself out there. If you want a different experience then you've got to try new things... I really enjoyed this group of friends coming together and I hope to read more about their bonding and struggles in Ao Haru Ride vol 3!!


⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Authenticity
⋆ ⋆ ⭐⭐⭐ Tension
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Plot
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Art

Thanks to Edelweiss and VIZ Media for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review. It has not influenced my opinions.


This is a multi-volume series and there may be references to the plot of those volumes... SO READ WITH CARE! Here is my review of 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |

______________________
You can find this manga review and many others on my book blog every Monday @ Perspective of a Writer. See my manga and graphic novel reviews at the bottom of the page.

Please like this review if you enjoyed it! *bow* *bow* It helps me out a ton!!

[Chivitouille · Rating 5 out of 5]

No suelo leer shoujo y no es precisamente porque le tenga repelús ni nada, simplemente es un género por el que nunca me he interesado. Siendo así creo que Ao Haru Ride es de los primeros shoujos que he leído en forma y no puedo más que decir que me he enamorado de la historia, del estilo de Io Sakisaka y de sus personajes.

Posiblemente no sea una historia demasiado complicada en primera instancia pero la creatividad está en la manera en cómo está contada, la cual hace que las situaciones “comunes” sean emocionantes y divertidas, situaciones que sin duda incluyen a Futaba y Kou.
Admito que ansío leer cada vez que hablan, puesto que hay mucho trasfondo en sus encuentros, es más que claro que Kou aún siente algo por ella, pero por todo lo que ha vivido es demasiado terco para aceptarlo y ella se está enamorando de nueva cuenta de este “actual” Kou, este reencuentro e ir conociéndose nuevamente es de las mejores partes de la historia, que se viene a complementar con los demás personajes y cuyas historias iremos conociendo poco a poco.

Algo que adoro mucho, es el dibujo de Sakisaka, las caras de Kou son geniales y el detalle que tiene al dibujar su cabello me parece increíble, creo que es más que obvio que Kou resulta ser uno de mis personajes favoritos, quien a pesar de esa fachada fría, cortante y de que no quiere involucrarse con nadie, hay una persona con un gran corazón, amable y atenta.
En este tomo veremos cómo van iniciando la amistad de todos los protagonistas a raíz de un curso para los representantes y los encargados, resulta divertido ver como al principio cada quien está en su mundo y no le interesa ni el curso ni involucrarse con los demás, pero después de una serie de circunstancias, acabaran por empezar a llevarse bien.
Tengo mucha curiosidad por saber más de cada uno de ellos y estoy ansiosa por conocer sus historias.

La parte del final y de que Kou usara como excusa estar jugando con el gato para quedarse un rato más, me encanto mucho, aunque no quiera, a veces puede ser algo obvio pese a que trate de actuar como si nada.
Sin duda el final no augura nada bueno para Futaba quien si apenas está admitiendo lo que siente, esto cambiará y complicará la situación. Habrá que ver como se soluciona todo esperando que la suerte le sonría a Futaba.

Para terminar tengo que decir que las anotaciones que hace Sakisaka sobre algunas anécdotas de su vida mientras la historia va transcurriendo son geniales, un detalle que me ha gustado mucho y te hace sentir más familiaridad con ella.

Lo admito, no imagine que este manga me fuese a gustar tanto como lo está haciendo, siendo una combinación de la historia, el dibujo y de la mangaka, puedo decir en este momento que aunque parezca algo ilógico por no tener con qué compararlo, se está convirtiendo en uno de mis favoritos.

Y sí, lo recomiendo mucho.

[Jess | jadecanread · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ugh, this series is just so refreshing! I don't know what it is, it's not groundbreaking or anything, but it hits the spot.

RECAP: Futuba wants to turn a new leaf, but her reputation remains. Kou antagonizes her to be persistent haha. Then she volunteers to be class rep, he volunteers too. Then the five of them go on the leadership retreat. Futuba and Kou are late, but heads, but act like a couple lol. They're out of sync at first but slowly get along. During the scavenger hunt, she hurts her ankle and he carries her. Then that night they all watch the sunrise and he gives her his jacket to wear. Returning back to school, You waits with her until she gets picked up, and her friend tells her she likes another guy.

[daph pink ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

in Volume 2, the pages breathe like a quiet autumn breeze—gentle, uncertain, full of meaning just beneath the hush. Futaba, caught between the girl she was and the person she's trying to become, walks the blurry line of adolescence with open eyes and guarded hope. She reaches—not for perfection, but for connection. And that makes her beautiful.

Kou, the boy who once smiled like sunshine, now hides behind shadows. But even shadows shift, and in this volume, his silence starts to speak. Not in grand declarations, but in side glances, soft gestures, words left unsaid but felt.

There’s magic in the mundane here—school trips, hallway pauses, shared umbrellas. Sakisaka captures that fragile ache of youth, when a glance can devastate and a smile can save you.

Volume 2 doesn’t shout its truth. It whispers it—slowly, sweetly—until you feel it in your chest. It’s a love story in the making, but more than that, it’s a story about becoming—real, vulnerable, and alive.

[Ana Encinas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aoha ride, tomo 2 por Io Sakisaka. Una continuación bastante entretenida, en el que nuestra protagonista Futaba quiere dejar de ser tan tímida e introvertida, pero sobretodo dejar de ser la marginada de su clase, por lo que tomará muchas decisiones que harán que cambie y se desenvuelva mejor con las personas. Me ha gustado mucho este segundo tomo, es mucho más divertido y ya vamos conociendo a sus personajes mucho más en profundidad, por lo que estoy deseando leer el siguiente.

[Kadi P · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall Manga Review:

Wonderful in some aspects but questionable in others, this was certainly an interesting manga.

One thing that was fantastically done in this manga series was the exploration and representation of grief and the long-lasting impact a parent’s death can have on a child.

The exploration of true friendships was also nicely done, especially with the protagonist letting go of her fake friends and making new friends with whom she went through hardships with but still came out well on the other side due to genuine communication and understanding between them all.

The romance was mostly cute and it certainly started off nicely but it got really murky and messy as it went on. The introduction of the second love interest threw a spanner in the works and to be honest, this was the one instance in which I rooted for the second love interest over the main love interest.

There were some problematic things in this manga that I really wish hadn’t been there.
1. The indecisiveness of the protagonist coupled with the irritatingly dumb decisions of the main love interest became a bit annoying, especially as the right-person, wrong-time scenarios kept cropping up so that the protagonist and main love interest went round in circles constantly.
2. The way the female rival love interest used her unfortunately sad situation to manipulate the main love interest into being with her even though she knew that he wanted to be with the protagonist was awful, exploitative and downright shady.
3. The protagonist made a good decision to move on from the main love interest when he chose to look after the rival love interest instead of being romantically with her. Yet those were all words and no action because the entire time she was with the second love interest she was pining for the main love interest. And it was made even more pitiful by the fact that she knew she didn’t love the second love interest but still insisted on being with him and hurt him by being overly enthusiastic in her actions but not really feeling anything towards him. She led him on and then dropped him like a stone the moment she could go running back to the main love interest after deluding herself that all the terrible decisions she had made and lies she’d told the second love interest were in his interest and only done with him in mind. In actuality, the protagonist acted in a way that was cruel and selfish.
4. The main love interest was sometimes mean too. He managed to make the protagonist cry on more than one occasion with his unnecessarily harsh words and worse, his borderline sexually abusive actions. The scene where he tried to scare her into protecting herself around guys by getting on top of her and pinning her to the ground was insane and the fact that all she did was cry was even more insane. She wasn’t mad at him at all afterwards even though he had severely abused his position as her friend. The lack of consequences for his actions just showed the kind of toxic love between the protagonist and the love interest that hurt themselves and everyone around them.

And so, despite how cute this manga appeared at times, it grew harder and harder to ignore all that was wrong with it and all the blatant issues cast long shadows over the strengths of this manga.

[Jessi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ich fand den ersten Teil der Reihe jetzt nicht unbedingt überragend, aber hier hat mir alles schon besser gefallen. Man kennt die Charaktere und weiß schon etwas über sie.
Futaba meldet sich hier als Klassensprecherin und Kou als zweiter. Man merkt schon, dass er nicht ein ganz so fieser Kerl ist, wie er immer tut.
Auch ein Komittee wird gewählt, dieses besteht hauptsächlich aus Einzelgängern. Auf einem Fortbildungsseminar sollen sie zu einander finden, doch bereits am ersten Tag kommen Futaba und Kou zu spät. Ich fand es witzig, wie sie sich über alles Sorgen macht und ihm einfach alles egal ist. Beim Seminar selbst wächst die Gruppe dann zusammen, das wird in dem Manga sehr schön gezeigt und ist auch ein längerer Prozess.
Ich fand dies einen sehr gelungenen zweiten Band.

[Sherilyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

*4.5

[Flopi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sigue siendo parte de la introducción, pero comienzan esos giros que se van entrelazando para crear unos dramitas que me van a tener llorando. Estoy segurísima 😂.

Kou me esta gustando bastante, y me genera, todavía, demasiada intriga. Por otra parte, pude conocer mejor a Futaba, una chica que quiere cambiar para ser diferente, porque quiere serlo, pero me encantaría saber bien el por qué.

[Aliix · Rating 5 out of 5]

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is SOOOOO CUTE. I'm actually really upset that my life didn't turn out to be a cute shoujo manga.

[Bianca · Rating 5 out of 5]

i love this story with all my soul. i had a lot of fun reading this volume. kou's a precious boy and i just want to hug him forever.

[KristynRene SwissCheese JellyBean · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.75/5 Stars

I keep hearing his words in my head. I should do what I want. What do I want? What is it? Do I wait for someone to fix this somehow? Or...if I want to make a new start of course it’s going to take effort on my part...meaning...it’ll never happen...if I don’t first try.

This volume was immensely adorable. I need this entire series right now in my hands so I can binge it. The anime was fantastic, but this manga somehow feels more authentic, and I feel so entirely caught in these pages. AH! So much cuteness and angsty moments, my heart is so full of joy! February, I am lookin’ out for you.

[Patty · Rating 5 out of 5]

MangaMadnessReadathon | August 2019

[Saraí Elvir · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vaya Futaba no es la única que se ha enamorado de Kou.

[d★ · Rating 4 out of 5]

finalmente pude leer el vol 2! amo leer estos volumenes en clase, porque es tan "relajante" lol
no mentira, este tomo comienza de manera interesante, kou y futaba ahora tienen un grupo de amigos y verlos interactuar es muy lindo, peeeeero las cosas se complican para la linda futaba con yuuri, y la verdad no soy muy fan de yuuri y como la pintan en el anime, asi que me esperaré al sig vol para tener una opinión menos sesgada sobre ella~


[+] spoiler
la escena del tren es de mis favoritas, y ni hablar la de la mesa del campamente!!!!!!111!!!1! y yo se que kou sigue queriendo a futaba, lo presiento

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Is this volume it follows them going pm a adventure with main characters as the school council reprentatvies and volunteers go on a leadership retreat.

They are so cute and also love the art style

[Flor ):) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tierno, divertido y bonito quiero más

[◍❁ꌚꅐꍏꁅ❁◍ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kou más funao jzzsjs :/

[haven ⋄ f (hiatus) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I actually found this one to be much more interesting and entertaining than the first.

The story was well planned out and represented. They did have some story cliches but they changed them up so it wasn't extremely painful.

The characters really go through growth, partly of what volume one had for them and partly because of this volume. The MC, Futaba Yoshioka, was more bearable in this one than the last. I also though the love interest, Kou, was more interesting and was settling into his role in the story better. There's a love triangle tho, which I absolutely hate.

The art was the same as the last; reminds me of another mangaka's but still unique. There are some details that make some people look so wrong/creepy/etc but they are fairly ignorable. (I really wish Kou didn't have the line under his eyes because that doesn't give the right effect. Maybe if it was shorter and closer to the eyes it would seem better.)

Cannot wait until volume three because I can tell its gonna be dramatic and fun!

[Fiebre Lectora · Rating 4 out of 5]

http://fiebrelectora.blogspot.com.es/...