Strobe Edge, Vol. 8

ストロボ・エッジ [Strobe Edge] #8

by Io Sakisaka

What is love, anyway? Ninako Kinoshita’s friends tell her it’s one thing, but Ninako wonders what this mysterious feeling really is. When she meets Ren Ichinose, the handsome, enigmatic guy that all the girls worship, her life takes an unexpected turn. With just a few words and a smile, he changes her world...

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

200 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

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

[Jasmine · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5⭐️ Review on IG: @xojazzle
This was soooo good! I feel like in the last two volumes, especially this one, we get a new side of ren and I LOVE IT! He’s very assertive and explains his feelings a lot more. I feel like he’s making more of an effort to go after ninako and I love it 🤭 him listening to a song just because she hummed it, sticking up for her infront of the class, taking her to the nurses office. SO CUTE! The only thing is, ANDO IS CUTE TOO. I love how he talks about ninako and just puts himself out there! He helps her with cheer (and says the cutest things) and IS SO DEFENSIVE WITH HER I LOVE IT. he gives me “touch her and I’ll kill you vibes” on top of that, I rlly love ando and ren’s friendship. So I can def see why ninako is acting the way she is. She’s putting their friendship first over her feelings. I’m feeling so conflicted bc thats very nice of her but I want her to be w someone but I also don’t know who I want her to be with 😩 this is so hard. A good love triangle makes it so hard to choose who you want to be endgame and this is def one of them. Lastly, SCREW ANDO’S EX I HATE HER 😄😄 lol onto the next volume <3

[Azet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ando refused to give up and still got his heart broken, ohhhh i hate love-triangles! Ren is feeling possessive over Ninako and i am ENJOYING it soooo much!
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[IzamaRi H. Fabela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ren y Ninako han estado reprimiendo los sentimientos que tiene el uno por el otro, pero ahora están decididos a aceptarlos y hacer algo al respecto. Ren por fin ha admitido a si mismo que está enamorado de ella y lo primero que hace es confesárle a Ando sus sentimientos para luchar con él de frente por ella.
Ninako por su parte está decidida a ser novia de Ren pues sabe que si sigue siendo sólo su amiga tarde o temprano Ren entregará su corazón a alguien más y eso no podrá soportarlo, pero justo el día en que planeaba confesar sus sentimientos tiene una platica con la ex novia de Ando quien le cuenta toda la historia de Ando y Ren y el papel que desarrollo ella para que una amistad como la que compartían se fuera a la basura. Es así como Ninako comprende que aunque no lo demuestre, Ren aprecia mucho a Ando y la poca amistad que aún comparten y sabe que si ella confiesa sus sentimientos a Ren hará que Ando se aleje nuevamente de él por lo cual decide ignorar una vez más sus sentimientos para que la persona a la que ama pueda conservar esa amistad que aprecia tanto.
Y mientras ellos dos luchan con lo que sienten, Ando decide ir con todo pues tras la confecion de Ren comprende que su tiempo para conquistar a Ninako de esta acabando.


¿Recuerdan que en la anterior reseña de este manga les dije que moría de ganas de ver a Ren peleando por Ninako? Pues es justo eso lo que pasa en este tomo y de verdad estoy muy emocionada por eso. Y es que por primera vez en siete tomos vemos a Ren demostrando lo que siente. Ya no tiene miedo a decir que quiere a Ninako y comienza a luchar por ella pero al mismo tiempo siente un inmeso temor a perderla, sobre todo cuando un nuevo personaje aparece de la nada y pronto comienza a sentirse muy cercano a ella.

Además de tener a un Ren mucho menos serio, en este tomo por fin tenemos el tan cantado enfrentamiento entre Ren y Ando. Un enfrentamiento que pese al pasado de los chicos fue mucho menos dramático de lo que me había imaginado, pero no se confundan, eso no quiere decir que no me haya gustado sino todo lo contrario pues aunque ambos van por la misma chica y a pesar de su historia, siento que fue un enfrentamiento muy sano donde cada uno dejó en claro lo que sienten por Ninako y lo que harán por tenerla pero al mismo tiempo respetando lo que queda de su amistad.

Sé que ya lo he dicho un millón de veces pero de verdad que no puedo evitar mencionarles de nuevo la increíble capacidad de Io Sakisaka de crear mil emociones al lector con sus historias. Es tan buena que de verdad debe ser una lectura obligada para ustedes.

[DonutKnow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aww Toda seems like a really nice guy! But I can't wait for him to feel the (albeit reasonable) wrath of a jealous Ren!! 😆😆

[Sesana · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a little disappointed that this volume decided to go with the more tried and true evil ex-girlfriend route. Luckily, Mao (Ando's ex) just sets things in motion then makes an exit. I would have liked this a lot less if the story suddenly started to revolve around backstabbing mean girls. And Ninako's decision, that Ren and Ando's friendship is more important than her feelings for Ren, is just so in character for her. And so is her eventual decision to trust her friends with her feelings. I like that Strobe Edge, as a series, has been almost as much about friendship as it is about romance, and that Ninako's friends in particular have been so supportive and understanding.

[Phoenix2 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Starting to feel more and more biased over the second lead. Though that girl (his ex) who appeared gives me a bad feeling.

[Leila ✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bueno, ahora que Ren empieza a hacer un poquito de retrospección y sabe cómo se siente, todo es mucho más interesante y entretenido. Besides. me gusta mucho la razón por la que Ninako está decidiendo dejar sus sentimientos de lado. Me parece una razón muy pura.

Otra vez mi hijo siendo la persona más hermosa del mundo y mereciendo mucho más de lo que está recibiendo:



4 de 5 estrellas.

[Laura A. Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

VIDEO REVIEW HERE: https://youtu.be/49J17zomUnI

This volume reminded me why I love this series, and I am so thankful for that!

After volume seven, I was a little worried I was going to feel this series was drawn out and lost some of my excitement, but this was a wonderful volume and realized I had forgotten why I like Ninako so much.

Because I see SO much of myself in her!

While this volume may seem "slow" in that there is more internal dialogue than previous volumes, I found that through that dialogue, Ninako's struggles jumped off the page. She's trying SO hard to think of the people around her and absolutely loved the ending as she learns that sometimes not telling people things, makes them worry MORE. (Something I also forget and struggle with.) This is probably my second favorite volume thus far because I really felt like Ninako went from being just a fictional character to someone who is very real.

I've mentioned before how I've been on the fence of which guy I want to win Ninako's heart, but gosh, Ando really pulled my heart strings! Considering who he use to be and who he is now, it really pains me that he is not the winning guy. I even caught myself thinking that Ninako should just go with the "new guy" because he's someone new and doesn't have any involvement with anyone else. (Granted, that would totally defeat the point of some of the things he voiced to Ninako at the end, and I LOVED what he told her in those closing scenes!)

I'm so glad to say that I'm really looking forward to the next volume!!

[Katt Hansen · Rating 3 out of 5]

OK, I'm done. I've been giving this series four stars on the strength of the minor characters, despite the fact that the main ones have been driving me crazy. I love Ando. Don't get me wrong, I still love Ando. He's the most complex and most developed of every character here.

I'm really getting sick of Ren and his wishy-washy attitude. And I'm really getting sick of Ninako. The only decisive person in the book is Ando. Were my teenage years really this bad, or is this series just that overloaded with angst?

[Ady Weasley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maldita Mao, por qué tuvo que hablar con Ninako cuando por fin está se había decidido a pelear por Ren.

Qué pasará ahora ya que Ren ha aceptado sus sentimientos, pero Ninako está dudando?

[Miss Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is so cute? just high octane shoujo cuteness. watching these kids work through their feelings was an excellent way to pass an hour

4 stars

[Monique · Rating 3 out of 5]

How did I breeze through an entire book, yet nothing actually happened? I guess I was amused though, hence the 3 stars haha

[asia ◡̈ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mi dispiace, Ando... Deve essere così difficile portare tutto il peso di Strobe Edge sulle tue spalle 😩

[Tia Lynn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not gonna lie I’m so bored but own these physically so I have to make it through

[aliyah · Rating 5 out of 5]

2 more volumes left 😖

[Theresa ♫ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ninako...
NINAKO...
NEEEEENAAAAHKOOOOH............why....
Why care about others
WHEN YOU CAN PURSUE WHAT YOU WANT TO PURSUE?! What your heart wants. Deep down inside more than anything else--

Okay I'm joking. You know what, she's puny and tiny but she's a strong little one!
But I have experience in this. I have felt like Ninako before.

(Oh PS, this review has tons of spoilers and spoilers are the worst in murder mysteries and romantical dramatic stuff and uh.......strobe edge...)



1. DO YOU KNOW HOW INCREDIBLY HARD IT IS TO DOUBT FEELINGS AND TRY TO SIMMER THEM DOWN?!
It's like they have a mind of their own.
You don't just STOP loving somebody. You don't just STOP feeling.
There's no off button. There's nothing that'll be able to stop feelings, especially STRONG LOVEY DOVEY ONES that Ninako has.
Believe me, I know. I'm not as strong as this one though. If I loved someone that loved someone else, I'd be hurt. And then I'd actually try to accept the fact and move on. It's incredibly hard though.

But I will admit something. Here's a small story.
It's not to drive the point away from the review! It's to STRENGTHEN MY POINT!

So once upon a time I met a guy. Lets call him Bato.
I started with a crush.
And he found out. Not like how Ren did, but my (incredibly stupid) "ex crush/heartbreaker--which is a completely different story" decided to tell Bato about it.
Stupid guy. Trying to ruin my chances.
But.......then....he actually liked me back. I don't know why he did I mean. I'm a dork. I'm not a graceful ballerina!
He told me he liked me. I told him I liked him.
But then he remembered HIS exgirlfriend, who hurt him and made him feel like crap.
And he told me "Theresa....I don't have feelings for you anymore."
And it hurt! IT HURT SO MUCH. My heart was gonna tear up like paper.

Like what the heck?! Man.......I still remember the pain.
So then I told him, "it's okay. But I'm not gonna stop liking you."
And it was so difficult to have class with him and have my seat facing him. It was SO HARD.......it was awful.
Because my feelings were still there, dissolving me, tearing me up.
It pressured me so much that one day when I was walking with Bato to 4th period, I pulled him to the side and hugged him really tight.
At first he said, "Theresa, no......" But then he hugged me back. Really tight.
I walked away thinking, "With time, maybe my feelings will relax a little. Not any time soon but............*sigh."

And then he texted me that very night. I could tell he was emotional.
And he said "I want to date you. It sucks that we can't now."
And I was like.........WHAT.
So I texted him back. "I thought you didn't like me anymore."
He responded with a response that I'll never forget.
"I never stopped."

The Monday after that weekend, he asked me to be his girlfriend.
I said yes.
And we've been together for 14 months, going on 15.


DO YOU SEE?! You can't just suppress feelings.
We both tried, but we couldn't. We COULDN'T. That only means we should be together, Ahahaha!


2. That other girl, what's her name? Mei? Or Mai? I don't know I completely forgot. Ando's exgirlfriend...
I HATE HER.
I think other readers do too because she's kind of an antagonist. But.......but I hate her for cheating on ando.
CHEATING IS UNFORGIVABLE, FELLOW REVIEW READERS. UNFORGIVABLE.


3. It was pretty funny how Ren kept appearing in Ninako's view when she was trying to suppress her feelings.
Man, it's not just a story. When you suppress your feelings, they seem to appear 24/7, no lie!

4. CARING FOR PEOPLE OTHER THAN YOURSELF IS HARD!
Ninako is a strong soul.
But the advice found in this book is completely correct:

ONE THING YOU NEED TO DO FOR YOUR FRIENDS IS TO LET THEM IN.
Do not hide things from them or try to keep to yourself.
Friends love you and want to help you.


5. NINAKO TRYING TO TURN AWAY FROM REN WHEN REN IS CONFIRMING HIS FEELINGS FOR HER IS INCREDIBLY AND PAINFULLY IRONIC.

Sort of. Although of course Ninako can't stop. She must be in some serious pain!





Yup.

[Dragonfly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Se nota que nos acercamos al final, ya entran las dudas, los miedos, por una parte, y la decisión y la hora de poner todas las cartas sobre la mesa por otra parte. Tengo muchas ganas de ver que pasará en el próximo tomo, que además es ya el penúltimo.

También tengo que decir que ya me cae mejor Ando, hasta siento lastima por él, ojalá encuentre a su media naranja. Ha sido otro tomo divertido y muy entretenido.

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A summary f this volume: "Manipulative Folks and Misunderstandings really stand in the way of love".

[Evey Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dos tomos para acabar este manga y no quierooooooooooooo!!! Que monosidad y que manera de enamorar al lector. Imprescindible en mi mangateka.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

So Ren is FINALLY becoming a human lol, because he used to be so emotionless. And now, I can see why Ninako adores this guy. Ugh, I want my own Ren...

[Ris Sasaki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ren-kun is the purest human being that ever existed.
We must protect him at all costs

[Selina · Rating 3 out of 5]

˖ * ｡ ✩ —8/65

[Charlos · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5: I get it, it's shouju. But seal the deal already!

[Kristina · Rating 5 out of 5]

It opens with Ninako still ruminating about her and Ren being friends. She likes that they are so close, but she worries about what it will do to her when he starts dating someone new, and wonders who he will love next. She is oblivious to the fact that Ren actually loves her.

She runs into Ren on her way to school, and he’s using headphones to listen to the song she was humming in the last volume. He downloaded it because of her, and now it’s his favorite song. They are sharing the headphones listening to it, when they have a moment, and they gaze into each other eyes, but then they kind of jump apart.

Shortly after that, Ando’s ex-girlfriend accosts Ninako and asks her if she likes Ren? It’s obvious to us, she is trying to get in her head, but Ninako is just puzzled by the interaction. Ando steps in and tells her to leave Ninako alone, but she is unphased.

Now Ninako is worried people can tell she likes Ren, but it also makes her realize she wants to be his girlfriend so she tells her friends, and they seem to be supportive.
A few minutes later this loud upperclassmen, Toda, comes to their class to recruit cheerleaders, and no one wants to volunteer, so Ninako gets roped in which prompts Ando to volunteer.
After that, Ren pulls Ando aside and drops a bomb on him, he’s in love with Ninako. Now everything just got more complicated.

Meanwhile, Ando’s ex starts talking to Ninako again, and continues with her mind games. She basically tells Ninako that it’s her fault that Ren and Ando aren’t best friends anymore(Ninako didn’t know Ren was the friend that his ex used him for), and that it would be bad if Ren liked her because that would hurt their friendship even more. Now Ninako feels responsible to put their friendship before her own feelings and decides she can’t be his girlfriend even if she wants to. Right around this time, Ren starts opening up to her even more, but now she’s pulling back.

Because of all of Ninako’s inner turmoil, she is doing a shit job at cheerleading. Ando spends time giving her extra help, and we get to see more of his earnest side when he kneels before her and asks her how should he love her so that she’ll love him back. He asks her, “How do you want to be loved?” It’s very swoon worthy, but Ninako isn’t swayed and says even though she’s not in love with Ren anymore she still can't return his feelings.

There’s also a beautiful moment when Ninako is trying to command attention and instruct the cheerleaders,(things are really rocky still) and she slips and almost falls off a chair, but Ren is there to catch her. This doesn’t go unnoticed by anyone.

The next day, Ninako is now giving the cheerleading all she’s got, and inspires everyone else. Afterward, she tells her friends she’s not in love with Ren anymore. No one is buying it, but they decide to give her space untill she’s ready to be honest. Her dishonesty gives her a stomach ache, though, so she ends up in the Nurse’s office. While she is there, she gets some advice from Toda, who helps her see she can talk to her friends about what’s going on, even if she can’t tell then EVERYTHING. This prompts her to go find her friends, and tell them how much she loves them, and that there’s something she wants to talk to them about. She’s already feeling better just from that step in the right direction.

It ends with Ren overhearing Toda talking about Ninako in an endearing way, even saying, “she’s cute enough.” This causes Ren to feel panicky.

[Joe Kerr · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story is so, so good. I wish it would never end!

This Mangaka, Io Sakisaka, she has an amazing talent for creating such beautiful, fanciful yet believable, interesting, & bittersweet stories about the folly of youth that we all can relate to. Of course I'm rooting for Ren & Ninako. Who wouldn't? However, I also feel bad for Ando. He's really a nice guy. I hate to see him get his heart broken for a second time, & for the second time, for it to have something to do with Ren. Some guys just can't catch a break. Throughout my storied life, I've been in Ando's spot. Same with Ren's & Ninako's spots, too. Also the spots of Yu & Sayuri. Some more than once. Love is never easy. It truly is fickle. We can't control who we love, & who we don't. No matter how hard we try to change that. Sometimes, it's a blessing. Other times, & more often than not, it's a curse. Well anyway, as much as I dearly want to jump in right now & read the last two volumes, it's late here, & I need to get to bed. I've got serious business tomorrow. I are serious cat. I mean, I need sleep. See you all after next volume!

[Kayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars (mainly because of Toda's words of wisdom)

So I love Toda!!! He is marvelous and talks way too loudly but gives really sound and insightful advice. I adore him immensely.

I hate Mao. She is just plain awful and manipulative.

I really liked how the rejection seen with Ninako and Ando came out, visually. Those pages were drawn so beautifully and the dialogue? Oof. It just made me wish that this show gets an anime series at some point because so many moments would just be absolutely stunning if they were animated. I kinda hate that Ninako took what Mao said and just immediately decided to ignore her feelings. It was in character but so much of everyone's problems stem from the fact that they are barely communicating what they are feeling. But that's to be expected honestly.

Honestly, I had a lot of semi-intellectual thoughts but now, my brain is just head empty because 1. it's 3 am and 2. because any thoughts i manage to have are solely about how much I like Toda. I hope he's a good dude. Him struggling with the bandages was really cute. Also, I think it's endearing how he refers to Ninako as peanut.

[Literatura sin límites · Rating 5 out of 5]

¿Por qué? En serio ¿Por qué tenía que salir con eso?

En este tomo abarca del capitulo 27 al 30. No puedo creer que estoy a dos tomos de terminar este manga.

Detesto, detesto en serio a la ex novia de Ando. Se mete en donde no la llaman, me vale que sus intenciones sean buenas ahora que parece estar arrepentida, no la trago, no me cae bien. Y si sus intenciones son en mal plan, peor tantito.

Lo que le dijo a Ninako solo va a traer más sufrimiento para Ando y Ren, por consiguiente, para mí también. Y no sé si esa actitud que tiene frente Ando es actuación, para auto proteger sus sentimientos o si de verdad es así. Es que esa actitud me irrita más. Si lo hace para fingir ante Ando y no dejar ver su arrepentimiento por cómo él la trata, no me importa, no siento empatía por esa chica… y si es, al contrario, es decir, si así de mala onda es su actitud, no culpo a Ando por estar a la defensiva.

¿Me gustó? Si por que la trama está en su mero clímax, y no porque detesto a la ex. Ni yo misma me entiendo.

¿La recomiendo? Si, la trama lo vale.

[Brenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Debo quedarme de brazos cruzados mientras Ren Kun se enamora de otra persona?"

Ninako es demasiado inocente para su salud. Cada que llega un desconocido y le dice algo, ella termina cediendo y por tanto los conflictos aparecen.

Odio a Mao, es esa clase de chica que todos odiamos sin distinción solo porque su aura te dice que ella es malvada. Y si, efectivamente es una mala persona. Ando, por otro lado, me gusta... Y por eso es que me duele saber que sufre por su amor no correspondido.

[Mika · Rating 3 out of 5]

(01/24/2021)
3.5
This volume started promising, with Ren admitting his feelings to Ando and Ninako also realizing she wants to pursue Ren.

But then Mao is like "Ninako you're a butt if you do anything" Which is incorrect, but. Alas.

So it's an angsty volume with Ninako struggling with her decision to Not Pursue Ren. It's not my jam, but I can't explain why I still like this series so much. XD

[Bery · Rating 3 out of 5]

Se acerca el festival de la escuela y Ninako y Ando son elegidos para ser líderes de grupo. Mientras es la preparación para el festival, la ex-novia de Ando le cuenta todo a Ninako sobre la relación entre Ando y Ren, por lo cual Ninako decide dejas a un lado sus sentimientos por Ren, lo cual termina poniéndola mal y preocupando de más a sus amigas...