Thank you to NetGalley, VIZ Media, and Io Sakisaka for the opportunity to read Ao Haru Ride in exchange for an honest review.

Also known as Blue Spring Ride, I always felt like this is the work Sakisaka is best known for, and it has been on my list for a while, I just never got around to it. I enjoyed Strobe Edge and recently read the Galleys for Love Me, Love Me Not Volumes 1 and 2, also by Io Sakisaka. I likewise have the anime for Blue Spring Ride, thous it sits on my shelf collecting dust. I just haven't got around to watching it yet, but after reading the manga, this may have just jumped up to the "next" slot on my watch list.

The manga starts off with a short chapter taking place during junior high: Futaba isn't really interested in boys. They are tall, loud, and obnoxious. But not Tanaka. He seems quite the opposite of most boys, and Futaba takes notice. This could be a perfect romance. Tanaka seems to like Futaba, but when he overhears a comment she makes to a male classmate, she may have messed everything up and lost her chance.

Now in high school, where the rest of the series takes place, Futaba still thinks of Tanaka, wondering where he moved to and what might have been if she hadn't said she hated boys. After three years, Futaba runs into a boy at school that must be Tanaka, but he has a different name, and he looks and sounds different. Even though his parents divorced and he has a different name, this boy is still the Tanaka Futaba liked all those years ago, her first love. But things change over the years. Can they ever find a place that resembles the way they once liked each other, or are they just too different now?

This is a fantastic first volume, and I can see why this title is so popular. This is definitely a mang aI will continue reading. There's only 13 volumes...and 6 light novels...Let's go!