Dropped: Ao Haru Ride

My problem with most high school romances is that I just can’t bring myself to give two fucks. Does anyone actually believe that these characters are going to keep dating long after high school? Does anyone actually think they’ll get married, have kids, and live happily ever after? Well, there probably are people who think that. And in real life, there are a few lucky high school romances that work out.

But they’re a minority, and it’s pretty obvious why. Because it’s high school. You have no idea what kind of person you’re going to become at that age, nor do you have any idea what kind of person your partner’s going to become. Then there’s the simple fact that most high schoolers don’t have the maturity to know what they want in a partner, nor do they have the maturity to properly handle a relationship.

So given all that, it’s quite a challenge to get me to care about a romance between two high school students. But Ao Haru Ride had a way to do that. It was about more than just a romance. It was about Futaba learning that fitting in wasn’t everything. It was about Kou dealing with his fracturing family. That a romance was occurring was a mere coincidence. It was just a vehicle to show the progress of these internal struggles.

And Ao Haru Ride just didn’t want to keep doing it.

Futaba overcame her character flaw before episode three started, which should have been fine. People have more than one flaw. Just introduce another one, and make the conflict center around that. The show didn’t do that. Three episodes later, and she’s just a perfect Mary Sue. Similarly, Kou’s familial conflicts got little screen time.

So what did the show focus on? My faaaaaavorite thing in high school romances: a fucking love triangle.

Problem one: Yuuri fell for Kou because he helped her walk across some rocks. And I guess he’s really hawt or something.

Problem two: Fuck you, Ao Haru Ride. I don’t care about these ‘who’s he gonna get together with’ plots. I don’t care about Futaba realizing her feelings for that guy she’s gonna date for four months and then break up with. I just can’t bring myself to give two fucks.