Strobe Edge

I'm about to finish reading this manga, so I thought I'd write a short review to let people know how overrated this manga is. Basically this manga tells the story of a very clumsy girl who falls in love with a guy who already has a girlfriend. Instead of trying to steal the guy away or just repressing her feelings, she decides to treasure the love she feels for him. So, yeah a pretty average plot. Regarding the characters, the male lead is someone you can relate to since he is someone who is constantly struggling to be honest with her girlfriend, while feeling attracted to Ninako(the female lead). What I really dislike about this manga is Ninako, she gets really annoying throughout the story, especially because she is the typical shojo girl with a really "kind" heart that compels her to cry for every little detail. I think that there is no chapter in which you can't see her shed some tears. What I mean is that if you like crybabies this is your manga. This manga is far away from being a master piece. I don't even know why I bothered to read the whole thing. Well I do know, I kept on reading because of the supporting characters which have a really interesting back-story.

It is not because i am an odious or ridiculous girl It's just that the story seemed like a total crap The protagonist is a complete idiot and stupid, I had not seen such a repugnant character in my life I Hate the female protagonist from start to finish I also detested the male protagonist too because he was a pathetic boy and he was unfriendly and disgusting, totally disgusting I only liked the girl named Maya, the development of her character was the best in all of history That's why I didn't like the story at all Because it was a complete shit from start to finish

Ao Haru Ride is becoming pretty big but the story sounded like any typical shoujo so I was reluctant to start it. Yet at the same time, I wanted to give the author a chance to pull me into her storytelling, so I started with her completed work Strobe Edge. How should I describe this manga? …Meh. Story: 7 There are plenty of clichés to point out, but ultimately, Strobe Edge covers what it feels like to fall in love and the heartache you’re bound to feel when it happens.Art: 7 It’s shoujo, but the eyes are especially big in this one. Other than that, everything’s decent. Character: 6 I’m not going to say something stupid like I couldn’t connect with them because to me, characters don’t need to be relatable in order for me to like them. However, the characters in this manga are likeable. The protagonists aren’t annoying and the side characters have their reasons for doing whatever they’re doing. But in all honesty, everybody was sort of bland. I didn’t really fall in love with any of them and neither did I cheer them on. Considering the fact that most shoujos have annoying heroines and “I’m too cool and cocky for you” love interests, these characters were more chill, so I give them a 6. Enjoyment: 6 Okay, so far, it may sound like I didn’t really enjoy the manga. That’s…sort of true? I guess? Look, this isn’t a bad manga. By no means is it a bad manga! It’s decent! Believe me, it is! But this is MY review of Strobe Edge, and ultimately, what I feel about it. So here’s MY issue with this manga: It’s the emotions. When I read this manga, I felt like the author was trying too hard. That may sound harsh, but that’s what I felt when I read it. The emotions just felt stiff. When something sad happened, I felt as if the author was nudging you with her elbow and saying, “And THIS is what you’re supposed to feel! Do you feel it? It hurts, right? Right? Do you feel that? It’s the heartache. Right?” Ummm……….riiiigghhht……. The appropriate thing to say is “show, don’t tell,” which is really ironic since this is a manga. I guess one of the issues is the constant internal dialogue. The characters repeat their feelings over and over again internally that it becomes annoying. And the author has her characters—especially the main character—say every single detail they're feeling about their love-life (internally of course). To some, that may not be an issue, but to me, it’s as if the author’s treating me like a fool. It’s as if she’s assuming I won’t be able to understand the emotions she’s so heavily trying to draw out of her characters and their situations unless she literally draws them out for me to read. But the thing is that the author’s milked the emotions so much that now I have no use for them. I get it, their actions bring up consequences and those consequences affect their emotions that they don’t know what to do with. I get it! Do you really have to repeat the process over and over again, as if I didn’t get it the first few times with the first few characters? Overall: 6 Strobe Edge is on the border between bad and good for me, leaning more towards good, but unfortunately, not there. Now, will you enjoy this manga? If you enjoy shoujo tropes, then it’s VERY likely you will. Did I enjoy it? Not really, but I do acknowledge that it’s definitely a decent manga. There are deeper emotions to experience besides girl falls in love with boy, boy already has a girlfriend, yada, yada, yada, other teenage angst. I actually went and reread the manga to see if my feelings about it had changed over the few months that passed since I finished it. I couldn’t handle it and skipped some (many) chapters, but I still shrugged most of the time and pursed my lips as the author spelled out every emotion possible. (Maybe this is why many people enjoyed it. Everything’s spelled out in front of you so you’re not confused as to what’s going on. But that just wastes time in my opinion. If this were a novel, I’d say there were too many unnecessary details). As you can see, my view of Strobe Edge remains unchanged from then ‘til now. Again, if you’re into shoujo, give it a chance. You’ll most likely enjoy it. If you’re not into shoujo, the choice is up to you. A warning though: Strobe Edge is 10 volumes long, so you’ll be using up a good amount of time to finish it as a whole.

Another gem of a shoujo manga and that is Strobe Edge. Sakisaka-sensei did something so enlightening here. Something that explains why some works while others don't. Again, typical story - girl meets boy, fell in love first, confession and rejection. Or maybe not typical as it seems to be. Strobe Edge have much more to offer and things to ponder. Admittedly, the characters were not the reason I was drawn to it. Protagonist Kinoshita Ninako is not a strong character to be begin with. Innocent and bubbly. Easy to get along with and a good friend. She fell in love with the silent Ichinose Ren, a popularboy in their school when they happen to rode the same train going home, at least it started there. There's Daiki, best friend of Ninako who confessed to her and rejected at once and being confessed to by another friend of Ninako, Uehara Sayuri. While the boy in question has a girlfriend Mayuka who happened to be Daiki's onee-chan! To make things more complicated, Ren's best friend Andou Takumi fell in love with Ninako. It's tangled! Teehee. xD Basically, it's a love war. Clashing of emotions, holding on to a promise, unspoken feelings, accepting changes, letting go and starting anew. That's where you'll find Strobe Edge's strength. The story is so compelling because it's so real I can feel the agony of working so hard and yet in the end you have no choice but to accept the fact that there are things that will change no matter how you try to stay the same. It's inevitable. This is actually the first time I couldn't wholeheartedly support the main couple. Probably because it meant accepting that there are feelings that really do fade in time. It must be fate but who knows. Although one thing I really do like about Strobe Edge is that in the end they have no regrets because they gave it all. Each have done their part. Good job. I cried, I laughed, I fell in love, got hurt and fall in love again. It's almost magical. Oh, love. xD Lesson? It's good while it lasts. Have the courage to move forward. Embrace change and fall in love because it will be worth it.