Print Review: Ai Yori Aoshi volumes 1-4

Review Ai Yori Aoshi volumes 1-4Written by WarpshadowRating good/ very good

There are plenty of people who don't like shonen styled romantic stories but if you do Ai Yori Aoshi is a worthwhile purchase.

Kaoru Hababishi was living a life of boredom and loneliness until one day he met a woman wearing a kimono. The woman's name is Aoi and she is searching for her childhood love, trying to find out the reason he broke off their engagement. That childhood love is as it turns out to be Kaoru who left the Hanabishi clan to escape the abuse he received there. Aoi's feelings have not changed when she met him and she vows to stay with Kaoru no matter what.

Ai Yori Aoshi has been often refered to as a fan service manga but the truth is that there is more to it. While there is enough nudity and the like to make this manga unpalatable to some but there is enough emotional weight to interest those who like fan service but want something more to go with it. The relationship between the two main characters is different than that of most manga as it deals with two people that love each other and know of the other's feelings. The manga is very similar to the anime (at least the first four volumes are) with the main differences being some shuffling of story order and the inclusion of some bits too naughty for television broadcast.