Strobe Edge

I am surprised to see some of the harsh reviews of this manga, because I consider myself a pretty picky shoujo fan and I really adored Strobe Edge. To summarize my main point, I think it bests most of its peers because of its characters' sincerity and the chemistry between the leads.

Story (9):
The storyline is standard shoujo. Cute girl and cool guy develop feelings for each other but have to overcome the difficulties presented by competing love interests. However the core emotion that the story captures is that of first love. While "unrequited love" definitely weighs in heavily, the author's strength lies in communicating Ninako's surprise and happiness as she discovers first love (even in the context of it being unrequited). The story has a much more natural development and pacing than some other shoujo, which is why I give it such a high rating. Minus 1 point for unnecessary crying, an abrupt ending, and a laggy, repetitive internal dialogue leading up to the climax.

Art (5):
Sorry not sorry. It's cute, but if I'm judging it against other shoujo I have to say that the characters lack distinction. Other readers have noticed this, too. Ninako's friend group are all drawn with the same face, but are told apart by their differently styled hair. The two male leads are identical, save for the fact that Ren has dark hair. In fact, he's the only character for the first ~30 chapters with dark hair. Otherwise, he would be lost in this sea of clones. Also, lips. Everyone seems to have had lip injections. Guess it's a style.

Character (8):
Best part! I have criticized other shoujo manga for having weak characterization, unappealing leads, or inexplicable romance, but none of that applies here! The lead characters have well-defined, realistic personalities. People who are not fans will call Ninako ditzy or stupid, but she is more accurately described as clumsy, naive, and endearing. At the beginning of the manga, I found her particularly refreshing. She confronts and owns her emotions early on, winning over the reader with her positivity in the face of rejection. Ren is also likable; he's cool and intelligent without fully succumbing to the "perfect guy" type. He displays his flawed logic throughout the series as he struggles in his relationships with his girlfriend, Ninako, and his former friend Andou. The relationship between Ren and Ninako is possibly the best developed one I have seen in recent shoujo, particularly because it develops out of genuine compatibility (as opposed to the tropes of delinquent/tsundere, hot prince/"plain girl"). Throughout the series, the surrounding company are all struck by the chemistry between Ren and Ninako, and slowly (even reluctantly) begin to root for them.
I've gone on too long about this subject, but I will also say that the supporting cast is well-characterized. They add to the story with their distinct personalities, which is always a mark of good manga.

Missing Shoujo Trademarks (7):
Shoujo is predictable, so I wanted to give a few shout-outs to this manga for omitting the following typical scenes:
1) The whoops-I-fell-in-a-completely-average-situation-and-now-we're-in-a-compromising-position moment
2) The you-had-your-first-kiss?-then-when-will-you-have-sex friend group conversation that is just so unnecessary
3) The I'll-wait-until-you're-ready-but-believe-me-I'M-READY conversation between the formerly promiscuous boyfriend and entirely inexperienced girlfriend
4) The transformation scene where the girl is thrown into a dressing room and emerges as a goddess finally worthy of her handsome, rich boyfriend
5) The unexpected cuddle session when the sick and delirious male lead pulls the unsuspecting female lead onto the bed in the nurse's office/at his home
6) The date to the fair where they ride the ferris wheel to have some serious conversation
7) The date on Christmas or New Year's
8) The date to the aquarium

Strobe Edge, gosh. I seriously love this manga. Its my favorite type of non shoujo ish standard manga. I really love shoujo mangas, and I was asking around if somebody knew a good shoujo manga, and someone recommended it. I'm extremely grateful they did. The story line is what got to me. So the main girl Ninako, doesn't really know what love is, then she meets Ren, she falls in love yada yada yada, same old thing with every freaking shoujo manga, but halt. The author throws in a twist! Ren has a girlfriend already! *zomg* That seriously took me by surprise, since I thought she was going to be all happy lovely dovey like every other shoujo manga. Then there is the other love interest, Andou. Andou is the sweetest character ever, he is a major playboy but he cares deeply about Ninako, he even changes his playboy ways for him.

As for the art, is nothing spectacular for me, I think that the artist did a good job at the guys, I honestly don't care for side characters that are guys, but she made me honestly like all of them with her drawings. Her drawings on girls showed the true feeling of how girls act. That is what stands out for me, although the drawing style isn't that spectacular.

This honestly, is more realistic in the sense of the meaning behind it. (not bashing on Maid-Sama or anything because I actually like it

So i would like to discuss mainly on the theme of this story rather than the story aspect since everyone has already been talking about it.
Story: 7
Overall the flow of the story is really nice with a reasonable amount of events and conflict to impact onto the characters and their growth.
Art:8
The art is really nice with dynamic framing and page turning to create the heart wrenching effect in order to give reader them feels. The way the emotion was show was really well planned and it gives me an insight into the characters themself
Character 9
This is a really strong point in the story that really kept me on edge. Since every character has their own unique strength and flaws so that us reader wouldn't be able to hate any character. So in the end we could just simply read while constantly wondering what would happen. Even when i wanted to, i couldn't bring myself to dislike any rival since they themself has their own indepth conflict motives. Other than the two main, we would also fell inlove with the side characters who's in their own love story and also are growing beside our main 3
Enjoyment 7
Indeed the characters have conflict feeling and action, which would of course have questionable course of ations leaving me frustrated but i couldn't really felt any hatred or any sence of wanting to ditch the manga

Finally the theme (spoiler)







Strobe edge unlike other shoujo manga which tend to stick to the traditional the one true love theme (even Ao haru ride does this 😑), the author really play with the concept of changes in one's feeling. Most evidence in the relationship of Ren and Mayuka. Their relationship started with the promise of never changing but with more and more conection between Ren and Ninako, Ren feelings started to change. Mayuka was actually the first to recognize this. She was scare about it at first but she slowly came to realize she herself is also changing when she doesn't felt as relentful towards her father re marrying as she thought. Both of them are changing and this changes is leading them onto different path. This was the end of their relationship (their relationship actually pulled me out of the true love bubble that not every relationship has a happy ever after) The side characters is also a contribution to this changing theme, both with Daiki falling for Sayuri after being rejected and Sayuri relationship with Yuutarou. Ninako also slowly changing throughout the story, comparing Nina at the start vs the Nina at the end we can clearly see her growing stronger and more strong willed. This changing theme is really what makes Strobe edge shines much brighter than other shoujo mangas. It really bring onto the table a much more mature side of love where we question ourself whether to let someone go or hold onto them in the name of love. Mayuka really is the grown up when she decide to broke up with Ren even though she still loves him very much.

I would recommend this manga only to those people who are new to shoujo world...surely someone new can enjoy more than me....(I've read a lot of love genres)...it was a decent manga with lots of love complex....if you look at it from pros eye...it's pretty clear that school Life was way toooo typical...
So,
Story-6
It was a very simple story with no complicated story twists .from starting to end you know who main girl lead is gonna end up with.
And if someone has read ao haru ride before this manga ...than they can realize the striking similarities in events....events took place on mostly same location as ao haru ride.coming back to story..it was repeating...the same old happening...I didn't felt anything original...but if someone have time to spend they are recommended this

ART-7.. this manga had some great art...I only liked the fact that girl had small height than boy....but if you have hawk eyes then you can see in some pages height of lead girl grows -_-....that's a negative point from my side ...surely someone can't be as frustrated as me to see the close up of each girl looking futaba(ao haru ride lead girl).and nothing to say about the lead boy...since it didn't draws me in..T.T

Character -6...now let's talk about the..the characters....I found nothing special about the main leads ...there was no improvement in lead boy...I still haven't found the reason why they fell in love...but then again you can't say it's first sight since it took 43 chapters to realise their love. Coming back....other characters in the story plays great role in telling side stories...and only character I liked was andou..(lead boy's friend)...his cute side over that playboy personality was able to be seen . ANYWAYS I guess others have came so far to like even the main leads it's just me....so there is no problem with characters.

Enjoyment-5. Ok! I gave it less since ...I have read much better than this...and my temper is less for typicality... (why they main girl lead have to cry so much)...well I did found cute moments until they actually starting to notice each other...so someone can give it a try...and one shouldn't think much over main leads thoughts...since it really ruins the enjoyment(personal experience -_-)

Overall-6...so nothing was worse in it....or much great so it got 6 from My side...if not the story then anyone can enjoy the art ....so if you are new to love genres then give it a shot...

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

Alright, Strobe Edge. I wish they made it into an anime but there is a live action movie that I will watch later. Strobe Edge is about the crazy in so called love Ninako chan. But I mean, she never knew what love is until she experienced stomachaches lol.. What I got the most of this story is kids striving to be mature and act like adults. And also, of course, experiencing your first love.

Story: 8
Just so you know, this is one of those typical love stories and depending on which romance manga's you like, you may not be attracted to this one. It's the same where it's a love triangle and two best friend's love the same girl and blah blah blah. Yes, same typical plot but i enjoyed the story and wanted to know when will everything come together with all the characters. I love the school, slice of life feel. It makes you feel like your really in school and experiencing all the fun, anxiety, good times and triumphs that these characters go through. The story somewhat has it's own originality to it and the fact being that you can't wait to get to the end, especially when you hit those key pages where it made Ninako chan forget to breathe or made her heart thump, you would be going through the same feelings too. It's great that it makes you feel like a kid again. And makes you think of how you felt during your first love experience. You know you were as naive and love sick just like these characters.

Art: 8
Art wasn't too bad. it kinda reminds me of Bokura Ga Ita manga for a second. How big and glossy Ninako chan's eyes are. How Ren kun's face looks like he doesn't care about things and Andou kun with his smiles but heartache behind it. Also, some images have missing or one eye and that's what reminds me of Bokura Ga Ita. But, there's also some action scenes in this manga as well, and I like how the drawings don't confuse you of what you think it's trying to portray. It's clean and able to understand.

Character: 9
This is what makes the manga enjoyable. The character development. Granted, only character I wished was more to it is Ren kun. He was still left mysterious to me, his background. But everyone else are love able, they might make mistakes but they are kids trying to learn from their past. Kids with goals, kids with balls of emotions and learning how to deal with them, and kids that simply wanting to do their best. The great part of this is that they are a few couples that they continually talk about and don't get left behind. Everyone in the group are all friends so when they go through their high school years together, it makes it enjoyable that no one is left behind because everyone's story is great to hear. Character development was on point.

Enjoyment: 8
There are pages in the manga where you might feel bored. But each chapter usually ended pretty well to me. Kept you wanting to know more.

Overall: 8
I give this an 8 because I love the characters so much. Especially Andou kun. He's adorable and I love that he learns how to be the person he's supposed to be too. Out of all, he became the most matured I think. But you can decide that when you read the manga.

This manga is highly recommended to those who have just started their anime life...well to me it was an average manga cause there are a bunch of mangas like this out there.
Story-5
It have same old story.a dumb, clumsy, airhead girl ..nanaiko (main female lead ) have no experience in love starts liking ren kun(main male lead)..the most popular boy in school( yeah so new right...I know!) .and how she will make him like herself.you can find out by reading it.
Art-7
Miss Io (the artist) have a unique art style ..and it is the only thing I found good in this manga . But yeah it's really annoying that when zoomed every girl looks like she have futaba syndrome( futaba is a character from authors more better manga Ao haru ride...)
Character-6
Ah well it's not like there is some uniqueness in any of the leads .it's kinda typical to have female lead right and honest and kind in each event that happens in manga..
We get to know everyone's thought except the main lead that is for ,I think,to make him look mysterious but knowing Andou's thoughts( ren's best friend) make u feel connected more to him.And you start feeling only if he were the main guy . He is more developed in the end than other two.
Enjoyment-6
It will become someone's favorite if it were be someone's first or something.but for me I have read many great manga so I knew I won't be enjoying it this much until and unless it's some masterpiece . My opinion is you read it only if u don't want anything new or as I said in beginning if u are new to this genre .
Overall-6
Well it was a fine manga . If u like it then there is a better manga for you by the author i.e 'Ao haru ride'.that one is more of a masterpiece .but this manga won't make you feel like you wasted time .it's even though it is a bit boring in middle ending chapters make up for it.authour know how to put cute moments. It's worth a read.

Many people recommend this manga so I give it try. And when I start reading I noticed the art is quite similar to ao haru ride. I'm quite confused at first then I search the author of AHR. And I found out that the author of SE and AHR is the same. XD XD I was stupid. Somehow the character development is a bit fast in my opinion. XD but in overall I really like this manga! Give it try! :)

I really love the Art. I already finished it now. I hope there will be an anime adaption like Ao Haru Ride. :)


Art: 10
Story: 9

All hail Sakisaka Io-sensei! Sasuga desu ne~. I gave this manga a 10/10 score simply because it was such a masterpiece.(tears)

Although it exhibits a common plot for shoujo mangas – cute girl falls in love with the coolest guy in school, it was a lot more than I expected. Our heroine here, Ninako, suffers from an unrequited love for Ren who is, unfortunately, committed in a long term relationship with his first love. Being in an unrequited love is such a pain in the ass. You know the feeling when you just want to rush to that someone and then you realize that you just can’t? Or better yet, you know you shouldn’t. That is how Ninako’s everyday life turns into a drama. The other characters too have their own stories to tell.

Although I’m a beginner when it comes to love, after reading this, it feels like I’ve undergone all the heartaches and dokidokis in the world. It depicts that falling in love isn’t just about flowers and butterflies, but it is experiencing pain to appreciate happiness.

Other than the ultra mega i-don’t-know-how-to-describe-how-beautiful-it-is art of Io-sensei, the whole story is heart-warming and you’ll see yourself glued to your computer chair until you finish the whole manga. Warning: This is ADDICTIVE. Happy reading then! Ja ne~

Overall, a pretty interesting ride. I do love the artist since the Blue Ride series. She can make you feel butterflies by reading her stories and Strobe Edge didn't disappoint on that aspect. Sure, there were times where the side stories took over and the main plot just has some pages in the volume. Or, when the story got a bit tiring. But things picked up soon, with the thrill of a confession still there and the interest high till the very end. In addition, the characters were nice and the MC cute and adorable. The love triangle, more over, was really good and you can't help but feel sorry for the remaining one.

Overall, it's more of a 8.5 rather than a 8.

There is nothing extremely unique behind the concept of Strobe Edge. It's about a girl who experiences love for the first time. It sounds very typical, and I guarantee if you're at first hesitant when reading this, you'll be immediately be put off by Niniko. She comes off naive and airheadish. But what makes Niniko unique (along with other characters) is how normal, real and unleading female she ends up being.

All the characters in Strobe Edge are like that. In fact, I think the most complex, developed character isn't even the leading female, Niniko, but the leading male, Ren. He is by far my favorite shoujo male love interest mainly because he is just as flawed and naive as Niniko in a different way. While Niniko is learning the wounds of love, Ren is learning about what love involves and what love even looks like. I believe that's what makes their progression so great. They're both on different levels from the start and as the series goes on, you watch how both grow and learn at a different rate. You're waiting for them to finally be on the same "level" and at times you wonder if it's even possible.

So, besides the characters, what really hooks you is the art and pacing. I love the art personally. The detailed eyes and face. Niniko's design is a bit strange at first (her lips?) but the lines and art work start to settle and smooth. Also the pacing really has you gliding through the chapters. Thirty pages or so really feels like thirty pages, which is always nice.

It's not an incredibly deep story, but Strobe Edge executes what most shoujo has drilled into the ground. It breathes life back into the genre.

A manga very similar to KouKou Debut succeeds to keep me on my toes! From a very picky reader, Strobe Edge literally has driven me to the edge. With its sweet romance scenes, and toe-curling unexpected turns, Strobe Edge ended up feeling like a crazy roller coaster ride. A typical girl, falling for a typical popular boy seems like a typical shoujo manga. But, trust me when I say this, this manga will drive you insane. Strobe Edge is one of the few mangas that will give you that breath of relief. I could not set this manga down. I actually finished this manga from 6pm to 1am, because I was too eager to flip to the next page. A very must see.

To begin, almost every aspect of this manga is incredibly TYPICAL and unoriginal, but there are several other things about this manga that allow me to overlook its typicalness. I just wanted to get that out of the way because if I hadn't said it in the beginning, I would've mentioned the word, "typical" an overly large amount of times throughout this review. By mentioning it beforehand, I hope I'll decrease my chances of saying it too much.

Like I said, the story is very typical; rather, boring. It's very slow paced, in fact, the objective of the story is to finally get the two main protagonists together, which is hard because there's so many different obstacles that the two must overcome. The two don't even get together until the very end, unlike some other stories where the story continues despite them already getting together and more obstacles get in the way of their relationship. Though the overall story is boring, the backstories of some characters kind of spice it up, which, along with the other great features of the manga, allow me to overlook its boringness. Nothing too surprising or irrational happens, except for when Ren (primary male protagonist) by "coincidence," always manages to meet up with Ninako (female protagonist). Anyway, the story obviously isn't the highlight of this manga, so I will now continue on with the rest of my review.

The art fits in with the genre; it doesn't affect my enjoyment of the manga at all. There's a hint of originality in it, which I commend, and although the art is inclined to the shoujo/romantic/beautiful type, it still manages to enhance and match very well with the comical aspect of the manga.

The characters are very TYPICAL of a shoujo manga, I initially even had rolled my eyes at the unoriginality of the characters' personalities. However, as I progressed through the story, I started falling in love with many of the characters, and I was then able to forget their typicalness. The opening scene of the manga introduces Ninako as someone whose very easily swayed by others. The following scenes further enhance this characteristic, showing Ninako as ignorant, childish, and too innocent. These traits went from being vices to assets; Ninako started apppearing really cute and hilarious, and I simply loved watching her. Ren, on the other hand, doesn't have as much character development as the other main characters. He actually stays relatively static throughout the story. The mangaka hardly ever reveals his thoughts so that he would remain mysterious. He's still very calm, cool, and collected--that doesn't really change much at the end. I guess a charasteristic that makes him unique is that he's really innocent and childish, like Ninako. Again, he's very very typical of all the other male protagonists of every other shoujo manga. I'm not saying I don't like it though, I DO like it, but I'd like to see a shoujo manga where it creates a male protagonist that isn't like Ren but still very likeable. As for Andou! (secondary male protagonist), he develops a lot throughout the story. The readers truly get to know him well. At first, I didn't really like him but the mangaka turned my feelings around and even made me root for him sometimes. I still don't get exactly how Andou fell for Ninako though...

The prevailent theme of friendship--mainly the friendship between Ren and Andou--further boosts my overall enjoyment of the manga. The bond between Ren and Andou is really heartwarming at the same it's sad. It's also relatively realistic (I have a thing for realism): Ren treasures his friendship with Andou, but Andou doesn't even realize how much he means to Ren. Despite finding out later, he's still unable to get really close to Ren again like he used to because his friendship with Ren became tainted by his strong desire to blame someone for both his failed love and childishness. The other friendships were kind of heartwarming too, but really groundless and kind of random. I don't know why Ren's other friends care for and understand him that much. I thought it was just Andou who apparently truly understood him. And why doesn't Ren pay much attention to them if they care for him that much? I wish I saw their friendship develop more. I also wish I saw the history of Ninako and her friends' friendship as well as its development.

OVERALL--and oh my god YES, almost f*ckin done, I'm practically writing a freaking essay when it's summer--I loved it! Strobe Edge has a lot of good qualities that make up for its bad ones. I'd say it's one of the top shoujo mangas out there, so it's definitely worth a read.

I've seen some very mixed reviews about this manga, people either highly praising it, or people saying it's overrated, but I personally really enjoyed it. It is kind of predictable, in regards to who she ends up with, but 95% of shows/anime/manga etc. are predictable in that way. I really liked how this manga has a very real outlook on love and how people change.

I liked most of the characters, especially the two leading guys, they're dreamy and made me love and feel sad for them when they were down. The MC was pretty realistic in my opinion, I can relate to Ninako A LOT, I often can't fully understand how I feel about things, and am confused on how to approach certain problems. She was very mature in how she didn't, for even for a second, lead anyone on, and make them think that they had a chance. She was honest with the second lead, and I for one appreciated that.

The story was cute, and felt bittersweet at times. Mostly it's very fluffy, it's a good read if you don't want anything too serious, just something fun. It would have been a bit better in Ninako had other things she cared about instead of Ren, but it's still a nice, enjoyable story

I think the art was really amazing. Some manga I've looked at, the art was so sloppy that I could barely tell where the characters were or what I was supposed to be looking at. This one was pleasing to the eye, and really conveyed the characters feelings.

In conclusion, I really enjoyed this manga. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants a super cute love story, that with fill you with happiness

“It’s painful. Was it the apple I ate this morning?
I wonder if it was a poisoned apple.”

You like him. He’s confused and has a girlfriend, who’s gorgeous and a model. The model girlfriend has a brother who is your best friend and loves you. Oh, what a tangled web we weave. (I’ve been wanting to use that line all week!)

A girl who falls for a mysterious boy. A boy who loves his best friend A school where teachers are borderline extinct. All these things we will see in this manga and a lot of others out there making it pretty unoriginal in summary. Characters that are unpredictable and make their own history will make this manga as original as it can be while still keeping it’s charm as a slice of life.

I wasn’t going to review this one due to the fact that it’s a bit cliché at times but then the heroine did/said something that made me go WOW, not meaning World Of Warcraft but wow, as an exclamation of surprise in my part. The girl didn’t settle or played a guy’s feelings just to forget “the one” she actually liked. For someone who seemed childish and impulsive she acted surprisingly grown up and honest with herself. Making her a really exceptional heroine.

Ninako acts the way she looks, which is carefree and happy, just like a child. Never having been in love, she asks her friends what it feels like and after hearing them. comes up with the conclusion that it feels like a eating food gone wrong. One meeting, one guy, one train and a broken charm later she won’t have to wonder what love feels like anymore.

The story develops rather fast and slow at the same. There’s a moment where a character questions their love by asking how can she like someone she barely even knows anything about. It was at that time I realized this manga was indeed rare in it’s story and yet simple as can be. Love does take time,. Not a lot in some cases, but for it to be true love, it has been my experience that knowing more than their name will be a deciding factor. For me, all bets are off when they smile though, to each their own.
We see the ups and down and the moving on of a relationship and all of it with such delicacy you don’t notice until it’s over (the manga not the relationship). The beautifulness of first love, growing together and changing. Something I tend to forget when I’m submerged in romance shojo manga is that first love, though great and wondrous, it’s not always eternal. We all change and sometimes at a different pace and we end up growing apart.

As a reader there is very few thing that are worse than not knowing the characters you want to understand. Luckily for us, that isn’t the case here making it a really sweet ride.
All information comes thoroughly and systematically for our pleasure. We get to know the characters and judge for ourselves their choices based on their story. As the pages pass not only does the story flow beautifully but we see how the characters we have grown to love, change and grow up.
Ninako is never frustrating or plain. She is sweet, caring and funny and warms her way into the coldest of hearts while still being klutzy and a crier. She surprised me as I mentioned above, she is as Ren calls her, “weird.” She doesn’t do what you’d expect, most of the time I think she even surprises herself (so to speak).

I’d be lying if I said that my favorite character was the protagonist.
Ren is mysterious and good looking and that alone would have made him predictable had the mangaka not given him an edge and a serious and tenacious personality. All that and he was still caring and thoughtful. But Andou was so great of a character I was actually rooting for him more than Ren (sometimes) just because he had “that role” that you know will not end well but you love him so much you hope it changes. His character comes alive and he ends up reminding you of all the other great guys who didn’t get the girl (by the way that is by no means a spoiler just a fact).

The art is nothing overwhelmingly amazing. Ninako looks fragile and petite and it’s emphasized more when she opens her mouth, fitting into her role. Ren reminded me a little of Kimi ni Todoke‘s Kazehaya. It could have been just me though but he is so well drawn and yet there is nothing ostentatious about him. Makes you wonder what you like about him, but I dig the mysterious, so well… There are some awkward times when the characters look too tall/long but nothing to make you cringe away.

This is actually the review of the second time reading it. I remembered a certain scene that stayed with me and was surprised this manga doesn’t get as much hype as it deserves. It’ short and definitely sweet both characters and story. It’s not a perfection personified but it’s pretty beautiful nonetheless.

I read strobe edge after reading a lot of good comments about it and because it was written by the same author as Ao haru ride.

Overall the manga was a decent read but there was only two things that really stood out to me.

Firstly, the soft art which is really a personal preference.

Secondly and more importantly, the second main lead.

Andou-san grows much more than the other two characters. He learns to not play around and falls in love with one girl. He also makes peace with his past and is genuinely are far more intriguing character than the main lead. He becomes wiser by the end of the story and his struggles are very raw and real and relatable.

Although my view of the manga is not the best I would still recommend it to shoujo readers because it is an enjoyable read, just know that there are better ones out there.

This is my first review, so please be easy on me...

Story: 8
At the beginning of the story, you'll find the stereotypical high school love story, where an ordinary girl starts to like the smoking-hot-and-also-ridiculously-popular boy of her school. Well, some people find these kind of stories boring since they look the same, but you know, even though at first sight you can just look at it and think it's jut the typical shojo manga, when you start reading it you realize that isnt the case.
In these kind of stories, where the plot tends to follow some cliches, the quality of the characters and the way the story is told are the key that states the difference between a good romance and a unrealistic romance.

In Strobe Edge, Io Sakisaka tells us a story about growing up and what is the meaning of it, while her characters go through their firsts loves and heartbreaks, a shojo manga where the life of its characters isn't always rainbows and glitter, but also rough situations where the characters are aware of their feelings and what they sould do, but are unable to do it.
The story has the perfect pace, the rythm never falls down and every chapter it's necessary to tell the story the way it should be told. It isn't too rushed and you can clearly see how its characters are developing, as the feelings they go through don't appear from one day to another (something I really hate to find when I read something, since it makes the story look less realistic).

Characters: 9
I believe that what made this romance story so enjoyable was its characters. I'm glad that I didn't end up stressing over the main character for being so pasive and not doing anything but complaint about how miserable her situation is (which happens really often in other shojo mangas). Rather than that, Ninako is, by all means, a cute girl, very kind to others, honest, and a good friend, but she also can be selfish and inmature, what makes her nothing but a human being. Sometimes you'll want to comfort her and other times you'll disagree with her decisions, but in a way that you understand them just because what she was feeling at that moment.

Ren. Oh my god, this guy. First of all, he is a nice guy. I know this may seem obvious, but if you think of all the times we've seen good girls losing themself over bad boys, it doesn't look so obvious. He is just a teenage boy with a nice sense of responsability and loyalty. (SPOILER - STOP READING). Okay, about this, I really liked how of a good boyfriend he was, because to be honest, I don't think the situation with his girlfriend was the best of all, and despite of that, he knew he had to be there for her, because he wanted her to be happy above all things, and then he decided to ignore her growing feelings for Ninako, because it didn't seem alright. (END OF SPOILER)

Andou. Well, you can see him as the guy who is always against the male character because he's in love with the girl, but while reading the manga I realized how complicated his personality was. Even though he knows he shouldn't be angry about something, he is, and he knows it's bad but he can't help but feeling what he feels. He fell in love with the wrong person, and then decided to close down his heart. He's hurt, but hides it with a smile. He has a purpose on the story, and not only does Andou develops throughout it, but makes the other two main characters develop as well. With this, I mean that he's not only the rival, the "bad guy" of the story.

All in all, the characters are profound, and none of them are in the story just because the sake of it. They all have a role in the story, some support the main characters and some others are an active part of the main plot. This characters realize the mistakes they've made in the past or the ones they're about to make, they learn from them, and then they fall down again. That's what being human is. Rather than being perfect characters, they are just good people in difficult situations, where they have to decide between what is right to do and what their heart wants them to do.

Art: 9
What can I say? The design of the characters is just gorgeous. The one thing that I didn't like was that the girls had the exact same face and that the only thing that made them different from each other was their hair. Seriously, sometimes I got really confused because of this, even though I should be used to it by now.

Enjoyment: 10
I personally loved this manga, when I started reading it I just couldn't put it down. I loved all of the characters and it was something that I read with pleasure, because even though it has some drama, it's not the kind of drama that stress you out and makes you want to punch some character right on the face. With this I don't mean that it's boring because nothing bad really happens, I'm just saying that it is a story about some teenagers who could easily be real, and because of that you can relate to it as well.

I just have to say that this manga is one of my all time favorites. The main character of this story is very cute and petite. I'm sure many girls can relate to her situation throughout the story.

The art is amazing. This manga was by one of my favorite authors and she has come a long way since she first started. I love her work.

This manga is very well done. I enjoyed it and couldn't stop reading. It was a great love story.

I don't have much experience in reading or watching shoujo genre manga/anime. All the anime I've watched are the popular ones: Kimi ni Todoke (which I found cute), Lovely Complex (which made me cry), Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun (which I thought was adorable), and Kaichou wa Maid-sama (which makes me laugh so hard). I've only read parts of Hibi Chouchou and read/watched up to episode 19 of Ouran Koukou Host Club. Heck, Fairy Tail doesn't count as shoujo.

So that's why you probably shouldn't take my opinion seriously, but I'll put it here anyway.

Strobe Edge is the most realistic romance manga I have ever read (not that the others weren't realistic, but I found this the most realistic). The characters have their own strengths and flaws, and though the plot can sometimes seem a bit cliche, it's enjoyable and relatable. Ninako's struggle in love is painfully heart-wringing, and I must admit I nearly cried when Ren finally confessed to her. Andou-kun is a loveable character as well, and at times, I felt like he was a better match for Ninako than Ren was (but that was before the ending). The secondary characters add humour and fluff to the main plot, and I especially love the bonus chapter about Gacchan. I was trying so hard not to cry when I read the last page. Overall, even if you don't like romance, I think you would enjoy it.

Strobe Edge is one of the most emotional, heart-wrenching manga I've come across. There are moments that make you want to slap the characters, cry your heart out, or smile so hard your face hurts. I would recommend it to anyone who has time to read it, so please consider doing so!

strobe edge was an overall enjoyable manga to read.

story
the story was told through the main characters, so it went through the characters' perspectives. the story was simplistic. it appealed to me. the story is not really unique as it can quite cliche because its set in high school, there is always the main character falling in love with a handsome guy and there are complications before they get together. the pacing was good, it wasn't too fast and the reactions of the characters and situations went smoothly to the story. the best parts of strobe edge was how the author portrayed the emotions of the characters, how the romance was progressing and how it ended. the ending was satisfying and light.

art
the art was really gorgeous and expressed the emotions of the characters beautifully. i love the eyes and hair of the main characters. this makes the art memorable and commendable. i think the art suits the story. Sometimes the background is very breathtaking. I found the character designs very appealing, especially ren's, his was really beautiful. The designs matched the characters pretty good, ren the closed off handsome guy, but fan girls chase him, so they made him look really handsome with his gorgeous eyes and short hair. while ninako is cheeky, energetic and wild, so they make her look cute with big eyes and nice hair. While ando is the player so they make him look handsome and cheeky looking.

Characters

Ninako- innocent, wild, energetic girl who has yet to experience love. she develops love towards ren. she faces many obstacles, such as ren's girlfriend Mayuka because she knows ren loves her and ando because he is competing against ren for her love, ninako knows that they were best friends and she may be the catalysis to tearing apart their friendship. she later overcomes the obstacles that bound her love for ren. this shows how she is a strong willed character.

Ren- closed off to emotion, ren is a handsome guy who has his girfriend Mayuka whom he deeply loves and dedicates his time with. then ninako comes into his life. he is happy when he is with her and occasionally laughs (which is seen the manga). he soon develops feelings for ninako that he can't explain. he knows that his girfriend is important to him so he buries his feelings of ninako. but he can't stop his feelings and falls in love with ninako. this shows how his emotionless self has been changed to a full emotion person because of ninako.

this will always be one of my favourite mangas. it reminds me of a pure love between highschool students that i wish i could experience. i'm sure others would enjoy this as much as i did, i mean, who wouldn't love this art. i would re-read this in the future, as i have already read this 3 times. everytime i read it again it doesn't diminsh my enjoyment.
it was a really memorable series and enjoyable that i will remember in the future.
I love the plot, art and characters in this manga so i'm giving it a 10/10.