Ao Haru Ride Pt. 1 (with Shojo Beat Senior Editor Nancy Thistlethwaite)

Covers volumes 1–7 of AO HARU RIDE (aka Blue Spring Ride) by Io Sakisaka. AO HARU RIDE is the story of sweethearts Futaba and Kou after they were separated in middle school and reunited in high school. On this special episode, Nancy Thistlethwaite (the editor of the series for Viz Media's Shojo Beat!) delves into the enduring appeal of Io Sakisaka's work, how AO HARU RIDE pays homage to WE WERE THERE by Yuki Obata, and explains the use of some unexpected slang. This is also the first time the podcast has covered a series that is currently still publishing in English.