Ai Yori Aoshi is about a young women named Sakuraba Aoi and her betrothed partner named Hanabishi Kaoru. They were engaged since they were young(An arrange marriage that would benefit both the Hanabishi and the Sakuraba families), but Hanabishi Kaoru left the Hanabishi due to a traumatic and abusive childhood caused by them. So the story starts with Sakuraba Aoi trying to find her beloved after not seeing Hanabishi for 18 years. In those 18 years she had spent her time training diligently to become a good wife for Hangabishi(cooking, flower arranging, even wearing traditional Kimono everyday). Then one fateful day she meets him in a train station and their story begins.

Story: Ai Yori Aoshi is a romantic comedy that by itself differs from the average harem/ecchi types. The plot is fairly simple. It is 153 chapters, but when you read it, the story flies by fairly quickly. Mainly the chapters deal with the development of the relationships between Sakuraba Aoi and Hanabishi Kaoru as they try to understand each other, and reach true happiness together. Now that just seems like the average romance genre, but here comes the slight twist that makes this a pretty good romance and harem manga. The depth of the side characters makes the manga more interesting and enjoyable. Instead of having those side characters that are just "there" maybe for like a short arc, Ai Yori Aoshi takes it to the next level by making the side characters/love rivals have more depth. Like they first start out with no feelings or unsure feelings for Hanabishi but slowly realizes their feelings for him and start showing signs or attempts to capture his heart. So this is what makes Ai Yori Aoshi a pretty good mix of heart touching romance and comedic harem/ecchi type manga.

Art: The artwork was pretty plain and simple. Which helped reflected the nature of the manga. The scenery are always detailed and looked really good. The characters themselves looked pretty good and simple, not too much of the overly huge eyes you would see in most harem manga/anime.

Character: A strong point of this manga was probably the depth of not only the main characters like Hanabishi and Sakuraba, but also the side characters like Foster Tina and Miyuki Mayu. Not to spoil too much here, but what you will find in Hanabishi is that he is quite different from the average harem male. Whom most of the time is considered a "loser" in their series. In Ai Yori Aoshi, Hanabishi is not a "loser." He is actually quite intelligent, reliable, and caring. You can easily see this in the beginning and constantly throughout the series. Unlike other harem protagonist, where their "good" side is usually seen when it is used to capture a girl's heart. Sakuraba Aoi is also quite different from the average female lead in the sense that she is sure of her undying love for Hanabishi and also her ability to keep cool and self restraint. Where in most female leads in this genre they are unsure of it and when they are in a relationship they become somewhat overprotective. Now the supporting cast themselves are also quite complex. As you slowly learn about their problems and feelings the further you read. The depth of these supporting characters is probably by far one of the best I have ever read. And as mention before, there are multiple chapters that is used to help understand the supporting characters, so the story isn't just entirely focused on the two lovers, but also the people around them.

Enjoyment: This manga was a pretty fast read. Being a fan of harem and romantic comedy genre, I was not disappointed about this series at all. Instead it has raised my standards of the the genre and is a good example of what could happen if the authors of romantic comedy and harem genres tried more to cut down on the ecchi and add more depths in the characters they have created. So I would encourage you to give this series a try and hopefully you would enjoy it as well.

And I would really appreciate if you could give me some feedback if my review was good or bad. Thanks!