Ao Haru Ride #7

Volume 7 of Io Sakisaka's beloved shojo series fills its cover with an achingly close portrait of a school-uniformed young woman, her long brown hair swept by the wind as her wide, glistening eyes gaze upward with an almost unbearable mix of longing and vulnerability. The watercolor washes of warm gold, green, and red blooming behind her give the image a dreamlike, emotional intensity that perfectly suits the series' tagline: *"The scent of air after rain… In the light around us, I felt your heartbeat."* If you've been following this tender, heartfelt romance, 2019's seventh volume promises more of the quiet emotional honesty that makes *Ao Haru Ride* so genuinely moving.