I began reading the manga long ago, but for some reason I still don't know, I stopped. Anyway, Aoi Hana is a very special anime: good animation, colors, soundtrack. The storyline is really sensitive and beautiful. I think it shows very much the difficulty we have with our own emotions and also how amazing is the first love thing, even though you get to get distant from the person you fell in love with. It's a mark on our lifes. I recommend it.