Chasing After Aoi Koshiba follows Narita, a high school it-girl that is desperate to keep her popularity, who (kinda) falls in love with the school tomboy Aoi Koshiba. Its setup is a flashback format, following their high school reunion and the dramas of their friendship/relationship in high school. The pacing in this manga is by far its downfall. For a drama, it is constantly setting up mysteries and plot twists (character backstories, hidden love interests), that are in theory significant plot points, but end up becoming washed out versions of their ideas that don't get any depth and aren't continued to have importance in the story.I believe that this is the type of story that's meant to stretch out across a long period of time, to really sink in their changing feelings. But it isn't. It drags.

This also makes all the characters seem incredibly over-dramatic for what's happening. In fact, all of the characters are unfortunately always teetering the line of genuinely unlikable. Several of the "main" characters are purposely made out to be bad people, with no redeeming or fun qualities. You're not made to feel like you really /get/ any of them, including if not especially the main character.

Speaking of the main character...I have a bone to pick with her. I think overconfident or ditzy main characters can be especially fun, and humbleness is not a trait needed to make an mc likable. But....her struggle with her sexuality is frustratingly confusing. It tries to be a coming-of-age, battle with "do I want to be with her or be her", story line. It is rather another result of feelings that could've been done well if stretched out across various developments, but instead are back-to-back plot decisions that make the characters superficial.

The best part about this manga is by far the art, which has a separate artist (Fly, who designed the Syrup covers) from its writing. It is what gives the drama any substance, and the characters likability.

The ending is very bad. A story doesn't have to give the readers what they want, but with this, it is sudden, misleading, does not correspond with the rest of the plot, and would not make any reader in any world happy. That is why I do not recommend reading this.