When we read stories about adolescence in manga and anime, we usually see idealized bits of how exciting life could or should have been. River's Edge does the opposite and focuses on the harsh and bleak existence of pubescence. The cast is composed of deeply flawed characters who are intertwined in a web of complex relationships. We witness the cruelty of children in growing bodies, trivial gossip, vapid affairs, and the desperate search for love and some identity. This is the modern teenage life. A peculiar friendship is formed among Haruna Wakakusa, Ichiro Yamada, and Kozue Yoshikawa. Wakakusa is a proactive girl who befriends Yamada due tohim being the bullying victim of her boyfriend. Yamada, a handsome quiet boy who is secretly in love with another boy, takes Wakakusa to see something he treasures: the body of a dead person he has found. Strangely enough, this corpse is not only cherished by him, but by Yoshikawa, a beautiful student who has lately become famous due to her acting and modeling gigs. It is impressive how rich and elaborate the characters are. They can be brilliant and right after do something incredibly stupid. They can be gentle and then do something brutal. The characters here are more realistic than what we usually see. They contain both logical and irrational traits at the same time.

While reading I couldn't help but keep asking myself why does Wakakusa keep going out with her boyfriend? She hates his bullying nature, does not seem to enjoy his company, and doesn't seem to find much pleasure in his physical contact. But then I ask myself, how many couples have I known in real life that don't seem to match at all, and they persist in an ephemeral state. The problem is that most of the time we don't know the history of their relationship to understand what kind of bond they truly have. We only have a partial perspective of their connection. We can only guess what is going on in Wakakusa's head. Does she feel lonely due to her parents divorce and needs a boyfriend even if he is someone she doesn't love? Does she not want to be like her parents and doesn't want to let go of this insipid relation in fear that she will end up like her parents? Is keeping him as a boyfriend a way to protect her newfound friend by keeping checks on his bully? Does she feel like having someone to interact physically better than feeling nothing at all? Or is this just a typical teenage misjudgement that after a few years she will look back and question why the hell did she do that?

The art-style is expressive and does seem to fit the raw emotions and the rough existence the characters live in, but it is definitely a bit too simplistic to be appreciated. It seems rather to emphasize more how good the writing is as opposed to the art.

This manga is more for people who don't expect a nostalgic or escapist look towards the modern teenage life. This is a bitter tale of three unusual friends trying to find some meaning in life in own their juvenile ways.