Blue Spring Ride

A 16-year-old high school student named Futaba Yoshioka tries to blend in with her female friends by being "unfeminine" because she has a history of being shunned by her female classmates out of jealously. She believes her life is boring as a result. She eventually meets up with Kou Tanaka, her first love who had left for Nagasaki while they were in middle school. Kou, who now goes by the last name "Mabuchi," has transformed into someone very different from the Kou she once knew. Futaba decides to make a difference for herself when the new school year begins and offers to serve as the class representative. Kou, along with her classmates Yuri Makita, Shuko Murao, and Aya Kominato, join her and create a close friendship with one another. When Futaba finds out that Kou's mother had passed away after he moved away, she falls in love with him once more as she supports him in grieving. But just as Kou is about to let go of the past, Yui Narumi, a friend from Nagasaki, relocates to his village. Kou remains with her to support her through the passing of her father. Futaba resolves to move on after realizing she cannot change Kou. Kou finds that his bond with Yui is holding him back and making it difficult for him to accept positive developments in his life when she starts dating Toma Kikuchi. After permanently removing himself, he starts actively chasing Futaba. Futaba and Toma agree to split up peacefully as a result of her unresolved love for him. Futaba consents to see Kou around Christmas in the same location where they had previously agreed to meet until his transfer, but their meeting is cut short when Kou is involved in a minor accident. Futaba and Kou confess their love for one another to one another at the hospital. At the end of the series, the two and their friends move on with their lives, forging new bonds and embracing internal transformations. Futaba feels that something exciting has finally begun for her as Kou decides to take back his last name, which was originally Tanaka.