(SPOILERS) Aoi House In Love! Vol. 2 final book Discussions

Post by **Adam_Arnold** » Thu May 22, 2008 8:06 pm

Aoi House In Love! Vol. 1 "Happy Endings." Discussion Thread

With the final book of Aoi House hitting bookstores June '08, this thread is for discussions relating to the print edition of the final volume of the series and the pages and events that have not appeared online yet.

If you do not wish to have the final book spoiled for you, then please do not read further down this page!

Neoridgeback · Post by **Neoridgeback** » Thu Jun 05, 2008 12:05 pm

lol Bond, Echi-Bond

Post by **Adam_Arnold** » Tue Jun 10, 2008 10:43 pm

Thanks for the review, NeoCrow. And no, you weren't harsh at all. I've seen comments from people on both sides of the fence about Episode 14's "flash forward + clip show"-style ending, so I always knew it was going to be something that readers were either going to love or hate. The swift pace of the chapter is completely intentional, though. I wanted there to be this feeling that it was over all too soon and that the reader would've loved to have seen all those events happen. So knowing that it made you feel that way makes me know that I succeeded in bringing that feeling across. ^_^

StrateryB · Post by **StrateryB** » Wed Jun 11, 2008 1:37 am

The final volume of Aoi House was very disappointing.

Not to be harsh, but I found every bit of it to be predictable. At first it was fun and interesting but afterwards I couldn't stand how obviously everything was laid out. Of course we all knew that it would be Morgan and Alex but the fact that there were no curveballs to even spring a bit of doubt made me disappointed. I also didn't like the fact that it shows the future of where they were, I think it would have ended better with them still in college, I mean, it was way too hard for me to imagine Alex and Morgan having kids(again, that's just me..)

Of course, I like Aoi House as an OEL manga but overall after that ending not very much. As NeoCrow said, Aoi House would have been better if it were 6 volumes instead of 4.

Anyway, congrats on completing your very first manga, I hope you do better next time :thumbup:

Forester · Post by **Forester** » Wed Jun 11, 2008 9:21 am

I enjoyed this volume. Very interesting way of finalizing the story. I thought Elle and Alex would be a good couple, and mostly amusing as well, Then again I also figured Sandy and Jess would be great together, lol.

The way they ended up was for the best.

Oh, and Elle kicked ass... Where'd she learn all that?!

kratos auron · Post by **kratos auron** » Wed Jun 11, 2008 7:58 pm

I loved this ending.

The Silent Hill references were a little hard to follow compared to the rest of the series, but if you paid enough attention it was still a good story arc.

I will agree that the ending did seem a bit rushed. However, I couldn't really think of a better way to end it. The last chapter of the actual story, was amazingly touching. You had to read it slowly to get the full effect, but it was amazing. tbh, I don't think another volume would have been a good idea. All of the characters had basically gotten past whatever emotional hurdles they had, and everyone already knew everything about the webshow and Aoi House. Sure there seemed to be some nice story arcs in the last chapter, but it would have seemed bland I think. There wasn't much left to learn of the characters.

Now the epilogue was nice. It didn't NEED to be there, but I'm glad that it was. It tied up any loose ends that anyone could have thought of, and finalized the series in a nice way.
Oh, and @ StrateryB, It was not always obvious. There were quite a few hints that Elle might lean back towards Alex. And, Elle did not end up with Mason at the end like everyone thought. (Which in all honesty made me kinda sad. I know I hated Elle x Alex, but I still thought Elle should have had someone special.)

Now, as I'm sure everyone is aware, I absolutely LOVED how Alex x Morgan turned out. The ferris wheel was a little rushed, and could have been done a little better, but not much. Absolutely loved it.
And the Epilogue Alex x Morgan scene was just amazing. Morgan matured nicely, even though you can tell she still has her silly side to her. And they seem like the perfect couple to raise their kids (Which were incredibly cute btw.)

And for a closing statement, I would seriously like to thank Adam and Shiei for such an amazing story. I don't know about anyone else, but when I read a story, I seriously get attached to the characters. And Aoi House delivered with one of the greatest casts I've ever seen, amazingly well written plot and story by Adam, and amazing art work by Shiei.

Even though I loved the ending, I'm sad to see it end at the same time. It was a great series, and I hope the best for both Adam and Shiei. I will always be a fan of you guys. Keep me in touch if you ever do anything new, send a PM or something. (I have that e-mail alert thing turned on ^^) One final thank you, and best wishes for both of you.

quarteni · Post by **quarteni** » Wed Jun 11, 2008 9:03 pm

I can finally talk about the book! I've been holding back since May 6th! I didn't dare talk about it because I was was having a hard time trying to figure out what to say without giving it away! >.< That and my computer is in need of a hard re-inlstall of it's OS. *relaunches Finder again* =_=;;

Now to get serious.

The last installment may have seemed rushed, but considering the reasons behind it I believe that the book flowed rather well. In all honesty I couldn't see the story going further with the plot than what was done with the four installments (Sorry Mr. Adam Arnold >_<;;). Yeah, the segments in the flash back chapter could have been a whole other volume (or two), BUT would it have done well continuing? Already the "buzz" in the forum had died down compared to just last year (in my opinion) and if the fan's interest continued the way it was going Aoi House would have just fizzled out and that's a fate I wouldn't want to see. I'd rather see it end on it's own accord rather than losing fan interest. Another thing to keep in mind is how many times have you watched or read a long running series and found yourself getting bored with "filler" plots? I personally think Aoi House, if it continued for too long, would have gotten redundant (Sorry again. ^_^;;). That's why I'm glad to see it end the way it did/does.

The "flash back" chapter I'm sure threw most people for a loop. You're kind of launched right into the flash back, but if you take your time reading it and look at how Adam Arnold ended the series as a whole - it really finishes by giving the readers the last little bits of information they'd probably want to see regarding the main characters before saying good-bye. In the "Giving Clousre" section in the final books Aoi Notes Adam Arnold wrote, "I wanted to give everyone a definite ending. Closure." Which is what chapter 14 and the "Where Are They Now" epilogue did.

True; the Silent Hill arc seemed out of place (Aoi House had very little fantasy throughout except for the alternate spin-off shorts like "Fruit Cake Fantasy" and "EchiBond"), but I felt it was still the random fan-filled fun trip that I read Aoi House for. I read Aoi House more for the characters and comedy rather than the plot moving from point A to point B logically. It's a fun story.

There are a lot of fun things in the final book that I feel, as a fan, make this book well worth it. As soon as I get the chance I'm buying it (can't yet 'cause I've already done my book ordering for the next two months and then some - like Aoi House Vol. 1, Aoi House vol. 2, and various other titles ~_^ ).

Honestly... I too am sad to see it end, but it's better this way. The story was written well and of course the art was wonderful. I'm really very happy finally add Aoi House to my shelf of favorite manga.

EDIT: I probably should have written something like this when you asked me what I thought... ~,~ ...yeah....for some reason i didn't think of that...

Now back to silly fan girl mode...

[Processing....Processing...Processin-]

*snickers* "Attack of the 50-foot Mousy Schoolgirl" It's bound to be the next big thing. A real blockbuster... XP

Neoridgeback · Post by **Neoridgeback** » Thu Jun 12, 2008 2:37 am

crap i still need to pick up mine from borders, wasnt there last week, but i did manage to get my hands on AAL omni bus and aoi house omni bus

Post by **Adam_Arnold** » Mon Jun 16, 2008 7:25 pm

Wait a tic. Wasn't everyone a year ahead of Alex and Sandy. How did they all graduate the same year? It was established before they got to college?

There a couple of explainations for this scene that I came up with to explain this, but they're not really important. It just makes for a more powerful final scene to have the video end with them all throwing their hats together.

The where are they now I think shouldn't have been there. I like when it's left to the imagination. Since it was I have to ask? What's the timeline here? I can't be that long after Aoi House if Aoi House 2 is shooting.

Some of the events happen at different points in time.

As for the epilogue itself, the "where are they now" section is the one things that I always planned to include from the start. Some of my favorite movies and TV shows have them (not to mention Harry Potter), so I wanted Aoi House to carry on the tradition. It's also common for reality TV shows to have follow-up specials and/or reunion shows.

Steven Kunz · Post by **Steven Kunz** » Sun Jun 22, 2008 7:05 pm

So I got Aoi House in Love #2 and I was really anxious to see what was gonna happen, especially since the manga online was only about 1/4 of the way through.....and I was really wondering how it was going to end up, since it was quite random at this point. When I picked up the book and finished it, my fanboy senses were at an all-time high since Alex and Morgan were now together (obviously) and had kids...something that I never see with my own favorite pairings, which was a real treat.

When I sat down and re-read the book again to get a good idea of how to describe it, I have to say the first thing would be "fast."

The Silent Hill Arc was quite random and out of place for the current setting of the story, which had maintained a very loose realism with the world today, and I was honestly iffy on it being in the story altogether since it did not fit as much as I liked...however, I do have to say that I was entertained by this arc with what happened and how it ended, and this is a comedy manga, so it also fits in a funny way. Personally, I would have substituted it for something maybe not so wild and crazy, but that is just my opinion on it.

The Flashback/Final Chapter did move VERY fast in my opinion since you had to cover the rest of their years together in a small amount of pages, but it also kept me entertained because we were still getting a glimpse of their lives and watching them develop (Alex x Morgan FTW!). I liked how the flashback played out and with everyone graduating and moving itno the real world, leaving room for the new Aoi House to come in. I personally think some moments should have been elaborated for at least one mroe volume, but the oen thing that Adam did right, as Quarteni said, was to give the series closure and to make us wanting more, so in that regard, you succeeded very well. QUoting QUarteni, I ahve noticed that the buzz for AH has started to die down compared to last year, and if we had kept the series going, while I would've loved to see more, it could have become stagnant and too long compared to other harem comedies that just kept going (Ai Yori Aoshi, I've only read the first volume, and I prefer to keep it that way)

The Echibond Story, I felt, is what I think Aoi House is, that wild crazy, but funny story that makes you smile and laugh, and I felt it encompasses AH's personality and spirit very well, and that Epilogue, I just also liked how all the characters ended up, especially Alex and Morgan, but probably just as much (And maybe more), Jessica. I did kinda see Jessica as a fanservice character for a while, and to see her as a nurse, I just enjoyed how more mature she did look, especialyl when she was just standing content on her 2nd page as a nurse, that I really did enjoy...and with the final shot of the story being the new Aoi House in that group shot, it just makes me want to see a new group and their adventures.

All in all, it was a very entertaining and fun book. While the pacing was quite fast and the Silent Hill arc felt out of place, it kept me very entertained and made me want to read it again and again, and I have to agree with Quarteni, it's not so much the plot that kept me, but it was the characters that we all grew and love over the years. I am sad to see it go, and I do wish I could see more Aoi House with our beloved characters....but that's what doujinshi artists and fan artists are for now. XD

In any case, I am sad to see the characters go, but I am happy with how ti ended and I am also happy it ended on a high note and I'm happy it ended with the characters now grown up and adults...this book is really well-done guys, and I thank you very much for making this series.