After watching a whole ton of action anime with complicated plots, I sometimes like to cool down and watch a calming and emotional slice-of-life anime. Normally I would look to Key to deliver an anime like this, but this time around I decided to look at another anime directed by Tatsuyui Nagai, the director of the very famous emotional anime Anohana: The Flower That We Saw That Day. The deciding factors that made me choose to watch Waiting In The Summer before Anohana are the fact that one of my favorite anime reviewers, Holden, highly recommended it, and it was the anime that interested me the most out of the two. Don’t worry, I’ll watch Anohana eventually, as I have also heard spectacular things about it. Also, for those who would’ve preferred that I use the Japanese title, Ano Natsu De Matteru, my personal preference is to use the official English title of an anime whenever available, and it’s also a lot easier to type Waiting In The Summer than it is Ano Natsu De Matteru. So, did Waiting In The Summer disappoint? Sit back, relax, and read on as I review Waiting In The Summer.
The Setup:
The problem with describing the setup of this anime is that the first scene is pretty much a spoiler. So, this section will not be as detailed as I normally am with a setup, but due to liking to avoid spoilers as much as possible, this section is going to be relatively short. Waiting In The Summer takes place in the Japanese countryside, in a small town. Our main character in this anime is Kaito Kirishima, a freshman in high school who loves using his video camera to film the world around him. With summer fast approaching, he and his friends Kanna, Tetsuro, and Mio decide to make a video together, but with the arrival of the new transfer student Ichika (who also happens to be an alien from another planet; who would’ve guessed?) and joined by Remon, a senior in high school, their summer will be something that none of them will ever forget. Yeah, it sounds extremely corny, but stick with me here.
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| Over the summer, a group of friends decided to get together and create a video, with a chance encounter with an alien of course. |
The Characters:
Primarily being a slice-of-life anime, this anime needs to succeed in the character department more than your average anime because it is the characters and their interactions that carry the story. Well, In The Summer does not disappoint, though to be perfectly honest the best aspects about the characters are how they interact with each other. I was surprised by how realistically they portrayed adolescent love, and how confusing it can be. If I had to choose one word to describe this character cast, it would be human. Every character feels so realistic, and I could tell that talented writers put a lot of effort into this anime to make the characters be like that. So, onto the characters themselves. I am very happy to say that Kaito is not your generic main character, as I was so very afraid that he would turn out to be one. He’s a kind of dorky boy who wears glasses and isn’t very good at expressing his feelings. He loves filming the world around him using his grandfather’s old video camera, and spending time with his friends. While not the most complex character, Kaito is identifiable among a sea of generic main characters, which is a lot more than I can say about the majority of main characters out there. Ichika, the red-haired alien, is a very kind person who doesn’t know how to express her emotions very well either, making her the perfect foil for Kaito. I really liked how we see Ichika adapt to the lifestyle as a human, and being an alien from another planet that didn’t want to see our race get destroyed. It was fascinating to see her develop relationships with the other characters, and while we’re on the subject of relationships, I think the romance between Kaito and Ichika is the best I’ve seen since Clannad, maybe even better. There’s a steady progression and you see the two get to know each other and fall in love. It isn’t a “snap They fell in love!” relationship, of which I hate seeing used over and over again to justify a romantic relationship between two characters that we barely got to know. The creators let Kaito and Ichika’s personalities grow and intertwine, to the point of which you can see why these two would make a fantastic couple. Moving on, next we have Kanna, the debatable tsundereof the group, to which I would argue against. Kanna is probably one of the perfect examples of a more believable tsundere, or one that doesn’t go around beating up the protagonist every time a misunderstanding happens see Naru from Love Hina and Asuna from SAO, though not to the same extent. Kanna is a girl who can get very emotional and allows it to cloud her judgment at times, but for the most part keeps a cheerful and rather upbeat demeanor. She’s actually one of the strongest female characters that I’ve seen in a while, at least emotionally-wise. Not to give anything away, but she had a crush on Kaito, and near the end of the anime she has to go through some emotional torment and learn that sometimes, in order to make those she loves happy, she will have to make some sacrifices. Speaking of which, our next two characters, Tetsuro and Mio, have already learned that lesson. Tetsuro is an outspoken guy who on the outside is rather lax and carefree, but deep down he’s one of the more emotionally tragic characters. He’s had a crush on Kanna since forever (the two were childhood friends), and has made it his goal to get Kanna and Kaito together so that he can see the one he loves be happy, even if he himself has to suffer for it. Mio is a shy and timid girl who has a crush on Tetsuro, but because she wants to see him be happy, she hasn’t admitted her feelings for him yet. I’d also like you to keep in mind that none of this is ever flat-out told to us; it’s all implied through watching the characters interact with dialogue and showing their emotions. That is a feat. However, as complex as this web of emotions is, there is one person who seems to know it all, and that is Remon. I have got to say, I find girls within the same general personality type as Remon’s, which is sly, mischievous, and always looking strangely happy, to be hilarious, and Remon does not disappoint. I guess the most prominent aspect about her is her love for capturing memories of the group of friends through video recording, even if it can sometimes be a bit stalkerish. Also, her laugh is both creepy and hilarious at the same time:
I guess finally there’s Rinon, but I’m not sure if it technically counts as a character because it’s main job is to be adorably clumsy and the show’s mascot, so I guess you can judge whether or not it’s a character.
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| From left to right: Mio, Tetsuro, Kanna, Kaito, Ichika, Remon, Rinon |
The Story:
The story of Waiting In The Summer is generally a character-based one where you watch the various situations that the group go through and see them create their movie, but it’s not always like that. Near the end in about episode 7-8, some science-fiction elements regarding who Ichika really is are mixed in along with an actual story, which if I may admit felt kind of rushed. Not that it was bad or Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works rushed or anything, but they could’ve used maybe one more episode to flesh out all of the science-fiction stuff going on. Characters seemed to be this anime’s strong point, and considering how this is, at its core, a slice-of-life story, I do think that the anime achieved its goal in that regard. Then there’s the ending to talk about. Without spoiling too much, this ending is rather controversial within the fans of this anime. Personally, I liked how this anime ended. I believe that it really highlighted the main theme of this anime and got its point across perfectly, even if it does make you want to cry your freaking eyes out. If you do decide to watch this anime, keep a box of tissues with you while you’re watching the ending. It’s pretty darn heartbreaking.
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| The main story deviates from its original slice-of-life story later on, but for the most part that's exactly what the anime is |
The Animation/Sound:
Produced by J.C. Staff, Waiting In The Summer’s animation is above average. I really loved the landscape shots, the fluid animation, and the unique character designs, but nothing really stood out to me as amazing. I did like how it made me feel like it was really summer, which was rather well done. I guess my only real issue with it was that, especially in the first few episodes, there’s some unnecessary fanservice. Granted, it isn’t horrible and probably won’t turn you away from watching the show, but it’s still rather annoying. As for sound, the OST was nice, calming, and fit the anime really well, but there wasn’t a standout track or anything. The opening of this anime is rather nice, but the real gem in terms of music is the ending song. I almost always skip the ending songs to get to the next episode, but this song is so good that sometimes it would play during the emotional climaxes while the anime was still going and before the ending animation showed up, making it even more memorable.
Finally, should you watch it in Japanese or English? Well, as of this review, Waiting In The Summer has no English dub, and to be perfectly honest I’m kind of glad it doesn’t. I’ve mentioned this before and I’ll say it again, with the exception of a few I am usually not very fond of Sentai Filmwork’s dubs because they always get the same people to play the same roles over and over again, and I’m afraid that Blake Shephard will voice Kaito. I’m sorry, he’s just the most bland voice actor I’ve ever had to listen to! He ruined Tarou in the MM! dub, he ruined Yumeji in the Dream Eater Merry dub, but to be fair he was okay as Otonashi in Angel Beats!. So, Japanese is your only option, but do not be afraid of it, because this Japanese dub is very well acted and is worth listening to.
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| Animation is basically average, but it does contain some beautiful scenery |
Final Judgment:
Overall, I think Waiting In The Summer does its job as an emotional pick-me-up anime perfectly. It’s hilarious, dramatic, has fantastic characters, contains some creative science-fiction elements later on, and it just overall a great show. It’s worthy of Key in my opinion, which is something that I do not say very lightly. I give Waiting In The Summer a 3.5 out of 5, and a recommendation to watch it. But, like always, it shouldn’t be up to me to decide what your opinion is; that’s your job.
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Watch Waiting In The Summer: http://www.hulu.com/waiting-in-the-summer
Further Recommendations:
Anohana: The Flower That We Saw That Day
I may not have seen it, but it seems very similar to Waiting In The Summer in the sense that they’re both emotional anime with well-rounded characters. They also happen to share the same director, so check it out. I’m going to eventually.
Clannad
Since Waiting In The Summer is worthy of Key, might as well recommend a Key anime, right? This anime also features a fantastic romance, likable characters, and will most likely make you feel emotional. Go watch it.
Book review next week! Here’s the hint: Under that sky, I’ll never be seen.
See you then!
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