Recommended
We were young once; wishing that summer would last forever, getting worried over the most trivial matters, falling in love with the wrong people, and thinking we knew everything. And then comes that certain age when we are confronted by the ghosts of our past to remind us that it was that rose-colored youth which shaped who we are today. Caught in the crossroads of growing up, reminiscence is a therapy session we all could use every now and then. So grab the nearest ghost of the past, and jump straight into two seasons of Natsu no Arashi’s unconventional ride of history-redefining proportions. STORY - 6 HajimeYasaka, spunky 13-year-old, moves in with his grandfather in the countryside and experiences a summer he will never forget. Taking place as a distant memory from Hajime’s youth he meets the most unlikely bunch who changed his life. Along with a tomboyish model, World War II ghosts, a ripped detective, and a foxy con artist, they run a vintage cafe with occasional time traveling during their free time. Combine that with the growing man’s search for love and we have ourselves a supernatural, slice-of-life, historical, coming-of-age romcom about a 13-year-old’s journey through time and self. As intriguing and loaded the premise is, the main hook of the series lies in its puzzling time travel mechanic.
Instead of the usual objective of do-overs and clairvoyance, Natsu no Arashi bypasses the time travel paradox by treating the very act of time travel as part of the natural timeline. Time travel here is not an intervention but a phenomenon that triggers inevitable events we took for granted. Simply put, destiny factored in time traveling, making for some interesting retrospective story progression.
Whether it’s for playing a prank, disposing spoiled food, saving air raid victims or uncovering past secrets, time travel is an entertaining constant in Natsu no Arashi.
But how does the plot actually fare? The first season was an origins story for the people Hajime encounters while the second attempted to develop character relationships. Though the first had more impact and direction due to the second being too distracted by gags, both suffer the same problem of lacking plot movement. It could’ve used more episodes since some of the development seemed erratic. But for how everything's been presented, the gaps and irregular flow gives it the feel of a scrapbook. You get a peek of the fun and memorable bits adding to the show’s episodic nature, in exchange for some plot investment. This doesn’t mean Natsu no Arashi fails to grip its viewers. It has its share of powerful moments to the effect of historical dramas, unrequited love, and themes of fleeting youth. At its most relaxed, it plays around with time travel and the cafe setting; often employing slapstick to reference and trope humor. The School Rumble cameos for Jin Kobayashi writing both mangas were also an awesome touch.
Bottom line is, while Natsu no Arashi can flaunt a fun and creative premise with unpredictable execution, it falls short with aimless pacing and sluggish plot development come the second season.
ART - 9
Shaft? I’m in. That being said, I expected the usual sleek designs, exaggerated movements, barrages of text, and random color filters spilled on every scene. Upon finishing the first season, I had one question in mind. “What year was this made?”
2009.
From the slightly dated color palette and wishy-washy ambient lighting down to the clunky character designs bearing yesterday’s eye style, I could’ve sworn I was watching a show from the early 2000’s. To put things into perspective, Natsu no Arashi was aired in the same year as Bakemonogatari. I guess we know where most of the animation budget went. Second season was up just four months after the first, with more refined production values as shown by increased clarity and smoother movements. Despite that, it still stuck to the classic feel of the first. Setting technicalities aside, did Shaft just deliberately retrograde their own show? Even for them, that’s reaching a whole new level of creativity.
That doesn’t mean Natsu no Arashi lacks any visual highlights.
Animation is deceivingly smooth. Further aided by Shaft’s frequent scene cuts, this produces the illusion of a continuous flow of actions which gives the impression of something always happening on-screen.
Character designs are also a plus; pronounced in gender, personality and social class. General appearances are bold and brash for men while slender and meticulous for women. Personality is captured by each character’s unique face while the eyes have it for social standing. Take Arashi’s and Kaya’s features vs. Kanako’s and Yayoi’s features for instance. As a whole, Arashi and Kaya, being the elites, have more elegant designs with vivid eyes. Arashi, having the more cheery and liberal disposition, has the livelier face of the two. Kaya, her polar opposite, sports blue reserved eyes, and delicate white skin and hair; suggesting a more conservative and ladylike attitude. On the other hand, Kanako and Yayoi of the working class have more basic features with duller eyes. Kanako’s freckles and braids with small eyes resembles her uptight and unrefined nature while Yayoi’s wide, pupilless eyes and hair let down make her come off as loyal yet frail.
And of course, don’t forget all the other details that have Shaft written all over it: artstyle shifts, random camera angles. DIY live-action takes, cryptic segments about summaries of popular manga, a surprising amount of belly button shots for the lack of head tilts, and even accentuated magazine-cover poses with awkward dancing mid-conversation.
Though watered down than their other more dynamic works, Natsu no Arashi still stylistically succeeds. It’s amazing how the art perfectly blends with the historical atmosphere to visualize what the good old days felt like. Technical resourcefulness and proper theming had me giving near-perfect marks for the art; overall quality being the only hindrance to a 10.
SOUND - 9
Natsu no Arashi’s art isn’t the only thing that decided to backtrack.
For one thing, the BGM is divided into the cafe jukebox tracks and the instrumentals. Actual tracks were used as ambient music in the cafe which mostly consist of yesterday’s hits of pop and rock. The jukebox plays a different song almost every episode in the background, it’s ridiculous. As for the instrumentals, occasional action scenes get the upbeat, brass- and synth-filled sentai showdown songs. Meanwhile, touching moments are graced with serene tracks of gentle piano, evocative strings, hushed chimes, and solemn woodwinds.
Don’t even get me started on the openings and endings that just scream retro. For the first opening, what seems like the cheesiest opening ever with the groovy vocals and brass melody comes out as an ingenious shout-out to 70’s Japanese cover girls and album sleeves. Live-action time lapse shots of walkways against old-fashioned espionage-esque pop music with suave guitars and showtune horns make up the first ending. The second season starts with black and white storyboard-themed fanservice shown along catwalk-worthy synthpop. And lastly, the second ending uses chiptune and 8-bit art against trippy live-action takes.
Voices are also surprisingly good for a low-key anime adaptation. Hajime goes all-out as a hot-blooded roughneck with the shounen heart. Jun’s pre-pubescent voice still enters androgynous territory with her seldom squeals sounding absolutely adorable. The detective gets all the gruff while the con artist attempts seductive but comes out as mischievous control freak. Arashi bears the girl-next-door voice contrary to Kaya’s pure and well-mannered shrinking violet while Kanako gets a sharp tongue with Yayoi pulling off the innocent ditz very well. All of them have their key moments and man, do they deliver; especially Arashi, Kaya, Jun, and Hajime.
Even in this department, Natsu no Arashi doesn’t fall short in style and subtle quality. Very good seiyuu performances and the most fitting soundtrack selection seal the deal for the hidden genius at work here.
CHARACTERS - 6
Let me just say it right now. Character development is stunted and interactions get formulaic. The redeeming factors are their striking personalities and the clash of ideals resulting from the generation gap between the characters. We have the youngsters (Hajime and Jun), the old-fashioned adolescents (Arashi, Kaya, Kanako and Yayoi), and the modern adults (the detective and the con artist).
Hajime is the little rascal. Part-skeptic and all-bro, the dude’s the epitome of the uncouth hero who fights his own battles and saves the weak and downtrodden; all while keeping his eyes out for the ladies. Carefree genki girl, Arashi, is noble but more outgoing than Hajime. Kaya nails her role as the traditional damsel who would perish the thought of showing skin and wasting true love’s kiss. Kanako lives by the sweat of her own brow; representing the bitter working class who envy all the privileged few. And Yayoi remains the vulnerable sweetheart.
The budding romance centered on Hajime, the historical immersion from subtle hints in characters and setting, and the “what ifs” that never happened with the ghosts’ lives are definitely the show’s high points. The ghosts have it rough; saving bombing victims who would never predict their demise, making sense of the social divide and strict policies during the ongoing war, and going back in time only to constantly replay a love confession that will never happen. Natsu no Arashi gets pretty serious and it’s compelling moments like these that make the best out of the distinct characters; enough to pardon the amount of faffing they do most of the time.
ENJOYMENT - 7
The story felt inadequate, relationships were unresolved, the characters could have done so much more and the WWII setting was just asking for more explanations. But for what it is, I have no regrets watching it. Comedy can get stale. The drama creeps up on you. And the romance is a fresh take between modern and traditional views. The weak development was never really the reason to get into this show.
Natsu no Arashi is a humble effort at making a love letter to the past by conveying how much we’re still connected to it. It’s a nostalgia trip that stands as a testament to the zeitgeist of the 70’s; clever on all fronts of production but a casual watch at best that hits home on seldom occasions. It proves that the past was once real. And that we’re fools for living like it never happened.
So love the past. It’s the only illusion we know that existed. Because by the time we forget, we start growing up.
“No matter how special it is, unrealistic experiences like this are going to be overwhelmed by real ones later. And you’ll stop believing in them.” - Arashiyama Sayoko
OVERALL - 7
