Category: Finished Series: Romance

After compiling the preview for the next season, at this point I’m about 90% sure of this: my favorite series of 2012 will be either Uchuu Kyoudai or Natsuyuki Rendezvous. Both series stand far above the other series this year in terms of characterization and acting. This episode of Natsuyuki Rendezvous only reaffirmed this.

It went on even longer with the body takeover: this episode still didn’t resolve it, but instead it was entirely dedicated to Atsuhi coming ot terms with his own death, and Rokka moving on. This episode didn’t pull the soap opera card by hammering on that Rokka was falling in love with him again, but rather it was about how he realized that she had fallen in love with someone else. Something that both of them couldn’t imagine for years.

Even at the end of the episode when Rokka realized the hints of Atsushi, this again wasn’t with a soap opera in mind, but again with the themes of goodbye. I love how the creators used that small potted plant thingy as the way for him to leave Rokka, in order to “correct his own mistakes”. I have no clue what that means, the way in which it symbolizes his character-development was really well done.

What’s more: this series really was made for Noitamina. 11 episodes is the perfect length for this story, and that makes it also very easy to pick up and just watch for those with little time. And really: this series wastes no minute of its airtime: every scene feels like it contributes subtly to the cast.
Rating: 6,5/8 (Amazing)

So, this is the direction the story went with. Taking over the body really turned out to be a huge plot point for this series, rather than a random gimmick. This entire episode was building up to the big twist at the end, after which there still was no sign of Hazuki getting his body back. Instead, Rokka ended up confesing her feelings while his body still was occupied. Now that’s going to be awkward.

This really was a slow episode, especially after the bath scene. I really like that it focused on Rokka sorting out her feelings, and how this episode took its time for that to let everything just play out. It’s likely that she had feelings for Hazuki before the whole body switching went on, but Atsushi definitely contributed to them afterwards. What I’d like to know is: would she also have confessed this way if the switch didn’t happen? How would things have progressed if Hazuki never got into that drunk mood?

What’s also interesting for Atsushi here is the use of the story of Thumbelina, in terms of symbolism I mean. For those who don’t know about the general story (I couldn’t remember either until I read up on it), it’s the story of a tiny girl who escapes all sorts of shady marriages and friendships (symbolized by various animals). She then meets a swallow and heads off to a far away land to meet her tiny flower fairy prince, after which she transforms and receives a pair of wings and a new name. Atsushi actually put Hazuki, right at the moment where she meets that swallow. Despite what he might say or do, he actually supports Rokka moving on. And yet this episode came and complicated things again by using that confession, getting his feelings all jumbled up again. The wait is for what the creators intend to be the “far away land” of the story of thumbelina. That will be the key here.
Rating: 5.5/8 (Excellent)

Last week we left off with Hazuki finally giving off his body to that ghost in a drunk mood. This episode carries that further, and it’s definitely different from usual anime, in which such a possession only lasts a few minutes: at the end of this episode there still was no sign of him being content with leaving Hazuki’s body. In fact, things only seem to have just started yet.

In the meantime we have a wonderfully subtle portrayal of Atsushi in Hazuki’s body. It was emotional, but not melodramatic. It was sad, but not consistently sad: it actually balanced his feelings for finally being able to talk to Rokka again with his attempts of getting used to Hazuki’s new body, getting a better understanding of the guy in the process. I like how he tried to cut his own hair as a way of dealing with his frustrations, but he didn’t exactly end up ruining the guy’s image in front of Rokka. Of course she thinks he’s a horrible drunk right now, but he did nothing that would make her outright hate him, interestingly.

Hazuki meanwhile… didn’t really do anything. His part in this episode was mostly building up as he ran around in this dream world along with ythe younger Rokka, although she did provide a few hints about Atsushi when he was younger. The actual meat of that subplot will probably be revealed next week, although it is surprising to see this series beat around the bush a bit. But that’s something that I also find that this show does really well: it’s really well balanced, on top of its excellent voice-acting, script, music, characters, timing, etc.
Rating: 5.5/8 (Excellent)

This episode really shined in how well it balanced showing what went on in the minds of the characters. For Hazuki it has two ways to show his thoughts: his long inner monologues, and his fast inner quibs in the middle of conversations. Rokka has them too, but the difference is less extreme. In contrast, we didn’t get so see into the mind of Atsushi for most of the episode, though at the end it was perfectly clear what he had been thinking throughout most of the episode.

Most of this episode was about the date in the amusement park. And it felt very awkward, but that was entirely the intention of the creators: Hazuki really wanted to use this opportunity to make his move on Rokka, forcing his way through everything. It’s interesting how the only impression he has of the past amusement park is one photo that in no way showed what was going on in the rest of the trip. At the end, this was suppored to be the catalyst to the big moment at the end of the episode: him giving up his own body in a drunk mood. This depended a lot on the right emotional portrayal of the characters, and really: the creators nailed it.

After this, it’s all going to depend on where the creators take this next. There are a ton of ways they can to after the next episode. It all depends on the meaning that they’ll give of Atsushi’s short meeting with his wife.

Also, I think that right now we’re at a historical junction: 20 years from now, people can somewhat differentiate some of the series from before 2012 and after. From today, the big landmark of Tokyo is the Sky Tree, and not the Tokyo Tower anymore. The next terror that will land upon the city will choose to smash up the Sky Tower, and from now on, the Tokyo Tower will just be seen as its small brother.
Rating: (Excellent)

If it was just the voice acting in this series that was as great as it was, this series would already be amazing. But it’s not just that: the music is brilliant, and in fact got even better in this episode with its combinations of piano and string pieces. And on top of that the expressions are wonderfully drawn in this series: its ability to convey emotions also is completely unrivaled in this season. And the bizarre thing is: this is Dogakobo. What really surprises me is how they suddenly got themselves some awesome producers who could bring together some people who really know what they’re doing. What triggered that? I mean, these are the guys who are behind the many seasons of Koihime Musou. They only did one series once that didn’t involve blatant moe: Ryoko’s Case File, but that was nowhere as well executed as this series is.

I mean, there is also the way in which they got Ryo-Chimo to direct the OP, but what also surprises me is how tightly everything is produced: Kou Matsuou is involved everywhere: he directs, he writes the script, he even directed the ED. On top of that, every episode director so far also personally wrote the storyboard. I know that originally these roles were pulled apart in order to allow for more consistency in the anime production process, so that even with an average staff you could produce a great episode because the workload is divided, but it’s still good to see that the people who have the time and skill to do both at once are still there, because this in my opinion allows for a more creative control over each episode.

What the creators did in this episode brilliantly was show how hopeless Atsushi’s situation is. He’s pretty much forced to watch some random guy start hitting on what he still considers to be his girlfriend, and being sick for his entire life he really became a sympathetic character here after his charades last episodes. And really: Hazuki is one of the most flawed main characters out there, but in a completely different way from usual. This guy is cold and brash, not polite at all. Yet at the same time, he’s very sharp-witted which despite him being an asshole at times, makes him really great to watch. My one nitpick about this episode was that we got to see very little inside the head of Rokka herself. That was what made her so interesting in the first two episodes.
Rating: (Awesome)