Short Synopsis: This episode shows how Arashi and Hajime met each other.
Episode Rating: 7,5/10 (Enjoyable)
I had trouble choosing between this series and Saki to blog. In the end, I chose not to blog Saki, for two reasons:
– It’s being directed by the director of freakin’ Dragonaut.
– With a concept like that, it’s always going to remain in the shadows of the incredible Shion no Ou.
Natsu no Arashi has wit. It’s cast is a nice mix of children and adults and it’s really something different this time. It’s the first time I’m going to blog one of Shinbo’s series, and I’m glad to see that the guy is finally trying out something new and interesting again, since his past works just failed to impress me. Especially Sayonara Zetsubou-Sensei was just Pani Poni Dash II, no matter how much I liked how it started.
I’m also surprised at how underrated this show has become. I’m finding it pretty enjoyable: it has characters with an identity, albeit some of them can become a bit annoying, I admit. But what I like about this series is how it combines slice of life and comedy with mystery. That’s not a combination you see often, and it works pretty well: on one hand this can create very interesting situations, like how in this episode Sayaka’s talents as a con artist got rid of the muscular guy who kept bugging them. And on the other way, I’m getting really curious right now what’s up with Arashi: why is she a ghost? why are people after her? who is she anyway? Who is this Sogoru-guy? Characterization is usually one of Shinbo’s weakest points, and yet here he proves the complete opposite.
I think that the reason for that is the addition of the director of ef and the guy behind ef’s series composition, who manage to balance out Shinbo’s crazy style. It’s an interesting combination without a doubt. There are no signs that this is going to turn into something overambitious like a tale of melodies, so I’m pretty interested in this series.
And of course, the art direction really rocks.
I agree that I think the show was underrated, but then…I really think the first episode was just plain lackluster; especially if you are familiar with Shinbo Akiyuki’s other works. This episode proved though that “yes, there is a story there” and that the animation wasn’t going to be completely crappy looking like it was for the most part in the first episode. That is to say the Art direction was way better this episode and looked a lot more like a SHAFT series.
– It’s being directed by the director of freakin’ Dragonaut.
‘nuf said. One of the worst shows I’ve ever tried to watch, glad I dropped it fast.
I am sure you noticed the cameos in this episode.
“Characterization is usually one of Shinbo’s weakest points”…
I’m sorry, but I’ll have to respond to that. Actually, it’s not just about SHAFT and Shinbo — you often mention the “creators” of a show but I’ve sometimes gotten the impression you considered the anime staff to be the only ones responsible for a show’s quality, totally ignoring the manga/light novel/game that said show is an adaptation of.
Since you mentioned SZS, I think one can guess even without reading all the manga chapters currently available that there was meant to be no characterization. Sure, the anime became redundant, but so must be the manga with 16 volumes out and still counting.
SHAFT has been known to “take over” the source material in the shows they produce, but even still they can’t make up some character’s past or thoughts without betraying the original work.
So, uh, in other words… All I wanted to say is, please don’t forget that behind (almost) every anime is some kind of source material that the staff needs to respect. All the praise or blame doesn’t go to the anime staff. I’d been wondering for a while of I should say something about this… Sorry if I sounded rude.
Well, surely not watching anime that aren’t as good as Shion no Ou is a losing proposal.
I get what you mean, though. I’m still not sure… I like anything involving mahjong, but there are other things that are so annoying about the anime.
Er. As for the second episode of this, I haven’t watched it yet, so it’s kinda weird for me to be commenting I guess…