Tags
Ano Natsu, Ano Natsu de Matteru, Ichika, Kaito, Kanna, Lemon, Mio, nostalgia, Tetsuro, Winter 2012
Reliving the clichéd yet timeless touch of Romeo and Juliet storyline may not be that captivating in the first place. The space girl can’t be together with human boy because they are not of the same species is a somewhat blunt and overused conflict. Even more, the blatant fanservice might be off-putting for some in the beginning. However, regardless of its imperfection, Ano Natsu de Matteru wonderfully captivated its audience by delivering a fun series with the clever used of gag and nostalgic summer youth life.
Nostalgia and adventure are two of human’s most shared experiences, and these are what Ano Natsu presented so well in keeping the series interesting and enjoyable. The natured-rich rural setting, clear blue skies, and lively coloured ambiences welcomed its viewers with a friendly summer atmosphere. Moreso, the characters sensibly showed the excitement of being in-love but more importantly the value of friendship, reminding us the beauty of being adventurous as we enter the grown-up life.
Truly, I enjoyed how this series engage its audience with its drama without any hard-feelings, negativity and deception. However, this is not to say that this anime is boring and lacking intensity because it managed to tailor a knotty love fiasco without printing any mark of hatred but instead appreciation on how balanced the gender tension is and how the characters prudently and realistically handled the situation.
Further, although Kaito and Ichika are the main characters, I’m glad that the show didn’t just revolve around these two. Every character has its own moment and left a special mark. Personally, the supporting leads, particularly Kanna and Lemon, grew more in me than the main leads. Their lessened screen time was more filled with fun and stirring moments compared to the main leads.
But I guess, above all, what I truly love about this show is the affection and sentiments that it brought out especially when you talk about summer and high school life. Ano Natsu de Matteru epitomized the joys of connection, pains of disconnection, and delights of reconnection and poignantly presented these in a pleasingly light-hearted manner. Also, it may not be that obvious at first, but the essence of the camera being a memory storing device is so wonderfully showcased—the summer that was burned in film and what comes after it.
Overall, I would recommend Ano Natsu to anyone who enjoys and seeks a romantic comedy anime. It may not be as impacting as the other the series but by the end of the show it will subtlety and affectionately embed a priceless feel-good-feeling.
Lemmas and Submodalities 
Spot on oneechan! :3
Thanks meimei!
How come I can’t find it in me to enjoy these kinds of romance anime?
Because you’re not romantic at all, dood.
It’s all about taste. For the most part, environment and social life influence what we enjoy.
I thought the main characters were alright, but the show really benefited from using the entire cast to their fullest. It makes you genuinely care about how the romantic plots will turn out from everyone’s perspective, which is not easy with love triangles.
I find the love triangle not fully unleashed. I wish we saw more of Kanna, Tetsuro, and Mio.
What a coincidence, I just posted my own review as well. Your thoughts pretty much sum up mine but in better terms =).
Oh thanks, I thought Ano Natsu isn’t that popular at all. I’m glad to see another Ano Natsu viewer. ^^
I consider Ano Natsu as one of my favorites for the romance genre. I love that every character is realistic enough for the watchers to actually care for them, and that the relationships were handled in a way that there wasn’t too much drama.
Also, despite Kaito and Ichika being the main characters, I somehow found myself more interested in the developments between Tetsurou, Mio and Kanna. Poor Kanna. And Lemon is awesome.
I fully agree. This romcom is one of those anime that you will enjoy because of the simplicity of the plot but with heart-warming plot devices. As you said, the characters are well-crafted making it so easy to like and care for them.
And, I know right, I wish they featured more of Tesuro, Mio and Kanna. And yeah, Lemon is so awesome~ But I guess, it became part of their charm that they weren’t fully embelished–making the audience crave more for them.
It’s been a while since you’ve done a formal review. Glad to see you haven’t gotten rusty. :)
I’ve heard good things about this show, especially about the side characters. With this, I may just have to put it on my watch list for the summer. A feel good romcom may be just the thing I’ll need after finals week.
Nice review. I’m always so impressed at how much you communicate – and how well you communicate it – with as few words as you do.
Thank you. I noticed that I don’t have that much on my review section that’s why I decided to write a review.
Yes, Ano Natsu may not be an excellent show but it’s good and enjoying. And indeed, the side characters are more interesting than the other main leads. So I highly suggest to give this a shot if you wish to watch a romcom. Hope you enjoy it.
I’m always so impressed at how much you communicate
Thanks again, I guess I write like this because I lacked writing stamina, that’s why I try to be as precise with my thoughts as possible. ^^
This show became my favourite 1-cour show from last season and your posts expresses all what I liked of it.
At the start I wasn’t sure if I would like this show and I followed it basically for Lemon-sempai. But after a while I noticed that Kanna is just incredibly cute (as in your picture!) and I found myself longing for the next episode. As you see we like the same characters! It’s so sad that Kanna ends up alone but the only pairing I could approve of was Kanna x Lemon and even this sadly wouldn’t work imo as Kanna has not the natural self-confidence of a Misaka Mikoto and thus wouldn’t be enough of a counterweight to Lemon-sempai’s dominating ways (she has quite some traits of Kuruko, physically as well as personality-wise, no?). I’m glad that Kanna did not end up with Kaito whom I found a bit bland. She wouldn’t become truly happy with Tetsuro, either imo – he’s a good and responsible person but maybe too much of thinker for her.
Besides the characters it is the atmosphere which enchanted me and which you capture so well in your post. Just now, as I read your blog, I notice that it was particularly the warm and lively colors which created this special, enchanting atmosphere. Air will remain my favourite summer anime but AnoNatsu now has a special place in my memories, too.
Yeah, same here. I was only watching it because of Lemon-senpai. But I’m glad that she’s not the only who brought life on this series afterwards. Kanna definitely was a surprised to me. I’m also glad that Kanna just remained single. Well, we don’t really know what happens next because the show is very anitclimatic but in a good way especially when it comes to the side characters (which are the more interesting ones compared to the main leads).
“Air will remain my favourite summer anime but AnoNatsu now has a special place in my memories, too.”
Same here, Ano Natsu has gained place in my heart especially when talking about nostalgic anime.
Ano Natsu is a beautiful anime, and the aspect of the love pentagon (it’s not a triangle.. awesome) is pretty cool. It’s so awesome seeing the characters growing in depth as they struggle within the love pentagon.
Indeed, the love pentagon especially the side characters made this show more entertaining and interesting. But despite having that structure, it’s nice and refreshing to see how the relationships aren’t too tangled.
I really enjoyed Ano Natsu, it brought back memories of the good old days when emotional romantic comedies dominated the anime landscape.
Glad to hear that you enjoyed this series like I do.
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