Anime: Natsu-iro no Sunadokei

Not exactly good or bad.

Reading the description for this anime, and examining its illustrative name, I expected some sort of seinen romantic drama. Quite often my guesses turn out wrong, as this one relied too much on its storyline and "bishoujo-game service" to get its point across.

Destined to die, love only begins.

Kotaro ends his year in school determined. He is determined to confess his love for Kaho, one of his classmates. He writes a letter, and is prepared to for the event, when a certain force stops him from getting it to her.
The next time he wakes up, it is fall, and the first day back at school. He soon discovers that Kaho died the day before school began, and that he had fallen in love with her over the entire summer. He suddenly loses consciousness again - and when he wakes up, its during summer vacation again.

Can Kotaro change the threads of fate? After all, what is this mysterious power that is causing his time travel?

Interesting, eh? Though it was two OVA's I was pretty certain nothing would stop it from becoming introspective and philosophical. Well, the moment I got the sense of cute and cuddly, I could easily understand where this OVA was misguided. I strongly feel that the story has a plenty of potential, and could raise deeper questioning than even most of the good animes on the market right now. Therefore, this anime is worth watching to see how the story should develop - but that's relatively all to it.

The ending is nice and cute, too; although it could have used a little more. This is definitely a series that could use an expansion on the plot, along with the drama.

Flat characters.

I must say that though the anime has potential, the biggest contributor to its downfall is the character development. As I mentioned before, the service and cuteness makes such a fragile storyline harmless and weak. I couldn't get Kotaro's reactions at all for most of the OVA, since none of them would fit that of a human being. Some people may like this, as even I do on occasion, but for a story such as this it doesn't work. It can't.

Music, sound - eh.

Kaho's voice actress tried everything she could to make the role interesting, but I strongly feel it was the character the downplayed her in this case. I wouldn't be surprised if any of the other seiyuu attempted to make the best of their parts as well.

The music is cute, but it isn't anything that is really catchy or heartfelt to me, so I didn't bother looking into it either. I would still recommend this for the ears of anyone who like J-pop, though.

Animation: Nice.

While everything else might be bust for me, I still believe that the animation is interesting, colorful, and worth the watch. Nothing gets zany, and nothing is ugly to look at, either. Sometimes, though, Kaho's face looks a little different when she is on the scene. It might be that she almost always is wearing something different when she's on screen (gee, I wonder why...*cough*fanservice*cough*), but its nothing that really robs the animation.

Overall: Otakus only?

I'd say that, nonetheless. It's charming, and it's interesting, but anyone unfamiliar with anime would get the idea that it is just "Japanese stuff," and consider all romantic drama to be just like it. I would say that they are damned fools, but that wouldn't convince anyone but myself and otakus alone either way. Therefore, this is best for people who play h-games, watch romantic comedies, and are looking for a short breaktime OVA to enjoy.

This is a short Anime (OVA to be more exact) consisting of 2 episodes. However the fact that it is of short duration, is backed up by realy good graphical work and some verry good songs.


Animation:
The graphical work on these OVAs got a lot of attention for the detailing of the characters and the landscapes. The artists did a great job on the detailing and when they had to creat a more romantic screen setting, the used some nice aquarel type of effects (well at least i think it is looking like aquarel) combined with some nice light effects. Besides the work on the characters and locations, there was something else in these OVAs that other Animes we lacking: life. Let me explain, the streets and outside locations have more cars and people walking around than some other Animes have to offer. This is also alternated with a sence of calm durring romantic scenes or walks in the parks.
But i also think there was a litte minus in these OVAs concerning the graphical work. I think the artists should have worked a little harder on the humoristic scenes. I think that these are laccking detailing to reprecent the typical Anime/Manga humor. What i mean with thes scenes are: the funny/strange faces, the small circle shape eyes, ... (things like that).
It is just that in my opinion, other Anime (that are morehumoristicaly based) have a better reprecentation on that level. Well let me just say that the ones in this OVAs aren't actualy bas eather :).

Sound:
The opneing and ending songs are realy great. They are of some rare quality and they realy fit well with the setting of these OVAs. But since the episodes themselfs are limited, the asortiment of musical themes heared durring those episodes is kind of limited. Of course the basic romance and casual musical themes are present and just like the opening and ending song these are also good. An other littel down point (in my opinion) are the sound effects. I think that other Anime have worked more in perfectionating these. Well you will have to pay some attention to them to find out that they weren't top chose. Well you wont realy notice it since the other musical themes are realy good at creating a good atmosphere.

Story:
The story is realy shor and easy to understand from the begining of the first episode. This is good since teh viewer wont have to figure out the basic concept to know what the story is all about. It is short (spread over 2 episodes) but it is realy original. The story isn't conplax at all and is good for this short OVA.
Well i'll try explaining the basic thing whitout revealing the interesting parst of these OVAs. The main character has 2 close friends (1 girls and 1 boy). He is also in love with another girl from his school but he doesn't have courrage to confess to her personaly. But when he gets accidentaly in contac with a strage substance, he is able to travel in time (he has no control over his travel: they take him randomly to an ungiven time). These look like dreams to him and he is realy confuced at first, but a misterious person will help him in understanding what is happening to him. During his first travel in time he finds out that the girl he loves has become his girlfriend (in the near futur) but he also finds out that she died in an accident. It is then that he decides to do anything he can to stop that accident from happening. He can do this thanks to his new 'ability'. But he is told that the most direct approuch wont work and that he has to find an other way to save the on he loves.
Well that is basicly it. The story will also offer 1 or 2 unexpected events that will make things a bit more conplicated, but those unexpected events aren't that big of a deal since the basic story line offers a good varaity of divertisament.

Character:
The characters have good but strange pesonalities. When you look at the main chartacter, he thinks he is realy strong and he believes he can take care of anyting because he is in a boxingclub, but when he is with a girl he is real afraid to hurt her fealings and so he look a bit timid.
The main female character is ectreamly embareced and is alwys afraid to do something wrong. This embaracement is further underlined with the voice acting of the character (the voice is realy good and fits the characters personality realy well). Besides those 2 characters, the story will introduse a chearfull blond girl of the same age, a strange female character that will help the main character on his 'quest', a schoolnurse that know almost everything on everything and some other side characters each with there own persistance or strange personality.

Value and Enjoyment:
I liked this serie but i would have liked it more if the story was spread over more episodes (5 or 6 in total). Some elements in teh story or charcter behavior may seem unrealistic, but hey this story features timetraveling so who cares about realism ;). Well just be warned that if you like long stories or realy realistic love stories (whitout timetraveling), you will be disapointed from these OVAs. for the rest of you, you should get a personal opinion on thos OVAs if you don't dislike the genre. Since it is only 2 episodes it shouldnt be realy troublesome to get them and form a personal opinion on them.

Natsuiro no Sunadeki...A very beautiful name (means Sandglass of the Summer Colors), but too bad the anime didn't match up to it. Sadly it's another one of those short 2 episode OAVs with way too much potential missed by its producers. This time it's a game from Princess Soft.

Animation: Like most OAVs, Natsuiro no Sunadeki had a higher animation budget per episode than most 13 or 26 episode series. Stuff happens every scene, and the characters are very detailed. It's a very modern type of artstyle, with many bright colors and thin outlines (like Mizuiro 2003). No Special computer CGs here, but there's enough animation to hook the audience and keep its attention.

Sound: This OAV also had a very catchy OP theme: Drive away Dream. It goes well with the opening animation, and sets up the mood very well. The ending theme is sadly like any other generic J-pop with a still ending. The BGMs and sound in the anime are nicely done, but how bad can you screw sound in a drama-romance anime? Some of the girls' voices sound ultra high, but since I've watched many types of these anime, it's ok.

Story: A very interesting twist on the typical bishoujo game to anime conversion. This anime introduce the concept of "time leaps" that the main male protagonist uses to help protect the ones he love from danger in the future. Kinda like DNA2 but much more serious. Too bad with only 2 episodes they tried to cram a 13 episode plot into a very short 60 minutes. Some parts seemed way too dramatized, and a lot of plot holes went missing. (like what happened with the swimming freshman with the blue hair?) Some parts didn't connect well, and there was barely any character development. However, this anime did have very good drama for its short viewing.

Character: The main male lead in the story, Makimura Koutarou was a very active protagonist. Unless most dating sim to anime conversions, this guy sets goals and actually meets them. He wants to ask the girl out, and he does ask her. Girls don't fall on his lap like most other anime. This was a very refreshing change. Kaho is easily the main female lead, and was given the most screen time. Ligene the time person also was an important character, but wasn't developed as much. Then there's the generic childhood friend and a obligatory gay buddy. Typical dating sim to anime conversion.

Value: Sadly it's only a 2 episode OAV. It it was a full 13 episode or 26 episode series, Natsuiro no Sunadeki could have had the caliber of Kanon or Kimi Ga Nozomu Eien. Too bad Princess Soft had never made a full anime series (cough cough Memories Off 1st and Second).

Enjoymen: Length problems or not, I still enjoyed Natsuiro no Sunadeki. It's unique storyline and high production value made it a nice little drama anime of the year 2004. (and we haven't found a good dating sim to anime conversion yet this year...let's hope To Heart exceeds all expectations)

A nice romance anime with an interesting premise.

Natsuiro no Sunadokei is another anime based on a bishoujo game, so it obviously shows some typical elements for such an anime. But despite of that it still manages to stand out, partly because of the interesting plot idea, partly because of likeable charas and really good music which adds a lot to the feeling and the mood of the anime.

It has nice character designs and backgrounds, the movement is very well done unlike in some other shows (Memories Off). No disturbing CGs, colourful and detailed, though not comparable with some other new animes it still has a good animation.

The music was good as expected. The opening, Drive away Dream, is sung by Mizuki Nana (she's also doing the voice of Kaho in this anime). It's fast and has a tune which lets you hum along. It also shows a big contrast to Kaho's voice. Ending, Hajimete no Natsu, was done by Under17, I really like their music and this song was no exception, unlike their other works this one was rather slow and had a slightly sad tone fitting to the anime, that shows their potential and that they aren't bound to only make fast happy happy go round music. But not only the opening and ending, the background music was good as well. Fitting in every situation and using many different pieces in just two episodes, not to forget the variety of the melodies, that's how it should be. Needless to say, the OST is a must have if you like this style of music.

The seiyuus are doing a good job on this show, especially Mizuki Nana. Known for her roles as Aria (Sister Princess) and Minasuki (Happy Lesson), her diversified repertoire of voices, as already heard in Princess Tutu where she did a great job as Rue's voice, is this time clearly to hear in the opening. Her voice acting for Kaho is really good and fits to Kaho's character.

The characters are a bit similar to other characters in the same genre, that was something to expect. But they still manage to stand out, mainly because the anime focuses on Koutarou and Kaho. Tomo is mostly there for comical purpose there and Mana for story purpose. Though I wished Ligene would have a bit more development. A good thing was that the main chara's friend, Takeshi, played a greater part in the story, that's unusual for such a kind of anime. None of the charas were annoying, neither dissapointing and they all had their share of development.

The story idea was interesting. Though there were some real shows which used it, I don't remember any other anime which used this idea of time slipping, called day dropping in the anime. Thanks to this idea Natsuiro stands out in this genre. It's used well in the first episode and gives a nice background to the anime. The biggest failure, but also the strongest point of this anime is its shortness. With two episodes it didn't drag on and the first episode had a nice pace and development based on the idea with day dropping, still the second episode seemed to be rushed and didn't mention the idea of day dropping a lot. In my opinion, the second episode should have been split to two episodes, one which would be only character development, like the second episode most of the time was, and the other with concentrating more on the idea of day dropping which in my opinion wasn't used to its fullest in the second episode.

I haven't heard anything about the game, this anime was based on, before and of course I haven't heard anything about the anime. When I got the first episode I first let it rot on my hard drive because I thought it wouldn't be anything special but rather mediocre, based on some previews. When I finally decided to watch it I was blown away by the idea and the execution of it. With two episodes it's short and recommended to watch, though it won't be that interesting to rewatch for a second time since it has a closing end and the climax is gone when you watch it the second time.

If you like other animes of this genre (drama/romance) like Kanon, Mizuiro, Refrain Blue, Da Capo and Ajimu, you should get Natsuiro no Sunadokei immediately. If you on the other hand didn't like all of the named animes you should stay away from it, it's not like you will like this genre anyway. ;)