Ano Natsu de Matteru – The unforgettable summer

Ano Natsu de Matteru was a series that I had looked forward to since hearing about it, being a romantic comedy, a genre which I am quite fond of. Seeing the people involved, including those behind the Onegai Franchise (writer Kuroda Yousuke, producer Ogura Mitsutoshi), along with the director of AnoHana and Toradora (Nagai Tatsuyuki) gave the impression that this would be a brilliant romance that was worth watching. Of course, as other anime with strong teams behind them have demonstrated (Guilty Crown), this did not mean that it was going to be perfect. Of course, that was not the case, and Ano Natsu de Matteru exceeded my expectations, producing a story that was beautiful to watch, full of emotional depth, great characters and a well-written story.

Ano Natsu de Matteru 12 – Agents Lemon and Rinon at Your Service

Loads of Screenshots this week – I tried to reduce the number, but there were too many.

My god, talk about an emotional overload in this weeks Ano Natsu de Matteru – there were so many changes of direction and pace that it was impossible to work out how things would end. Ano Natsu de Matteru has always been a show with brilliant storytelling, along with great characters that are willing to sacrifice themselves to make sure others are happy. Seeing all those twists and turns in the story was almost too much – as soon as you thought you know what was going to happen – whether it be a beautiful ending, separation, or something in between – something else would happen to send the plot at right-angles are off into the unknown once again.

Ano Natsu de Matteru 11 – Lemon and her awesome driving skills

Ano Natsu de Matteru has been a series which focused on friendship and the broader relationships between characters – no matter how painful things got, how often their feelings overlapped, this group of friends have managed to stay together. That is the major draw, and easily the best thing about this show, showing that, no matter who you love, and who they love, there is always the possibility to still be great friends, knowing that you have done your best. It was great last week seeing how this groups friendship kept them together, no matter how much they were hurt, and more importantly, every single character in this series is likable. There are no characters that just come across as selfish, stuck up, or just plain annoying – they all have their moments of immaturity, as befits a group of high school kids, and yet there is a level of maturity which many other romance anime lack. But, it is also a series that never goes overboard with the drama, even when one character says something very important to the story, there are little elements of humor that help to keep the plot dramatic, without being melodramatic.

Ano Natsu de Matteru 10 – Realization and True Friendship

Ano Natsu de Matteru has quickly become one of my all-time favourite romance and general anime series, with its brilliant mix of romance, drama, comedy, and a smattering of action. It is a show that places significant emphasis on the relationships individual characters, and how they relate to the group as a whole, it is also one that does not fall into the classic trap of many romance series and get melodramatic.

Ano Natsu de Matteru 09 – Heartbreak and a Lakeside Confession

Romance in anime can be quite tiresome at times, with what often appears to be an endless sea of misunderstandings and drama that stretch the story and the potential relationship out as far as it can go. But, as with all relationships, be they romantic or otherwise, misunderstandings happen, they are part of everyday life, Ano Natsu de Matteru is no exception to this, and there are plenty of misunderstandings, however, rather than resolving the situation and getting back to life as normal, with no change, we see Kaito and Ichika grow far closer as a result of each others misunderstandings and misconceptions. This is one of the elements of the story that has been so successful, rather than have a seemingly endless chain of misunderstandings and unfortunate circumstances we instead see these characters grow ever closer with each passing week, which resulted this week in one of the sweetest moments I’ve seen in anime in a while.

Ano Natsu de Matteru 08 – The Truth, Summer Festivals and Emotional Turmoil

Last week we saw Ichika giving her mutual consent to Kaito, thus acknowledging not only his feelings, but her own, which means that are now officially a couple – albeit one that hasn’t quite gone public yet.

Ano Natsu de Matteru 07 – Mio’s Secret, Cosplaying Kanna, and True Feelings

This weeks Ano Natsu de Matteru treated us to the beautiful spectacle of not one, but two confessions that changed the dynamics of the group considerably.

Ano Natsu de Matteru 05 – Rain To Wash Away The Tears

If the first four episodes of Ano Natsu de Matteru were the build up, introducing the characters, their relationships and feelings, then this episode marked the proper start of the emotional battle that is this series.

Ano Natsu de Matteru 04 – Confessions, Misunderstandings, and Ichika’s wrath

The first three episodes of Ano Natsu de Matteru largely dealt with the group dynamics within the series, focussing on the relationships within this group of friends and how they are subtly changing with the arrival of the beautiful Ichika. This week however dealt with the relationship between Kaito and Ichika in far greater depth than any of the previous episodes, and gave us some indication as to what might happen as the story unfolds.

Ano Natsu de Matteru 03 – Kaito, Ichika and Rinon’s cup ramen

I love how Ichika's realisation is framed within a film lens.

Ano Natsu is quickly becoming a firm favourite for this season, managing to blend romance and comedy into a brilliant mix of errors, unsaid feelings and emotional turmoil, coupled with witty dialogue and excellent characters.