Anime Review: Ano Natsu de Matteru

While testing his camera at night, Kaito Kirishima is caught amid a mysterious explosion in his small town. Strangely, Kaito wakes up the next day perfectly fine but with no recollection of what happened the day before.

Unfazed by what appears to be a dream, he heads to school not giving much thought about the incident. Discussing with his friends about the camera, they decide to make a movie during summer break.

Review: If you’re looking for something that is simple, fun and a bit of soap-opera drama, then Ano Natsu De Matteru (Waiting in the Summer) should be your cup of tea.

Waiting in the Summer is a wonderful coming-of-age story that encourages the audience to take on new adventures and challenges and make the most of it. The concept may seem cheesy and lame, but who doesn’t like an anime like that?

Look at Kaito Kirishima. His summer adventure ended up being one of those summers that completely altered his life forever.

What mainly distinguishes Waiting in the Summer from other romcom anime are its non-cliché characters. They’re not your typical good-looking protagonists nor do they have cliché personalities such as tsunderes and angsty males.

They resemble ordinary high school teens (well, most of them). Kaito (the main protagonist) is clearly a dork and the leading female, Ichika, is rather eccentric. We see this with other characters as well – they’re just like you and I who have flaws, insecurities, and going through awkward teen romances.

Whilst most romance anime often have repetitive storylines, Ano Natsu De Matteru boasts scenes (particularly scenes involving Kanna, Tetsuro and Mio) that were raw and mesmerising to watch. And because the anime captures the intimate scenes so honestly, this allows us connect with the characters on a personal level.

Much to my disappointment, the anime had no intention of revealing each character’s identity and their respective traits, especially Ichika. But rather, it has decided (and rather successfully as well) to focus on the actual plot of a group of friends hanging out and the development of their bonds over the summer period.

And despite the screenwriter’s injection of Ichika’s ‘alien’ background as an attempt to make the anime quirky and different, it doesn’t serve much purpose or enhancement to the plot. This letdown is ultimately saved by Remon and her evil schemes as Remon totally stole the show with her twisted personality and cool gadgets. 

Verdict: Because of its simplicity, Ano Natsu De Matteru is a delightful anime to watch. While its beautiful art shows sheer resemblance to Miyazaki’s fantastical style — perhaps one of the anime’s distinctive aspects — nothing screams louder than the intimacy and development amongst the characters.

This anime is one of those anime that requests you to be patient with it, and once you’re done settling in the slow-paced flow of the anime, it should ought to kill time and satisfy your lust for school/romance stories.

Rating: 7.5/10