Natsu no Arashi is 100% guaranteed SHAFT. There, straight to the point – I am sure most of you will be able to draw your conclusion on the show already. Those who dislike SHAFT’s unconventional visual trickery and directing may be excused, because beyond this point there will be nothing in this article that will please you. The rest, carry on reading. So, is Natsu no Arashi good? The answer is about as short as this question itself: Yes, if you like SHAFT. And Kobayashi Jin.
Natsu no Arashi is adapted from a manga illustrated by Kobayashi Jin known for a rather well-known high school romantic comedy School Rumble. I have not read the Arashi manga but I do possess a few volumes of School Rumble and thus can see that SHAFT has been quite faithful in its adaptation as far as graphical aspect is concerned. The retro-ish character art, whether you like it or not, is very well recognizable as Kobayashi’s handicraft while the highly saturated high-contrast background art and general scene layouts have SHAFT written all over them. Opening animations have always been among the studio’s most profilic works and Natsu no Arashi makes no exception with its minimalistic and colorful opening that highlights its spirit as a manga adaptation.
The series is somewhat difficult to classify as of yet, but I would place it somewhere in the vast gray area between slice of life and comedy. It mainly appears to focus on the antics of a cheeky and mischievous young boy Yasaka and an older girl Arashi whom he hangs around with. The two work as waiters at a roadside cafe along with a bunch of other rather colorful personalities. Arashi also possesses an ability to travel through time and take Yasaka with her which seems to be the main plot element. Kaya, another waitress at the cafe, and Jun, a boy of Yasaka’s age, also form a similar time-traveling couple and the first episode revolves around frantic time-skipping by both Kaya and Arashi regarding one of Yasaka’s nasty pranks.
Natsu no Arashi is a series with a strong feeling of having all the time in the world. Its focus is definitely closer to slice of life than comedy and realizing this is quite vital for full enjoyment of the series. For instance, the first episode’s main joke takes pretty much the entire airtime to develop and is not exactly something that will blow your socks off – those looking for mad laughs and/or fast pacing will be disappointed. Natsu no Arashi appears to be a pleasant series of everyday life with a taste of science fiction and mystery much in the way of NieA_7 (in which SHAFT was also involved). All the better for me – a relaxing summer show served with a chilled beer after a long shift at a cardboard mill is just what I needed. The show is also overflowing with good this-is-my-insert here-face-material, see below.
VICTOLY
Justo como había planeado.
No wait…shit