Natsuiro no Sunadokei Review

story 8/10

As the synopsis suggests, Natsuiro is a clever mix of romance and sci fi, reminding me quite a bit of an episode of Quantum Leap. Please keep in mind that this isn't just another generic dating-sim transition OVA filled with nothing but romance, because it's not. The sci fi aspects definitely were the most interesting to me, with the romance being second (but also very effective for once).

True, there are some elements that will seem generic, such as the typical love triangle going on between childhood friend and unattainable beauty, but all in all I found the plot to be very original for anime. Indeed, I've never seen an anime where it has this plot, though there have been plenty of real life things such as Quantum Leap which have. That doesn't bother me though, because for anime, this was unique as far as I'm concerned. If you like sci fi and want something interesting, this would be a good bet for sure.

animation 8/10

Visually, Natsuiro was beautiful. Dating-sim elements prevailed sometimes, with characters with giant hair and huge eyes. Backgrounds were gorgeous with rich colors at any time of the day. Interesting effects were used when Koutarou would go back and forth through time, though I don't think they were CG. In general, the overall mood of the animation makes you think it's a romance series (which it is, sort of), but in general, it still had elements of a sci fi feel to it. Great animation all around, nice eye candy.

sound 6/10

The audio is the only thing that I felt failed to some extent, because I don't even remember much of it. The music I remembered tended to be synthy tracks that sounded fitting of a romance series, but could have probably been a bit more edgy for the sci fi fans as well. Voice actors were just fine.

characters 7/10

The characters were all developed nicely, but still seemed a bit shallow. Koutarou was a typical (it seems) anime boy who has a huge crush on someone for no reason, and goes out of their way to show their affection that probably shouldn't be there in the first place. But hey, who am I to argue with cultural differences? He still played it off well. Ai, his childhood friend, played her part well as well, and Ligene stole the show with her kickass sarcasm as the time patroller. In general, the characters helped with the twists of the storyline to make it more realistic and believable. The romance between the characters (besides the initial "why do you both care so much") seemed believable and was compelling along with the plot, but that might just be because I thought the sci fi aspects kicked ass and made it better.

overall 7.5/10

Natsuiro ended up being a treat, much more than I would have thought. I expected it to be a generic romance series, but it ended up being something much better, and actally was interesting all the way through. If you are looking for a romance series with sci fi elements, look no further! With great animation to go along with it and interesting characters, you have nothing to lose. Plus, it's only 2 episodes! What are you waiting for?