After waiting for way too long, I finally watched the much-lauded Summertime Render. I’d heard nothing but good things about this series, so I knew I’d have to check it out. Did it live up to the hype or did it fall flat?
For all the people who were tricked by the click bait title, let me just say: yeah, it was good. I apologize, but the title rhymed so well that I had to go with it… Anyway, it was definitely a series worth watching, but I will say there was a few things I wasn’t a fan of. Let’s jump into it.
The Good
The series opens up in a very suspenseful way. The Shadows are a mysterious enemy, that keep you on edge. It feels like anyone could be an enemy. When I look for creepy anime, this tense feeling is what really does it for me.
The unknown is often the scariest thing. When things seem mysteriously off, especially against an enemy that seems as omnipotent as the Shadows here, it gives you the best creepy vibe. No lie, early episodes would have had me put this on my Halloween anime list.
The plot itself is great too. I won’t delve into it, as it’d spoil a lot, but it’s super interesting. I don’t know where I’d rank it, but it’s definitely one of the more unique stories I’ve seen in a while.
The characters are fantastic. Shinpei is an excellent lead character, reminding me a lot of Subaru from Re:Zero. Someone who has their flaws, but is a good, courageous person. Even knowing you’ll reset, it would take a lot of determination to experience painful deaths over and over.
Ushio is fun, and brings much comic relief to the series. Not only that, she’s also a badass, making up much of the team’s fighting power. Her sister Mio is so cute. For much of it, she’s just the victim, but she finds her own determination by the end of the series.
The rest of the cast was good too. Hizuru, and her brother I guess, stood out here also. No one wields a sledgehammer like that, you know?
The art, animation, soundtrack, and voice acting were all very good as well. Just solid quality across the board.
The Not-So-Good
Sounds like a lot of praise, and it is. Like I said at the start, it’s a really good series. I just had a few things that rubbed me the wrong way. I guess my personal preferences getting in the way, but hey, it’s my post and my thoughts. Haha.
For starters, the suspenseful vibe of the series wore off toward the end. It went from a series with some horror vibes, to basically an action series. It’s not surprising, since it’s hard to maintain that level of mystery while still telling a complete tale. It’s just unfortunate.
The conclusion also frustrated me. Everyone said how satisfying it was, but that’s not my feeling on it. We’re basically given vague conclusions and everything that happened is relegated to a distant dream. I hate when time travel series take that route. Sure, it makes sense, but it sucks when the heroes’ efforts are basically forgotten and lost forever.
As a personal gripe, I get the whole Ushio and Shinpei thing, and it’s deserved. But, I can’t help but feel bad for Mio. She’s the classic imouto-type character who is stuck with an unrequited love. Why does this trope always seem to show up???
Conclusion
Overall, it was definitely a good series. If you haven’t watched it, I’d definitely say to check it out. That being said, it wasn’t what I expected it to be.
It wasn’t quite as spooky as I had expected, especially given the first half of the series. I guess that was my fault for misreading the series. Also, the ending prevents me from giving it full points.
To reiterate, though, Summertime Render is a really good anime. It had an interesting story and great characters, and technically ended happily (again, few things that could have been better in my opinion). I’d definitely recommend the series.
Okay, that’s all I got for thoughts on this one. Catch you in the next post.