(L) Mahou Tsukai ni Taisetsu na Koto ~Natsu no Sora~

[Kaoru Chujo]

Originally Posted by usagijen

I think I'm one of the few people in the otakudom who loves Mahou Tsukai ni Taisetsu na Koto ~Natsu no Sora~ more than Natsume Yuujinchou....

As one of the others who prefer this show, I wonder why I feel that way. The continuing story is part of it, I guess. But like you, I just find that this show affects me emotionally more than that one.

I can really identify with Sora, for some reason, and with most of the other characters. I find Natsume kind of impenetrable, emotionally. That being said, I did like ep7 of Natsume, which I just watched. But still, it doesn't feel as deep to me.

And the visual, dramatic, and musical art of this show is just outstanding. Natsume is nice, but this is special. I do find that I like all of Kobayashi's works, or at least all that I have seen: this, Beck, and Paradise Kiss -- in that order.

[usagijen]

Originally Posted by Kaoru Chujo

As one of the others who prefer this show, I wonder why I feel that way. The continuing story is part of it, I guess. But like you, I just find that this show affects me emotionally more than that one.

I can really identify with Sora, for some reason, and with most of the other characters. I find Natsume kind of impenetrable, emotionally. That being said, I did like ep7 of Natsume, which I just watched. But still, it doesn't feel as deep to me.

And the visual, dramatic, and musical art of this show is just outstanding. Natsume is nice, but this is special. I do find that I like all of Kobayashi's works, or at least all that I have seen: this, Beck, and Paradise Kiss -- in that order.

I have the same sentiments about Natsume Yuujinchou... even though I found every episode a pleasant watch, and moves me to tears often too, I find my tears to be somewhat... shallow x__x; Like I'm not-really-compelled-to-write-about-it kind. Natsu no Sora makes me sink deeper in my thoughts, and allows me to reflect on my own life. That's what makes it WIN for me.

And... this will be really random, but I just watched episode 9 and managed to write a somewhat nonsensical random fangirl babbling about it, with some thoughts on episode 10 too. I like how the romance in this show is being developed, and all I'm hoping for is for this series to end with a happy note.

[serenade_beta]

HAAAHHH??!!!! Oi, oi, oi, oi, oi, oi, oi...

Spoiler for final episode and thoughts:

What. Is. This?

We get to around the 8 minute mark fine, with typical Natsu no Sora-type stuff...
THEN, Sora suddenly dies and we get a 5 YEAR LATER!
I was just gaping over this... I mean, this episode just flew after the 8-minute mark... One moment she's dead, the next moment we skip 5 years and are shown the characters' after five years.
Hiyori and Gouta end up alone... Though the tsundere couple seems to be doing fine...
Just wonderful how Gouta spent the last 4-5 minutes talking to a tree. Yes, yes, it is some sort of symbolization or has meaning, but it doesn't change how weird that was...

And to top it off, the art (especially the face) was felt pretty unstable, getting kind of scary at times...


Final score... 7/10

Minus 1 for
-Occasionally going from peaceful to simply boring
-The art getting really weird at times
-The last episode, which just was...

It was a good peaceful anime to watch (excluding the last episode), I guess. The OP and ED were enjoyable. The story was pretty decent... For the most part.

[Beo]

My thought

Spoiler for 12:

Why do they need to have this type of ending? Shoot the writer.

[cynicalicious]

It's a nice series except for...

Spoiler for Episodes 11 & 12:

It was a really nice series through episode 10, but 11 and 12 were kind of... abrupt to put it mildly. Especially with the writers going with random anime trope #4, "When you can't think of a good ending, kill the most likable character off!"

Hacks.

They were doing a good job, too, up to that point. Soooo tired of "mysterious illnesses." Why not just run her over with a bus? At least it's more realistic that way, and not as lame as the "mysterious illness." Ye gods, but I hate that trope. Give her a real illness-- hell, give her cancer, give her male pattern baldness, but give her *something* realistic that we can actually relate to as an audience.

I wouldn't have been so frustrated with the ending if it didn't feel so forced and tacked on. I must have missed the subtle clues, because the last two episodes just came out of nowhere... and I had no idea she'd "join the choir invisible" right after that spell in episode 12. Huh?!?

I suppose we can now discern why Japan has so many elderly, and so few young people-- hack writers are killing them off before they even hit 18. :P

...other than that, it's a nice series once you get past the sloppy animation and freaky-looking backgrounds.

[Kaoru Chujo]

For me, this was clearly the best series of the summer, and one of the best two or three of the year. The way they ended it was outstanding.

Spoiler for eps10-12:

The complete originality of the ending should please people who like to complain about cliches. Not an anime cliche in sight. Eps 10-12 were totally unexpected but completely consistent with what went before.

I went back and looked at episode one: Sora knew then what was going on. Just brilliant. At that time, we were all panicking about the animation and backgrounds and didn't have the wit to pay closer attention to the plot and personalities.

Sure, I felt the last arc came upon us abruptly. And I felt that Gouta didn't show enough actual pain and sadness before he came to terms with things. I think they could have used a 13th episode, and maybe a more intense actor for Gouta. But that "five minutes talking to a tree" was one of the best parts of the show.

This show rises to a spiritual realm, a place that anime seldom go.

The emotions that the last episode gives rise to elevate this show to a higher level. If I ranked shows, I would give this one at least a 9/10. It started good and got better and better. I think I'm now going to regard Kobayashi Osamu as an anime god.

And of course, I disagree completely with the complaints about the animation. It's not KyoAni detail, but it works brilliantly, for me. The complaints about the backgrounds were totally misplaced, in my opinion, too. This show competes with ef for best backgrounds of the year. If we all agreed about everything, the world would be so boring, lol.

[Hazard]

The animation was fine, the story was ok, and the final episode/ending could have been done better. Overall it was better than the original but its diffinatly one of those forgettable animes.

[Seravy]

Originally Posted by Kaoru Chujo

Spoiler:

Sure, I felt the last arc came upon us abruptly. And I felt that Gouta didn't show enough actual pain and sadness before he came to terms with things. I think they could have used a 13th episode, and maybe a more intense actor for Gouta. But that "five minutes talking to a tree" was one of the best parts of the show.

This show rises to a spiritual realm, a place that anime seldom go.

completely agree++

[blewin]

Spoiler for Ep 12:

My tears were flowing when Gouta visited the tree. Though the anime didn't show Gouta mourning and crying for Sora, I suppose his visiting was his way of mourning. The Gouta who has travelled the world and kept Sora's stone with him is a vastly changed Gouta. Much more mature, grown up and stronger in fortitude.

The height of the emotion is probably one of regret. Regret that Sora didn't get to experience more and grow together with Gouta. Regret that Sora's mother and Gouta didn't get to form the relationship they ought to have. But the show faces this regret in a positive light.

What I'm surprised about is how they spent more than half of the show on what happened after Sora's death. The episode feels somewhat short... and as many have already said, rushed.

awww, no more Natsu no Sora... and to all who have seen ep 12, you know what.

Definitely one of the best slice of life shows out there. Watching ep 12 today, it reminds me of Macross Frontier in how both shows feature many songs within episodes, but songs in Natsu no Sora resonate more in a deeper level. Much more meaningful!

[kilroy0097]

Ok so I'm way behind the curve. Only up to Episode 9 is fansubbed.

Spoiler for The cool moments Ep.09:

I was happy that something actually happened here. I haven't read the manga but I was hoping that Gota and Sora would at least date or something. Seemed like the thing to do.



Poor Yamabuki. Nice girl but didn't act fast enough I guess. Wanna go for ice cream? Yes! Thada girl. Drown those blues in some soft serve.



Ooooo. Gota the mac daddy puts the moves on with a kiss.



Um so yeah obviously this is going to be some kind of misunderstanding that will be explained in the future but admittedly this scene does makes you go... huh? And that they are both breathing hard and wet well... instead of running in the rain or something Gota obviously saw it as something completely different. Things that make you go hmmmm.



Now poor Gota is depressed. Even sitting at the bar where Sora's instructor/guide hangs out. I hope things work out quickly. He needs his confidence to do his magic. Being unhappy is going to suck that right out of him.

I liked both Ep. 8 and 9. Looking forward to the rest of them being fansubbed.
Awesome show for sure!

[Ashlotte]

Well it was nice that their was no silly confession scene they just sorta...Came together...But after such a nice episode did they really have to use that timeless old cliche of misunderstanding to create drama...

Especially between two people that their obviously wouldn't be anything like he's imagining happening...Is this as far as your trust goes Gota?...meh.

[SuperKnuckles]

Can you say RUSH JOB?

I mean, I liked the melancholic aspects of the show and the drama. Other than that, the still images were nice because it was 99% real life to begin with.

Other than that, a lot of the extreme deus ex aspects of the story were overkill, some of the plot progression simply makes no sense, and animation-wise, I argued to death, is basically nil. Otherwise, it was genuinely a very watchable show, even if I think it's almost fatally flawed in the way it was portrayed as an animation and the very, very weird plot progression.

Originally Posted by Kimichi

Especially between two people that their obviously wouldn't be anything like he's imagining happening...Is this as far as your trust goes Gota?...meh.

That's only from our view as the anime viewer since we know these anime conventions happen. To Gota, what the heck would he know? Hell, he was basically stabbed in the back so many times and I can feel for him. When he said he had no home to go home to in that episode, he probably genuinely meant it. The entire series was like a laundry list of how lonely Gota truly is.

[Ashlotte]

They could of crafted a better situation to create drama or test the characters though...

The way they did it just feels like a cheap unnatural plot device in a show thats been refreshingly devoid of them so far.

[blewin]

Originally Posted by Kimichi

Well it was nice that their was no silly confession scene they just sorta...Came together...But after such a nice episode did they really have to use that timeless old cliche of misunderstanding to create drama...

Especially between two people that their obviously wouldn't be anything like he's imagining happening...Is this as far as your trust goes Gota?...meh.

agree with you there entirely. The way those two got together without having to ask/say anything dramatic fits the mood of a lazy summer (and the general pacing of the story), but that misunderstanding bit is really stretching the quality of the show... especially when we know for sure that Sora is not that type of a girl.

[ForeverGoNe]

Spoiler:

I think the time lapse at the end was a good idea because the plot development already hints that there might be the worst outcome for Sora. And it did happen, but it also shows how different character developments sort of blossomed as a result of this. Everyone who was influenced by Sora had grown in their own right, especially Gouta. I think for him, the time lapsed showed his own growth while still staying loyal to Sora. I think that was probably one of the key factors that hit it home for me in this idea. How polarizing a figure Sora was. I don't find the ending rushed at all and in fact, if you look at it from this perspective, it makes sense. It shows development of each character post-Sora's passing. Good series with a rather peculiar take on the ending, but done just right. I'm going to miss this series. One of my favorites definitely for 2008.

[Kaoru Chujo]

Originally Posted by blewin

agree with you there entirely. The way those two got together without having to ask/say anything dramatic fits the mood of a lazy summer (and the general pacing of the story), but that misunderstanding bit is really stretching the quality of the show... especially when we know for sure that Sora is not that type of a girl.

Reasons why it makes sense that Gouta might have misunderstood:
1. He feels inferior as a magician to Sora, to say nothing of to their teacher, and is insecure about being a mage.
2. He has really only known her for a little while.
3. He himself probably has sexual/romantic experience with a number of beach girls who are not as pure as Sora.
4. He's a depressive personality anyway.
5. It was a shocking moment that burned itself into his mind.

[Ashlotte]

Great they pulled the Death Card...between that and the misunderstanding which started last episode and continued into this one I feel like I'm suddenly watching a bad soap opera...Maybe its the photo like backgrounds fault too.

Either way for something that was supposed to carry some emotional heft it pretty much completely lacked resonance...Not so much a punch as a light tap I guess...

Maybe after already crying all my tears for Natsume this season I have none left and I've reverted to being a monster, but I can honestly say I just got plain bored near the end and mostly glossed over the last half in my mind... *shrug*

[blewin]

Originally Posted by Kaoru Chujo

Reasons why it makes sense that Gouta might have misunderstood:
1. He feels inferior as a magician to Sora, to say nothing of to their teacher, and is insecure about being a mage.
2. He has really only known her for a little while.
3. He himself probably has sexual/romantic experience with a number of beach girls who are not as pure as Sora.
4. He's a depressive personality anyway.
5. It was a shocking moment that burned itself into his mind.

I understand what you're saying there, but using it as a plot device on the whole just seems too much.

[evilr00t]

If anyone has watched, is watching, or plans to watch
[Shizuka] Mahou Tsukai ni Taisetsu na Koto ~Natsu no Sora~ 12 [Shinsen 720p-8EDA8C31].mkv
PLEASE note that I caught a major error. At 9:00 the "5 years ago" should be "5 years later". I apologize for the error and hope this mistake didn't confuse anyone.

Edit: Revised script posted here.

[kamikazex]

the ending..............