Natsuiro Kiseki

[D-KLAC]

& oh did anyone notice finale ep also a certian drink can called "mountain boo" http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m6...vlipo1_500.png

[Chiaki_chan]

nobody has the gif I could ask or do it for me ....?

[Julio C]

I thought the last episode would end with more tears and more drama. I would have like that. I just felt underwhelm with the ending though. I guess the first and last episodes where the worst episodes of the show. I didn't care for the yuri stuff since that's not the reason why I even watch it in first place. Overall, this series was great. The whole fantasy stuff just felt fresh and original. Sphere did a great job with the songs and the voice acting. I never though Tsumugi's voice would sound so different.

[Kotohono]

Well I was satisfied with the final episode a decent end to the series, I enjoyed a good bit more than I thought I would. overall 7~8/10 for me. Saki and Natsumi were definitely my favorites of the show, but it developed all 4 of them somewhat well.

Originally Posted by Midonin

Spoiler for Girls' Life 12 - ...And What Happened That Day:

(On a final note, SakiNatsu and YukaRin forever!)

Spoiler for Agreed:

Nothing will ever stop me from shipping them, especially SakiNatsu .

Originally Posted by Chiaki_chan

nobody has the gif I could ask or do it for me ....?

I can't even see the image you tried to post .

[Chiaki_chan]

Originally Posted by Konakaga

I can't even see the image you tried to post .

I spoke to a gif of this scene:

Spoiler for scene:

I would love someone to do this scene to GIF The time when Natsumi it "appears" on stage until she squats blushing

[Master_Yoma]

Well this was a sweet anime 4 friends last summer together all have fun but the last episode of endless eight

8/10

[Midonin]

Three pieces of fanart, each with a different purpose.

In suits


In love


In summer

[Marina2]

Oh, it turns out that the sale may not that bad!

Temporal Blu-ray + DVD Sales Rankings for Spring 2012 (the first volumes)

*1, 7,834 Hyouka
*2, 7,510 Haiyore! Nyaruko-san
*3, 7,309 AKB0048
*4, 5,579 Saki: Achiga-hen - Episode of Side-A
*5, 4,698 Natsuiro Kiseki
*6, 4,138 Eureka Seven AO
*7, 3,499 Jormungand
*8, 3,302 Sengoku Collection
*9, 3,192 Kore wa Zombie Desu ka? of the Dead
10, 2,248 Acchi Kocchi
11, 2,180 Hiiro no Kakera
12, 2,156 Tsuritama
13, 1,206 Queen's Blade: Rebellion
14, *,882 Kimi to Boku. 2
15, *,612 Zetman

[Julio C]

So my final rating for this show would be a B average grade after letting a few days pass by to give me time to think on how well this show turn out to be. The final episode of any series usually determines the overall grade I give. If only the last episode of Natsuiro was something incredible, I would have bump it up to an A-. Of course it's no where near an S rated show though.

[Chiaki_chan]

Originally Posted by Kitsu Breaker

Also Yuka EXPLICITLY compared her feelings for Whatshisface to how Natsumi feels about Akira from Four Seasons.

This isn't even subtext! Thats flat out saying "You want that girl the same way I want that boy".

By no means did they have to do that!

Spoiler for size:

that could create a gif of that scene?? I board not find on the internet ...

[Julio C]

I can make the gif for you, but how do you want it? A frame by frame of those screencaps or the full length video clip?

[Chiaki_chan]

Originally Posted by Julio C

I can make the gif for you, but how do you want it? A frame by frame of those screencaps or the full length video clip?

the full length video clip please

[Julio C]

Exactly from what point to what point? From the start of the first screencap to the end of what point?

[Chiaki_chan]

Originally Posted by Julio C

Exactly from what point to what point? From the start of the first screencap to the end of what point?

yes please

[Julio C]

Keep getting errors in photoshop. Maybe it's too long to make it even when it's resize to a very small size.

[Arturia Polaris]

And with that, I bid Natsuiro Kiseki goodbye.

Good anime, Certainly worth watching. I hereby give my thanks to rori for subbing and I want to thank you all. No particular reason. There's those animes that just emanate good vibes. This was one of them.

I love you all people.

Arturia

[Triple_R]

Thanks to Pocari Sweat and Konakaga's repeated suggestions to me to pick this series back up, I finally decided to do so. And I'm glad that I did.

A couple of the earlier episodes had a Looney Tunes-esque silliness to it that's just not my cup of tea, and I found it a little bit disappointing given how Episode 1 had made me hopeful for serious character drama in this show. So Pocari Sweat telling me that the 2nd half of Natsuiro Kiseki had some real drama to it played a big role in my decision to pick this back up, and sure enough, the 2nd half of this show did have some pretty compelling character drama to it.

And one thing I liked a lot about Natsuiro Kiseki is how it truly fleshed out and developed its entire main cast. I felt that, over time, the flaws of each of the four main girls were thoroughly explored, and were developed in a way that actually made those flaws somewhat endearing, rounding off qualities of the characters that I sometimes found annoying in the early-going.

Yuka's high-energy but reckless and low-responsibility ways eventually struck me as more funny than annoying, and overtime I could get why her friends consider her fun to be around in spite of (or perhaps even due to) the troubles and hectic times that she causes them.

Similarly, Saki's occasionally strict and standoffish nature (which sometimes even bordered on snobbishness) eventually seemed to kind of morph into maturity and practicality and soft sensibility. And Rin's very quiet, soft, unassuming, and "happy in a supportive role" nature eventually struck me as more of a positive than a negative, as Rin went from a forgettable presence to an important presence that rounded out the group as a whole.

And that well-rounded nature of the group - The internal chemistry that truly grew and blossomed between them - Was indeed the main strength of this show, imo. By the arrival of the last few episodes, I could tell just how "in-synch" these four girls were. It reminded me a lot of K-On! in how the group dynamics simply clicked effortlessly, making everything that much more fun to watch.


My one lingering disappointment is one that I suspect Sol Falling might identify with.

Like Sol, I saw strong yuri vibes between Saki and Natsumi. That one scene on the boat where Natsumi seemed to stop just short of saying "I love you, Saki." really sent my yuri goggles aflutter with brilliant
rainbow-colored fireworks!

Maybe I'm underestimating how strong platonic friendship can be, but I honestly felt that Natsumi's relentless desire for Saki to not leave, and eagerness to even have Saki move in with her and her family, suggested more than friendship alone. And waking up each morning, to stare across two windows and only a small gap between two houses, in order to look at one another - I have to admit, that's rather romantic.

I'm not surprised that Natsuiro Kiseki didn't "go there", but if it had, it would have made this show an instant all-time classic for this big yuri fan, lol. As is, it was still a pretty satisfying conclusion that tied most things up well.

And if nothing else, any yuri fan should have an easy time making romance-fics out of Saki and Natsumi.

[Sol Falling]

Originally Posted by Triple_R

My one lingering disappointment is one that I suspect Sol Falling might identify with.

Like Sol, I saw strong yuri vibes between Saki and Natsumi. That one scene on the boat where Natsumi seemed to stop just short of saying "I love you, Saki." really sent my yuri goggles aflutter with brilliant
rainbow-colored fireworks!

Maybe I'm underestimating how strong platonic friendship can be, but I honestly felt that Natsumi's relentless desire for Saki to not leave, and eagerness to even have Saki move in with her and her family, suggested more than friendship alone. And waking up each morning, to stare across two windows and only a small gap between two houses, in order to look at one another - I have to admit, that's rather romantic.

I'm not surprised that Natsuiro Kiseki didn't "go there", but if it had, it would have made this show an instant all-time classic for this big yuri fan, lol. As is, it was still a pretty satisfying conclusion that tied most things up well.

And if nothing else, any yuri fan should have an easy time making romance-fics out of Saki and Natsumi.

Haha. Indeed, I don't know why more companies don't just bite the bullet and cross over to explicit romantic yuri. At least, that seems to have worked out just fine for Mouretsu Pirates. I might be willing to excuse some hesitance on this specific production on account of the association with the real life Sphere seiyuu unit, but honestly when you make yuri overtones such an explicit part of the core appeal of your series then not providing any resolution is just shooting yourself in the foot.

Well, I guess "just" yuri overtones can still be enjoyable enough in a slice of life context. I probably wouldn't be complaining about lack of resolution if the ending hadn't focused on drama. In a manner that is admittedly scaling back my expectations, but then like Triple_R outlined the strongest part of this series could generally be said to be the character interactions.

On the strength of those character interactions I would still say I enjoyed this series, which is why in summary I chose to focus on the possibility of an OVA which would feature more of them. As regards the drama in the finale, though, I would say that yes, I was pretty disappointed with the ending and the ambivalent resolution to the yuri in the story.

[Sparvid]

A heads up: I just came back from the Natsuiro Kiseki Festival concert / drama reading / silly talk with the cast, and not only did they show a 6-minute original clip for the audience, but on the way out all 5000 in the crowd (presumably) received a free DVD ("not for sale") with the same short on it. So I guess it will show up online any moment now.

Spoiler for content:

It shows the girls meeting up at the rock again four years later (yep, explicitly 2016), after they've graduated high school, where they talk a bit about what they've been doing recently, and what their plans are for the future.

And yes, they're more or less "all grown up" (funniest part live: when Rin is first shown, the crowd went "Whoooa!" )

[Sparvid]

My thoughts on the concert itself:

Spoiler for length:

It started with an announcer informing that rather than a regular concert with a drama reading included, this show would be built a bit different. Also, "Sometimes announcers are handsome in Shimoda"

Natsu Yasumi wa Owaranai. Seemed a bit weird to me to start off with a song from the end of the series.

Aki monologue. The monologues were basically each character summing up selected events from the past summer, as if they were writing a journal, while clips were shown on the big screen. "So-and-so happened, this is what my feelings where at the time, and this is what I've learned from it". Felt like a bit longer than five minutes each.
Aki + Ayahi dialogue. The dialogues were done with each person standing at either side of the stage, but by some camera trickery it appeared on the screen as if they were standing right next to each other. It looked pretty cool, and was particularly well done in the fourth one, where Haruka and Minako were supposedly standing back to back.
Aki solo performance: Sora Tobu Kujira

Haruka monologue
Haruka + Minako dialogue. Here it got a bit meta with Haruka standing on a stage in front of thousands of people, reading lines about how much she want to become an idol and perform on stage before large crowds...
Haruka solo: Super Diamond Girl

A presenter, apparently from this radio show came out to introduce the cast. This got cheers from the crowd, which moments later got a LOT louder when it turned out that they were wearing yukatas (it does say festival right there in the name...) They had a quiz about some really obscure things from the show (like, "What's the name of the person working part-time at the CD store where Yuka preordered the new Four Seasons CD?"). Minako ends up winning by far, although there was some luck involved.

But the highlight was not surprisingly Aki. When the MC started with the questions ("Question #1!") it was followed by a pretty dramatic "ba-dump" (think kind of like the classic Law & Order thingie). The first time it happened, Aki jumped a bit in her chair by surprise. The second time she started to laugh. And the third time she quickly raised her mic and gave her own version of it

They also had a Haiku challenge (the first line had to be "summer vacation"), and a silly skit where they took turns at being TV reporters in Shimoda (with Aki again managing to be the silliest).

Ayahi monologue
Ayahi + Aki dialogue
Ayahi solo: Natsu Yasumi

Minako monologue
Minako + Haruka dialogue
Minako solo: Aozora to Jitensha. Minor complaint here ("No, not against Minako!"), but while the other three did their respective solo performances more or less in character (Aki just standing there, Ayahi slowly walking around, and Haruka hilariously bouncing all around the stage), Minako seemed more like her very happy and enthusiastic self than Natsumi.

Haruka, Minako & Aki: Natsu wo Koete Kimi to. I get solo and duet performances, but it seemed weird to have three out of four members on stage...
Ayahi: Sora wa Harete ku. I preferred this over Natsu Yasumi. It really fits her singing voice.

All four, from this point on: Minamikaze Dramatic. They actually incorporated the dance moves used at the singing competition! (and I'm geeky enough to notice it!)

I think that it was at this time that they simply walked of stage at the end of the song and the stage lights went out. This led to a somewhat uncomfortable silence once the applauds ended (me thinking: "So, were we supposed to keep clapping and call for an encore here..?"), before one lone guy broke the silence by shouting "ENCORE!" which drew some laughter. But then the screen turned on and the newly animated clip was shown.

Ashita he no Kaerimichi. Before this they recreated the last scene of the finale around the big rock on stage. *sniff*
Non stop road

After that they left the stage, and the crowd started to chant for an encore. And then the rock on stage activated again! So they came back out and pointed out that the encore would be taking place thanks to the rock granting our wish
But there's kind of one minor problem. They've not only already sung all of the avaliable, upbeat, encore-friendly songs, but the obvious choice of Non stop road was the one most recently performed as well. What to do...

Solution: Do Non stop road once again, but this time letting the crowd do a large part of the singing by showing the lyrics on the big screen.


Notable omissions: Yasashisa ni Tsutsumareru Youni (although it was played a bit in the background during a video clip), Yumeiro Graffiti and Hatsu Omoi Day.

According to an ad, the show will air on a Japanese satellite channel on October 6th, but it's listed as "16:00 - 17:00". Considering that the whole show was three hours, it would seem that they'll cut out everything that isn't someone singing live.