(L) Summertime Render

[stray]

Originally Posted by SeijiSensei

There's really no place to put shows like this on the Disney+ service. Most of it consists of its major franchises like Marvel and Star Wars. There is no "anime" category that I can find.

Because Hulu exists in the US, and since its partially owned by Comcast has to exist contractually until at least 2024. Outside of the US Disney+ has a "Star" section, which is where anime and other (Hulu) stuff would go.

FWIW D+ is pretty VPN friendly; you can VPN to Canada or something if you don't have Hulu or don't want to deal with ads.

[Last Sinner]

Well, after a long, long wait...I finally have my full set of the manga, hardcover version. Ushio nendoroid is supposed to be shipping but delays have been weeks long, verging on months, of late. And it seems someone uploaded the entire OST.

I guess the online community did value it. Scores on MAL, AniDB and the like are very high. But it feels like this was hindered from being shown to enough that would have received it thanks to Blackrock's mouse. I mention this show to friends and people I cross - they get quite interested (along with Odd Taxi) but they had never heard of it. Then again, given everything else popular in 2022, maybe it's for a certain gen. Maybe its version of hope and aspiration is elusive for a newer gen.

This must have been what it was like for something like 12 Angry Men to be criminally underappreciated when it came out yet is remembered with reverence now. For those that know of it, though.

Don't forget this one, people. If you know of someone game enough, find the right time to suggest it to them. It's one of those titles that needs custodians to make sure it doesn't fade away.

[SeijiSensei]

I liked Summertime Render a lot, but it's no Twelve Angry Men.

[Mad Pierrot]

The first episode but one of the scariest twists for such a calm scenario but I guess the title Island of Shadow gave the series' premise a bit of a spoiler

[serenade_beta]

The main reason Summertime is underappreciated ( though I argue watching Parasite or Shiki is better) is because few people even got to watch it, because Disney monopolized it or something
The tops thought that getting payed by Disney was worth more than people actually watching their show. But to be fair, the people that actually labor to make the show didn't make that decision.

[SeijiSensei]

Summertime Render placed second behind Bocchi in this year's anitrendz awards:

https://anitrendz.com/ata/results/2023

I bet a lot of those voters came from outside the US given how Disney distributed this show.

[Last Sinner]

There's multiple factors.

It's labelled shounen but shounen fans I know IRL didn't watch it.
The females in it were very capable and more physically adept than the males. Again, not the norm for a shounen.
You had to seek it out due to Disney jail and its manga release was from a very minor label doing it as a passion project. I can't name a store that stocked it here, I had to order it from the US. Places don't think it will sell. They only stock what is likely to sell.
People with very limited time are likely to have gravitated to a shounen with a brand, a typical isekai or a cozy series. Bocchi the Rock appealed because its take on social awkwardness was relatable. Several friends of mine with depression heavily identified with that show.
This title was about wanting to live, enduring hardship, become a better person from it and to think. Which is very anti what anime mainly promotes these days.
It may have been acknowledged in certain polls, but I didn't know of them and I hold this series in the highest regard. I'd have voted if I knew but I didn't. Most people wouldn't know and are probably limited to certain titles once your working life and relationships take over. They're still consuming but at that point, they only go so far due to time, what's appropriate to watch when kids/other people might walk in, tired from work, etc.
Most titles get to have their footage or clips remain on Youtube. Youtube purged a lot of stuff when Disney finally let it out of jail.

So yeah, it is very against the grain for what is the norm of recent times. It is underappreciated and probably always will be. So that's why I compare it to 12 Angry Men. One of my fave series; one of my fave movies. That movie didn't do well in cinemas at release but gained favour on home release but is still something people who look further into history will know of. I read it in high school English, otherwise I wouldn't know of the play or the movie. So yeah, it feels like a title that will require a lot of custodian-like behaviour for people to know of it. The manga run outside of Japan is very limited. The streaming is very limited. I have a sick feeling it won't be available on BD and its streaming won't last long. Chances are it will be a title that future anime fans won't be able to find. And despite having the most means to, newer fans are as reluctant to as ever. So I think that unless you sought it out, Summertime Rendering will be forgotten and it's freaking tragic.

And yes, this series is a 10 for me. Only the 4th time I've given an anime a 10. It gave me that rare feeling of watching a new episode as soon as possible, of feeling nothing was wasted, that those adapting it gave every damn possible, my now favourite female character ever and another that would be in my top 10, a male in my top 10, my fave anime tune ever in the 1st OP. This is one of my hills to die on.