Alternative TitlesJapanese: 夏雪ランデブー
Information
Type: TV
Episodes: 11
Status: Finished Airing
Aired: Jul 6, 2012 to Sep 14, 2012
Duration:
24 min. per episode Rating:
PG-13 - Teens 13 or older
L represents licensing company
StatisticsScore: 7.401 (scored by 10652 users)
Ranked: #16732
Popularity: #852
Members: 20,838
Favorites: 53 1 indicates a weighted score
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SynopsisHazuki may be near-sighted, but he knows true beauty when he sees it and the delicate form of flower shop owner Rokka draws him in like a bee to honey. So, hoping to cultivate a relationship between them, Hazuki takes a part time job at her shop, only to discover two huge thorns preventing the nurturing of any romance. The first, the fact that Rokka is still grieving for her late husband Shimao, would be enough to snip most men's ardor short, but it's the second that really threatens to make Hazuki's forlorn hopes wilt. Because while Shimao is most definitely deceased, he hasn't yet departed and his spirit is still living in Rokka's apartment! Except only Hazuki can see him, which leads to a very strange romantic triangle indeed. Are Hazuki's chances with Rokka as dead as the man who still lives in her house? Or can he somehow make love blossom even though there's an interloper pushing up the daisies between them?
(Source: Sentai Filmworks) |
Related AnimeAdaptation: Natsuyuki Rendezvous
Characters & Voice Actors
Staff
Reviews
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Tzu
33 of 62 people found this review helpful
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11 of 11 episodes seen
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| Overall |
6 |
| Story |
5 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
6 |
| Character |
5 |
| Enjoyment |
7 |
Till death do you part?
A many handful of religions and beliefs in this world have people under different impressions of the dead. Some believe the dead come back to the world while others believe the dead stay amongst' us due to unjustified deaths or unfinished life works.
The love triangle of Natsuyuki Rendevous left me with a feeling somewhat disappointed, not because of the story, but because of slow progression and lack of fill.
The major problem I saw with the story was how the writers invested so much time into the Shimao and Hazuki body swaps. The first few episodes were fair, but after that everything went downhill filling viewers minds with a fairy book world and little real world interaction. Even based on the dialog the ending was predictable, and I wasn't even the least bit surprised with Shimao not moving on. The tales of Thumbelina and The Mermaid could have been summed up into a couple episodes without killing half the series. Getting Hazuki to realize how much he wanted "The Manager" could have been done without useless information.
I wasn't too fond of any of the characters. To me, if you believe that you see the dead or follow acts of spirit possession you should be locked up with the white suits. These three were generally cute as you might call it. I feel Hazuki could have confessed much easier without seeming like a stalker however and by stalker I mean being everywhere possible where Rokka was.
The animation was really the only strong point for me, I wasn't happy with the way everything else went. Im a huge fan of non norm animation styles and colorful representations. While not liking what I call the "Fairy-tale Book" arc I kept going because the colorful representations. But josei and shoujo animators aren't far off, the demographic isn't that wide. Typically you see big and bright eyes and over exaggerations of what women should look like in both josei and shoujo genres. On the other side of genders its usually pretty boys.
I have nothing particular to say about the opening and ending themes. They were performed very well, I tend to skip both in everything I watch, I'm just not a fan.
Unfortunately, I lost interest mid way though, I really only found enjoyment out of the first few episodes and Natsuyuki Rendevous ended up being a disappointment. read more
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Stark700
70 of 131 people found this review helpful
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11 of 11 episodes seen
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| Overall |
7 |
| Story |
6 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Character |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
7 |
Love. The four letter forbidden word. What is it really? Is it an idea? Is it an expression? Is it a feeling? Perhaps it's something that all of us feel like it must be part of us because it's the central theme of human life. No but, seriously, think about it.
In a nutshell, Natsuyuki Rendezvous is a rare romantic josei series presented by Noitamina. In fact, Noitamina is known to present all sorts of unique and strange series that expands beyond the typical male audience such as the original [C], the musical Nodame Cantabile, the horror Shiki, and the ghostly story of Anohana. Ah yes, speaking of ghost stories, that brings us to Natsuyuki Rendezvous.
The series has three main characters. First, there's a delicate flower named Rokka Shimao who owns a flower shop. She is the manager but more importantly, the widow of the deceased husband of Atsushi Shimao. Then, there's Ryousuke Hazuki who has poor eye sight but knows a delicate flower when he sees one. As one might expect from the pilot episode, he is in love with the flower manager. Last but certainly not least is Atsushi Shimao. He is a ghost who has been haunting the flower shop, or more specifically his wife for the past three years. Talk about stalking on a whole new level.
Three main characters, two of them guys and one of them a gentle flower. What do we get? Well, by common anime logic, a love triangle obviously. It's quite a peculiar love triangle too especially with the given circumstances. Rokka still grieves for the ghostly husband that have continued to haunt her for the past three years without her knowledge. Shimao is there but unable to cope with his former wife either mentally or physically. Hazuki-kun is trying to get the attention of his dream girl but can't seem to do so with his conflicted ideology.
Now, pause and stop reading this review. Do you still want to continue watching the series? That's a tough question to ask especially in the beginning since there's already conflict and animosity between the two main male characters. Ah, love is so damn complicated.
At any rate, this series is lighthearted and presents romance in a more realistic as well as naturalistic way despite the supernatural theme added in. But the real challenge is, can Hazuki-kun flower the pot? It's hard to say especially with interference from a certain ghostly someone. That being, the troll husband Shimao. But more than that, this series seems to have a rather slow pace especially in some of the later episodes. A slow paced romance series is never good especially fans into more intense drama. Bring on the intensity? No. It's more like bring on the slice-of-life feel. So, anyone looking forward to some intense drama in this series might be disappointed.
Despite this though, I do find some aspects of the series to be well executed. The rivalry between Hazuki-kun and ghost Shimao is a dynamic focus in the series. They are like eternal rivals, like cat and mouse, like mongoose and cobra, like ying and yang. Without them, this series would probably make you fall asleep. But with them, realism and amusing twists in the form of supernatural romance comedy is bought forth into the eyes of the viewers presented courtesy of Noitamina.
As being a josei anime, Natsuyuki Rendezvous is crafted out of simple artwork that is expressive and naturalistic like the plants of the flower shop. Life is natural and so is love, so why shouldn't the artwork be of the same? The beautiful flora backgrounds and some of the key visuals maintains that josei and lighthearted feeling that defines the rhythm of the series.
Speaking of rhythm, the music seems to continue with that in the form of a lighthearted soundtrack. The opening song, "See You" by Yuya Matsushita is sung softly but with empathy and with feeling. It presents some of the characters and their ways of struggle in not only life but also in death. The title of the song serves as a form of symbolism as Shimao sees Rokka every day but seems so far away. He's dead but still can't seem to move on to the afterlife to enjoy his days.
In the end, we should look ourselves and treasure every day we breathe in and out. Losing a loved one is never ever easy, more so in this series as the person you once knew still continues to stand besides you but seems so far away. People views it in different ways. Some shed endless tears. Some tries to move on like in Rokka but continues to struggle every day. And some just moves on flawlessly. What binds this emotion is once again the four letter forbidden word, “love”. It might seem normal but not in the case of Natsuyuki Rendezvous as love binds the ghost of tomorrow in the form of Shimao. Love here, love there, but will a viewer love this series?
To me, this series can be enjoyable at a realistic level. It has the soft rhythm and slow pace that can be relaxing to watch. And of course, being dual tagged as supernatural and josei is quite a rare case in today's anime series. Most cases you see these days are series tagged “action, romance”, “ecchi, romance”, “horror, romance”, “school, romance”, dot dot dot. Along with that, lighthearted soundtrack and the simple yet realistic artwork defines Natsuyuki Rendezvous at its finest form. Despite this though, there are flaws in this series. The pacing, conclusion, and focus are a few to name. Along with that, it's painful to watch Hazuki-kun struggle on in the subsequent episodes that may make us facepalm ourselves a few times. But, I hope you don't facepalm yourself and enjoy this series.
All in all, Natsuyuki Rendezvous is an anime that is difficult to be loved. Yet, it has its moments that are enjoyable. Being a ghost is never easy but love is just so damn complicated. read more
Recommendations
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There is a ghost only one person can see. The characters need to get over the death of the ghost to move on.
So, we have Ano Hana and NR who are both drama genre and have a very strong supernatural element in the story.
Still, both serie evolve around a person who is the only able to see a ghost who is unable to move on.
Both stories have deep love feelings and struggle around the possibility of "what if": what if i did/did not that thing? what if i could un-do something? what if this person was still alive?
Ano Hana is a great serie and NR evolved more and more interesting too.
Obviously, if you watched & liked one of them, the another is highly recommended too!
Both concentrate on people who lost someone precious to them in the past, and have to deal with this someone coming back as a ghost in order to help them move on. In AnoHana, it's childhood friend, in Natsuyuki Randezvous it's late husband. AnoHana is more slice of life, Natsuyuki has more romance
Both about the protagonist who can see a deceased person while others can't.
A single person can see a ghost which is related to the people he knows, The ghost appears to have a wish that the protagonist must fulfil for him.
Similarities:
Both main character can see.........DEAD PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!!
Both ghosts can't figure out what they need to do in order to cross over.
Dissimilarities:
The ghost in the other anime has the ability to physically manifest herself , while the other doesn't.
The ghost in the other anime is a caring and playful girl, while in the other anime the ghost is a guy who just floats around and does nothing.
A dead person whom only one person can see
Both series features supernatural elements involving a ghost whom the main protagonist can only seen.
Both series are lighthearted but also contains moods of sadness and emotions mixed in with some comedy as well as drama.
Both series features themes of romance that is seen as more realistic rather than the typical puppy crush.
very much a like interms of a gost which hasn't move on to the after life and only one person can see the gost... there is also alot of love and memories of the past in both animes..
Both animes tackle the theme of death.
The pain that the deceased go through and the pain that the ones left behind must endure.
both similar from having a ghost appear before the main character, and they can only see it.
both anime supporting characters have been affected by the ghosts death in some ways and have not come to closure.
throughout both of the anime, the characters come to terms with their feelings and reconcile their regrets and misunderstandings and the understanding to move on.
you might like one if you like the other, but they differ in circumstances/surroundings.
Both series are similar in the theme of getting over something lost that can never be regained. There is the ghost of the dead person which only one character can see. The ghost wants to make people move on and yet its very existence is what holds them back from moving on.
Both are pretty similar in plot. Ghost comes back and only one can see him/her.
Ano Hana is more on the shoujo-side while Natsuyuki is on the josei-side.
Both animes have beautiful OSTs and nice OP/EDs.
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Natsuyuki is how Maison Ikkoku would've been, had MI's cast been presented in a less likable manner and those same characters not taken SIX YEARS to resolve their non-starting relationship issues.
Maybe because of how fast the pace moves in NR, in comparison to MI's drawn out deceased lover rom-comedy, but NR's cast come across as inconsistent and (in mine eyes) are cheapened by their actions. NR's lead goes from a bumbling idiot lacking confidence to a dickish, I-don't-care-if-husband-watches playboy, and the wife doesn't take much to accept a new man, considering how much she's still in love with her dead hubby. (Plus, her short-haired look is lacking, when put alongside the allure of Kyoko's long-haired beauty.)
Both about a Male chasing after a Female widow.
Both series are about a guy falling in love with a woman who is still grieving after her late husband, and trying to overcome the pain that derives from that.
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Opening Theme"See You" by Yuya Matsushita
Ending Theme"Anata ni Deawanakereba ~Natsuyuki Fuyuhana~ (あなたに出会わなければ～夏雪冬花～)" by Aimer
Fansubbing Groups
Which fansubbers do you like the best? Click + to approve of their subs for this show. Click - if you don't think they did such a great job.
Related ClubsAge Gap RnD Department, Yukiyo Club♥, Natsuyuki Rendezvous Fanclub, noitaminA, ♥Yuuichi Nakamura Fanclub♥ [member cards are available], Mutirão Brasil - Ver. Summer Season 2012, ★Josei Anime★, The Fukuyama Jun Fanclub, VOMIC (UTA PRI WINNER CARDS R UP!!!), 「ポリアモリー」 Love Without Limits 「 Polyamory 」
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