Natsuyuki Rendezvous

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.

"I always wondered who was the one who suffered the most. The one who departed...or the one who was left behind"

//Before giving me a non-helpful tag please read the review. //

After finishing Sakamichi no Apollon, I wondered if there was another josei anime who would make the same impact on me...and I know now for sure I found it. If else, it had made a hole different one.

Natsuyuki Rendezvous is a beautiful work. The story, the art, the characters, the music, the production and direction...every thing is balanced prefectly.

There´s so many things that are remarkable about this show:a grieving couple that shares everything ... not knowing it, the loneliness of being together and appart at the same time, the fear of moving on, the untasteful way of living everyday without a purpose, the pain that comes when you don´t know if to leave or to stay.

The characters: "as long as there is love, someone´s going to be hurt". We´ve seen that along the way God-know-how-many-billion-hundred-times on different series. Yet, this is one of the few times it felt it so real. Their actions, their selfishness and the way they behave arround each other is so full of mistakes that it makes you want to scream at them. Yes, it is, and it keeps being that way during the hole thing (I mean it). BUT, even if they do things at a brand-new level of wrong, it´s clear that if it were you who were there, you wouldn´t know either, because when it comes to love there´s no right nor correct answers. That´s one of the things which makes us humans, and that is, for sure, one of the major lessons (if you want to name it that way) of this anime.

Another plus of this series is the music. The OP and the ED are so full of messages and blend so well with the story. Each one gives us the side of the story of each part: the OP reflexes Shimao (Rokka´s late husband) and Hazuki´s feelings,while the ending gives you the feelings and thoughts of Rokka.

If you´ve reached this point on the review I know you´ve wondered if I liked it or not.Answer: yes, I do. But, I won´t tell you to watch it if you´re looking for something, ´cuz, as we all know, surprises on life come when you´re not looking for them.

So, shall we move on to the first episode?

The more I think about this series, the more I'm inclined to believe that Natsuyuki Rendezvous is not a romance.

Sure, it may say romance in the tags. It may be a josei. It may even be billed by the creators themselves as a romantic story. But the way I see it, this series is simply not meant to be a traditional romance, regardless of how it's being sold.

Natsuyuki Rendezvous, simply put, is a story about life and death. Love is used as a theme in order to make the story more understandable and easy to relate to, but at its core this anime focuses on ... the aspects of living and dying and loving while living and dying more than anything else.

Although it's easy to interpret this series as the love story between two characters, Hazuki and Rokka, I tend to believe that it is actually more about Shimao and Rokka and their relationship before and after Shimao's death. After all, there are probably more flashbacks shown of Shimao and Rokka's life together than of Hazuki trying to woo Rokka, or even of Hazuki and Rokka spending any time together. When you see this anime as Hazuki's story; told from Hazuki's perspective, it becomes very confusing and at times, uninspired. But it's when you see this as being told from Shimao's point of view that everything begins to make sense. Hazuki is simply the catalyst; Shimao is the one this series really revolves around.

Which brings me to the main point of my review.

At first glance, Shimao is an easy character to dislike, or even hate. He seems selfish and spiteful, only hell-bent on keeping Rokka to himself even after he has died. However, if one looks deeper, Shimao becomes quite complex. No one could possibly know what it feels like to be dead, yet able to watch over the one you love. "Out of sight, out of mind" would probably be the concept one would fear most in a situation like this, yet Shimao refuses to give up on Rokka. This determination comes not out of selfishness, but deep, unconditional, perhaps even irrational love. It's love that made Shimao a little selfish, a little crazy, and a little possessive. But it's also love that made Shimao able to set Rokka free in the end.

Rokka is innocent and naive, not like a child, but in the way that only a young woman who has already gone through so much pain can possibly be. In many ways, the world of love is completely foreign to her. Shimao was like her other half, and they fit together so perfectly and naturally that Rokka wasn't even aware of what they had was half the time. When Hazuki enters her life, Rokka is so unaccustomed to being sought after that she continues to reject his advances, even after she knows she has fallen for him.

And finally, Hazuki, the catalyst. In many ways, Hazuki is not the idealized character we've come to expect in romances. But then again, as I mentioned, this really wasn't a romance in the first place. Hazuki represents a symbol of new found hope in Rokka's life. He's rough and unpolished, but he's enough to make her happy again. In my opinion, Hazuki would never replace Shimao completely in Rokka's heart. Yes, Rokka loves him and cares for him deeply, but he will forever be the reason Rokka was finally able to move past the pain of losing her true love. Hazuki is the catalyst to repairing and concluding the relationship between Rokka and Shimao, and in many ways he "saves" Rokka from despairing for the rest of her life. But he isn't the one who was able to set Rokka "free". Only Shimao had that power, and when he finally uses it, Hazuki is able to support Rokka and get her back on her feet.

What happens after we die? Do we simply close our eyes for the last time and slumber dreamlessly for eternity? Or will we come back to watch over the ones we love? What if the ones we love cannot move past our death? And what if we're the ones who cannot move past our own death?

At the end of the day, those are the questions Natsuyuki Rendezvous tries to answer. It doesn't do this perfectly, nor is it without some flaws. But I'll affirm wholeheartedly that this series made me cry. It made me rethink the meaning of life and death, and life after death.

And perhaps, it also made me wonder about *love* after death.

Now I think this anime is fairly unknown to people- but that is part of the reason i'm writing this to raise it's profile even by just a little.

I won't reveal any spoilers but it is one of the most heart-warming and tear jerking romances I have seen in a long time. And to be honest i'm surprised I enjoyed it as much I did because romance animes aren't really my favourites.

Anyway the story focuses on the relationship between a flower shop owner and her new part-time employee that has been admiring her from afar. If it was just this I myself would ... be a little disappointed but then they throw in the fact that the owners late husband is haunting her and her admirer is the only one that can see him, the ghost husband tries everything in his power to keep his wife. (I won't reveal anymore as it will reveal to much about the stories major plot points) .

the music and art work are also extremely beautiful and you are just taken away into a new world. I don't really have any negatives about it but some episodes suffered from a lack of pace which did not bring the story forward. Nut it all pays off in the end of the conclusion leaves no questions unanswered and is one of the most romantically moving endings I have ever seen since I have been watching anime.

Trust me you will need tissues at more than one point during the series.

Anyway just please go and check it out it's one of those amazing underappreciated animes that are the best to watch.

2012 summer season's series seem to deal with light drama lovestories, among which this one seems to be worth the effort: not being too deep or too dramatic in dealing with actually gloom themes like death and lost love, it makes the perfect choice for a lazy summer evening watch, granted the fact that it has a strong lead male character and very good visuals.

While the plot/summary seemed to put you through some exhausting story about a love triangle including the ghost of a dead husband, the first episode depicted a show fresh and invigorating like the soft summer rain. From the color palette, with ... brushy textures, fresh spingtime greens and friendly yellows to the entire relaxed athmosphere. Too soon to place any bets yet, considering first impressions this looks like a happy ending kind of show, but one that will definitely walk around the usual boring love story routine. Because....

The male lead, Hazuki, looks like the average "loser", falling in love with the pretty short black haired widdow to whom he is too shy to confess. He is composed, he looks like he doesn't give a damn about anything, and he looks like he's the type to quit before really trying. Or maybe not: what makes this character particular is the fact that he proves not to be that easy to anticipate and he overcomes the "danger" of becoming that kind of annoying guy who can't take the challenges. Hazuki is the kind of character that grows to be loved by the viewers, being bitter but realistic, bored but passionate, limited but resourceful.

It seems the creators managed to avoid the clichee of the love being confessed only in the end, and that this show will actually focus on the "war" between Hazuki and the ghost husband. Far from being a comedy tho, it does have some intelligently hilarious moments in the scenes that contain the both determined guys, one dead and one pretty much alive.

Sadly, Rokka, the female lead, didn't make a too big impression. She's playing the sad kind widdow, but at least without being annoying, didn't look like anything too deep. But then again, for an 11 episode summer show I think anything else would have been too much and unnecessary.

Another strong point of this show would be the animation and the art. The character's gestures and poses is something that hits you from the first few minutes as they emanate grace where needed and they express the character's attitude very good - talking about body language. I can't say if that's something you often see in josei shows, but here in particular shows that a lot of attention has been put into these kind of details.

If this will be a good story or not - we will see. But either way, it looks promising and flowlessly executed.

Sign, now that this 11 episode anime has ended, so, what can I say, it is "OUTSTANDING," this anime can be compared to a soap opera where the genre supernatural, romance and drama really did well. The title itself is not misleading, this is one quality anime that doesn't follow your typical run of the mill entertainment, though it still has the usual restless spirit thing that come with this anime and so as someone who can let go. It may have some similarities with "AnoHana" and Tasogare Otome, it cannot be compared with it, one, is that unlike "AnoHana" this one is more ... of seinen, as for "Tasogare Otome" well it does had a bit of a dark side but only in a subtle note where Shimao is having some thoughts of bringing Rokka to the afterlife, good thing he didn't or o else he'll end up in hell and Hazuki get's to go to jail. Then again "Tasogare Otome" is more of a dark comedy side than with this one. Also, since there is competition between Shimao and Hazuki to be with Rokka this anime minus well have a reverse harem in it. So for the story I'll give it an "OUTSTANDING" number 10, co'z the story is more of soap opera standards than an anime.

Art: Mediocre 5.

I'm not an art critic, but.....I would have prefer that Rokka has long locks that short hair, kind makes her look like a man, a very beautiful man that is.

Sound: Good 7.

Since I like the opening theme.

Characters: OUTSTANDING 10.

Ok, so far for the roles of the characters really did play up, I really like that there is this sotacon arc that exist between Rokka and Hazuki since Rokka is 8 years Hazuki's senior, but it is kind disappointing that in the fast forward scene of the final episode where Hazuki has to die ahead of Rokka who is now a grandma. But It kinda pissed me off that after so many years she still hasn't got rid off Shimao's stuff and we see Shimao still wondering around only this time he just paid a visit to the shop and it was Rokka's grandson who sees him. Also, the moment that Hazuki lead his body to Shimao was for me to ask as to WTF was going on his mind, then again at the end he got his body back and was able to keep Rokka as his wife. So a very beautiful ending.


Enjoyment & Overall: OUTSTANDING 10.

Ok, I really did enjoy this anime very much and I like that this anime has that soap opera standard that would really make one feel this thing as if you felt sorry for Shimao for having to go ahead of Rokka to the afterlife where both are expecting to live happily. Also there is that thing where I felt sorry for Rokka for not letting go of Shimao which would have been the reason why he can't go to the other side, overall Hazuki is very much the happy ending waiting to fill Rokka's void and reminding Shimao that her life has to go on, Hazuki really does serves as the overall filler of Rokka and Shimao's void, indeed such high rating is what this anime deserves.

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Story
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While watching Natsuyuki Rendezvous I can’t help but remember my close encounters with love. I can see Pearl running through the hallways like a whirlwind rushing to class. I only hope to catch her attention for a second just to exchange ‘Hi’s. Stephanie is crying at a train station because of an argument we just had. All I can do is watched through the foggy glass of the train doors. Jayce is sending me a text telling me that she’s willing to go on a second date.

Hope, failure and success, are the three memories I feel love leaves us with.

I don’t know if I am ... just naive or young, maybe both, but the story hit all these notes within its short one cour run. The emotional journey that Hazuki, Shimao and Rokka undertake is a roller coaster, twisting and curving as their fates become intertwined with one another. As the car comes back into the station, my notion of love wasn’t changed, but reinforced by those serpentine tracks.

Sometimes a story doesn’t needs to tell something new. The premise of the series isn’t exciting on paper. Hazuki is a young man that happens to fall in love with the owner of a small flower shop, Rokka. He eventually begins to work there as a means to get close to her. As he tries to muster the courage to confess, he meets the spirit of her dead husband, Shimao, who is bent on stopping him.

The prospect of a ghost in love is charted territory. The same stands for love triangles and unrequited feelings. But the universality of these themes and their ability to evoke relatable experiences within the audience is what makes them important. These are the hooks that pulled me in and made me much more receptive to the characters and the events that unfolded.

It isn’t what the story is telling, but how it’s being told. Fantastic writing is the foundation for an engrossing tale. The seamless dialogue flowed from one scene to the next. Monologues weren’t overbearing and acted as signposts in the direction the plot was moving. The pacing was slow but it gave the ideas of the series enough breathing room to simmer, resonate, and turn it into something memorable.

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Characters
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The series focuses on the lives of three characters: Hazuki, Rokka and Shimao. There aren’t many others that play a substantial supporting role but considering the brevity of this series, they would serve as distractions. By limiting the size of the cast, Natsuyuki Rendezvous is able to build complex characters that are very believable.

Hazuki is a young man who doesn’t seem to have much going for him. His only driving force in life seems to be his feelings for Rokka. As the show progresses we find a man that is deeply in touch with his emotions, with an astonishing lucidity when it comes to understanding others.

Rokka on the other hand seems to be a secure and independent middle aged woman that runs her own flower shop. Soon enough her insecurities about her past and her inability to come to terms with her husbands death come to bear. She always seems to be at odds with catching up to the present as her memories threaten to hold her back.

Shimao comes off as a selfish ghost that can’t let go of his wife. Every action he takes solidifies this idea of him. But he is just an individual that is struggling between letting go of a world that is constantly trying to pull him back. As with all ghost’s he wants closure, but at the cost of ruining the lives of those that still have it.

Each character has their own personal dilemmas to overcome of the course of the story. They not only deal with the ramifications of their actions but are clearly conscious of the reasoning behind them as well. Careful attention to cause and effect is a powerful tool for developing strong characters that learn, grow and ultimately evolve.

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Production
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To be quite frank the art production in the first half of the series isn’t amazing. The bright palette and attention to foreground detail does redeem it slightly, but it is otherwise only serviceable. The second half of the series takes a stark upturn in creativity. The introduction of the storybook world of Shimao creates an interesting collage effect that contrasts the sketches of his realm with the solid colors of the real world. Little details in both settings are highlighted by the differences and give life and vibrancy to each.

The opening theme ”See You” by Yuya Matsushita is simple, accented by a piano melody. Matsushita has a strong vocal performance that drives this song. “Anata ni Deawanakereba” by Aimer, is a fitting closing theme that evokes an atmosphere of melancholy. It’s one of my favorite songs in recent memory. I could feel the heartbreak in her voice. Her delivery combined with the fantastic lyrics served as a proper punctuation to each episode.

The excellent audio production continues with the great voice acting. Yuuichi Nakamura (Hazuki), Sayaka Ohara (Rokka) and Jun Fukuyama (Shimao) all give great performances that actualizes the well written script. Nakamura is a clear standout as his acting gives a sense of progression as Hazuki develops as a character.

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Overall
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Natsuyuki Rendezvous doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel but gives a story that is easy to relate to. The elements of its tale evoke the summer and all its brightness and warmth. It proves that well written characters and dialogue are sometimes all it takes for a show to succeed. For fans of the Josei or romance, this one rendezvous you don’t want to miss.

For more reviews, previews, and anime discussion, check out www.sushigokart.net !

Simply put, Natsuyukki Rendezvous is a splendid anime that deserves to get picked up by anyone looking for a romantic comedy, drama-based anime.

Hi, Future Architect Here. I am an architect from the future who has seen basically all the anime airing this summer season. Out of the best, Natsuyukki Rendezvous is the one I must write a review for before I meet up with my peer, JohnTitor.

Now, the story of Natsuyuki seems very typical with a supernatural twist. However, it is much more genius than one can expect. How far is the director willing to take the comedy aspects while examining a serious topic. Well, ... the directing does take the liberty in making fun of ghosts, and putting up traditional Japanese culture jokes. However, this one is special. While being able to manage a some-what serious drama, Natsuyuki actually explores further than just family values, it goes even to the extent of using symbolic meaningfuls such as flowers, and the imagery of death, rather than say, a pastoral imagery, which it actually also includes, to eradicate the details and justices of this cruel world.

I am very touched by the story personally, and I can guarantee that it will to...as long as you don`t mind ghosts getting in your way.

The typical developments of characters, ah. What a pleasant way this anime is heading. This is basically a reverse-harem, without the harem part. Two men fighting for women...yet one of them is a ghost, that is what it seems on the surface, yes. However, as stated above, the treasure which subsides in a complex drama as this one deserves not to be spoiled. To put it in a nutshell, though, the characters have matured already when they are introduced. Utilizing a traditional aspect of the shows of the same genres, however, Natusuyuki reveals secrets about each of the characters, bits by bits, by showing flash-backs. And, the suspense which partakes each bits is considerably great.

The art, as stated, is josie. Meaning, it is meant for the demographics of women between adolescence and adulthood. But, I claim that tag is bullcrap. This tag has appeared in many shows like Eden of the East, and I can tell you that is more or less a shounen show than anything. Ergo, watch this anime regardless of your age group, sexuality, etc, as long as this anime`s genres, or plot, interests you. Music is fine, and powerful during the correct times.

Enjoyable as a romantic comedy can be.

Please, I have already written a full version of the review. Do look forward to it when this heart warming anime finishes airing during your time period! Now be a man, and do the right thing! (Watch Natsuyuki Rendezvous)

(Since the series is ongoing, I might have to change the review depending on how it ends.)

The story of Natsuyuki Rendezvous was the most interesting among all the summer 2012 anime series I looked through: a love triangle with one of the people being a ghost. It's not everyday you stumble across a description like that, I had high hopes of the anime(and let's face it, I needed another josei manga after Sakamichi no appolon), and it didn't disappoint. The story is wonderfully done, it keeps you engrossed so that the 23 minute episode just breezes by. Even with the supernatural touch, the romance has ... a realistic and warm feel to it. I'll give the story an 8/10.

The art is wonderfully done. It's clean, simple and beautiful, specially the flower arrangements and the shop. The characters are not specially beautiful but still pleasant to look at, and the expressions are very well done. And the animation maintains the same level though all the episodes. 9/10

Rokka(the store manager), Shimao(the ghost) and Hazuki(the protagonist) all three of them have very likable characters. Their doubts, reasons, hopes and attachments are all explained, so that it's difficult to dislike any of them. And they have multiple facets to their characters, which are fun to explore. Like for example, from Rokka's memories, Shimao doesn't appear to be a guy who'd get attached to anyone, but that's obviously not the case, or he wouldn't have stayed back as a ghost. For me, the characters are the most important in any josei manga, and I'll give the ones in Natsuyuki Rendezvous a 9/10.

The music is probably where the series seems to be lacking a bit... The ending song is very nice but I feel like skipping the opening most of the time. The rest of the soundtrack is nothing extraordinary, but it doesn't feel out of place either. 7/10

OVERALL, the series gets an 8/10. A must see for any fan of the genre(and a good starting point for those inteested). It's a thoughtful, beautiful and, of course, romantic story that I'm glad I picked up.

I will update this after completing the series but episode two has compelled me to leave this review here:

Imagine the one you love is gone forever and you could never grasp his hand or even feel his warmth except for the very fickle flowers he has left as his heritage, a constant reminder to the beautiful way he arranged them as if never separating them from their life-source, rather making them even more beautiful in their last countdown to death. Now imagine, hanging around as a floating nothingness in a world that can’t see or hear you. Though, after years of pining away ... after your love whose longing cries stopped you from taking that last step, a fellow comes along who can actually communicate with you but the catch is, you have to help him reach his love-goal with your own wife even if its for her sanity. Do you think, if you were posed this question, you would have the balls to do it? Now imagine, a straight-man, who has nothing but pure intentions getting embroiled in an out of this world romance-drama that he was never ready for. You can’t really blame him for marking his territory because he didn’t do anything wrong in falling love. My problem is that I am imagining it all and not taking sides because I see all of them completely right at what they are doing. Don’t ask for a verdict but a note: if you are not watching this series this season, you better because this has the making of a masterpiece that would become benchmark for the many romance series to come. noitaminA definitely has a winner this season.

I love this show. It was one of those shows where instead of watching it just to talk about it with other people on the internet, and checking the progress bar on at the bottom of the media player to check how many more minutes are left, I watched it because i actually really enjoyed it, and I was captivated.

I will list the bad thing out of the way first: low budget, not as bad as Muv-Luv Total Eclipse. Fairly typical for josei though, so I'm not knocking too much off. The animation is simple and there are no moments where the quality is bad.

Now ... the good things:

The story is very touching. You will definitely come to care a lot for the characters. Hazuki (the male lead) is a likeable guy that seems very down to earth and believable. He is kind of infatuated, even obsessed with Rokka (the female lead) to the point that he seems stalker-ish in a loveable way. As for Rokka, you really do feel pathos for her as she laments over her dead husband in a series of flashbacks him, and you can't help but see great strength of character within her as she tries to "get over" him. Meanwhile, her dead husband (Simao) watches over her as a ghost, unable to interact with her, but silently observing her, like some kind of guardian spirit. The chemistry between Hazuki and Simao as they both try to fight over Rokka is absolutely hilarious; Simao's "cockblocking" gets to absolutely insane levels. This anime is a complete adaptation as well, meaning it adapted all of the manga. No crappy ending, it's complete and very fulfilling.

The soundtrack compliments the touching story as well. I think it's definitely clear that a lot of effort was put into the soundtrack. Although admittedly the OP isn't particularly noteworthy, I the ED is lovely and the piano music is great; it's very calming and fits so well that sometimes I didn't even notice it was playing. It's a nice contrast from the other stuff this season that is full of garish high pitched singing and synthesised Jpop. (that isn't to say I don't like the stuff, but it's just a nice contrast). Another nice contrast is that there are no highschools in this romance. Everyone's a grown up adult, and in the grown up adult world which is ironic given Simao and Hazuki sometimes seeming rather childish when they try to compete over Rokka.

Also, another thing I really admire about this anime is its simplicity. There are only four characters in its entirety, three main characters, and one side character. Without a ton of forgettable side characters to clutter the experience, I felt that the story felt very tightly focused. Not for once did I feel bored and waiting for the story to move back to the main characters, because there is literally no-one else. it's just Hazuki, Simao and Rokka. Miho, the side character is very minor and never feels like she is intruding on the plot.

Finally, the colour palette is pretty glorious. Flowers and botany play a huge role in this anime, and this gives the animators and artists plenty of opportunity to just go all out with the colours. The backgrounds in forests have this beautiful and subtle paintbrush like feel. Each episode is a joy to look at and a visual feast. If only it had the budget to match that artistic merit! Then I would be sad that 10 is the maximum score I can give!

In case you do not know, the demographic for the manga and this anime adaptation is "josei", so it's aimed at women 18-30 years old. But hey I'm a guy and I enjoyed it.

Josei is often neglected, people often skip over it thinking it's either for women or the drama is too heavy, but I say that this is a great anime to take a look in if you are a fan or if you are pretty new to josei, and it's a great anime in it's own right.

Natsuyuki Rendezvous is about when to move on and regrets after death and interestingly enough this isn't just about the living but also the dead.

The story begins with Hazuki who has a crush on Rokka the widowed owner of a flower shop who is 10 years older than him. For unknown reasons he is unable to work but when a part-time opening is advertised at Rokka's shop Hazuki jumps a the chance mainly so he can get to know Rokka better. Just when he begins to make progress with Rokka, Hazuki meets Shimao the ghost of Rokka's dead husband who has no intention of allowing ... any man near Rokka.

The story begins well but loses itself just over half way through. Natsuyuki Rendezvous has good characters beautiful and colourful art work and music which fits the anime just right i feel the story tries to do too much and over complicated itself.

However, what makes Natsuyuki Rendezvous a success are the interactions of the characters. There is the rivalry of Hazuki and Shimao, the overcoming of guilt of having feelings for another man other than her husband and her reluctance to move on from Shimao's death, Hazuki's often bad decisions while trying to woe Rokka and Shimao's regret of being more open with his feelings with Rokka when he was alive. It is these interactions which keep you watching.

Natsuyuki Rendezvous is a very good anime which perhaps at times is sad and at times uplifting but could have been better if the story tried to do less than it did.

Story: The story was simple, part realistic, part fantastic. Hazuki is a young man that falls in love with Rokka, the owner of a flower-shop. But Rokka is more than that, she is 8 years older than Hazuki and she is a widow. What Rokka doesn’t know is that her husband spirit is still there with her. Rokka may not know, but Hazuki does, and, oh, boy, Shimao (the husband) doesn’t make Hazuki’s life easy at all.

Art: The art is simply splendid.

Sound: The music made the atmosphere perfect for a sad, yet happy, love story.

Character: As for the characters, they are probably the ... best part of the anime beside the art.

Enjoyment: It's very hard to tell if I was happy with this anime or not. It has great things, it's calming and relaxing, but in the same time so tragic.

1. Story

I found the premise interesting. Romance and the supernatural are frequently paired together, but I found the premise somewhat fresh. For the most part, the story kept me interested but had its flaws. In a series that focuses on romance the characters are key, so my issues with a couple of the characters subtract from it.

2. Art

I think something both fans and detractors can agree on is that that the art in this series is no slouch at all. Whether its the more tame colors of the streets, the vibrant colors of the various flowers in the shop, or the more abstract settings, ... everything looks very well-done.

3. Sound

Score-wise, the use of music is far from frequent, resulting in a more atmospheric feel to the series, which I think works well and highly appreciate. The voice actors did a solid job in their respective roles. The background noise was fairly well-done and quite detailed.

4. Characters

This was, in my opinion, the weakest part of the show, although it isn't all bad. The lead female character felt believable to me, and I enjoyed her interactions with the two male leads. My issues stem from both male characters. For starters, I felt Hazumi was missing something that would make him stand out on a positive note. In my honest opinion, while his character initially interested me, he seemed somewhat bland and kind of unrealistic. I also didn't completely buy his motivation for pursuing a relationship with the female lead. Either that, or his motivation itself was a little underdeveloped.

Another issue I had was with Shimao's evolution as a character. Part of it felt somewhat unnatural to me. Other than that, I felt the interactions between the main characters was rathet enjoyable to watch.

5. Enjoyment

While the series has its merits, another issue I found was with its pacing. The first few episodes were fine. Most of the last episode was fine. A good portion of the in-between felt kind of sluggish to me. While their are moments of interest in this slower gap, the slow down in the pace did sap my enjoyment at times.

Overall

If you are a fan of romance, this could merit a watch. I don't think its the best, but there is much certainly a lot worse shows to spend your time on.

If you aren't particularly a fan of the genre, I would actually say that, aside from the pacing, it could still be an interesting watch.

Here are my initial impressions.

This looks like a promising series. When you think you've seen all kinds of romance animes, full of cliches and love triangles, this comes with a twist.

Hazuki in love with Rokka, works part time at her shop, to try and form a relationship between them, only to find out that Rokka is widowed and her husband's spirit still lives at her house! The interesting thing is only Hazuki seems to see him.

It's refreshing to see the leading female character with short black hair and i like the idea of how it'll explore what it's like to move on from losing ... someone you love. The art is quite beautifully done too.

I look forward to see what happens. It'll be interesting to see how the characters interact, whether Hazuki can be in a relationship with Rokka and what Rokka will do.

This is another anime where you just don't regret ever seeing your first anime.
Love. A very strong and powerful word. This anime is a good example of how far our 'love' can go. From our first meeting, and even further, even until we die, our love still stands it's hold. The story itself is beautiful. I really love this anime.

The Story 10/10
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The story starts of where a woman, 'Rikka Shimao', who's husband died from an illness. Then comes a man, 'Ryousuke Hazuki', who is eight years younger than Rikka (i think), who then falls in love with her. After that, he then asks if ... he can work at the florist shop where Rikka works at. While helping Rikka, he then sees a man beside her and thought that the man was her boyfriend. Suprisingly, the man was Shimao! Rikka's dead husband in a ghost form. The story then continues on after that.

This plot certainly is great and most unique i have ever seen! *yes I wrote it myself because I was too lazy to copy from MAL's desc*

Art 9/10
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There's not much to say about the art. It is very nice to be quite honest, nothing out of the ordinary.

Sound 9/10
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Yea, I'm pretty sure no one cares about the sound that much.

Character 10/10
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This is interesting. The characters are very unique and gave me the feeling to want to see more of what happenes next after the ending.

Enjoyment 10/10
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Really enjoyed this anime! I did not cry, but it was worth the 6-7 hours i spent marathon-ing this anime!

Overall 10/10
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I recommend this to all anime watchers, ESPECIALLY to those who love romance. I don't know how one could deeply hate this story.

I wanted to watch a romantic anime. I opened Crunchyroll late at night and expected to watch a short and cute anime after watching My love Story.

BOY. I cried at every single minute. At the time, my boyfriend was diagnosed with a tumor but didn't want to tell me, I just grabbed my iPad one day and I noticed he left a tab open about Cancer. Since he didn't wanted to tell me I still wasn't sure about the tumor at that time. Something was just wrong and he was being too quiet. That's why I was watching a ton of romantic anime, he ... was being too cold and distant and I was so worried about our relationship that I wanted to feel something nice about love.

So this anime dehydrated me.

Some other people have rated this 6 o 7. It might be too soft, too slow at times, but I, with that experience, was feeling every scene. Sometimes I felt chills. I cried by several minutes after finishing every episode, even the cute ones. My pilllow was soaked in my tears.

But this anime had super cute and funny moments that made me feel good. I often laughed while crying because it is that awesome. Life goes on and you have to care for yourself no matter what. It really helped me to mature a little bit about my situation at the time.

My boyfriend told me about the tumor the day before the surgery to remove the bastard. It was in the morning and I was still getting ready to go to work. He broke in tears while holding me. I didn't know what to expect after that surgery. Whatever happened I was ready to support him. Everything went fine and we are still very happy, thou, there's a chance for a tumor regrow, so we will live with the cancer shadow forever.

The lesson: enjoy every moment with the people you love.

You have to be very mature to enjoy this anime. Like in your 30s or something. Maybe past 25s. It's worth a rewatch.

Hazuki meets a shop owner of a flower shop named Rokka. After walking by and falling in love with her, he started to work part time at the flower shop. One day she actually invites him over! He gets all excited just to see a man in his underpants. After feeling depressed about the situation he soon realizes that things aren't as they seem. A love triangle ensues between Rokka, Hazuki the new man in her life, and Shimao her husband who has past away.

Obviously the story isn't over yet so I am going off what I have ... seen so far. What I have seen so far I like. The story offers a wide variety of different perspectives that are unique with each character. It brings you into the emotion that one would feel in a situation like this. I can't wait to see what happens and where these relationships go from here. It has my interest and keeps my interest.

The art is great, there are a lot of references to children's stories in the drawings of Shimao. Which will make sense after you watch the anime.

The Characters are very interesting and offer insight into each one by not only giving back stories into the past but how they are feeling in the present. There is very good character interaction and there isn't a lot of new characters jumping in without introduction. (Which I can't stand btw.) They build up the characters and their relationships with each other so that is promising.

My enjoyment and my overall experience of this anime so far are good. The anime offers a wide variety of experiences in thus you feel the level of intensity for the love, romance, sadness, grieving, and the possibility of a new romance blooming.

+ Good mix of reality and supernatural
+ I really FELT characters feelings
+ Art is beautiful, especially in nature and storybook scenes
+ Awesome OP and ED songs
+ Makes life feel even more beautiful, that's always a sign of a good serie :)
- It's very hard to say something negative, but sometimes I felt a LITTLE bored. I don't recommend this to people who need action-packed adventuring.

You know it's gonna be a good anime when Yuya Matsushita sings the theme song.

i thought it was a captivating heart breaking love story that was nicely done.
in some parts it tears you apart; you want Rokka to still love Shimao
and in other parts you feel quite the contrary, you want her to move on and love Hazuki.

it's a charming and sweet anime that was destoryed by fantasy. Some parts were out-of-place didnt get how that was related to the main story.

but overall, i really enjoyed watching it.