Before that, allow me to clarify that upon writing this review, I have watched only the first two episodes so changes may occur in the future.
Natsuiro Kiseki, or Summer-Colored Miracle in english, is an anime about daily lives of four middle schoolgirls : Natsuki, Saki, Yuka, and Rin. The setting of the anime took in summertime (just like the anime title). They are best friends living in a rural town, and mostly this anime is about their daily lives. But the unique aspect that make Natsuiro Kiseki a little bit different from another slice of life was the additional 'spice' of Supernatural element.
When first watching Natsuiro Kiseki, I was skeptical of blending a supernatural element to slice of life genre. But it turns out that Natsuiro Kiseki was able to blend those two elements well and create a better plot. The first two episodes begins well and told the viewers about the unique personalities of each character, and also give a fair introduction to the setting. Music was also pretty well done and supports the atmosphere.
Story : 7
In my opinion, slice of life doesn't need a story of masterpiece lever. It has to be interesting, with many small conflicts, character developments, and some humors. Natsuiro Kiseki offers a decent story of slice of life combined with supernatural element. Even though it's slice of life and I found many boring ones, Natsuiro Kiseki definitely is not the one. It's the kind of story that takes you in, and make you wanted to watch it more.
Art : 8
What can I say? Art is well done, especially the character designs. Rinko's hair reminded me a bit about Ohana from Hanasaku Iroha. The art style is similar to Hanasaku Iroha and if you watched it before, you will get a feeling of de ja vu (well, for me at least).
Character : 9
In slice of life, characters play a vital part of the story. Mediocre character development, and the anime won't be good. In Natsuiro Kiseki, we have a clear distiction between the four main protagonists :
- Natsuki is a leader-type, she's adamant and hot-headed,
- Saki is a little bit tsundere, she's stubborn but sometimes can be a little cute,
- Yuka is the cheerful and energetic type which could net the group into trouble,
- Rinko is quiet, calm, and timid type which completes the group of four.
Each of the personalities blend well and four of them make good friends.
Enjoyment : 8
It's a little bit boring at the beginning, but as I watched the show, it takes me into the setting and makes me want to watch more and more. The atmosphere is similar to Hanasaku Iroha, and I really liked it. As I have finished watching, I wanted to watch the next episode asap and it rarely happened to me when watching slice of life animes.
OVERALL : 8
For slice of life viewers, this is one of the series that you don't want to miss. Try watching the first episode and see if you got hooked.
I hope you enjoyed my review.
