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If you thought that Rokka's sudden confession at the end of last week's Natsuyuki Rendezvous was going to bring Hazuki back into possession of his own body, think again - as this seventh episode begins, our guest Shimao seems to be very much here to stay. Needless to say, Rokka's confess only really serves to compound Shimao's unhappiness - despite deriving some choice from hearing her talk
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After compiling the preview for the next season, at this point I’m about 90% sure of this: my favorite series of 2012 will be either Uchuu Kyoudai or Natsuyuki Rendezvous. Both series stand far above the other series this year in terms of characterization and acting. This episode of Natsuyuki Rendezvous only reaffirmed this. It [...]
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I dare you to find a more heart-wrenching love triangle than this one. It looks like we're finally reaching the heart of the problem, literally in Hazuki's case with the fairy tale metaphors piling on top of each other. There's not a lot going on with the Little Mermaid side of things, but the idea of diving down to the deepest part of the "ocean" close to where Shimao wrote his finally words and then tore them out speaks for itself and will probably play a role in how Hazuki manages to leave. But even more interesting than that was the statement not-Rokka made: "The main character has to be happy at the end of the story. But who's the main character?" That seems to be the million-dollar question for this show, since a solid argument could be made for any of the three characters. Rokka is falling in love again and starting to move on, although whether she can forgive herself for loving someone other than Shimao is still up in the air. Hazuki is clearly head over heels, but he needs to realize that relationships are not black and white. Shimao has the short end of the stick, since there's nothing he can do to stop the march of time, which is the focus of this episode. I like all three characters for differing reasons, but Shimao has always gotten the most of my sympathy. I haven't agreed with all of his actions, but I can't judge him harshly for them either. When you think about how long he must have gone without even being able to talk to the love of his life, I think deserves to use that as an excuse. It's not quite a get out of jail free card, but it's valid nevertheless. Of course, the problem with all this is that he's borrowing Hazuki's body for selfish ends. No matter what he does, he's helping Hazuki and Rokka's relationship. With the mention of the final words that he didn't want anyone to read (but Rokka clearly did), Shimao clearly has something that he needs to resolve before moving on to the next life. This episode reminded me of Hazuki's declaration earlier in the series that he should just step aside and let someone younger take over. While the message wasn't nearly as harsh and naive as that, there's an increasing feeling of valuing the living over the dead. The dead are static and part of the past, while the future belongs to the living, and as Rokka says, anything can happen. I'm not sure I entirely agree with this sentiment yet. I think that a person needs a healthy balance of both--the past to learn from and the future to look forward to--but I do agree that Rokka has way too many reminders of Shimao around if she's seriously decided on Hazuki. And if being with Rokka didn't cover whatever unfinished business Shimao left behind, what could it really be? Images from Crunchyroll.com.
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With episodes 5 and 6, Natsuyuki Rendezvous has moved out of the grey area between “Okay and Good” into just “Good.” Episode 5 If I didn’t already find Atsushi annoying, this episode would have pushed me off the fence.  Seeing Atsushi act out like a child was something Natsuyuki Rendezvous had already done several times … Continue reading »
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In life and love, there is sometimes no better advice than to seize the day – a timeless message that this series is painting in a most vivid and memorable way.
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The summer 2012 anime season is proving a wonderful one for those looking for love (stories). Natsuyuki Rendezvous, based on the josei manga by Haruka Kawachi, explores a creeper’s obsession with a local flower shop owner. Pure and simple, right? Well, this is anime, so no ... not really. The flower shop owner, Shimao Rokka, is a 30 year old widow who, unbeknownst to her, is being haunted by the ghost of her ill(ness)-fated, beloved husband, Shimao Atsushi. Similarly, she remains oblivious to the shy affections of the younger Hazuki Ryōsuke, who stops by whenever his allowance allows to purchase some new plant or flower just to bask in her presence for the length of the transaction. After he gets hired part-time at Rokka’s shop, Ryōsuke becomes aware of the fact that he alone can see Atsushi and falls victim to the ghost’s determination of never letting any other man have Rokka’s heart. Selfishness plays a large role in love no matter the age of its victims. What NR does so outstandingly in episodes 1–6 is cast such wantonness in a truly ugly light while evoking utter sympathy for the characters on the wrong end of the heart-wrenching scenarios it portrays. And since this story is of a love-triangle gone awry, everyone is always on the wrong end of someone else’s selfishness. The real questions are whose id can help whom more than it can hurt, who will be the first to break the selfishness cycle, and what will be the traumatic event that drives such a change. Rokka has obviously never moved on. She lives on top of and has taken full proprietorship over the flower shop that was her husband’s venture and passion. Every day she lives in a world where her husband is absent from everything familiar to her daily routine. This is the world she has chosen to live in since her husband’s death. This is her selfishness, a world in which any new entity can have no effect other than being an abstract blemish on a cherished memory. She makes the real world into a ghost town while tenaciously tending the tomb within which she has enshrined herself. For all his love and devotion, Atsushi’s ethereal nature means that he cannot in any way do anything to help Rokka move on mentally or care for her physically. The only things he can do consist of doting on Rokka, feeling sorry for his own circumstance, and attempting to keep at bay the sole person (Ryōsuke) who could help Rokka grow out of her stagnation. Atsushi’s selfishness, obvious but also pitiable (the end of episode 2 is a testament to this), is his refusal to relinquish the vows he made in life with Rokka for her own betterment. Ryōsuke can be brash, a tad forceful, and inconsiderate, but these are the traits of adolescent obsession and can even be considered somewhat endearing depending on their degrees and the situation. Fighting against the increasing frustrations of his own bashfulness and the constant intrusions of the defensive apparition, Ryōsuke declares his love for Rokka and thereby slaps the ghost with a white glove. Forgetting Atsushi’s transparency, however, Ryōsuke’s offensives against the ghost’s cock-blocks usually just end up hitting Rokka in the heart by selfishly making her face her former husband’s absence, the passage of time, and her reawakening yearnings (episode 4 is an excellent example of this). Exploring such themes as desire, honor, guilt, and remorse regarding romantic love, Natsuyuki Rendezvous is far from one-note. The complexity with which this series portrays the forced hand of waning devotion vs. youthful determination and human nature is only mangled only by how it has the characters handle (internally) that same fickleness. As much as I’d laud Natsuyuki Rendezvous for its back-and-forth on true-to-life issues that deserve such accurate representation, I find myself condemning the series for Rokka’s mostly passive and all too forgiving (almost intoxicated) nature regarding Ryōsuke’s forcefulness. Likewise, I take issue with Ryōsuke’s absolute disregard for remorse concerning how his love-blinded impetuousness has hurt Rokka. I find myself condemning such portrayals, but in all reality, cannot justify my own reactions as this is indeed very close to humanity.  This is the type of humanism for which Shakespeare was praised. People are not saintly or evil, not good or evil, just human, the realistic sum of their experiences and desires as moderated through the fears and judgments of self and others. Natsuyuki Rendezvous is now streaming on Crunchyroll. Impressions: Natsuyuki Rendezvous Episodes 1-6 was originally published on Ani-Gamers (www.anigamers.com) on August 13, 2012 at 11:04 PM. Unless you are reading this in an RSS reader or a blog aggregator that credits the original authors, this version has likely been illegally copied (or "scraped") from our site. If you believe a site has scraped our content, please contact us so we can take action against the offender.
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Episode 6 It’s ironic that Atsushi is helping Rokka to fall in love with “Hazuki,” but I doubt that he has any intention to return his body soon. I mean, he’s enjoying himself way too much now… Continuing where we left off, Rokka makes the odd request to wash his back. Atsushi suggests that they [...]
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Seriously, I don’t get this. Rokka is this, Rokka is that. I lost focus of what the story really is. There is a 50/50 chance that I’ll drop this eventually. Also, hi @marthaurion. I stole this shot from you.
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So is Atsushi just supposed to stay in control of Hazuki’s body for the rest of the show or something? This is kinda absurd…he finds Hazuki in a moment of weakness and just refuses to give control back. Oh well, his attempts to keep Rokka away have been unsuccessful because she confessed to him anyway. [...]
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Any bets on what fairy tale we'll see after The Little Mermaid? Alice in Wonderland maybe? Or Sleeping Beauty? I'm starting to wonder if the rest of the show will have Shimao in Hazuki's body and Hazuki in sketchbook fairy tale land. I wouldn't particularly mind if they did though, since this situation gives a lot to chew over. If the character relationships and the most unique love triangle I've ever seen weren't enough, now we're neck deep in symbolism as well. I love fairy tale symbolism. Last time I wondered who was putting Hazuki into the role of the failed suitors from Thumbelina, and we got a partial answer on that; not-Rokka says that the story didn't accomodate him, so he could take whatever role he wanted. The implication is that he can't take a role already filled, so in Shimao's version of Thumbelina, Hazuki can never be the prince. I'm probably going to write a longer post on all this later, since I find it fascinating, but in terms of what's important to this episode (as far as I can tell) the turning point was when Shimao started a new story in the sketchbook, giving Hazuki a leading role in The Little Mermaid. I don't know what to make of his choice of fairy tales at the moment; The Little Mermaid in a blood-red sea does not seem to bode well. Like the Thumbelina analogies, this one will probably need a few more episodes to play out. What's interesting though is when this pops up in the "real world" storyline. Shimao has decided to stop sabotaging Hazuki and is making an effort to act like him. In the process, he's discovered that Rokka really does have feelings for Hazuki, and that in a sense he's already lost the fight. However, it's still debatable whether Rokka realizes this yet or not. I've said before that I didn't want this to become a story about people trying to force Rokka to move on and portray forcing people into relationships as the answer to their emotional problems. It's easy to read Shimao's statement as such--"Stop using your dead husband as an excuse"--but when you consider the source, it becomes much more than that. If Shimao's guess is right, and I think it is, then Rokka has fallen in love again and his memory is getting in the way of new happiness. He doesn't want her to forget, and she won't, but he wants her to be able to move on. That's real love, in my opinion. And as corny as it sounds, I think a part of the old Rokka died with Shimao, and is tied so deeply into Shimao's supernatural existence that even he doesn't know it's there. How else can the show explain not-Rokka in the sketchbook, left behind and looking for her prince? Why Shimao looks like Rokka just before he possesses Hazuki? I'm not sure whether she needs to regain that part of her or let it go, but if I'm right about this hunch, it adds yet another layer to the dialogue of loving, letting go, and living. Images from Crunchyroll.com.
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Note: Due to the recent floods brought by the very bad weather, I was not able to do my /watchlist/ing. In order to recover from the backlog, I’ll post the episodes one-by-one. ——————————— Take note of this bizarre situation: You are inside an unfinished picture book. Set aside the opportunity of meeting a fairy, look at the situation. “Atsushi, in his earlier days, draw picture book to drive away boredom and sadness brought by being alone in the hospital bed.” Since I am focused on this particular script from the show, I am thinking that the reason why Atsushi can’t rest in peace is that he haven’t finished drawing the picture book. What really Atsushi wants to rest in peace? That is the question. I don’t think he just wants to be with Rokka forever, there must be a deeper reason for not moving on. This might be the outcome if we focus on the first paragraphs I wrote. Either way, the series is classic — see the pastel colors, the dramatic storyline, it’s a classic that needs to be remade in a live-action setting. It also has a different take on Prince Charming and Fairies, by taking (drunk) Hazuki into a wonderland where he is being called a “Prince” by a fairy.
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All Atsushi wanted to do was to spend more time with his wife. All he seems to have done, however, is to convince Rokka that she should give Hazuki a chance. The show is full of these ironic moments. Two … Continue reading →
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So far I have found Natsuyuki Rendezvous to be a very unique, engaging anime. The series takes its time delving into the thoughts, memories, and feelings of the three main characters, and manages to create situations that utilize its premise quite effectively. While watching this series, I have found myself feeling a great deal of [...]
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Categories: Anime, Natsuyuki Rendezvous, Summer 2012Tags: Natsuyuki RendezvousIt’s kind of nice for a change to see an episode shown mostly from Rokka’s perspective. Despite this being a josei title and all, she hasn’t had quite as much say in the matter as the other two gents. Continuing … Continue reading →(Read more...)
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Shimao-as-Hazuki agrees to let Rokka wash his back, but she demurs when he asks her to bath with him. Both frustrated, he leaves, but not before drawing something in his sketchbook. Wanting to clear her head, Rokka spends her Sunday helping Miho tend her garden, but the roses there remind her of Atsushi. She retreats [...]
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Thanks to their body-swapping shenanigans (which seems to be the in thing this summer), Shimao is continuing to enjoy life within the body of Hazuki.  Well, I say "enjoy", but it's proving to be tougher than he perhaps imagined in a number of ways. Most notably as this sixth instalment begins, Shimao seems to be having trouble reconciling his own feelings for his wife/former wife with the fact
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So, this is the direction the story went with. Taking over the body really turned out to be a huge plot point for this series, rather than a random gimmick. This entire episode was building up to the big twist at the end, after which there still was no sign of Hazuki getting his body [...]
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