Natsuiro no Sunadokei (OAV)

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Title:	Natsuiro no Sunadokei (OAV) Sandglass of Summer Colors 夏色の砂時計
Overall:	Watch
Keywords:	2004, Adventure, All Ages, Comedy, Fan Service, High School, OVA, Romance, Sci-Fi, Time Travel
Notables:
On the last day of high school, right before the summer break, Makimura Koutarou decides that he is going to confess to the school idol, Serizawa Kaho-chan (by talking Ai, the younger girl living next door to him, into delivering his love letter) - only to be turned down instantly. On his way home that night, he confronts a trench-coated stalker in the shadows and ends up being showered with a strange powder. The next morning when he wakes up, six weeks have passed and his school is having a memorial service for Serizawa Kaho, with everyone being sympathetic at the death of his girl friend. He learns that Kaho-chan died in an accident as she was hurrying to meet him on a date? Koutarou jumps again back in time to meet a red-haired time patroller named Legene, and learns that she was the stalker that he encountered night before. Legene explains that he was showered with time-particles which have caused him to become unhinged in time, and that she is there to break up their relationship to prevent Kaho-chans death, unless Koutarou can change the circumstances of the events that lead up to her accident. So with Legene's help, Koutarou is off save both Kaho and their relationship. (Based on a game by Princess Soft) Two episodes each about 30 minutes long. Animation by KSS, Picture Magic & Rikuentai Ep 1 - The Truth Buried in Sand Ep 2 - In a Single Second of Eternity

Episode Details
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Overall	Art	Animation	Character Design	Music	Series Story	Episode Story	Reviewer

Rent 4							Stretch	#
Natsuiro no Sunadokei (OAV) (Rent-, to be more exact) This was pretty fun! I was thinking that it would be another teens-at-the-beach-over-summer-vacation show, but, quite unexpectedly, it turned out to have a silly sci-fi twist to it. Early on, I was confused and didn't like the implications of some sort of magic (Legene's "pixy dust") apparently being involved. But when she identified herself as a "time patroller" I couldn't help but laugh, just like Koutarou himself. It seemed that Koutarou would attract a bit of a harem to himself as he interacted with a number of girls in order to put things back in order--at least there were plenty of girls in the OP sequence, but not all turned out to play a significant part in the two episodes. Teen romance with time travel--it works for me! The plot doesn't make complete sense, but the hell with that, it was a lot of fun. I wouldn't say NNS is brilliant, but it was definitely a pleasant surprise. Legene is a fun character, not completely competent but not about to be criticised either. Male protagonist Koutarou not being a pathetic wimp definitely helps, too. The OP and ED songs are good as well. Part two wasn't as much fun, perhaps because I knew what to expect this time around. I was both relieved and disappointed to learn that NNS consists of only two episodes--relieved that I could watch it in it's entirety, but disappointed that a mere hour or so is all that there is. I'm a little uncomfortable crossing the line from Watch into Rent, since that would put this show in the same category as some far better ones, but if additional episodes were available for rent, then yes, I'd do so. I certainly wouldn't mind if NNS was redone as a TV series. My favorite line: "You need to follow up or it's embarassing" --Tomomi Last updated Friday, March 07 2008. Created Monday, May 28 2007.

Watch 4	8	7	6	5	6	6	Devil Doll	#
Natsuiro no Sunadokei (OAV) [Score: 61%] Drama: Low/Med (it's supposed to be about life and death but you rarely get this feeling) Comedy: Med (Legene as very incompetent "time cop") Action: Low (with an accident that's scheduled to happen) SciFi: Med/High (time travel as the trigger of all events) Ecchi: Low (nothing serious but fanservice now and then) Given the gloomy tone of the scenario it could have become a serious story. Instead they made it a time travelling comedy of the DNA^2 type, only with not enough time for development and less plausible characters (why does the teacher believe Koutarou's story and even try to come up with fancy scientific explanations about those the "tachyon particles"?), wasting precious air time on panty shots, the male lead rushing into a girls-only changing room and that molester scene in episode 2 - time that could have been spent to improve the character development instead. Legene is less likable than Karin from DNA^2, little more than laughing stock (including her final scene that doesn't seem called for). Koutarou as the male lead has potential - unfortunately those unpredictable time jumps force him to ad-lib permanently, then downgrading him to comedy material as well. The "idol" Kaho-chan is actually quite boring as character. So the interesting parts have to be played by the side characters, such as the blonde girl Ai from next door (who delivered his love letter despite having a crush on him), or the blue-haired high diver girl (who sadly is completely forgotten after the first episode). The unnerving vocals in the ED song caused me to give Music the lowest attribute rating here. The second episode is better in most aspects, basically because the narration style is more linear in time and the various developments are more plausible (including the comedy parts), including the dramatic yet clichéd ending. But all in all it remains a weaker variation of ideas we know from DNA^2 already; therefore I give it a mere "Watch" rating for the lack of both originality and execution quality. Last updated Tuesday, April 10 2007. Created Tuesday, April 10 2007.

Watch 4	7	8	8	7	7		Jan-Chan	#
Natsuiro no Sunadokei (OAV) This is a very silly and cute romance story. If you don't expect much, and don't worry too much about the obvious problems in the story, then you might be able to share in the fun hour that I spent watching this escapist and simple story. Last updated Sunday, June 12 2005. Created Saturday, August 21 2004.

Other Sites

Name	URL
Princess Soft (game company) Web Site	http://www.oaks-soft.co.jp/princess-soft/natsu_ova1.html

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