Natsuiro Kiseki – Final Review

During the last season, there were two shows that focused on idol groups, each taking a different approach. Although I dropped AKB0048 since I didn’t like the AKB48, there is one show that intrigued me. This is mostly contributed to Natsuiro Kiseki’s (Lit: A Summer-colored Miracle) main cast consisted of members from Sphere. When I realized this, it already caught my attention. (Image Source)

When the first episode aired, I had very mixed feelings about the show. I felt this way because they pounded the viewers with drama from Natsumi and Saki getting into an argument for some reason. However, the show instantly became better when Rinko and Yuka used the wishing rock to have them make up. What we got is Natsumi’s and Saki’s bodies sticking together and their wild goose chase to catch the perpetrators. The second episode was a lot of fun because of that. Fortunately the series got better from there since these silly situations continued to happen thanks to that rock, although they are different each time.

On the other hand, what makes this show special compared to others is that it takes a different approach and subverts the cute girls doing cute things type of shows. In a sense, although the girls manage to remain friends, they come up with some nasty wishes on each other.  For instance, Yuka switches bodies with Saki so she can go out with her love interest. Although these “miracles” often brings hilarious results, it doesn’t actually hurt their friendship, but rather bring them closer. Since Saki will eventually move away, it’s best to experience a summer that they can remember forever.

As for the characters, each girl had an enjoyable personality. Out of the four, probably Yuka and Saki were the most enjoyable. Although Yuka was somewhat annoying at times, she has a very enjoyable personality and brings life to the group. Of course, she is the one that pushes the other girls to achieve a dream of becoming idols. Saki on the other hand has pretty looks and is the most mature out of the group. Obviously, the characters I mentioned are also the strongest singers (Takagaki Ayahi and Tomatsu Haruka) in the group. You probably recognize those names along with Kotobuki Minako and Toyosaki Aki if you watched any anime in the past few years.

On the other hand, Natsumi is perhaps the weakest character out of the group in my opinion. Aside from the tendency to fight with Saki two times before making up, she has a hard time making up her mind about her love towards Saki. Then again, this is understandable since they are close friends and fears that she might not see her ever again. Thankfully, she accepts her decision since they can always visit.

While Natsuiro Kiseki is not perfect, I still enjoyed it a lot. I think most of it has to do with the “troll” rock and the girls. The production values were good, although Episode 8 had some of the laziest animation ever from Sunrise. The open and ending songs are supposedly good, although I haven’t listened to the full version of these tracks. Aside from that, this is probably one of the enjoyable slice of life I have seen from this year. It’s worth a watch if you want a twist to the usual slice of life and/or you are a fan of Sphere (or the voice actresses).

Overall Rating: 8.6/10, B, Very Good