NATSU NO ARASHI !

When I first started watching this series, it was a bit slow for me and I wasn't really sure what was going on. BTW, What's up with the salt dude? But, it started to grab my attention with the introduction of Kaya and Jun. I was a bit confused about Jun but was shocked to find out the truth about him/her! ha ha ha! And it seems Kaya has a story just like everyone else. There's something about her that I can't quite figure out yet.

I love the spunkiness and attitude of the owner of Arc! She reminds me of NYers! :)

Add one dash of evil genius boy, a sprinkling of carefree girl and one pound of characters with odd personalities. Throw in some time-travel for good measure and then let simmer for 30 mins.

This is the recipe for Natsu No Arashi.

We start with Hajime Yasaka a boy weak in resolve but not without ingenuity. In the first episode he creates a "bomb" in the shape of a strawberry, but inside is every hot pepper and magma flavored spice known to man. He plans on giving one to his self-arch rival from class. The only problem is he has created three of these bombs and one is lost. Turning back time (with the help of the female lead) he takes the other two.

It seems like any other day at the coffee shop where he works, but soon he finds that one of the two strawberry short-cakes (one with the bomb and one without) is missing and in like any anime fashion the one with the spice bomb is missing. It doesn't help that one of the girls that works at the shop is a bit of a sweets fanatic, so when she sees that her short-cake is missing, another bout of time travel ensues and the conclusion is no big surprise. Anyone would be able to call the end by the half-way mark, giving if they have seen enough anime.

The storyline is near (if not complete) cliche, but it's the cast and the animation that help this shallow anime. It's clear animators took some risks with the color scheme and with the visual indicators, some screen shots have subtle multi-colored boxes to help you to pay attention, in many cases this distracts the viewer, but with an anime that moves as fast as Natsu No Arashi does, this is the one time i actually found them helpful.

Rounding out the sights is a disjointed collaboration of music that never stays consistent (I know this sentence is redundant but there is a reason) the beginning and end themes are forgettable and slightly annoying, but the music during the actual show is surprisingly pleasing to the ears and appropriate. The music swims into the animation (with the exception of where the music is suppose to surprise the viewer) and most importantly it doesn't cover up the voice actors, meaning the music itself never really becomes a character, if you have seen Samurai Champloo or Cowboy Bebop then you understand what i mean.

The voice acting is believable and even.

All and all, if you're looking for something new and innovative then this might not be the place to look, but if you're looking for a good time with a few laughs and time travel hi-jinks then this is where you need to take a seat, relax and breathe in Natsu No Arashi.

I'd have to admit, when I began watching this series, I really didn't have much of an interest in it, other than the fact that Arashi was voiced by Ryoko Shiraishi. The graphics are sort of random and all over the place, and the characters (particularly that salt-seeking guy) are quite wierd. Though from watching it through to the end of the season, I don't really regret it.

The storyline of magical time-travelling girls is sort of unoriginal... but I still found this storyline where both Hajime and Arashi (from past and present) need to work together in order to change the past and, indirectly, the future to be different from others that I have seen.

I'm not really a fan of the type of music used in this anime, but because it was Ryoko Shiraishi singing the endings, I had to listen to them anyways x3 I began to realize, after time, that maybe I was a little too stereotypical towards this type of music after all. The anime openings and endings all have a very original tune that is quite different from generic anime opening songs.

The characters of the show are okay, but not really the 'spectacular' that I was looking for. I like their character designs, but they are quite similar to others that I have seen.

I'm not quite sure as to what 'animation' really refers to, but from my point of view I take it as the way the scenes look, character movement, etc. If I look at that, the style of animation where a million things flash over the screen in the course of a 5 minute character dialogue is kind of... well I personally didn't like that much because it made the anime seem messier than it really was, but I suppose there are others who could claim that they really love it.

The series is as energetic as it's always been, but the time travel has taken a holiday over the first two episodes of season two which throws away one of the main joys of the show. Also, it's now clear that the end of the season can be pretty easily predicted. My main hope for this season is that the path we take to get there will be as much fun as the path we've taken this far. About the only open plot question in my mind is "when is 'salt guy' going to go postal and shoot the place up?".

Once again, the opener is visually inventive, seductive and with an unusual tune, but it doesn't seem to have the sense of humor that was in the opener for the first season. Maybe the humor is there but just doesn't translate as well this time around. Given the "Storms" of summer title, I was hoping that the opener or closer for s2 would be a Japanese cover of Santana's "Stormy", which has a jazzy latin flavor similar to the original opener and of course has the perfect title for the series, but looks like I'm out of luck.

The animation revels in unusual lighting and shading, often using shadows and silhouettes to lend a mysterious, sinister air to a situation that is otherwise humorous such as the mahjong game in ep 2 (15th overall). The animation styles are also eclectic, jumping from shadowy horror-style creepiness, to the clean well-lighted place of the cafe with stops at super-deformed and chibi character designs along the way. Combined with the quirky character designs, the use of visuals to subert or enhance the tone of each scene is one of the most original parts of this anime.

The characters are like a family in the cafe, and one of the things that's weaker this time around is the character-driven suspense of the first season. Sure there's some developing romantic tension between the two young'uns, but without time travel we don't have the threats to people's lives and sanity that we had in the first season. Nothing a few plot twists in later episodes can't solve, but for right now it feels like they're playing up the anime cliches with the onsen and beach episode without much going on behind the scenes.

All in all, it's still a very watchable show, and while it has dipped a bit from season 1, it's nothing that can't be recovered with a few creepy twists to the plot for a 3 or 4 episode story arc. This is definitely a cut above many second season anime seeking to cash in on the popularity of the first season, such as Nogizaka Haruka or Shugo Chara party (which is technically a 5th season if you count in 26 episode blocks). I'll definitely be following these guys as the episodes roll out for remainder of season two.

I started to watch this anime by accident and it turns out to be WONDERFUL! I really don't expect a lot since the old man's prologue in a first few seconds, but I sticked around anyway. I love how Jin Kobayashi could developed all the character's differently. Judging by Kaja's appearance, I thought she will the 2nd Sawachika Eri, who is all stern, cold, and keep her appearance from others. But she turns out to be a highly amusing girl, who despite of having such a clam aura around her, could be such a running gag for sweets.

The animation style and the tone is perfect and quite clear in describing how Showa 20 era looks like, although only briefly mention. This anime is not so much about the storyline, because Jin Kobayashi is all about the humor, so I don't think you should perceive this anime seriously, otherwise you will lose its 'flavor'.

For me, personally, this anime offers some moral lessons and it makes me reflect back to how I have lived my life. The way all these summer ghosts live their short life at its fullest, gives some inspiration for us to do the same.

Enjoy the Summer while you can, guys! =D

Short'ish review for this series. Good. Watch It! ...ok a bit more...

A very creatively done series regarding the animation style - unique and very straight from the manga-like for me. Takes some getting used to I think and you may not like it at all - but I have to give them an A+ for the effort. The music was fine but I'm not adding any to my mp3s.

The first 12 episodes are a compelling story arc that introduces all the characters, develops all their back stories, and they do meaningful things relative to what the story is about. Just excellent overall. Then, not trying to be too much *spoilier* episode 13 is a fun OVA'ish bikini/cosplay 1st eps re-do that is a great counter to some of then intensity of the first 12. Each episode (all) has some repetitive though interesting and creative vignettes at the end (sometimes the begining) that were enjoyable.

But then they had another season...officially "Natsu no Arashi! Akinai chū" ...which I just don' get. Episodes 14-26 are marginally more then filler and the writers seemed to struggle for story ideas. *Head scratch* They had so much to draw from the first 12...*puzzled*...Best they could do was setup some possible interesting situations with the characters and leading to possible dramatic events...fizzled or unresolved except for maybe one. Of course I did watch them all...hoping that something would happen...something...

I know I often feel that slight pain when the last episode of an really good anime is finished...the story is over and no more to watch for the first time...Natsu No Arashi!...was pain free (unfortunately). 5 Star first season, 3 Star second season but all still worth a watch.

the show was just awful it was so confusing the moment i saw this show i knew it was gonna be boring the animation was good but other than that just horrible though the characters were so plain in my defense hanasakeru seishonen is a good anime better than this watch it please take it in to consideration anyway back to this mess of a show my little sister could make a better story than this and she's 4!