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REVIEW: Natsuyuki Rendezvous Episodes 1-11 Streaming


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kyokun703



Joined: 06 Jan 2005
Posts: 2505
Location: Orgrimmar
PostPosted: Thu Sep 27, 2012 11:14 pm Reply with quote
I wanted to like this series so much, but I was so disappointed by it, much for the same reasons Carl listed.

I hated both of the guys immensely. They were both manipulative jerks. Rokka, while extremely cute, and I loved her character design, was rather boring and flat for most of the series. I was semi-interested for about five episodes, but when Shimao took over Hatsuki's body, Hatsuki's storyline became infuriatingly boring.

And in the last episode, spoiler[the interactions between Shimao and Rokka, especially when he bit her, to mark her as his, as if she's an object] were extremely creepy, appalling, and a complete turn off.

I stuck it out for the whole series just because I wanted to see what happened. However, it felt like a giant waste of my time, which irritates me to no end, because I want to support josei anime and get more of it, but not something as lackluster and frustrating as this was.
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DmonHiro





PostPosted: Fri Sep 28, 2012 12:09 am Reply with quote
Story had potential, it really did. But BOTH the guys were just so freaking INSUFFERABLE. Rokka was OK, but those two pricks? GODDAMN!
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maaya



Joined: 14 Oct 2007
Posts: 976
PostPosted: Fri Sep 28, 2012 12:20 am Reply with quote
kyokun703 wrote:
However, it felt like a giant waste of my time, which irritates me to no end, because I want to support josei anime and get more of it, but not something as lackluster and frustrating as this was.


Yea, I was actually kinda happy when the show ended, because it had gotten so "bleh". I liked the very last scene, but the characters really had zero chemistry and surprisingly little depth ... well, not every josei series can be great ^^; I wish noitamina would return to Ai Yazawa, Moyoco Anno or Chica Umino's works as well. But luckily for now, there's the second season of Chihayafuru coming up.
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CrowLia



Joined: 24 Feb 2012
Posts: 5500
Location: Mexico
PostPosted: Fri Sep 28, 2012 12:25 am Reply with quote
This show started really strong. I actually thought it was going to be the highlight of the season. I remember episode three when spoiler[Rokka gets sick and collapses and both Shimao and Hazuki say they feel like crying, one because he can't help his wife and the other because the girl he loves is calling for her dead husband.] I thought that was a brilliand and beautiful scene that pulled at the deepest chords of my heart.

But after the body-take over everything went too crazy, Shimao spent too much time in Hazuki's body, who did nothing, NOTHING while trapped in fairy tale land. Then in the final episodes after Shimao had seemed to actually be doing something to move forward, he suddenly goes back and spoiler[wants to take Rokka to the afterlife] and behave like a child. I don't know, it felt like the emotions were too exaggerated to be believable at this point.

The ending left a sweet feeling behind, but my overall impression, like the review says, is quite "meh". I loved the beginning, I liked the end. The middle is some mushy boring thing I wish I hadn't wasted so much time over
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Shippoyasha



Joined: 28 Aug 2007
Posts: 459
PostPosted: Fri Sep 28, 2012 1:33 am Reply with quote
The relaxed pacing of the first half was one of the best first halves of shows like it in the past several years for me. So I can't agree that the first half was bad.

The very mature, understated handling of a touchy romantic situation was brilliant IMO. I loved it.
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st_owly



Joined: 20 May 2008
Posts: 5234
Location: Edinburgh, Scotland
PostPosted: Fri Sep 28, 2012 3:52 am Reply with quote
I loved it up until Shimao went into Hazuki's body, then I thought it went really downhill, and the ending very much seemed like an "oh shit it's the last episode we need to do something!" finale. So much wasted potential with this show.
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dtm42



Joined: 05 Feb 2008
Posts: 14084
Location: currently stalking my waifu
PostPosted: Fri Sep 28, 2012 4:18 am Reply with quote
st_owly wrote:
I loved it up until Shimao went into Hazuki's body, then I thought it went really downhill, and the ending very much seemed like an "oh shit it's the last episode we need to do something!" finale. So much wasted potential with this show.


I mostly agree with this. There was so much promise with the setup, and I didn't even mind the idea of the body-swap. But Hazuki spent six episodes in fairy-land, which was four episodes too long.

And yeah, the show felt so incestuous. With only four characters (one of whom had a lot less screentime than the others), the focus was too narrow. I am not saying that other characters should have been thrown in simply for the sake of it, but the show could have at least mixed it up a bit.
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poonk



Joined: 05 Jun 2008
Posts: 1490
Location: In the Library with Philip
PostPosted: Fri Sep 28, 2012 4:24 am Reply with quote
This was one of the (extremely few, nowadays) anime series I tentatively put on my "To Watch, Eventually" list, but honestly the reviews from multiple sources have been so dismal I'm reconsidering, even though it's only 11 episodes. People across the board seem so disappointed in this title.
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maaya



Joined: 14 Oct 2007
Posts: 976
PostPosted: Fri Sep 28, 2012 4:40 am Reply with quote
poonk wrote:
This was one of the (extremely few, nowadays) anime series I tentatively put on my "To Watch, Eventually" list, but honestly the reviews from multiple sources have been so dismal I'm reconsidering, even though it's only 11 episodes.


well, Natsuyuki has some nice ideas and is different enough from your average anime show, but most other josei animes (a majority of which are also 11 episode noitamina series) are still much better imho.
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stardf29



Joined: 29 Aug 2007
Posts: 171
PostPosted: Fri Sep 28, 2012 4:55 am Reply with quote
I had much the same feeling about this one; the last two episodes were great, but the storybook arc dragged things out too much for an 11-episode show and really brought the show down from what it could have been. And yeah, neither of the guys were particularly likable.

dtm42 wrote:
And yeah, the show felt so incestuous.


That's the first time I've seen that adjective used for a show that didn't actually have some degree of incest. Razz
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Shippoyasha



Joined: 28 Aug 2007
Posts: 459
PostPosted: Fri Sep 28, 2012 7:23 am Reply with quote
poonk wrote:
This was one of the (extremely few, nowadays) anime series I tentatively put on my "To Watch, Eventually" list, but honestly the reviews from multiple sources have been so dismal I'm reconsidering, even though it's only 11 episodes. People across the board seem so disappointed in this title.


You should just watch it. At the very least, the show has a great style, very nice, moody music, great OP/ED, it's just a pleasant show overall.

I do think the show had more potential and all, but honestly, they still went through a lot of the characters' trauma and pet peeves through it all.
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Angel M Cazares



Joined: 23 Sep 2010
Posts: 5407
Location: Iscandar
PostPosted: Fri Sep 28, 2012 10:57 am Reply with quote
First of all, I am one of of those who fell in love with Natsuyuki Rendezvous in episode 1. I was convinced it I was going to be a very good series. Unfortunately, it turned stupid in its second half.

I read this angry review. While agree with Carl on the inconsistencies of the show, I disagree with his reasoning. I do not think Natsuyuki Rendezvous become a mess because the characters were selfish or invisible. The blame goes to the writers and director. Furthermore, I did not know characters in anime had to be paragons of virtue to be appealing; I thought they had to be well written.

I strongly disagree that the second half in Natsuyuki Rendezvous was better/stronger than the first half. I and several people in this forums have hinted that the second half ultimately undermined the strong start of the anime. I also fail to see what was so great about the cheap "fantasy land" resource.

P.S. I too wanted to see more of the cool looking Miho Shimao!!!
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Zhou-BR



Joined: 28 Feb 2008
Posts: 1419
PostPosted: Fri Sep 28, 2012 1:44 pm Reply with quote
The only problem I had with this show was how rushed the ending was. Maybe if it had a 12th episode, they could have spent more time on spoiler[the epilogue after the time skip. After everything Hazuki went through, I was glad to see he got to marry Rokka and have children with her, but we don't get to see any of the time they spent together before dying.]

Last edited by Zhou-BR on Fri Sep 28, 2012 1:46 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Mr Sinister



Joined: 02 Jan 2006
Posts: 157
Location: NY
PostPosted: Fri Sep 28, 2012 1:46 pm Reply with quote
No way... a show about cock-blocking is... frustrating? SHOCKER!!!!!
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SereneChaos



Joined: 14 Oct 2011
Posts: 384
Location: Middle of Nowhere, USA
PostPosted: Fri Sep 28, 2012 5:06 pm Reply with quote
I dropped Natsuyuki Rendezvous not because of the the fairy tale stuff (that was the only thing vaguely making me want to watch more) but because there was no chemistry between the characters. Somethings can get away with little chemistry, but it's a fatal flaw for a romance.
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