Overview (Possible Spoilers):
Shinpei Ajiro, whose childhood friend Ushio Kofune died, returns to his hometown for the first time in two years. His best friend, Sou Hishigata, suspects something’s off with Ushio’s death, and someone else may die next.
Our Take:
I’m going to let you know this is one of the best anime I have ever watched but I have to get some of the negatives out of the way. First and foremost is how the show itself was handled for us here in the West. This anime premiered on Disney+ almost a full year ago, in April of 2022. I have been following this show forever because I read the manga and was super excited to see it animated. I was hesitant but excited to see Disney get into the world of anime, but if this is anything to go by then we might need to be worried. From how long it took to get here to how the English dub of this was handled is something to be concerned with.
This leads me to my second big negative, and that pertains to the English dub itself. As of this moment, I haven’t watched this anime subbed (though I hear it’s good) but on future rewatches I might. I’m all for enlisting new talent and, to be honest, I don’t think that was the problem but there were only four recognizable VAs in this. Lip flaps were off and some of the voices sounded better than others. It felt like the actors had to provide their own microphones and some obviously had better ones. Certain moments felt less intense because of the way the line would be delivered, I think there is a chance for a lot of these new VAs to do good but their inexperience was fairly obvious.
That does it for my negatives, which really weren’t the anime’s fault. For what it’s worth the VAs that are recognizable did fantastic, especially Kaiji Tang and you’ll figure out why. As far as the story goes I think most people will find something to enjoy with Summer Time Rendering.
Horror is hard to pull off in anime and this one manages to nail it. I wasn’t absolutely terrified or anything but it was creepy and I felt on edge for sure. This gave me some Shiki and Erased vibes which manage to be creepy in their own way. As far as horror anime goes Shiki was one of the best to me. Summer Time Rendering gives you the same feelings of isolation and dread, nothing like being stuck on an island with supernatural creatures that want to kill you.
Ultimately, this is an anime that shouldn’t be missed by anyone, especially any anime fan. There were some episodes near the end that kind of dragged on a little bit but this had everything I want. Good characters, unique powers and skill sets, some romance, and a satisfying ending. I know 2023 seems like an odd time to finally get to experience one of the best anime of 2022 but better late than never. If you don’t watch this you are really missing out, some technical issues bring down the English dub specifically but I have seen way worse dubs.