JAINITUOS ANIME REVIEWS – SUMMER TIME RENDERING – MY FIRST IMPRESSIONS (ONE OF THE BEST ANIME OF SUMMER)

Summer Time Rendering

Studio: OLM

Genre: Supernatural, Mystery, Suspense

Hello my friends.

Welcome to another entry of my blog.

For now, stay with these words.

In 2021, it was Invincible.

What do I mean with this sentence? You will find out soon. For now, I want to say that I have time off, so I can watch some anime that I found fascinating, and that it is become trending these days, just like Spy X Family and Shikimori-san Is not just a Cutie. And what better than something that can exceed your expectations?

Especially after some unexpected story elements. What is true is that this anime in particular is going to stay with me for the rest of the year, if not the rest of my life. Having said that, I am happy to present to you…

Summer Time Rendering.

But first, I must ask you guys the same questions:

Are you feeling ok? Feeling healthy?

If the answer is yes, then I am very happy.

Now, let’s value the previous summer with Summer Time Rendering.

PREMISE

Based on the manga written and illustrated by Yasuki Tanaka, and published by Shueisha, Summer Time Rendering (サマータイムレンダ or Samā Taimu Renda), tells the story of Shinpei Ajiro, who was raised by chef Alain Kofune, as well as the daughters of the latter, Ushio and Mio. Shinpei was living in Tokyo for two years previous of the story, but when he received the news of Ushio drowning near the beach, he returns to his hometown to attend the funeral, but after a very heavy nightmare, and an unfortunate meeting with a woman with glass and big bust, he discovers that Ushio didn’t actually drown, she was strangled to death according to the autopsy, which found some marks on her neck. From that moment, Shinpei must discover the truth of Ushio’s death and the horrifying mysteries surrounding the island.

Summer Time Rendering was published from October 23, 2017 to February 1, 2021 (much to my surprise), in a total of 13 volumes. And for those who do not know, OLM is the same studio that animated…

Komi-san Can’t communicate

And… Thank you heavens… Summer Time Rendering has 25 episodes, which means we have a lot to introduce as much story, characters and their development as possible.

There is a very curious fact about the mangaka, Yasuki Tanaka, and that is one of his previous assistants was Kohei Horikoshi, a name that needs no presentation.

Right?

Summer Time Rendering was released on April 15th, 2022, and it is been released on Disney+. Yep? What did you expect? You thought I would say Crunchyroll. Right? Moreover, some of the voice talent includes Natsuki Hanae (Tanjiro Kamado, Vanitas), and Yoko Hikasa (Rias Gremory, Emi Yusa)

Finally, one of the best elements of Summer Time Rendering so far is its opening – Hoshi ga Oyogu» (星が泳ぐ, «The Stars Swim») performed by Macaroni Enpitsu. It combines a very subtle, but powerful mixture between summer and mystery that perfectly embodies the tone of the story.

Here are the TV and the real version for you to enjoy.

STORY

Summer time and… guns?

That’s right!!!!

I have to admit that I was saving Summer Time Rendering for later, because I was watching Spy x Family, Skeleton Knight, Shikimori-san, Dawn of the Witch and Miru Tights, but when, for some random reason, I meet a clip from YouTube that really shocked me up.

I was overwhelmed, just like when I saw Omni-Man killing the Guardians.

When I saw the first key visual and some promotional material from Summer Time Rendering, I thought it was a comedy, or at least a slice-of-life centred on the summer, similar to Anohana. But… No. And over time, I saw the concepts of the disturbing moments and of the antagonists of this anime, and the more I saw, the more curious I became about Summer Time Rendering. Honestly. I could barely think in anything else (But that didn’t affected my job performance, luckily.) So I decided to go little by little, first watching the opening, and start going to Star+ to watch whatever material was available for me. And trust me. I really liked the story.

It was a nice departure from anime like Yuru Camp and Anohana, giving a pretty nice mixture of drama, horror, mystery, supernatural and… time travel. It was like Boku Dake Ga Inai Machi, one of the my favourite anime of all time

Or Erased.

From the moment one, Summer Time Rendering established the type of tone that the series wants, it has that atmosphere of the summer that really bliss you a lot, but also that sense of grief and loss when a close relative passes away, recreating that feeling we all empathise with, that realistic feeling, and then…

Remember what I said about Invincible in 2021? Well, that Amazon Prime Video series shocked because I was not expecting something as gory and crude, not even matching The Boys, making me realise that Invincible is not to be ignored. Ah yes! What Invincible did with in 2021 Summer Time Rendering did it to me in 2022. And of course, there is still at least 177 days left, but it is going to be hard for any other anime to shock me like that this year.

Unless it is Chainsaw Man.

And that is something that indeed I must praise form Summer Time Rendering. It knows how to handle the violence that its plot requires. The anime is not shy in the violence, and I love that because it develops the realism; it is actually pretty good that Summer Time Rendering is not afraid of being crude when it is to be crude, because after watching a lot of Disney, Sony and MCU crap that softens and censors violence more than necessary, the change done by Summer Time Rendering is more than welcome.

But it never overstays it. The blood and violence is an element at the service of the suspense and the horror, giving enough time to both to be introduced and developed with the story, and showing how much the characters are affected b y them in the best, most organic way possible.

Another great element of Summer Time Rendering is the animation. The colours match the brightness of the day and the calm and darkness of the night, and when necessary, enhances the horror.

Finally, the pacing and the rhythm are simply correct, because it brings the story right to us, with the perfect amount of time to assimilate it, and the perfect writing to be solid. Yes. Summer Time Rendering is well-written, and after you get the first three episodes, you really want to know more of it.

But… be prepared for episode 12, because if for you the first episodes were too much, episode 12 will test your stomach power

CHARACTERS

The characters are also very well-established. At first glance, you might think that some of them are cliched, for instance, the typical kind-hearted teenager (Shinpei), the cutesy imouto (Mio), the sneaky best friend (So), the mysterious woman with a lot of experience (Hizuru), and the tsundere female lead (Ushio), but then you see their true personalities, being unfolded with the path of the story, and proving they are as likely by their own merit, especially Shinpei, Mio and Ushio.

I want to make honourable mention to Mio, because she helped me to value the characters a bit more. One of the criticisms that I read from Summer Time Rendering was the big amount of fanservice, and yes… it has fanservice, mostly from Mio, but to my surprise, not just the fanservice is minimal; turns out that Mio is a more likeable character than I thought, being the best emotional support to Shinpei, aling with So and Ushio.

Finally, we got Hizuru.

It was also because of her that my interest of Summer Time Rendering hooked me up. First I saw her as a really attractive strong woman, but then I found it that she is more badass than I thought. I don’t want to spoil you anything, but trust me, watch the episodes and you will love Hizuru, as well as the rest of the characters of this fantastic anime.

CONCLUSION

Without a doubt, Summer Time Rendering is one hell of an experience. I hope that it maintains its quality and storytelling, because if it does, it will indeed become of the best anime of 2022. Meanwhile, I must brace myself for some intense emotion and a lot of bloody moments for the second part of this great series.

And many some cameos from Komi-san.

And trust me… you will enjoy it.

Thanks for stepping by my friends, and thanks for those who read my entry. Soon I will come back with some sweet stuff.

Bye.

…..

Wait!! What happened to me? Was I drawn in the wall?

JAINITUOS ANIME REVIEWS – The Case Files of Jeweler Richard – First Impressions

The Case Files of Jeweler Richard

Genre: Detective, Mystery

Studio: Shuka

Hello my friends.

Welcome to another anime review.

This time, I will like to talk about an anime that has a very interesting way of creating mystery, as well as a lot of poignant moments. You can say it is not your average mystery anime.

Having said that, let me present you.

The Case Files of Jeweler Richard

But before I continue, I must ask you guys the sam question.

Are you guys happy? Feeling healthy?

If the answer is yes, then I am very happy.

Now. Let’s talk about the Case Files of Jeweler Richard.

PREMISE

Based on the light novels written by Nanako Tsujimura, and illustrated by Utako Yukihiro, The Case Files of Jeweler Richard tells the story of Seigi Nakata, a kind, second-year student of economics, who meets a foreign-looking man being assault by drunkards; after saving him, Seigi discovers that this man is a jeweler, called Richard Ranasinghe de Vulpian. Shortly afterwards, Seigi ask Richard to help him fin the true owner of a small pink-sapphire ring that the late grandmother of the former was saving for many decades.

After solving the mystery, Seigi starts working part-time with Richard at his jewellery, solving mysteries regarding a lot of precious gems, including rubies, garnet and opals.

To put in simple words:

«Every gemstone is a wonderful story.»

The Case Files of Jeweler Richard is produced by Studio Shuka, famous for being on the direction of the second season of Durarara!!x2, as well as the fifth and sixth season of Natsume’s Books of Friends. It is almost a small studio, founded in 2013, but it has brought us a lot of beautiful anime that are worth checking out.

A detail of the light novels is that all of them were published by Shueisha, and mostly is intended to a female demographic group. Meanwhile, the anime comprises twelve episodes, and most of them are a very different story, pretty similar to Detective Conan, but I will get there later.

STORY

If there is anything that I learn from Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, is that mystery fiction can come in many stories and in many formats. Case in point, the whodunit genre, from Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot; of in a more recent example, Knives Out, directed by Rian Johnson. I will put the link at the end so you can check it out. Or in the way of Film-Noir, like Dashiel Hammett or movies like Chinatown, L. A. Confidential, and Fargo. 

In the case of anime, we have, aside from Phoenix Wright, we got the works of Gosho Aoyama, especially…

DETECTIVE CONAN

Every single episode and mystery has really inventive elements, and each of them feels like something deeply influenced by the authors like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie, and you can tell. Detective Conan is one of my favourite animes of all time, it really influenced a lot.

But I will talk about it some other time, I am getting out track here.

Returning to The Case Files of Jeweler Richard, every single story has a new case of a person that needs help, the customers, and their distress is symbolised in every gemstone. Like I said… every gemstone is a wonderful story, and how Richard and Seigi manage to solve those mystery is really charming. They don’t have to use their brute force, or any whimsical gadget, like Detective Conan. They use their knowledge, and in the case of Seigi, he tries to be empathetic with every new customer.

Case in point, episode two, where Richard’s customer had a big problem related to her heart. I will not spoil anything, but I will say that the way Seigi approaches the customer, and sympathises with her, is marvellous. It is like a detective and a future psychologist enter in action… sort of.

And the animation brings a really special feeling to the mix.

My only problem is that some of the customers of Richard do not have the same level of depth and psychological status as with Detective Conan or Phoenix Wright. Nonetheless, with the animation, you got this feeling of realism that makes you sympathise with them. Moreover, there is another feature I want to point out about the animation and the design; I really feel that this is done by artists who have experience doing love stories; the issue is that, when I see the art, I think it was inspired by the art of series like Citrus, Kimi no Todoke, Romeo x Juliet and some more. And this adds a lot of charm to the series.

OH… AND YURI ON ICE!!!

And I can say that, perhaps, in the future, Seigi and Richard can be a good couple. Yeah. I admit that I can ship Richard and Seigi, the same way I can ship Andromeda Shun with any of the Bronze Saints.

I love you Shun!!! I really love you!!!

Anyway. Despite the flaws, I can really say that The Case Files of Jeweler Richard have very wonderful stories. Perhaps not as great with Detective Conan, but definitely likeable and majestic.

CHARACTERS

Those eyes represent the beauty of the gems

And just like the stories are really interesting, the characters have a lot of charm too, especially because of the animation, including Richard, Seigi, and there are another two that have their style within the anime. Shoko Tanimoto (pictured above), a fellow partner of Seigi, who was a member of the mineralogy club at high school, and Haruyoshi Shimomura.

But the ones that really stand out are Richard and Seigi. With the class of the former, and the kindness of the later, they create a fantastic duo that invite us to be part of a pretty beautiful vision of mystery.

That we all definitely would like to enjoy.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, The Case Files of Jeweler Richard is definitely something that you would like to binge in these lockdown times. It has beautiful animation, simple, yet interesting characters, an original premise, and so much fun.

So, get your gems ready, and pay a visit to Jeweler Richard. Let him charm you.

…

I think I should visit him.

Perhaps, he can do something about these gems.

My review of Knives Out:

https://jainituos.wordpress.com/2019/12/26/jainituos-film-reviews-knives-out-a-nice-whodunit-tribute/

JAINITUOS FILM REVIEWS – Knives Out (A Nice Whodunit tribute)

Hey Guys,

Welcome to another Film Review. And this time, I am going to go around the amazing new product from the visionary director of the visionary Star Wars: The Last Jedi (Yeah!!! I said it!).

I am talking about the murder detective movie – Knives Out.

But before I start, I must ask you guys the typical question.

Are you guys alright? Are you having an amazing season?

If the answer is yes, then I am very happy. Having said that, let’s go into the review.

KNIVES OUT

Story

Written and directed by Rian Johnson, Knives Out follows detective Benoit Blanc, played by Daniel Craig, who must investigate the unexpected, and unusual, death of the renowned mystery writer, Harlan Thrombey, played by Christopher Plummer, which took place after a family gathering in his own mansion.

Knives Out has a pretty delightful cast, that includes names like Ana de Armas, Chris Evans, Michael Shannon, Jamie Lee Curtis, Katharine Langford, Lakeith Stanfield (from the disastrous Netflix’s Death Note), Toni Colette, Don Johnson, and Jaeden Martell, all of them playing a different relationship with Harlan, except for Ana de Armas, who plays Marta Cabrera, Thrombey’s nurse.

Now. All I have to say is that Knives Out is your textbook whodunit story, as I already said that. If you have seen Murder on the Orient Express, or also have heard of Gosho Aoyama’s Detective Conan (Or Case Closed in U.S.), you are familiar with this type of genre. A murder or a conflict takes place, a private detective accepts the case, he/she meets all the suspects, sometimes he/she meets the victim, the clues are gathered, the suspects are explored, both mentally and in backstory, the detective has an epiphany, the culprit is revealed, case closed.

But this is what makes the whodunit genre so endearing and charming, it engulfs audience, or readers depending on the media, into some dark history and suspense, but also to an awesome main character, who depends in his/her wits rather than his/her brute force (except for Sherlock Holmes, he has both.), and all the time, the tension links us to the setting pretty well, until the very end, where you realised nothing is what it looks like.

And Knives Out is no exception.

I know many Star Wars haven’t exactly forgiven Rian Johnson for what he did with Star Wars: The Last Jedi, but that does not change the fact that he is a very talented filmmaker; he wrote a very fascinating script, with amazing characters; and every element of Knives Out is a complete tribute to the genre, the cinematography, the pacing, the rhythm of the story, and the climax. But that does not stop the movie from having a lot of humour.

With his charisma, Daniel Craig brings a lot of movement and energy into the story, and so does Ana de Armas; as Marta Cabrera, she delivers all her full talent as the compassionate and noble nurse who was actually caught in the wrong circumstances. And any audience can relate with that. The chemistry between the two is very remarkable, you want to see more of their teamwork; it’s takes a while, but you will be present to see that throughout the movie. I know I am saying this too early, but I want to mention it now because it’s definitely one of the best points of Knives Out.

And finally, like many other whodunit stories, Knives Out follows the main structure by the book. Nevertheless, far from being a problem, it is a strength, because the story and the characters are so unique you forgive any possible plot holes or something identical to a flaw.

Perhaps the only downsize is that many moviegoers will not have as much fun with this type of mystery as in movies like Fargo, Blade Runner 2049, Spectre, Skyfall, Ant-Man & The Wasp, or TV Shows like Criminal Minds or some episodes of CSI, in which the culprit is immediately mentioned, and the rest of the movie is either a study of his/her personality, or a slow revelation of the main scheme.

Overall, Knives Out has a very powerful story, thanks to the amazing talent of Rian Johnson.

Also… don’t expect not to feel like seeing the Iron Throne with all those knives at the background.

CHARACTERS

As I mentioned before, Knives Out includes many popular actors, each one with a character with his/her own identity. Christopher Plummer plays Harlan, the nice, yet unpredictable patriarch that earns the contempt of his family; Michael Shannon plays Walt, the ambitious CEO of his father’s publishing company: Jamie Lee Curtis plays the strict Linda, whose business depends on his father; Chris Evans plays Ransom, the good-for-nothing playboy who gets out of the other members’ nerves,;Toni Colette plays Joni, a lifestyle guru celebrity; and Katharine Langford plays Meg, Harlan’s granddaughter and college student, Meg.

Like I said, each character is unique, and their respective actors create them with the soul and the heart, thanks to the great guidance of Rian Johnson. Another element of the whodunit genre that Johnson constructs so majestically. None of the cast feels short. However, one character that you will enjoy all his fullest is Ransom, but let me tell you…

«Nothing is what it looks like.»

I must be honest. I will be for me very hard to go into the characters of Knives Out without revealing too much spoilers, but I guarantee you that everyone gives a very delightful performance.

Even though I must confess it is kind of weird to see Daniel Craig and not think of James Bond. Ok!! I am not saying Craig is copying Bond. Oh no!! I bet you 10 bucks he will never do that. What I mean is that both Bond and Benoit Blanc have a lot of similarities, both are detectives (to some extent), both are incredibly smart, both have this seductive tone of voice, and both are so suave and so smooth that they can connect, automatically by the way, their respective universes with their charm.

Anyway. No wonder why Craig was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Musical or Comedy.

CONCLUSION

To sum up, Knives Out is definitely one of the best movies of 2019. Every element is perfectly combine to bring us a wonderful mystery that will never stop bring us hips of laughs and surprises. You can say, or think, whatever you want about The Last Jedi, but there is no doubt that, with movies like Knives Out, Rian Johnson is on the path of becoming one of the greatest filmmakers of his generation, like J.J. Abrams, the Russo Brothers, or Joss Whedon.

So… sharpen your senses for an amazing ride.