Review of Waiting in the Summer

Teenagers fall in love easily, for flimsy reasons and love feels like the fate of the world will rest on every decision on the way. And while this Anime certainly captures those kinds of feelings, it also unwillingly portrays just how shallow many of these feelings ultimately are. To start off with a compliment, Ano Natsu has a very pleasant aesthetic and is a pleasant watch. The characters all look pretty and distinctive, and their design match their personalities great. The use of filters, colors in general as well as summer imagery (watermelons, the beach...) is very well-done and does evoke summer feelings - and maybea little bit of longing - in me. The Animation on the other hand might not be exceptional, but every character gets a lot of varied fun facial expressions that don't resort to SD/Chibi-style either - so on mute, it's a nice enough experience.

But then on the other hand we have the story. And what a boring, generic teenage lovestory it is. Everyone is in love with someone they can't have while someone else has their eye on them. It's not as frustrating from a structural perspective, since all misunderstandings that come up are resolved quickly and even deepen some of the bonds of these characters. But you still are left with the feeling that aside from small moments - and aside from the best girl - nobody has much else to do with their life. They're making a film together, but it doesn't seem like any of them has any other hobbies or friends.
Granted, the bonds they form are nice, but the characterization is super weak. They all can basically be narrowed down to an archetype and thus, none of their relationships feel real, warm or earned. We're told who is childhood friends with whom. We're told when and where the individual crushes formed. But we learn nothing else. Eventually, here and there couples begin to form, but even those feelings feel kind of arbitrary. And with characterization this weak, the pathos many of the confessions in the show - and there are a lot - just falls flat and feels unearned. Likewise, the plot is mostly driven forward by sheer coincidences. Often times, key developments between the characters happen because one happened to run into the other, or interrupted a scene with another character. And all of the key moments in the story - like the event that initially leaves Ichika stranded without a home on earth, or a similar sci-fi-related event to kick off the final portion of the plot - just feel like things that happened so the story could continue somehow, not like something that was the logical consequence of something else. You were not following a story, you were always kinda just [i]waiting[/i] for the story to move on. And that is kinda just like waiting at the bus stop - necessary, but you could do so much better stuff with your time.

In the end, the show isn't that bad. It's a romance with a very pretty aesthetic you can watch on the side, or when it's winter and you really need some of that sweet watermelon. But it's by no means engaging in a genre that has so much more to offer.