Enjoying the Seasons - No.3 - Sometimes it's nice to take shelter from the rain. A mysterious anime about waiting for summer in the moist rainy season.

Each season has its own anime that can be enjoyed only at this time of year!　Our anime writers will introduce you to good new and old works related to the topics of the season.

Many people probably feel annoyed by the daily rain. But the rainy season, when the sound of rain closes in, is the perfect time to enjoy stories about the rain!　You may come to love the rain shelter where two strangers stop by each other and the small rainbow that appears afterwards.

Garden of Words" (released in 2013)

Takao, a high school student, has a habit of skipping school when it rains, which he loves, to spend time at his favorite place in a Japanese garden. One day, he met an older woman there, Yukino. The two met only on rainy days, as if they had made a promise, and spent many hours together. When the rainy season ends and they are unable to see each other, Takao learns about Yukino's work and her problems through a chance encounter.

This is truly a "rain" anime that depicts various rainy scenes from the rainy season to summer with the beautiful landscapes that Makoto Shinkai is known for. From the moist rainy season rain, to weather rains, to summer evening showers, the various types of rain are depicted with rich expressions, and are superimposed on the hearts of the two people who are attracted to each other.

The depiction is of lonely hearts that are attracted to each other regardless of age or name. For these two troubled couples, the feelings that touched each other in the rain may have been an important time to take shelter from the rain before waiting for the next sunny day. It makes you want to listen to the sound of the rain, wishing you could have such an encounter and such a love.

Mushishi" (broadcast in 2005)

The story of the main character Ginko, who is a "mushishi" by profession, as she deals with mysterious events involving various kinds of "bugs. The seventh episode of the first season of the anime, "Ame kuru niji ga tatsu," is an episode about rain and rainbows.

Ginko meets a man named Nijiro at a rain shelter, who says he is going to catch a rainbow for his father who is ill. He says that his father was obsessed with strange rainbows and couldn't help running out to look for them whenever it rained.

Ginko knows that it is not an ordinary rainbow, but a "bug," and she and Nijiro go looking for it. He continues to pursue what he seeks and eventually comes to know the thoughts of his father, who has always been treated as a freak by those around him. ......

The rainbow, which appears repeatedly on the screen with the saturation turned down, is mysteriously beautiful and inviting to the viewer. If a rainbow really appeared in front of you, you would want to touch it. Whether it is happiness or unhappiness to encounter such a strange phenomenon is another matter.

xxxHOLiC" (broadcast in 2006)

An anime adaptation of the comic of the same title written by CLAMP. The story is about a high school boy, Kimihiro Watanuki, who has a constitution that attracts ayakashi, and Yuko Ichihara, the proprietor of a store that grants wishes of all kinds.

The seventh episode of the first season, "Hydrangea," is an episode involving hydrangeas during the rainy season. April 1st is asked by Amewarashi, a woman who presides over the rain, to visit a giant hydrangea and is drawn into the darkness, where he meets a crying little girl.

This occult horror fantasy is chilly, scary, and a little sad. The original comic is closely connected to "Tsubasa-RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE-," but the anime TV series does not draw that much, so it can be enjoyed as a chilly ghost story on its own. The dialogue between April 1st, with its intense emotions of joy, sorrow, and anger, and its cool, expressionless friend Shizuka Domeki (百目鬼しizuka) is hilarious.

If you find a rainbow after the rain, you are very lucky... This is an anime that will make you feel bright and happy and rainbow-colored.

Wataru: The Legend of Heroic Spirits" (broadcast in 1988)

Speaking of rainbows, Mt!　Wataru: The Legend of Magus Wataru" is an adventure anime in the style of an RPG in which the characters clear the stages of the game. Mount Soukai is a world where rainbows hang over mountains divided into seven different worlds. Wataru Sengoku, a boy in the fourth grade of elementary school, is called to this other world and sets out on a journey to defeat the evil emperor, Doakdar, as a savior. This popular series continued for a long time with "Wataru: The Legend of the Magus Heroes 2" (broadcast in 1990) and "Wataru: The Legend of the Super Magus Heroes" (broadcast in 1997).

The characters are all "interesting and cool. The characters include Himiko Shinobu, a naive ninja girl; Shibaraku Kenobu, a swordsman with a big face; Kurama Watabe, a bird but cool; and the Tiger King, an enemy prince who somehow becomes a friend. The enemy characters that appear in each story are also unique in appearance and name. Of course, the mechanical characters, such as the two-headed talking robot Ryujinmaru, are also "fun and cool!

The rainbow over Mount Soukai symbolizes hope and goodness. The rainbow has lost its color since Doakdar took control of it, but when you defeat a boss in one of the world layers, the sealed dragon is released and the rainbow returns to its original color one by one. At the end of each adventure, there is a rainbow bridge in the blue sky, and the promise is to climb up to the next level with your friends. Rainbows are a good match for happy endings.

Azul and Asmar" (released in Japan in 2007)

Although rainbows do not directly appear in this film, it is a story of hope with a colorful screen reminiscent of the seven colors of the rainbow. This is a theatrical film directed by Michel Oslo of France, famous for "Kirik and the Witch. The beautiful screen, vivid to the eye, looks as if it is a precisely drawn picture book in motion.

Azure, with her blue eyes, is the child of a European lord. Asmar, with his dark eyes, is the child of an Arabian nanny. Raised together by the nanny, they grew up together like brothers and then parted ways. As an adult, Asmar visits his nanny in the land of Islam and sets out on a journey to rescue the "Djinn Fairy" with Asmar.

The theme is the clash and acceptance of different cultures. While Azul innocently reminisces about his childhood, Asmar realizes the difference in his position as the child of his employer and the child of a servant, and even harbors resentment. The most interesting part of the story is what difficulties the two encounter and how their relationship changes during their adventures in Islamic lands where their positions are reversed.

A line that appears many times in the play is "Let's think together. It doesn't matter what color your skin is, what gender you are, what age you are, or whether you are human or fairy. It is a very profound fairy tale that tells us the importance of everyone thinking and acting on their own without being bound by common sense or values, and of taking a hand in the process.

After the rainy season comes summer!　Here are two works depicting sad feelings set during the summer vacation that will soon arrive.

Nijiiro Hotaru: Eternal Summer Vacation" (released in 2012)

This theatrical film depicts the magical experience of a sixth-grade boy named Yuta who travels back in time to 1977, more than 30 years ago. 1977 is the year 1977. Adults who "know this time period when I was a child" will probably feel the most excitement when watching this movie.

Nijiiro Hotaru" refers to fireflies shining in rainbow colors. Legend has it that when the village once suffered from a drought, the rainbow-colored fireflies took the villagers to a place where there was water. The seven colors of the rainbow may symbolize a small miracle.

While experiencing the local people in the fields and mountains of the countryside and running around in nature, Yuta learns the secret of a girl, Saeko, who has become his ally in his time slip.

The time that Yuta can stay in this village in the past is about one month. The village where the story takes place is also on the verge of its time limit. The village will soon sink to the bottom of the dam, and all the children Yuta has come to know will be scattered after this summer.

Summer vacation and life will end someday. The story, which seemed nostalgic, gradually takes on a more "death and separation" tinge and is quite harrowing. The characters, who are drawn with a slightly unusual touch, may seem "difficult to approach," but they are expressive and their gestures are exquisite. You will be emotionally involved in the story, so please be prepared for that.

To the Hotarubi no Morihe" (released in 2011)

Here is one more story about a quiet summer vacation. It is a love story between a human and an ayakashi, created by the same author and anime staff as "Natsume's Book of Friends. It will make you cry.

A six-year-old girl, Takekawa Hotaru, gets lost in a forest inhabited by mountain gods and ghosts, and is rescued by a mysterious boy, Gin, who wears a mask. Ging has a secret: if he is touched by a human, he disappears. Whenever summer vacation comes, Hotaru comes to see Ginn and eventually becomes a high school student. The desire to see and touch each other only grows stronger. However, they both knew very well that they should never touch each other.

The story is tender, warm, and therefore sad. If you like "Natsume's Book of Friends," you will definitely fall in love with this story. Even if you can't touch them, you can spend time with them and spend the same time with them, knowing that you will part one day. That alone is enough to fill you with happiness. Even though you know it will disappear, the time you spend alone together, shining like a beautiful rainbow, will strike your heart.

These are the seven works that will make you feel relaxed as you wait for summer to arrive.

When it rains, it's fun to stop and take a look. The rain may bring you unexpected encounters. Why not wait for the rainy season to end while watching various anime?

(Text by YAMAYU)