Voice Casts of "Waiting in the Summer" Reunite to Commemorate BD-BOX Release!　Event "Natsumachi Thanks Festival @ Tokyo" Report

From the TV anime "Waiting in the Summer" comes the official report of the "Natsumachi Thanks Festival @ Tokyo" held at Laforet Museum Roppongi on October 26.

This event was held to commemorate the release of the BD-BOX "Waiting in the Summer Blu-ray BOX Complete Edition" containing the new OVA on August 29. There were two performances, one in the afternoon and one in the evening, with the evening session featuring performances by Nobunaga Shimazaki (Kaito Kirishima), Haruka Tomatsu (Ichika Takatsuki), Natsuori Ishihara (Kanna Tanigawa), Hideki Ogiwara (Tetsuro Ishigaki), Kana Asumi (Mio Kitahara), Yukari Tamura (Lemon Yamano), Rina Hidaka (Rinon), Ray (theme song), Yanagi (theme song), and Ms. Yanagi (theme song). Below is the report.

The event started with a recap talk of the anime. Here, Mr. Shimazaki, who plays the role of Kaito who hurt Kanna because he was single-minded about Ichika, was blamed by the ladies, and they were impressed by Mio's high girl power and carnivorous nature. More than two years after the show's broadcast, it is still as laugh-out-loud funny as it was back then. I was also happy to hear about the OVA "Waiting in the Summer: Special Edition," saying, "It's been a long time since we recorded it. I felt from the script that they have passed through time in this way, so I wanted to continue to watch over them," said Tomatsu, sharing his memories of the recording.

The "Natsumachi Character Quiz" followed, in which the cast members other than the actors themselves answered quiz questions about the characters. The level of difficulty increased dramatically for the evening session, and a heated competition ensued. While Shimazaki, Tomatsu, Ishihara, and Hidaka repeatedly gave lost and unusual answers, Hagiwara, Asumi, and Tamura were in a high-level competition. Ms. Tamura, who answered the extremely difficult questions correctly, "somehow," came out on top, displaying a mysterious strength similar to that of the Graduates she had played.

The reading, "Special Edition: Ano Natsu de Aitate (We Met in the Summer)," was a later story than the OVA and depicted the first summer after each of the students graduated from high school. In a sense, the story is typical of "Natsumatsu," with the Graduates falling out of favor during an online game due to the scheming of their senior Lemon and ending up in a heap of trouble. It was a relief to see that the cast members were close even though they were far away from each other, and the play conveyed how well they got along with each other.

Ray and Yanaginagi performed two songs, one from the TV anime and the other from the OVA.

After the live performance, everyone took the stage again to thank the fans and talk about their love for "Natsumachi. The event concluded with the hope that everyone could get together again. The Blu-ray/DVD of "OVA Ano Natsu de Waiteru Special Edition," which is also included in the Blu-ray Complete BOX, will be released on November 27.