Waiting in the Summer: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.5

Waiting in the Summer: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie Review

A slice of life anime with a filmmaking backdrop

Waiting in the Summer is a quiet anime gem waiting for discovery (pun intended!) from acclaimed anime studio J.C. Staff (Revolutionary Girl Utena, Slayers Revolution). The series is produced by Mitsutoshi Ogura (Black Lagoon), Yuji Matsukura (Witch Craft Works), and Ryutaro Kawakami (Sword Art Online). The charming story revolves around a group of young kids who decide that they want to make their own feature-film during the course of a lazy summer together.

As the kids pull together their resources and the young Kaito Kirishima picks up a film camera in hand, the adventures of these friends turns a dull summer to something extraordinary. With romance brewing (and with Kaito falling for Ichika Takatsuki, who just so happens to actually be an alien who found her ship crash landing on the funny Planet Earth) things are sure to be spectacularly wild with cute alien creatures, flying spaceships, and typical teenage hangouts over a never-to-be-forgotten summer.

The first thing that made a giant impression on me about the series was the spectacular animation on full display. The art direction by Ayu Kawamoto (No. 6) is truly superb and the series excels with great character designs by Masayoshi Tanaka (Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day, Highschool of the Dead). Tanaka also serves as one of the series key animation directors. It's clear the animation was one of the finest point of the production. The background art makes the world more enriching and the vividness to the art pulls one in to the animated world with total ease.

Just makin' a movie over a fun filled summer.

There is a charming style to the series which is whimsical and nostalgic at the same time. One gets the sense that the series can appeal to kids of all ages (young and old: you just need to be a kid-at-heart). The cinematography by Yoshio Okochi (One Punch Man, Bluer than Indigo) certainly adds to the whimsy and the beautiful music score by Maiko Iuchi (A Certain Magical Index) enriches the experience with its melodic delights.

I was constantly finding myself charmed by the sweet nature of the storytelling (so much of it feels like a typical slice-of-life anime) and the careful attention to detail the series gave to delving into the lives of these characters. The reason the story stands out so much, however, is the fun concept around making a movie. There's something purely delightful about the idea. Having grown up fantasizing about this idea myself, I found Waiting in the Summer to be a massively relatable series.

Much of this is due to the fun screenplay written by Yosuke Kuroda (Gundam Build Fighters, My Hero Academia) but there is also the excellent direction by primary series director Tatsuyuki Nagai (A Certain Scientific Railgun, Mai-Hime) which keeps the series engaging from beginning to end. Brimming with a sense of joyous affection for the characters, audiences will enjoy in the adventures undertaken by Kaito, Ichika, and company. And all while wondering where the romance will take them. For fans of science-fiction slice-of-life anime with romantic sub-plots, Waiting in the Summer certainly comes easy to recommend.

Waiting in the Summer: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented on Blu-ray from distributor Sentai Filmworks, this is the second time Waiting in the Summer has arrived on the format. The release has a 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high definition presentation which is in the original 1.78:1 widescreen broadcast aspect ratio. While I do not have the original Blu-ray release of the series to compare this re-release to directly, I imagine that the video presentation contained on the new edition is going to be strikingly similar in appearance (if not even outright identical).

This is a great presentation overall with excellent color and detail throughout the entire series. While there were some minor hiccups on the video presentation (mainly some minor banding on the image which is only noticeable in select scenes) and these issues appear to be source related, the encode quality is certainly excellent. I found the colors on the release to be bright, vivid, and beautifully reproduced for the animation. The image is reasonably sharp and impressive. Though there is occasionally a hint of softness to the source material it was never a major distraction. Overall, an impressive video presentation which helps the fine detail of the animation to be capably reproduced.

Waiting in the Summer: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two audio options included on this release. The inclusion of multiple audio tracks is the key difference to this edition (when comparing to the previous release). While the original Blu-ray for Waiting in the Summer only had a Japanese language track (with the original audio), the re-release includes both English and Japanese 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio stereo audio tracks. The English dub is brand new to this release and offers an opportunity for dub fans to experience the series (or for viewers to re-acquaint themselves) in a unique way.

Comparing the separate audio track options, both audio options have excellent clarity and fidelity. Either of the two options has good stereo audio separation with the sound effects and music well balanced in the mix. The English version was worthwhile and in my estimation offers a nice way to experience the series. I enjoyed the dubbing and found that it allowed me more time to focus on the animation itself. The Japanese track remains impressive and one can always revisit the series with the original audio if desired as well.

While I found that the Japanese language track is ultimately the best way to experience the show (I had a preference for the original voice-cast), the English dub is no slouch either. If viewers feel they require a dub in order to enjoy anime Sentai Filmworks delivered an excellent option for viewers of Waiting in the Summer. With great clarity and detail present with either sound mix included, getting this Blu-ray release ultimately comes down to whether or not one feels like getting an English dub is worth the trip. For dub fans who prefer to watch anime in English (or for those who enjoy having the option to alternate versions), I'd say the release is worthwhile.

Waiting in the Summer: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

While not officially branded as being an "extra" on the release, in addition to the full anime series fans can look forward to the OVA episode produced after the end of the series run: In Our Last Summer In High School, We Await That Summer (HD, 27 min. 38 sec.) viewers will be delighted to find the OVA works as a nice epilogue style episode which has some nice character moments. It's nice to revisit the characters one final time before saying "farewell" to these characters.

Clean Opening Animation (HD, 1 min. 32 sec.)

Clean Closing Animation (HD, 1 min. 32 sec.)

Trailers for other Sentai Filmworks anime releases: Yamishibai: Japanese Ghost Stories (HD, 30 sec.), Kampfer (HD, 1 min 31 sec.), Sagrada Reset (HD, 1 min. 32 sec.), and Princess Resurrection (SD, 1 min. 32 sec.)

Waiting in the Summer: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

An entertaining and enchanting anime series which capably blends slice-of-life storytelling with some science-fiction elements, Waiting in the Summer is an altogether fun series which is greatly enhanced by a concept revolving around the production of a film by the central characters. For anyone who has ever dreamed about making a feature-film (and even for those who have made that dream into reality), Waiting in the Summer is a quiet gem that enchants, delights, and inspires.

The new Blu-ray re-release features an excellent presentation and a brand-new English dub (previously unavailable as the initial release was a sub-only title). Even fans who already own the previously released Blu-ray edition will consider this a worthwhile set as long as they have an interest in hearing the new English dubbed version (which, for the record, is quite good). Worth checking out.