Natsu no Arashi! - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

is a Japanese manga

Manga

Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...

written and illustrated by Jin Kobayashi

Jin Kobayashi

is a Japanese manga artist. His most famous work so far is School Rumble, which ran in Weekly Shōnen Magazine from 2002 to 2008. His second serial manga, Natsu no Arashi!, began running at Square Enix's Gangan Wing in 2006....

, who is known for his previous work School Rumble

School Rumble

is a Japanese Shōnen manga series written and illustrated by Jin Kobayashi. First serialized in Weekly Shōnen Magazine from October 22, 2002 to July 23, 2008, all 345 chapters were later collected in 22 tankōbon volumes by Kodansha. Shōnen Magazine Special published a sequel, School Rumble Z,...

. The manga started serialization in Square Enix

Square Enix

is a Japanese video game and publishing company best known for its console role-playing game franchises, which include the Final Fantasy series, the Dragon Quest series, and the action-RPG Kingdom Hearts series...

's Gangan Wing shōnen manga magazine on August 25, 2006, and seven bound volumes

Tankobon

, with a literal meaning close to "independently appearing book", is the Japanese term for a book that is complete in itself and is not part of a series , though the manga industry uses it for volumes which may be in a series...

have been released in Japan as of March 2010. Natsu no Arashi! was also adapted into two anime television series by Shaft

Shaft (company)

is a Japanese animation studio founded on September 1, 1975 by Hiroshi Wakao. They are best known for their unique use of gags and references notably in Pani Poni Dash!, Maria Holic, Sayonara Zetsubō Sensei, Hidamari Sketch, Puella Magi Madoka Magica, and Bakemonogatari series.- History :Shaft was...

under the direction of Akiyuki Shinbo

Akiyuki Shinbo

, born September 27, 1961 in Fukushima, Japan, is a Japanese animation director. Shinbo started his career as an animator in 1981 at Studio One Pattern. He then made his directorial debut with Metal Fighter Miku in 1994. He is most notable for his involvement in a number of Shaft works since 2004...

and broadcast in Japan from April 5, 2009 to December 27, 2009.

Plot

Thirteen-year-old Yasaka is a boy staying at his grandfather's house during his summer vacation. One day he entered a store and met Arashi, a beautiful sixteen-year old girl working there. After trying to protect her from a man who claims to have been hired by her family to take her back by force, Yasaka ran away with her and now she stays at his grandpa's place with him. It didn't take much time for Yasaka to figure out that his new friend is far from an ordinary girl, as she possesses mysterious powers. The plot thickens when he finds a sixty-year-old picture of Arashi and another girl named Kaja, and to the surprise of all Kaja suddenly appears, and just like Arashi, her appearance hasn't changed at all since then.

Two other characters introduced so far are the place's owner, a woman whose name is still unrevealed and rumored to be a high level con artist, and Jun Kamigamo, a student of Yasaka's age who he met at the store, and works there with him since then. Despite being a girl, she keeps dressing and addressing herself as a boy to the other characters. So far only Kaja and Arashi know her secret.

Characters

The main male protagonist. A 13 year-old boy who is spending his summer vacation in his grandfather's house. When he met Arashi from the first time, he established a connection with her when he touched her hand, and since then the duo gained the power to travel back and forth in time. He is infatuated with Arashi's beauty and kindness, but is afraid to convey his feelings to her. And is a friend of Jun.

The main female protagonist. Despite still looking like a beautiful sixteen years-old girl, Arashi is in fact a ghost who lived during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

times. Since then her mission had been traveling back in time to rescue those in her community from air-raids by American warplanes. However, to travel back to the past, she must do it accompanied by a living person from the present with whom she made a "connection". Her relationship with Hajime is a bit more complicated than it seems.

In the second season it's revealed that Arashi's first love was a time-tripping Hajime.

Another ghost from Arashi's time and her best friend. She was an exchange student from Germany who studied at her school. Her polite and cool demeanor opposes to Arashi's lively and carefree personality. She possesses the same time traveling powers as her, but she can only make a connection with a living girl due to her shyness around boys.

Her favorite dessert is ice cream.

She is Hajime's friend that has made a connection with Kaja and jumps through time with her. Hajime misunderstands that she is a guy. In the 2 season Jun starts to have feeling for Hajime.

In the first season Her secret was revaled in episode 5.

She used to have long hair which showed in the anime and she has great acting skills.

A con artist who owns the cafe in which Hajime, Arashi and the other girls work. She seems to have a crush on Yamashiro.

A private investigator. He is the son of a man Arashi saved from certain death by preventing him from fishing in the river, on a day when an air-raid struck the area.

Just like her friend Kanako, she is another ghost who died during the war and an acquaintance of Arashi and Kaja, her ethereal body has been weakening through time. Due to a horrifying accident, she's half-paralyzed and can't walk without wheelchair. Her paralysis is more to psychological condition. However, she was healed when she went back to the past and met Kanako again for the first time. Her personality is the polar opposite of Kanako, especially her naiveness that worries Kanako greatly.

In the second season she connects with both Hajime and Yamashiro's dog Josephine and Sayaka.

Just like Yayoi, her ethereal body weakened and she resorted to steal Arashi's energy to replace her and her friend's, until she figured out that only by making a connection with a living human, her energy would be restored. She and Yayoi are best friends and spent their ghost-living in a run-down mansion. She is very protective and deeply cared of Yayoi's well-being, up to the point where she does not hesitant to hurt somebody for her sake. She is "connected" with Hideo. She looked tough, rude, and unlikeable at first. This is because she had gone through a lot of hardships since childhood and loathes rich girls such as Kaja, Arashi, and Yayoi. Her encounter with Yayoi changed her perspective and she became able to open up herself.

A young man who Arashi saved when he was a child and Hajime's main target of jealousy, as he is always in good terms with her.

A regular at the 'Natsu no Arashi' cafe who always asks for salt, but never gets it till the end of the second season.

Jun's modeling friend. She pretends to be Jun's girlfriend to get a laugh, and then pretends that Jun is cheating on her as to amuse herself even further.

Jun's older sister (she's a model too).

She's a manga artist who, on her first visit to Seven, tries to kiss Yayoi and Arashi. It's revealed that she's actually looking for models and has to 'experience' the scene in order to draw it correctly.

Anime

On November 2008, an anime adaption of Natsu no Arashi! was announced. The anime series was directed by Akiyuki Shinbo

Akiyuki Shinbo

, Katsuhiko Takayama oversaw the script, the character design

Model sheet

In animation, a model sheet, also known as a character board, character sheet, character study or simply a study, is a document used to help standardize the appearance, poses, and gestures of an animated character...

was done by Kazuhiro Ota and was produced by Shaft

Shaft (company)

. The series was broadcast from April 5, 2009, it had a total of 13 episodes.

Four pieces of theme music are used during the first season—one opening theme, one closing theme and two special closing themes for episodes six and eleven. The opening theme is by Omokage Lucky Hole and the closing theme is by Ryōko Shiraishi

Ryoko Shiraishi

is a voice actress from Nara, Japan who works for Aoni Production. Due to her low and gentle voice, she is often cast as either the effeminate-and-kind young man or the sexually mature but sweet-and-sensitive supporting lady...

. For episode six, the closing theme is by Ryōko Shiraishi and the closing theme for episode 11 is by Yui Horie

Yui Horie

is a popular Japanese singer and voice actress. She is sometimes affectionately nicknamed by her Japanese fans.She hosts a radio show called and is the founding member of the singing group, Aice5. She is also a member of the band Kurobara Hozonkai, with the name YUIEL...

.

A second season, called was announced on June 2009. Two pieces of theme music were are used during its broadcast. The opening theme is by Etsuko Yakushimaru

Etsuko Yakushimaru

is the stage name of a Japanese female J-pop singer. She is known for her solo works including theme songs in several anime series, as well as being the lead vocal of the rock band Sōtaisei Riron. Previously, she had not disclosed her face to the public, until the artist and her band was featured...

and the closing theme is by Ryōko Shiraishi

Ryoko Shiraishi

, Kaori Nazuka

Kaori Nazuka

is a freelance voice actress and singer. She is a graduate of the Toho Gakuen College of Drama and Music. She also announced that she got married in February 2011.-TV anime:1999:*Ojarumaru...

, Ai Nonaka

Ai Nonaka

is a Japanese voice actress. She currently works for Aoni Production and was formerly a member of the voice actor unit DROPS, which included fellow voice actor Akemi Kanda, Tomoko Kaneda, Mariko Kōda, and Ryōko Shiraishi...

and Yui Horie

Yui Horie

Both seasons were simulcasted to English language audiences by the video streaming website Crunchyroll

Crunchyroll

Crunchyroll is an American website and international online community focused on streaming East Asian media including anime, manga, drama, music, electronic entertainment, and auto racing content...

Season one episode list

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#	Title	Original airdate

Season two episode list

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#	Title	Original airdate

Reception

King Records's Starchild division has offered to pay Amazon

Amazon.com

Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...

gift certificates to bloggers at the unofficial Neko to Negima! to Seiyū-san anime blog site for their reviews of Natsu no Arashi!s anime series.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.