Mahou Tsukai ni Taisetsu na Koto - Natsu no Sora - Episode 7

Yes, yes, I know, I've fallen horribly and terribly behind in my attempts to watch Mahou Tsukai ni Taisetsu na Koto - Natsu no Sora, due mainly to my stubbornly waiting for High Definition episodes that never emerged. So, with said stubborness compartmentalised and set aside, I'll be whipping through the remainder of this series as and when I can.

This particular episodes focuses almost solely on Koji Kuroda - For all of his aloof and almost arrogant nature at school, it turns out that magic training really isn't going so well for him, and the repeated blows to his confidence (not helped by his tutor) brings him to the very brink of quitting the school. His attempts to talk over his feelings with his classmate Asagi also blows up in his face, only exacerbating the problem. Will a visit from his classmates (including Asagi, after thinking things over) change his mind? Who knows...


After almost a couple of months away from this series, it actually felt quite refreshing to get back to its basic animation atop hyper-realistic scenery - While the disparity between those two elements does jar quite frequently, I still find myself enjoying the overall ambience of this series that seems to delight in touring us around different locations, giving us snapshots of every day life and where it's lived with I really hold a bit of a candle for.

Outside of that, even this emotionally charged episode seems to be rather sedate in the way things are handled, but once again I really enjoy rather than bemoan this particular style, as it adds a certain realism to the series (not everyone treats everything in their life as high drama), with every conversation seeming to be just the kind of thing you'd actually expect to hear from day to day - Not a bad feat for a series about magic!

So, while I can understand people not liking Natsu no Sora for various reasons (its pacing, its animation style and so on) for me it just about works, and offers up something a little different from the norm - The anime equivalent of taking a long, slow walk someplace and talking about things of no consequence with a friend. It won't change your life or rock your world (although the nods to New Order in this episode gave me a smile), but it does serve to relax and entertain in its own unique way.