Mahou Tsukai ni Taisetsu na Koto - Natsu no Sora - Episode 8

It's time for another episode of Mahou Tsukai ni Taisetsu na Koto - Natsu no Sora, and this time around the episode is all about... dolphins. That's right, dolphins.

With Sora recovered from her illness and back at school, but still no sign of Kuroda, important news comes in to the Bureau of Magic - A large number of dolphins have been washed up on the shore of a beach somewhere, making for too much for the marine rescue teams to handle and meaning that only magic will do the trick. Enter our trainee mages to perform the task (although bizarrely despite the entire class being called forth to do this, we only see the main characters actually appear on the beach).


So, we get to see dolphins being surrounded in bubbles of water and tossed into the sea (which doesn't seem like the best thing for a dolphin's safety, but oh well), Kuroda makes a surprising return, and Sora helps Gota unleash his potential and actually perform some worthwhile magic of his own for once.

All of this is wrapped up in the usual blend of everyday conversations and very subtle relationships, with Sora and Gota and Kuroda and Asagi's friendships both getting a bit of treatment along those lines. The first of these pairings is perhaps the most interesting of them all, as the two of them seem to have built up a real friendship and understanding, but there's no sign of that relationship being built up beyond that all thus far - Quite a rarity for a boy/girl relationship in anime.

Despite the emergency of the beached dolphins, this proved to be yet another sedate and unhurried episode of Natsu no Sora, which to be honest is just the way I like it, as it proves to be a great way to unwind at the end of a long day. It isn't too throught-provoking or complex, everything is simple and yet strangely realistic for a story about magic, which makes for an oddly compelling and watchable series from my standpoint that I continue to enjoy the further it continues on its intriguing little journey.