Natsuiro Kiseki

Yeah…I was waiting for the friends forever thing. Wasn’t quite expecting them to completely cut themselves off from the magic rock, though. Not bad…if a tad drastic for what the situation was. I give this ending a low-medium-ish rating in my books. It’s as complete as endings get, I suppose. Unless they come up with a new set of girls, they can’t exactly continue things…the rock’s probably had its run.

It’s a strange series for me as a whole. I seemed to have a lot of problems with it, yet I continued to watch. I wonder if I should make a post about the rock…I’m pretty sure I have a lot to say about it. With my feelings so mixed, what are general impressions of this show? Final Note: I counted 8 repeats, so going through the same day 9 times. Does that count as Endless Eight?

Portable plot device…so convenient. They could at least explain why the rock is everywhere…I thought that they couldn’t possibly use it again. Even if it’s a portable plot device, it can’t be everywhere. But I guess I was wrong.  In other news, Natsuiro Kiseki just went Endless Eight…really? *frantically checks the episode list* Okay, 12 episodes…I think we’re safe, guys. That would just be torture.

Next week finishes it off. From the preview, it almost looked like the girls accepted the endless loop and just continued living like that. But that doesn’t sound right…would they end the series like that? Those kinds of wishes always backfire. I’m curious…wonder if the show will surprise me.

This is bad…a few episodes ago, I would’ve immediately thought that the girls would use the rock to figure out that haunted hotel business. Now I’ve been desensitized because of the break we’ve had. I’m curious about this episode. Were the girls in the present the thieves that they actually saw in the past or were they just embodying them as part of the magic of the rock?

The first theory seems to contradict logic while the second theory is too coincidental because of the way the girls in the present seem to have their own will. They disappear in the end, but their memories only suggested one thief, not four. Final note: the scene with Saki and her younger self at the beginning was pretty legitimately funny. Next week, audition? Random, much?

Yeah…so that theory I had about the rock not being a factor since they were on an island. I guess our favorite plot device is apparently portable. This episode wasn’t bad (if a tad predictable), but I wonder about where it goes from here. Everyone seems to have accepted Saki’s impending move, so I see no room for further development…I guess it’s done?

Does that mean the rest of the episodes are back to being about whatever random thing? I really don’t see a reason for Saki not to leave anymore. Maybe the rock has to make up for lost time and go into overdrive. Heck…maybe they have to fix it. Or not…that sounds a little too much for a show like this. Plus, the preview shows no hints of further rock activation (although with a title mentioning ghosts, it’s definitely plausible).

Big trip to Saki’s potential future home (I actually recognized a bunch of the places when they stopped in Tokyo from when I was there lol). That bit at the end when Natsumi tells Saki she’ll talk with her dad about the move was interesting. Saki showed throughout the episode that she’s really indecisive, possibly because she doesn’t want to inconvenience those around her. I wonder if she’ll be able to take a stand with her father when she gets back after what Natsumi said.

Also, it looks like we got a brief glimpse at a potential new character on the island…you know, after the whole “being a jerk” thing passes. Final thing…no rock for a while. I don’t particularly have a problem with it…glad the rock has become more background now that the girls have the ability to “rely” on it. Would be boring if they just kept using it for their purposes.

So…anyone else think that this episode was a bit random? Where the heck did the singing competition come from? Anyway, I’m cool with the show moving towards having the rock more in the background. They hit you with it a lot in the beginning, then start to wean you off it. I mean…it will be back, but like I said before, I would prefer it to be used as little as possible.

The big question I have after this episode is what’s coming up next. They win the competition together and everything, but does that mean they’ll start doing other idol competitions or auditions or something? Or will it go back the same stuff with the rock? Maybe the preview will have the answer. (…) Oh…beach episode…got it.

Hmm…not bad. They handled the clone thing better than I expected, with both Natsumi’s learning different things and remembering them all when they merged again. I was curious throughout the episode whether they were perfect clones or if they were each deficient in a complimentary way, but it seems they were identical. The idea being to show how the situations affect what each learns. I’m still annoyed at the rock, though. Seems like a very convenient plot device for character development, but I’ve always thought that anything that grants wishes should have a set of guidelines. So far, it still doesn’t seem like the rock follows a set of rules and it’s just used however makes the story go along…oh well, it remains to be seen.

Well well…an episode where the rock doesn’t activate. Color me surprised. Strangely enough, the episode was more interesting…We get a look at how Yuka was able to bring everyone together with her cheerfulness when the group was younger. I was wondering what was the deal with the whale when the episode started, but it tied everything together. It was pretty cool. Also, when the girls almost make the wish on the rock, I liked that they had a decent reason this time…wanting to take advantage of every single moment. Yuka showing up to stop them was a nice touch too.

I still wonder how this show will end. Will Saki still be forced to leave? Will the rock deactivate? Maybe in a blaze of glory? Clearly, I have no idea what’s going on. Either way, next week’s episode looks to be the practice match for Saki and Natsumi that was mentioned this week against the team that beat their seniors. Some fun tennis action? Could be interesting…