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This gives us an idea of Ushio’s true power, as she can selectively burn who and what she wants to with her “copy” fire. It looked female to me but I don’t think the identity was supposed to be obvious (mind your manners in the comments or there’ll be hell to pay). One interesting question here is who the human inside Shide – and I think we always knew there was one – actually is. We’ve got ten episodes left, so obviously that’s not how it’s gonna play out. The tide of the battle ebbs back and forth, with Team Shinpei eventually appearing on the verge of triumph with the “ burn it with fire” approach. Shide taking out Nezu’s scope with a pebble was pretty boss, but the old codger digs deep and proves he’s a marksman even without a scope. I don’t need to elaborate much on what happens (which is rare with this show) – events speak for themselves for the most part. Shinpei opts for the direct approach – though he’s lying through his teeth when he says he’s looking for a straight-up battle. Which means we’re headed for a serious showdown and damn, SR doesn’t disappoint. That, in effect, makes this loop the real ballgame – there’s no margin for error here. He figures he’s got one more loop in him after this one, and then that’s it – only darkness awaits after that. Shinpei gives us (and his team) the cleanest account yet of what’s happening with these loops – time is literally catching up to him. With each move the one side can do damage to the other’s cause, but they are sharing information – their attacks reveal their strategy, allowing the opponent to adjust. The interesting thing is the way this chess game really resembles a game of chess. Was the actual girl this clever, to go along with the fearlessness and stubbornness?Īs most had guessed, Shinpei’s death at the end of Episode 15 was Shide taking him out with Nezu’s sniper rifle. And Ushio has emerged as someone who’s a lot more than she initially seemed to be. This battle of wits between Shinpei and Ushio and Haine/Shide has become quite compelling.

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This was, frankly, a bomb – an absolute cracker of an episode.

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His budget is obviously not unlimited (though clearly adequate) and he’s marshalling it for episodes like this one, the biggest battle royale of the series so far, by far. I imagine directing this sort of show is fun for a guy like him, and it’s certainly fun for us. All those boxes are checked here, and it’s obvious Watanabe knew that.

It has to be built around a sound premise and have engaging characters. A series like this doesn’t have to be photo-realistic but it does have to make sense to a point – structural integrity, in other words. To an extent we don’t know how much of the anime’s success is Watanabe’s superb direction and how much is the source material, but – while I have no doubt Watanabe can (and has done) take mediocre material and make it entertaining – Summertime wouldn’t be this good unless there was “there” there. So for him to decide to take on this relatively under the radar supernatural thriller implied that there was something “it” about it. I’m sure Watanabe isn’t rich by Hollywood standards but in anime terms, he’s a major player.

When you get to the stage he’s at in his career – successful theatrical features on the resume – you can pretty much pick and choose whatever project you want if you’re going to work in TV. To be honest, when Summertime Render was announced the first thing I wondered was what made Wayanabe Ayumu decide to direct it.

Baka na imoto