[Review] Mahou Tsukai ni Taisetsu na Koto: Natsu no Sora

The name is long as hell....



Title: Mahou Tsukai ni Taisetsu na Koto: Natsu no Sora
Alternate Title: Someday's Dreamers: Summer Skies
Alternate Title: Things That Are Important to a Mage ~Summer Sky~
Alternate Title: 魔法遣いに大切なこと ～夏のソラ～ (Japanese)
Subb-Group: AnY-Conclave [thats the Group i used!]
Vintage: 2008-07-02

Genre: magic, romance, slice of life



Suzuki Sora is a cheerful girl who comes from a small village, located in Hokkaido, called Bie. Magic is a commonly misunderstood ability in this world with magicians being shunned by commoners for fear that the magicians could be secretly harming them. However, following a promise Sora made to her late father, she files in an enrollment form for a magic academy in Tokyo. She gets in without a hitch.

Once at the academy, Sora learns that there are rules and restrictions set in place to prevent the abuse of magic however, Sora presses on, determined to fulfill the promise made with her father. In the academy, she meets a boy [Gouta Midorikawa] who, due to both family and personal reasons, despises magic. Eventually, she ends up helping him overcome this hatred and improve on his latent magic abilities. In time their fates intertwine and both of them are thrown together, learning new things about each other with each passing day.

Each student of the academy is assigned to a mage tutor. Together, both student and tutor heads out into the world, helping people with special requests which draws on their magical capabilities. Using magic such as awakening spells, lock-picking and much more, they help handle these requests to the maximum of their ability.

My opinion: One thing i really really like about this anime is the simple fact that they didnt stereotype magic to be a weapon of mass destruction. Instead, they focus on the true beauty of magic, the ability to help and enhance the quality of life through the simplest of tasks. Another thing i really do like about this anime is the feel it gives out. What I'm trying to say is, if you were to watch this anime, you immediately know who is the student as they really are as clueless as real students are! My only gripe about this is .. ITS TOO SHORT!!!!! haiz.. at least they kept it short and sweet..

Score: 8.5/10 [I think im being a little biased..]



As far as character development goes, it it fairly well thought out. Not once was i lost when it comes to the characters settings and the build-up with each passing episode was really good! The main characters of the anime was developed like how you would develop any family unit and thus, you can actually feel the ties between them! real nice! My only displeasure was that they didn't really care about the side characters. To me, it felt like the side characters were there for the sake of being there, with little impact to the story whatsoever.

Score: 7/10



At the very few episodes, the problem was set to be the lack of knowledge of magic by our main protagonists. I mean, viewers can see them attending lessons in close to every episode! Thats like watching a high school drama only without the drama! Despite all this training, they some students still screw-up from time to time. So, is this our main problem? WRONG! Another problem gets introduced later on in the series and dare i say, It sure was a VERY HEAVY topic. This problem is related to Sora's family and even touches on the death of her father.. heavy.. real heavy...

Score: 7.5/10



Still no prodigy when it comes to art so correct me if I am wrong!

What i feel is unique about this anime is how they incorporate real-life drawings into the show itself. This is evident from the very start of the first episode. However, this unique trait isn't a positive one. Instead i feel that the drawing style of the anime characters fail to blend in with the surroundings and as a result, it fails just weird.. *shudders*

With that said, It is to be noted that the anime characters aren't masterpieces themselves. If i had to choose an anime with a similar drawing style [in terms of characters], it will definitely be Shangri-la. The lines of the characters seem pretty rough and the drawing just feels funny.

Magic effects wise, its nothing to behold either. Sure, there are moments when the effects seem real good, but when i compare it to others, such as Mahou shoujo lyrical nanoha, it feels alright at most, nothing really special.

In short, the artwork is horrible. [If someone with an awesome Graphics background could help to either justify or go against this, it would be awesome]

Score: 3/10 [the surroundings was what saved it from getting a zero]

Just for this anime:



Well, the Soundtrack composed really fit this anime well. It sorta has a Country feel to it and upon listening it, listeners can feel the ambiance of a village by the surrounded by the ocean, which is exactly what Biel is. Th tempo is real slow and its very easy to listen to. No hardcore rock here, just music for the soul. This is going into my itunes playlist for sure.

Score: N/A [Im not giving a score as this isnt in the original format of my reviews.]



Despite the horrible drawings, the horrible usage of Side characters, and the Horrible drawing [I know Im repeating it!], this anime really captured my heart in terms of its storyline! I really enjoyed this anime on a whole since it really felt, well, real. No nonsensical magic fights here, just the true beauty of magic, magic that helps and heals. The Soundtrack helps enhance this experience.

Score: I do not care what anyone says but this is getting a 9/10 from me. Period.



Dont trust the score!! The Calculator is faking you!! Instead, Go watch it!

Download it here

Screenshots:

Trailer shots:


More coming soon...

I see that the drawing is a little bit old fashioned...

Maybe I take a look at it and observe it properly.