A rare anime featuring adult characters and emotions rather than adolescents or teens, this comics-derived series serves up a slow-jam bluesy paranormal love triangle. Mopey loner Hazuki develops a crush on winsome florist Rokka, an older woman. Working part-time in Rokka's shop, Hazuki is tortured by his feelings for his manager, who in turn is also interested in Hazuki, but there's a complication: the lingering ghost of Rokka's husband, Atsushi, a cancer casualty who died three years ago. Only Hazuki can see and hear Atsushi, who refuses to move on and leave Rokka and the shop behind. Meanwhile, Rokka idolizes her late husband's memory, even though her marriage to the sickly, prickly ikebana master was hardly a bed of roses (he attempted to divorce her on his deathbed). Things take a twist midway, when Atsushi succeeds in possessing Hazuki's body to reunite with a startled Rokka, whilst the living rival is banished to a netherworld of Atsushi's mind. Despite the promising premise, this is all rather too leisurely, although there is something to be said for an anime tale that resolves without an epic magic/martial-arts bout. Compiling all 11 episodes from 2012 in separate Blu-ray and DVD editions, rated TV-14, presented in Japanese with English subtitles, this is a strong optional purchase. (C. Cassady)
Natsuyuki Rendezvous: Complete Collection
(2012) 275 min. In Japanese w/English subtitles. DVD: 2 discs, $49.98; Blu-ray: $59.98. Sentai Filmworks (avail. from most distributors). Volume 30, Issue 1
Natsuyuki Rendezvous: Complete Collection
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