Bright Sun: Dark Shadows (2022)

Did you know that there's an urban legend about how people that meet their Doppelgänger are going to die? Ajiro Shinpei arrives via ferry on the island he grew up on to attend the funeral of his childhood friend Ushio. Life seems peaceful enough, but there are some undercurrents. Apparently it wasn't an accident, but not many people know about this. It is hinted that Ushio met someone that looked just like her a few days before the accident. Shinpei is determined to investigate, but before he gets anywhere he meets a Doppelgänger and is shot to death.

Waking up from a bad dream Shinpei is back on the ferry.


Summer Time Render completely adapts its source and gives closure. The ending is great. Just having an ending at all is great, to be honest. Unfortunately the journey to that ending isn't always very enjoyable. There's a bunch of clichés that I am tired of. Some sentimental moments that fall flat for me and not every reveal makes sense at first. It also drags in some parts, especially the beginning.

But.


But by god, the scenery is beautiful, the animation is great and there's some nice action now and then. The islander's dialect is adorable (though, you need to understand a bit of Japanese to get this) and did I mention that you get closure already?

Sure, it's not perfect, but Summer Time Render is above average which already makes me happy in these dark days, where most anime I watch end up being terrible.