Title : Natsuzora, Summer Sky
Episodes : 156 (15 minutes each)
Genre : Asadora, Family, Friendship, Farming, War, Animation, Historical, Romance, Slice of life, Drama, Tragedy
Story : 7 out of 10
Characters : 7 out of 10
Cinematography : 8 out of 10
Natsuzora (my first ever Asadora), showcases the joys of life.
Story
Natsu is a war orphan who moves to the countryside to live with her foster family. The family is dairy farmers and Natsu quickly falls in love with the rural way of life. She also starts getting interested in drawing. So, when she graduates from high school, she moves to Tokyo to become an animation artist. Even though she finds it hard at first, eventually she manages to get a job at an animation company, where she learns the whole process of creating an animated movie from scratch. Meanwhile, Natsu meets new and old friends and she reunites with her lost family.
Overall, the drama had nice progress, with a slice of life story. The plot was easy to follow, although there were many characters involved. However, it mainly focused on the leading lady, so the side stories were rarely presented by themselves. That said, all of them well nicely wrapped up in the end, with a heartwarming conclusion for each one of them.
In addition, the plot used many themes, even though it mainly stayed focused on the family and friends and how their lives progressed. The animation field was quite interesting, nevertheless, and they even showed Natsu’s and her colleagues’ work from time to time. The art was fine as well. The agricultural theme was interesting too, and they presented it quite well. Finally, the main story was warm and original, with emphasis on the family and human relationships.
Characters
Natsu is a bright and optimistic young girl, who loves her family and her life at the farm. However, her passion for drawing takes her away to the big city of Tokyo, where she finds a new family and she becomes an independent, strong businesswoman. Natsu’s character was overall a bit too perfect. There were times when she was more humane and closer to an imperfect character, however, for most of the drama, she was too optimistic and too “good” and friendly. Hirose Suzu, the older Natsu, was adorable overall and she presented a nice character development for her version of Natsu.
Yukijiro is Natsu’s cousin. He moves to Tokyo with her to learn the secrets of being a pastry chef, in order to work at his family’s shop. However, he discovers acting and he decides to give up cooking in order to become an actor. Yamada Yuki was a nice supporting actor in this one and he presented a variety of emotions for his character.
Tenyo is Natsu’s friend and the reason why she fell in love with drawing. He is an artist who focuses mostly on rural landscapes and horses. Even though he supports Natsu and helps her to find the courage to pursue her dreams, he stays behind and chooses life at the farm. Yoshizawa Ryo is experienced enough to handle a key character for this drama, even though he didn’t have enough screening time.
Cinematography
The drama had a nice pacing and they added some animation scenes here and there that were cute and a nice touch overall.
Overall
My overall rating is 7 out of 10. It was a nice drama, but sometimes it lacked intensity.
K&J Reviews 
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