Summer Ghost

It is said that fireworks can calm the souls of the dead. For Tomoya Sugisaki, Aoi Harukawa, and Ryou Kobayashi, fireworks are what allowed them to meet the Summer Ghost. Believed to be the spirit of a young woman who committed suicide, the Summer Ghost only appears in a specific area and can only be seen by those who are within arm's reach of death.

Tomoya is a creative soul being crushed by his academic obligation to get into a good university. Aoi is a meek girl who is relentlessly bullied by her classmates. Ryou is a former basketball star who had to forfeit his passion following a grim diagnosis. The only thing these three have in common is their ability to see the Summer Ghost. The Summer Ghost is said to be able to answer any and all questions pertaining to death—something the three teenagers desperately want to know more about.

Dissatisfied with their initial meeting, Tomoya sets out to find the Summer Ghost once again. But the more time he spends with the ghost, the more the mystery surrounding her existence unravels.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Satou, Ayane Main

Kawaei, Rina Japanese

Sugisaki, Tomoya Main

Kobayashi, Chiaki Japanese

Kobayashi, Ryou Main

Shimazaki, Nobunaga Japanese

Harukawa, Aoi Main

Shimabukuro, Miyuri Japanese

Ayane's Mother Supporting

Sahaku, Miyuki Japanese

Teacher Supporting

Nakamura, Kazumasa Japanese

Tomoya's Mother Supporting

Katsumata, Hideo Producer

loundraw Director, Original Character Design, Original Creator

Otsuichi Screenplay

Kosemura, Akira Music

Reviews

Oct 4, 2024

BlueEmbers

Recommended

Quality is the great equalizer in anything really. Sometimes you have big budget producers that make 2 hour long movies that are utterly forgettable, and then you get Summer Ghost - which in a short time makes a lot of itself.

Anyhow, the story delves into those who are close to death- physically, cosmically, however you read it. Having been surrounded by suicides and death in my life, it felt a but close to home. Imagine someone could see right through your meat-suit smoke screen and knew that you where dying in some way and driving towards the edge. It's a wonderful concept that is ... explored that many can likely relate to in personal or health experiences.

The artwork and sound is great, and I especially like some of the writing and voice acting. It's crisp with colors and quality work, although its not mind-bendingly so like some of the Shinkai-type movies. It's a refreshing short movie to watch, and a reminder of why Anime can carry unusually wonderful messages worth your time. Highly recommended!

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Jul 18, 2024

whiteflame55

Mixed Feelings

This movie is trying to do a lot in almost 40 minutes, and while I think it does a good job telling a pretty evocative story with marvelous visuals, I don't think it does justice to the characters with the limited time it has.

There's something deeper here for each of the leads, something concrete that would have been easy to latch onto since all these characters are close to death in different ways, and yet we barely get to explore more than a surface level understanding of where they're coming from before credits roll. It doesn't help that much of the interactions are deadpan, ... so even though that makes certain moments pop, it leaves the rest feeling a little drained of emotion, and moments that could have been huge sometimes feel strange or even suggestive of a pretty horrific scene (e.g. dropping a certain suitcase off at a certain person's door at the end with no note or explanation).

I think the concept here was interesting, even if the execution leaves something to be desired. Maybe fewer characters would have helped. Maybe splitting the focus of the plot less. Maybe just not with the whole help a ghost plot that just ends without much actual resolution. Honestly, the more I think about this one, the more it goes down in my estimation, but it stays a mixed bag for me.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Dec 2, 2023

Halcyon13

Not Recommended

Films nearing the half-hour mark seem like sort of a trend lately. Perhaps due to the declining attention span of viewers, gradually, the general standards for consumption cease to exist. They've always been around, yet recent advertising promises a more glamorous comprehensive experience. Whatever the case, the runtime doesn't have to be an issue, nor does it even need to be considered a facet of thought when handled in the right direction. Summer Ghost is bewildered, bound by a specific restraint on its cast and to what extent they're written if they're written at all. It's hard to imagine there was genuine effort behind the ... composition of their relative roles in the story, more precisely, the terribly dull dialogue and character beats in a scene. The trio represents various disillusioned selves, youth attached to a glorified future. Individually, each of them is a flimsy topic of emotional introspection, and together, every moment becomes a trivial reflection of hidden secrets. The script fails to incorporate necessary pauses, nor does it indicate hesitation in what's presented as a sensitive area of discussion. Loundraw manages the allotted time quite well, fitting his concept without the tension of haste, but maximizing the element of realization is admittedly a tougher task.

The designs are sharp, similar to his previous work, often exhibiting dreary eyes. Unfortunately, the animation isn't exactly up to par, most obviously frame skipping, especially noticeable when characters turn their head for a change in expression. Character acting is also excessively dull, hardly emphasizing the mood of a situation. Speaking of atmosphere, the cinematography is uniformly impressive, likely the only part of the trailer that remains consistent with the final product. It excels in lighting, background texture, shot selection, and aspects of dreamy visual direction transitioning between reality and the supernatural. Loundraw's first attempt at helming a feature is barely acceptable, unable to balance the rationality of decisions against the wide-angle gentle backdrops of scenery. Utilizing too much circumstantial reasoning to avoid the meaningless expiration of life. Summer Ghost is akin to an actual ghost, a bit transparent, evidently hollow.

Reviewer’s Rating: 3

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	Poll: Summer Ghost Episode 1 Discussion ( 1 2 3 ) removed-user - Nov 11, 2021	106 replies	by Hikikomori-san2 »» Jan 14, 8:53 PM
	What happened with the mom? yami_jpeg - Apr 6, 2022	15 replies	by OP_Rider »» Jul 31, 2023 2:39 AM
	Summer ghost dub is out but I don't know where to watch it. Ian052503 - Nov 2, 2022	8 replies	by Haigen »» Nov 19, 2022 9:57 AM
	Summer Ghost - Initial trailer thoughts? ImmortalAbomb - Sep 1, 2021	15 replies	by ImmortalAbomb »» Nov 5, 2021 10:11 PM
	Five minutes PV Nishide - Nov 1, 2021	2 replies	by xAbstractx »» Nov 3, 2021 2:29 AM