Anime centering around the themes of time travel or time loops are scarce, but whenever such a series is released, it immediately piques viewers’ interest. Not only that, the first episode needs to be captivating enough to pull the audience on a thrilling journey. The debut episode needs to contain just the right amount of mystery and action to hook viewers, but it can’t answer all the questions right away. On April 15th, 2022, Studio OLM released the anime adaptation of Shonen Jump+‘s Summer Time Rendering. The manga, written and illustrated by Yasuki Tanaka, was released in 2017 and wrapped up the incredible story in 2021.
The anime only has 25 episodes, which is significantly less compared to the 139 chapters of the manga. However, since the manga chapters are rather short, the anime managed to cover the entire story with fast pacing and minor cuts from the original. Thanks to that, each episode keeps the viewers on the edge of their seats as they look forward to what’s going to happen next. Even four years after its debut, the anime is still praised for having one of the best first episodes of all time, as it ends with an unbelievable plot twist.
What Is Summer Time Rendering About?
Image Courtesy of OLM
The story centers around Shinpei Ajiro, who returns to his hometown, Hitogashima, after spending two years in Tokyo to attend the funeral of his childhood friend Ushio Kofune. As an orphan, he was raised with the Kofune sisters in their house, but ended up leaving the town to start a new life. Upon his return, Shinpei learns that the village believes Ushio drowned while saving a child, but the strangling marks on her tell a different story.
As Shinpei tries to get to the bottom of this, he learns about dark supernatural forces known as Shadows lurking on the seemingly peaceful island. These mysterious doppelgängers kill and replace people when no one’s watching. Furthermore, Shinpei learns about his ability to loop back in time every time he dies, and he gets a new chance to fix whatever went wrong.
His mysterious ability allows him to replay events and uncover the truth behind the strange beings. With each loop, he pieces together the mystery surrounding Ushio’s death, which is tied to the Shadow and their true goal. The anime is available to stream on Hulu. Additionally, you can also check out the manga on the official app of Manga Plus.
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