is a Japanese

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

television series produced by

Sunrise Sunrise (or sunup) is the moment when the upper rim of the Sun appears on the horizon in the morning. The term can also refer to the entire process of the solar disk crossing the horizon and its accompanying atmospheric effects. Terminology Al ...

and directed by

Seiji Mizushima is a Japanese anime director who is known for such series as ''Shaman King'', ''Fullmetal Alchemist'', ''Mobile Suit Gundam 00'', ''Un-Go'', and ''Concrete Revolutio''. His first directorial film project, '' Fullmetal Alchemist the Movie: Conque ...

. The series aired on

MBS MBS may refer for: People * Mohammed bin Salman (born 1985), crown prince and prime minister of Saudi Arabia * Mohan Bikram Singh (born 1935), Nepalese politician Places * MBS International Airport (IATA code: MBS), Freeland, Michigan, US * Mari ...

between April and June 2012. A

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

adaptation illustrated by Tatsuhiko was serialized in

Square Enix is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational holding company, production enterprise and entertainment conglomerate, best known for its ''Final Fantasy'', ''Dragon Quest'', ''Star Ocean'' and ''Kingdom Hearts'' role-playing video game ...

's ''

Young Gangan is a manga imprint owned by Square Enix Holdings. It originated as a manga imprint for Enix before the company re-branded as Square Enix. It publishes manga in several anthologies aimed at different reader demographic groups in the Japanese mark ...

'' magazine between January 2012 and March 2013.

Plot

At a

Shinto shrine A is a structure whose main purpose is to house ("enshrine") one or more ''kami'', the deities of the Shinto religion. Overview Structurally, a Shinto shrine typically comprises several buildings. The '' honden''Also called (本殿, meani ...

in Shimoda, there is a large rock. It is said that if four close friends gather around the rock and they all wish for the same thing, that wish will come true. As four friends, Natsumi, Saki, Yuka and Rinko, gather around the rock like they used to in their childhood, they soon find the rock can indeed grant people's wishes. With only a short amount of time before Saki is due to transfer schools, the girls spend a summer filled with magic.

Characters

Main characters

; : :The member of her school's tennis club, who is often quite stubborn but cares deeply about her friends, especially Saki. ; : :Natsumi's best friend and next door neighbor who is to transfer schools due to her parents moving to Tokyo. She doesn't tend to believe in supernatural things. Has dreams of entering the tennis championship. ; : :A hyperactive girl who admires idols, especially the idol group Four Season. She constantly beckons everyone to work towards the goal of becoming an idol group together. She works at her family's hot spring inn. ; : :A laid back girl with simple thoughts who is often supporting Yuka. She works as a shrine maiden at a shrine where the magical rock lies. Whenever she has a fever, she sees whales flying around.

Supporting characters

; : :Natsumi's mother. ; : :Natsumi's younger brother. ; : :One of Daiki's friends. He has allegedly seen Natsumi and her friends flying in the sky, believing them to be witches. ; : :One of Daiki's friends. ; : :Yuka's cousin and a member of the school baseball team who occasionally makes deliveries to the inn Yuka works at. Yuka has a crush on him, but he himself has a thing for Saki. ; : :A boyish looking girl who lives with her twin sister, Chiharu, on an island in Tokyo where Saki is due to move. She is a bit hostile towards outsiders as Saki's parents are replacing the doctor she admired so much.

Media

Manga

adaptation, based on the anime and illustrated by Tatsuhiko, was serialized in

's ''

'' magazine between January 20, 2012 and March 15, 2013. Three ''

tankōbon is the Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or cultur ...

'' volumes were released between May 25, 2012 and March 25, 2013.

Anime

The anime television series was produced by

and directed by Seiji Mizushima. The screenplay was written by Tatsuhiko Urahata, and the chief animator Yuichi Tanaka based the character design used in the anime on Hidari's original concept. The sound director was Hiromi Kikuta, and the soundtrack was composed by Nijine and

Masumi Itō (she also goes by the pseudonym ) is a Japanese singer and composer from Ibaraki prefecture in Japan. Itō has composed the soundtracks to many anime television shows and is part of the bands Oranges & Lemons and Heart of Air. Discography ...

. The series aired on

from April 6 to June 29, 2012. A short

original video animation , abbreviated as OVA and sometimes as OAV (original animation video), are Japanese animated films and series made specially for release in home video formats without prior showings on television or in theaters, though the first part of an OVA s ...

episode was released on August 29, 2012. The respective opening and ending themes, both performed by

Sphere A sphere () is a Geometry, geometrical object that is a solid geometry, three-dimensional analogue to a two-dimensional circle. A sphere is the Locus (mathematics), set of points that are all at the same distance from a given point in three ...

, are "Non stop road" and . Sphere also performed the insert songs used throughout the series, such as used in episode one.

Episode list

References

External links

* * {{Animeism 2012 anime television series debuts 2012 manga Anime with original screenplays Animeism Aniplex Seinen manga Slice of life anime and manga Square Enix franchises Sunrise (company)