Summer Ghost – Finding the Courage to Move On

Summer Ghost, released in 2021, is a short anime film directed by Loundraw and animated by Flat Studio. It narrates the struggles of troubled teens facing depression, societal pressures, and thoughts of suicide. The main trio, brought together by online interactions, unite to achieve a common goal: encountering the elusive summer ghost.

Summer Ghost Summary

A warning for those who want to experience the film firsthand~ Spoilers ahead.

Art & Animation

An animated film loses its meaning if the art fails to complement the story and themes. Summer Ghost‘s art conveys its themes adequately. Various color themes represent different characters and their inner struggles, while effective use of lighting and shading creates an overall melancholic and poignant vibe. The change in art style when the characters enter the astral or spiritual realm is visually captivating.

Summer Ghost Review

Other than the animation, Summer Ghost holds up quite well considering its intended delivery. This short 40-minute film delves deeply into the characters and the story. The direction and storyboarding are excellent. The voice actors, both in Japanese and English dub, deliver effectively. The subtle background OST sets the mood perfectly for this type of story. It all builds up well towards the end with a mysterious twist. If I have to complain something about this movie, it would be that the plot might feel a little vague, and the art style might be somewhat challenging to discern due to its choice of lighting and shading. Nonetheless, it’s an overall commendable film.

Production of Summer Ghost

I wanted to discuss a bit about the production of Summer Ghost, as something is worth noting. Loundraw, known for some musical animations, character design in I want to eat your pancreas and conceptual design in Josee, The Tiger and the Fish (both are critically acclaimed), came up with this that’s part of the Project Common multimedia project. It served as Loundraw’s directorial debut. It is produced by his company Flat Studio, with scripts written by Hirotaka Adachi, and music composed by Akira Kosemura, Itoko Toma, Guiano, and Hideya Kojima. The film was released on November 12, 2021 by its distributor Avex Pictures.

Yoshi Inomi’s manga adaptation of the film was serialized on Shueisha’s Tonari no Young Jump website from October 8, 2021, to June 3, 2022, and later compiled into two tankōbon volumes released on November 19, 2021, and June 17, 2022. Additionally, two novels written by the film’s scriptwriter Hirotaka Adachi were published. The first, a novelization providing further depth to the film’s narrative, was released on October 29, 2021. The second, an original spin-off titled “Ichinose Yūna ga Uiteiru” (Yūna Ichinose Is Floating), came out on November 26 of the same year. Seven Seas Entertainment announced the licensing of both the novel and manga adaptations in February 2023, with plans for digital and print releases in August of the same year.

After Thought

Summer Ghost provides a unique experience and a full-fledged story in its short runtime. The ending ties up well with what was built up throughout, leaving some thoughts about our own lives after watching it. Loundraw did a great job delivering it. While there’s room for improvement in terms of direction, this film deserves an 8.5 out of 10 for what it has to offer.

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Re-edited by Rurouni_XYZ