It has been so long since Shinpei first failed to meet the priest that we had almost forgotten he ever wanted to do that. Summer Time Render Episode 18 sees him accomplish that and much more. Let’s get right to the review!
Summer Time Render Episode 18 Overview
Summer Time Render is the latest anime by the Anime Studio OLM, previously known for producing critically and commercially acclaimed anime like Komi Can’t Communicate and Odd Taxi. Ayumu Watanabe directs the series, a director whose career so far has been intrinsically linked with OLM, having previously directed Komi Can’t Communicate and Space Brothers for the studio. The anime is based on a manga written by Yasunori Tanaka.
The series is also referred to as Summer time Rendering or Summertime Render, making this episode’s name also be Summer Time Rendering Episode 18 and Summertime Render Episode 18. You can read our review of the previous episode of this show right here!
– Summertime Rendering Episode 18 Review does not contain spoilers –
Summer Time Render Episode 18 Review- Planned Error
This episode was a wild ride all the way through its runtime. It was time for the big confrontation with Karakiri, the priest of Hitogashima. This might just be the last chance Shinpei and Ushio might have to put a stop to the island festival, lest they risk everyone getting devoured like it happened the first time (and surprisingly, the only time) Shinpei went that far ahead in a loop. He holds a lot of answers to what is happening around here, and this deep into the game, you just know a lot of secrets are going to start coming out.
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And come out, they did. The show revealed everything from the origins of Haine, her appearance on Hitogashima island, to her connection with Shide in short order before we even reached the halfway point of the episode. The link between the Haine and the Hitogashima shrine was also explored, with Karakiri being at the centre of it all. The show did a fantastic job introducing us to him and demonstrating within the first few moments that he was more deeply involved with this than anyone could have realised. He was not to be trusted.
The conversation between him and Shinpei flowed very naturally, but you could tell Shinpei was on his guard for all of it and knew far more than he was letting on. That way, the show lets us naturally fall into the reveal without much of a setup. His mannerisms and how he was animated, alongside the mood of that particular moment, were more than enough to set the tone of that entire confrontation, despite how pleasant the conversation about Final Fantasy 7 seemed from the top. The tension in the air was palpable, and the proverbial was about to hit the fan.
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Despite putting out some massive details about the plot, the episode didn’t drag for a second as it delved deeper within Ushio and Shinpei’s psyche than it ever had. It was also another highly tense episode that ended on perhaps the darkest note the series has so far and probably ever will. Think of how much ground that covers. This means that the entire drowning flashback, the Ryuunosuke death, and the entire island festival were less dark than this was, which speaks a lot to the world that the show has built and its characters.
The animation was also in top form, as the experimentation that the series has made a name for returned with great success. There were some fantastic close-ups (some of which you can see in the gallery above), watercolour style frames, and highly detailed backgrounds that were used with great success. The soundtrack, which we haven’t talked about in a while, was also tremendous and pivotal for giving this episode the feeling of despair that it carried so well. Overall, if you weren’t scared yet about this show’s conclusion, you will be after this one. Don’t worry, for it’s the good kind of scary.
Verdict
Summer Time Render Episode 18 was a masterfully crafted episode full of horrors of every kind that you’ve laid your eyes upon. Is there anything that this show can’t do except for airing on a good network?
Click here to read the review of the next episode!