Natsuiro Kiseki



In Shimoda City, there is a Shinto shrine centered around a large rock. Legend has it that if four close friends make a single wish upon it, the wish will be immediately fulfilled.

Such a legend was tested by four middle school girls and childhood friends: stubborn Natsumi Aizawa, realist Saki Mizukoshi, hyperactive Yuka Hanaki, and laidback Rinko Tamaki.

A few days before summer vacation, Natsumi and Saki had a falling-out. To rub salt onto the wound, the next day Saki reveals that she plans on transferring schools. To help them make up, Yuka and Rinko invite them to the shrine. As they stare onto the skies, the rock emits a strange glow, and before they knew it, the four girls are flying.

Thus begins a summer vacation unlike any other.

Natsuiro Kiseki (夏色キセキ, literally "A Summer-Colored Miracle") is a Slice of Life Schoolgirl Series Twelve-Episode Anime (plus one OVA) produced by Sunrise for the Spring 2012 Anime season, with a manga illustrated by Tatsuhiko which ran from January 20, 2012 to March 15, 2013. In reinforcing the theme of friendship, Natsumi, Saki, Yuka and Rinko are all voiced by the members of J-Pop group Sphere, themselves Names to Know in Anime: Minako Kotobuki, Ayahi Takagaki, Haruka Tomatsu and Aki Toyosaki, respectively.


 * Almost Kiss: Between Yuka (in Saki's body) and Takashi.
 * Moment Killer: Rinko (in Natsumi's body) grabs her and they run off.
 * Be Careful What You Wish For: The big rock can grant you a wish, in unexpected ways.
 * Bifauxnen: Koharu, the tanned surfer who rescued Yuka.
 * Censor Steam: plenty in the hot springs episode, and even then not everything is covered
 * Curtains Match the Windows: Saki, Natsumi and her brother Daiki.
 * Date Peepers: After the body switch in Episode 4, Saki, Natsumi, and Rinko spy on Yuka and Takashi's date.
 * Do-It-Yourself Theme Tune
 * Genki Girl: Yuka.
 * Flight: What the girls receive at the end of Episode 1 from the enchanted rock.
 * Freaky Friday Flip: Episode 4. Saki/Yuka and Natsumi/Rinko
 * Four-Girl Ensemble
 * Hollywood Hype Machine: Japanese variant. Four Seasons used to be all over the media but now only their most devoted fans remember them (Like Yuka).
 * Hot Springs Episode: almost half of episode 9 has the for girls in an open air bath
 * Idol Singer: The series is basically a vehicle for the real-life idol group Sphere. References to idols pop up frequently, though it remains to be seen if the ever actually factor into the plot.
 * The idol group Four Seasons are Yuka's favorite musicians (though nobody else seems to remember them or thinks they broke up).
 * Kissing Cousins: Yuka's senpai Takashi is apparently referred to as her cousin.
 * Miko: Rinko works at her family's shrine, where the rock is located.
 * Off-Model: Constantly, including several instances of characters having six fingers.
 * The Quiet One: Rinko.
 * Scenery Porn: Shimoda, the agricultural city where the girls live.
 * Schoolgirl Lesbians: Lots of ship teasing with Natsumi and Saki. Natsumi's orientation seems confirmed by the body-swap episode when Rin suggests Natsumi might like to swap with one of the members of The Four Seasons so she could ... get closer to the lead singer. Cue yurific Imagine Spot.
 * Schoolgirl Series
 * Seinen: The manga ran in Square Enix's seinen magazine Young Gangan.
 * Shout-Out: In Episode 5, Yuka doesn't get the Four Seasons poster that she asked for. Instead, she gets a free Gundam 00 poster.
 * The four ribbons that Natsumi finds for them to wear at the singing competition has the same colors as their respective voice actress uses in Sphere: Purple for Natsumi/Minako, pink for Saki/Ayahi, orange for Yuka/Haruka and green for Rinko/Aki.
 * In Episode 8, when the girls are shopping for swimsuits, there's a sign that--although obscured--looks like it reads My-HIME.
 * Sick Episode: Episode 5.
 * Tomboy and Girly Girl: Natsumi/Saki and
 * Tomboy and Girly Girl: Natsumi/Saki and