Drawing on Time - Sandglass of Summer: Episode Two

We’re back to conclude our look at the time travel anime based on a visual novel video game. And I mean Natsuiro no Sunadokei, from 2004, not that other one.

One thing I didn’t mention in my first column is how the original game was notable for not having any sexualized scenes with the chosen girls for its PS2 release. Notable because such scenes were pretty typical for the visual novels of the time. Granted, there were some added in for a later release on PC; I suppose that means the game was popular? They were removed for the American release.

I also didn’t mention the voice actors, so I’ll touch on the two leads. Koutarou Makimura is voiced by Hideki Ogihara, while Kaho Serizawa is voiced by none other than Nana Mizuki. Nana has an impressive body of voice work in anime, extending to Nanami Madobe, the mascot for Windows 7.

But enough about the background, let’s dive into episode two, and see if Koutarou can save Kaho from being hit by a car.

TO THE ONE SECOND OF ETERNITY

Episode two begins with Koutarou and Kaho on a date. They go from a cafe to a movie, then have ice cream and conversation, even as he wonders how to save her.

After the title drop, we switch to a scene where Tomomi is being assaulted by a creepy admirer in a parking garage. Koutarou bikes in, yelling for her, distracting the guy long enough for Tomomi to zap him with a homemade stun gun. The teacher thanks Koutarou for helping, and he returns home.

Ligene is waiting, and he asks her if that was enough to save Kaho. She says no. The anime doesn’t supply why saving Tomomi is relevant at ALL. Playing the game would clarify that the creepy admirer was not only Tomomi’s ex-boyfriend, but the driver of the car that would hit Kaho.

The other thing that’s never explained is why saving Mana from her wheelchair last time didn’t help. Suffice to say, there are a lot of variables. In the game, you also have prevent a large clock from falling on Mana the day of the tournament, and fix the angles of the traffic mirrors at the rail crossing.

In the anime, Ligene simply says she’ll do more research, and Koutarou lives out another “day drop”. He brings Ai to school for soccer practice, and talks to Kaho as she rehearses for a play.

We have no idea what day it is – only that it’s a Thursday – as the anime gives no date references in this episode. (Perhaps that’s for the best. For some reason, they didn’t even use the same date as the game did for the swim tournament last episode.)

We also see Takeshi (Koutarou’s friend), who invites Ai to come to a festival that evening. At this point, it’s pretty clear that Ai has feelings for Koutarou, while Takeshi has feelings for Ai. The Ai and Kaho rivalry has been subtly set up already (including in the opening sequence), so kudos for that.

The four of them end up going to the festival together, at a nearby shrine.

Of note, Koutarou had to climb a tree outside Kaho’s house to “break her out of her cage”, as her father wouldn’t let her attend. It’s an iconic image that appears in the game opening sequence (and is the banner for this particular column).

During a montage of scenes, we see Ligene is also at the festival.

Koutarou brings Kaho to a more secluded area (she doesn’t do well in large groups), where Kaho laments that she won’t be able to do anything like this again, because of her father. Koutarou insists that Kaho do what she likes, and he gives her a cell phone for them to communicate.

This is when Koutarou and Kaho kiss, which Ai happens to see. Ai tries not to cry. Ligene (spying from the bushes) simply comments that things are getting complicated.

TIME’S UP

The next day, Kaho’s father has had enough. When Koutarou comes by, Gahaku Serizawa destroys the phone, and says don’t try to speak to his daughter again. Kaho watches from an upstairs window. Koutarou retorts that he’ll need to tell Kaho to stay at home on August 31st then.

When Ligene next comes to Koutarou’s room, she finds he’s writing Kaho a letter, telling her everything, and saying she should not go out on the 31st. It’s all he can think of now, and anyway, if she dumps him because of it, that would also save her.

Ligene is skeptical, but assists. (If you call correcting verb tenses “assisting”.) Koutarou then asks Ai to get the letter to Kaho, because of Kaho’s father, and after staying up all night, he finally goes to sleep.

When Koutarou wakes up, it’s August 31st. The last day drop.

Ligene is with him, and she agrees with Koutarou that if Kaho got the letter, it fixes everything. But Ai overhears them – entering as Ligene departs through the window – and she has a confession.

Ai never sent the letter. She loves him, has for years, and was envious of his relationship with Kaho.

Ai breaks down. This means it’s her fault if Kaho dies. Which explains her self blame near the start of the anime, and means things are playing out the way they always have.

Koutarou absolves Ai of guilt, and races off on his bike. But Kaho has already left her house, as well as the Paradise City train station, by the time he arrives there. He reaches Kurahama Station, and sees her, and she sees him – and Kaho runs out into the path of a car.

Koutarou calls out. He tries to get to her in time. He cannot.

It’s Ai who saves Kaho, tackling her out of the way.

Turns out Ai called Takeshi when Koutarou left, distraught, and Takeshi brought her directly to the accident site, resulting in this happy ending. One where Takeshi confesses his love to Ai, even as Kaho awakens in Koutarou’s arms.

Cut to September 1st, where we briefly see Mana standing outside the school. (Remember her?)

Inside, Koutarou and Ligene talk in a classroom; she’s repaired her hourglass, and thanks him for helping her succeed in her mission. Koutarou wonders about what’s next for his future? She retorts, “You really want to see it? Even if it’s something that can’t be changed?”

He says he’ll pass after all. Ligene applauds this decision, saying he’d be her number one student. She gives him a quick kiss and a wistful look before vanishing into a portal.

Koutarou answers his phone as Kaho calls. He goes to the window, looking at the school gates, where he sees Ai, Takeshi, Tomomi-sensei… and Kaho. Zoom in and roll credits on episode two (and the show).

Oh wait, there is a brief after-credits scene.

As Koutarou waits outside the school for Kaho to finish drama club rehearsal, Ligene, in casual clothing, comes up to him. She asks for directions to Kurahama Station. He provides them as Kaho arrives, and Ligene walks off.

Koutarou pauses, telling Kaho “I feel like I’ve seen her somewhere before”, but he shrugs it off and they depart. Ligene looks back at him. Implying that her kiss affected Koutarou’s memories.

FINAL ANALYSIS

First, the good: I really like how the show portrays the difficulty of changing the time streams. Even if you remove one cause for an issue, another cause appears, and while the “2 out of 10 cases succeed” remark is played for laughs, it feels right in terms of meddling in time.

It’s also the lesson that Ligene seems to want Koutarou to take away at the end.

It also felt right that Koutarou was unable to save Kaho himself. Rather, it was events he set in motion with other characters that allowed her to be saved, without direct intervention on his part. Implying that effective time travel manipulation is something of a team effort, even if only one person is actually time travelling.

Though by only watching the anime, you haven’t even seen half of it.

In the game, Ai knows about Koutarou’s “day drops”, to the level of asking him if he’s been to a certain day yet. She also ends up staying at his house, after her father goes into the hospital on August 8th. And at a critical point, Koutarou gives his friend Takeshi sealed envelopes to deliver to people at a later date.

The anime doesn’t have a hope of conveying that in it’s meagre run-time. It can’t even properly explain Tomomi’s role, despite showing her scene at the beginning. (It actually occurs the morning of the 31st.)

And much like Steins;Gate, the Sandglass of Summer game lets you end up with different characters. Kaho is the obvious choice, though funny enough, in her ending she’s not saved by Ai but by her father (who intercepted the letter). You can also end up with Ai (where it’s implied Takeshi had a thing for Kaho instead), Tomomi (where you learn she’s also a day-dropper), Mana (who still gets an injury), and Ligene (you become her assistant in the time patrol).

There are also many bad endings in the game.

In the main bad ending, you simply fail to save Kaho or Tomomi. But you can also fail to save them and traumatize Ai in the process, or you can take Mana’s place in the hospital (when the clock falls on you) after which Kaho moves away, or you can save Kaho yet cause Ai to be hit by the car… time is not to be trifled with.

By comparison, the anime is far less complex. Good time travel, perhaps paradoxically, should not be rushed.

Still, that makes this OAV a short and entertaining watch, and it does manage to convey all the major plot points. So why not check it out? Or if you want to go deeper, recall that the game got an English release, and look for that as well.

Do you think that, thanks to early efforts like this, we got a full season of “Steins;Gate”, versus just a few episodes? Do you have any other thoughts about this story, be it as a time travel show, or as a game adaptation? And which girl would you have chosen? (I’m leaning towards Ligene myself.)

As always, thanks for reading, and please do let me know, if you have the time.