Summer (video Game)
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, also known as ''Underbar Summer'', is a Japanese
adult An adult is an animal that has reached full growth. The biological definition of the word means an animal reaching sexual maturity and thus capable of reproduction. In the human context, the term ''adult'' has meanings associated with social an ...
visual novel A visual novel (VN) is a form of digital interactive fiction. Visual novels are often associated with the medium of video games, but are not always labeled as such themselves. They combine a textual narrative with static or animated illustratio ...
developed by Hooksoft which was released on July 15, 2005, playable on
Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...
as a CD; a
PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October, in Europe on 24 Novembe ...
consumer console port called ''_Summer##'' followed on August 24, 2006, by
GN Software GN Software is a Japanese video game developer and publisher of consumer console games, mainly for the PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Compute ...
. An updated version of the original game, called , which is compatible up to
Windows Vista Windows Vista is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. It was the direct successor to Windows XP, released five years earlier, which was then the longest time span between successive releases of Microsoft W ...
as a
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...
, was released on December 21, 2007. The
gameplay Gameplay is the specific way in which players interact with a game. The term applies to both video games and Tabletop game, tabletop games. Gameplay is the connection between the player and the game, the player's overcoming of challenges, and t ...
in ''_Summer'' follows a plot line which offers pre-determined scenarios with courses of interaction, and focuses on the appeal of the six female main characters. The story revolves around Takumi Kaizu, who after years of making good friends, many of whom are female, is asked by his best male friend Osamu Funada if he likes anyone. With his last summer in high school quickly approaching, Takumi decides to find someone to like by the end of summer vacation. ''_Summer'' has had overall well received sales, premiering as the most sold
bishōjo game A or is "a type of Japanese video game centered on interactions with attractive girls". ''Bishōjo'' games are similar to ''Choose Your Own Adventure'' books in the way of narrative, in which the game tells a story but the player may make c ...
in Japan during the first half of July in 2005, and would go on to chart twice more. ''_Summer'' has made several transitions into other media, such as a mini four-panel
web comic Webcomics (also known as online comics or Internet comics) are comics published on the internet, such as on a website or a mobile app. While many webcomics are published exclusively online, others are also published in magazines, newspapers, or ...
, a
manga 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 history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...
one-shot One shot may refer to: Film and television * One-shot film, a feature film shot in one long take with no edits, or manufactured to look like so * ''One Shot'' (2005 film), a Sri Lankan action film directed by Ranjan Ramanayake * ''One Shot'', a ...
published in
Kadokawa Shoten , formerly , is a Japanese publisher and division of Kadokawa Future Publishing based in Tokyo, Japan. It became an internal division of Kadokawa Corporation on October 1, 2013. Kadokawa publishes manga, light novels, manga anthology magazines ...
's ''
Comp Ace is a Japanese computer game and manga magazine published by Kadokawa Shoten. ''Comp Ace'' began as a special edition version of another one of Kadokawa Shoten's magazines, '' Comptiq''. The first issue was released on March 26, 2005, and was p ...
'' magazine, and four character
light novel A is a type of Genre fiction, popular literature novel from Japan usually classified as young adult fiction, generally targeting Adolescence, teens to Young adult, twenties or older. The definition is very vague, and wide-ranging. The abbr ...
s written by
Jōji Kamio is a male Japanese author who has written many erotic novels based from adult Japanese visual novels. He has been writing such novels since 2001. He has notably written novels for the past four visual novels by Hooksoft: '' Orange Pocket'', '' L ...
. An illustrated story titled ''_Summer## Official Illust Story'' was serialized in MediaWorks' ''
Dengeki G's Magazine was a Japanese magazine published by ASCII Media Works (formerly MediaWorks) and sold monthly on the thirtieth that primarily contains information on bishōjo games, but also includes an entire section on anime based on bishōjo games, and seri ...
''. A two-episode
original video animation , abbreviated as OVA and sometimes as OAV (original animation video), are Japanese animated films and special episodes of a series made specially for release in home video formats without prior showings on television or in theaters, though the ...
was produced; the two
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...
s were released on October 27, 2006, and January 26, 2007. Several
drama CD Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatised, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine ...
s were released based on the game, including one released as a prologue to the OVA.


Gameplay

''_Summer'' is a
romance Romance may refer to: Common meanings * Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings ** Romantic orientation, the classification of the sex or gender with which a pers ...
visual novel A visual novel (VN) is a form of digital interactive fiction. Visual novels are often associated with the medium of video games, but are not always labeled as such themselves. They combine a textual narrative with static or animated illustratio ...
in which the player assumes the role of Takumi Kaizu. The gameplay requires little interaction from the player as most of the duration of the game is spent on simply reading the text that appears on the screen; this text represents either
dialogue Dialogue (sometimes spelled dialog in American and British English spelling differences, American English) is a written or spoken conversational exchange between two or more people, and a literature, literary and theatrical form that depicts suc ...
between the various characters, or the inner thoughts of the protagonist. Every so often, the player will come to a "decision point" and must choose from options that are displayed on the screen, typically two to three at a time. During these times, gameplay pauses until a choice is made that furthers the plot in a specific direction, depending on which choice the player makes. There are six main plot lines that the player will have the chance to experience, one for each of the heroines in the story. In order to view the six plot lines to their entirety, the player will have to replay the game multiple times and choose different choices during the decision points in order to further the plot in an alternate direction. Throughout gameplay, there are scenes depicting Kyōtarō and a given heroine having sex. However, in the
PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October, in Europe on 24 Novembe ...
port, these scenes are removed. The visual novel also features real-time choices (RTC), this is when the player given a choice within a time period, and varying on the amount of time the player takes to make the choice, it will effect the ensuing dialogue.


Plot


Story and setting

''_Summers story takes place in a small seaside town during the summer, where Takumi Kaizu is a normal high school student enjoying his final year in school with the rest of his friends. Over the years, he has made good memories with these friends of his, most of whom are girls, though apparently still have no overt feelings of attraction towards any of them. There are six main potential love interests presented to Takumi in ''_Summer''; they are Konami Hatano, Shino Ebizuka, Sana Kaizu, Chiwa Amano, Wakana Shimazu, and Hinako Nanao. Konami is the kind and timid childhood friend of Takumi, and the main heroine. She will come to Takumi's house in the morning and prepare breakfast for him. As a contrast to Konami's gentle personality, her female friend Shino is rough and hot-tempered, but protective of Konami. Takumi has a younger stepsister called Sana, an energetic, fun-loving girl, if not a little lazy for being unable to wake up in the morning without Takumi. Sana has a best friend called Chiwa, a mysterious and very strange girl, who is known to be unpredictable. An upperclassman called Wakana has an immense crush on Takumi, despite her popularity with boys due to her beauty and elegant personality. The homeroom teacher of Takumi, named Hinako, will often be seen trying to find free food because of her money wasting. When Takumi is asked by his best male friend Osamu Funada if he likes anyone, Takumi starts to think about it though is still confused on what to do next. With his last summer in high school quickly approaching, Takumi decides to find someone to like by the end of summer vacation. Takumi slowly starts to take a romantic interest in the girls around him, while his friend Osamu relentlessly searches for a girlfriend as well.


Characters


Main characters

; :''Voiced by:''
Takashi Kondo is a masculine Japanese given name. Written forms The name Takashi can have multiple different meanings depending on which kanji is used to write it. Possible forms of the name include: *隆 - "prosperous noble" *喬士 - "high, boasting, samur ...
(OVA) :Takumi is the protagonist of the story. He is a high school student who enjoys the time he's been spending with his close friends and wants it to last as long as it can. Despite having many beautiful girls as good friends, Takumi still has no attraction towards any of them, though when his friend Osamu Funade asks him if there's anyone he likes, he decides to try to find an answer to that question by the end of the next summer vacation which is right around the corner. He has a younger step sister called Sana. ; : :Konami is the main heroine who usually has a quiet, timid personality, though is also very helping. She is the seagull-loving childhood friend of Takumi and even goes as far as to go over to Takumi's house every morning and make him breakfast. Konami is a close friend of Shino Ebizuka, though they are not alike personality wise. ; : :Shino is Konami's closest female friend who has a tough personality. She often acts in ways to defend Konami or react strongly on her behalf when she will not speak up over certain matters. She has shown herself to have a temper and often will get angry at Osamu's repeated perverted actions, which often earns him a beating on Shino's behalf. ; : :Sana is Takumi's younger step-sister by one year who lives with him, though there is no blood relation between them. She most often has an active personality when awake, though still has problems getting up for school during the week despite now being in high school. Her best friend is Chiwa Amano who hangs out with her constantly. ; : :Chiwa is Sana's best friend who has an odd personality. She always speaks with a silent tone and will often point the obvious during times relating to something perverted that either Takumi or Osamu have done. She will usually do certain things that give her a creepy visage and is known to be unpredictable. ; : (OVA) :Wakana is a very beautiful girl who is one year above Takumi. She seems to have a
crush Crush may refer to: * Infatuation or limerence, the romantic attraction to another person * Puppy love, feelings of love, romance, or infatuation felt by young people Crush may also refer to: Film * Crush (1972 film), ''Crush'' (1972 film), a H ...
on Takumi, of which he is unaware of. At school, Yuno Kawakami will often follow her around either helping her out with simple things or by fending off pushy guys with a wooden sword. ; : :Hinako is Takumi's homeroom teacher. She is apparently hooked on buying strange and often useless mail-order products with the money she earns in her job. Since most of her money is spent in this fashion, she is usually found wandering the halls of the student cafeteria during lunchtime in hopes of getting free food. Hinako has a teacher friend called Kasumi.


Supporting characters

; : :Yuno is a second-year girl who will follow Wakana around school, protecting her with a wooden sword from pushy guys or just helping her with simple things like purchasing meal tickets at the cafeteria. She has a forceful personality which helps whenever she is protecting Wakana, whom she addresses while adding the
Japanese honorific The Japanese language makes use of a system of honorific speech, called , which includes honorific suffixes and prefixes when talking to, or referring to others in a conversation. Suffixes are often gender-specific at the end of names, while ...
to the end of her name as a sign of intense respect. ; : :Kasumi is a teacher from another school and a friend of Hinako's. She has a cool, collected, and generally kind personality. ; : (game) :Chizuru is a young woman who is a
Yamato nadeshiko ''Yamato nadeshiko'' ( or ) is a Japanese language, Japanese term meaning the "Anthropomorphism, personification of an idealized Japanese woman." The term is the archetype of conservative and traditional femininity. Name origin and connotatio ...
, which means the "personification of an idealized Japanese woman". Chizuru is also the tea ceremony club adviser. Most of the time, she is a calm and composed person, however, she is scary when made angry. ; : (OVA) :Osamu is Takumi's best male friend who has a bold personality, often not turning up the chance to peek at a girl changing her clothes or is otherwise partially or completely naked. Shino will attempt to beat him to persuade him otherwise, though despite this he still finds some way to get around her onslaughts. Due to this personality, it can be said that he has perhaps a higher than average liking to the opposite sex, something Takumi himself has noted. His nickname is ''Funamushi'', meaning
sea slater ''Ligia'' is a genus of isopods, commonly known as rock lice or sea slaters. Most ''Ligia'' species live in tidal zone cliffs and rocky beaches, but there are several fully terrestrial species which occur in high-humidity environments. Ecolog ...
. ; : (OVA) :An old man who owns a cafe, where Takumi and the others will often visit. His real name and age are a mystery. He is often seen smoking tobacco, and likes to give advice to those who are in need.


Development and release

Makako Matsuhita and Racco worked as the character designers and illustrators for the game, while Mujin Kawanami and Celsior were the scenario writers, but primarily Mujin. Rohei Yamane mostly took charge of graphics, however, Uto Yakamoto and Mitsuki assisted in this. Uto also worked as the event planner. All art was directed by Radio Fish (officially written as RADiO FiSH), and Hattan handled the background coloring. Music in the game was provided by Takao Matsuura, and sound effects by VII. Ichirouji worked as the programmer, and Noah Kuroki handled the editing. Kei took the job of being the general manager, and Akira Asami was the game's producer. The chief writer of the game, Mujin Kawanami, also worked as the director, and Yoshimi Kuze takes credit as the voice director. ''_Summer'' is self-described as a , according to Hooksoft. ''_Summer'' was released in Japan on July 15, 2005, as a
CD-ROM A CD-ROM (, compact disc read-only memory) is a type of read-only memory consisting of a pre-pressed optical compact disc that contains computer data storage, data computers can read, but not write or erase. Some CDs, called enhanced CDs, hold b ...
playable on
Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...
. A version for the
PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October, in Europe on 24 Novembe ...
with
adult An adult is an animal that has reached full growth. The biological definition of the word means an animal reaching sexual maturity and thus capable of reproduction. In the human context, the term ''adult'' has meanings associated with social an ...
content removed, called , was developed by
GN Software GN Software is a Japanese video game developer and publisher of consumer console games, mainly for the PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Compute ...
and released in Japan on August 24, 2006, in limited and regular editions. The limited edition PS2 release came bundled with a
drama CD Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatised, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine ...
, a cell phone strap featuring Konami Hatano, and a double-sided hug pillowcase, also featuring Konami. The PS2 version was re-released at a cheaper price on October 4, 2007. An updated version of the original game, called , which is compatible up to
Windows Vista Windows Vista is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. It was the direct successor to Windows XP, released five years earlier, which was then the longest time span between successive releases of Microsoft W ...
as a
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...
, was released on December 21, 2007.


Related media


Print media

Before the visual novel's official release, a four-panel
web comic Webcomics (also known as online comics or Internet comics) are comics published on the internet, such as on a website or a mobile app. While many webcomics are published exclusively online, others are also published in magazines, newspapers, or ...
illustrated by Haruka Ogataya began serialization on Hooksoft's official website from April 27 to July 4, 2005. These and ''
Like Life is a Japanese Eroge, adult visual novel developed by Hooksoft which was released on May 28, 2004 playable on Microsoft Windows, Windows as a CD-ROM, CD; a PlayStation 2 consumer console port called ''Like Life An Hour'' followed on April 28, ...
'' comic strips were later published in the MTG corner of
Enterbrain , formerly , is a Japanese publisher and division of Kadokawa Future Publishing founded on January 30, 1987, as . Magazines published by Enterbrain are generally focused on video games and computer entertainment as well as video game and strate ...
's ''Tech Gian'' magazine. In the comic, characters are drawn to give the appearance of chibis. A
one-shot One shot may refer to: Film and television * One-shot film, a feature film shot in one long take with no edits, or manufactured to look like so * ''One Shot'' (2005 film), a Sri Lankan action film directed by Ranjan Ramanayake * ''One Shot'', a ...
manga 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 history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...
illustrated by Kankiriko for ''_Summer'' was published by
Kadokawa Shoten , formerly , is a Japanese publisher and division of Kadokawa Future Publishing based in Tokyo, Japan. It became an internal division of Kadokawa Corporation on October 1, 2013. Kadokawa publishes manga, light novels, manga anthology magazines ...
and was published in the Japanese video game magazine ''
Comp Ace is a Japanese computer game and manga magazine published by Kadokawa Shoten. ''Comp Ace'' began as a special edition version of another one of Kadokawa Shoten's magazines, '' Comptiq''. The first issue was released on March 26, 2005, and was p ...
'' in its June 2005 issue. There have been four
erotic Eroticism () is a quality that causes sexual feelings, as well as a philosophical contemplation concerning the aesthetics of sexual desire, sensuality, and romantic love. That quality may be found in any form of artwork, including painting, sculp ...
character
light novel A is a type of Genre fiction, popular literature novel from Japan usually classified as young adult fiction, generally targeting Adolescence, teens to Young adult, twenties or older. The definition is very vague, and wide-ranging. The abbr ...
s based on the game written by
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 culture ** Japanese diaspor ...
author
Jōji Kamio is a male Japanese author who has written many erotic novels based from adult Japanese visual novels. He has been writing such novels since 2001. He has notably written novels for the past four visual novels by Hooksoft: '' Orange Pocket'', '' L ...
and illustrated by Araiguma, published by
Softgarage is a Japanese company that produces anime, games, character goods, music, and books. Softgarage was the company that produced the '' GR: Giant Robo'' anime. Though Softgarage primarily focuses on the production of original video animation (OVAs) ...
under their Sofgare Novels imprint. Cover illustrations for all four volumes were by Makako Matsushita. The first novel covers Konami, the second covers both Chiwa and Sana, the third covers Shino and Wakana, and the fourth is a general novel titled ''Omnibus''. The first novel was released on October 14, 2005, and the final novel was released on September 25, 2006. A six-chapter illustrated story of ''_Summer##'', titled ''_Summer## Official Illust Story'', was serialized in MediaWorks' ''
Dengeki G's Magazine was a Japanese magazine published by ASCII Media Works (formerly MediaWorks) and sold monthly on the thirtieth that primarily contains information on bishōjo games, but also includes an entire section on anime based on bishōjo games, and seri ...
'' between the March and August 2006 issues. There would be one chapter per issue focusing on a different heroine. It was written by Mujin Kawanami, also the chief writer for the game, and illustrated by two artists, Makako Matsuhita and Racco, who worked as the illustrators for the game. Two visual fan books have been published for ''_Summer''. The first, entitled ''_Summer Visual Fan Book'', was published by Kill Time Communication in November 2005. The book consists of 135 pages and contains a character and story introduction, an illustration gallery, voice actor and staff interviews, strategy guides, and more. A 129-page visual fan book, titled ''_Summer ## Perfect Visual Book'', was published for the
PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October, in Europe on 24 Novembe ...
port of the game by MediaWorks in August 2006. The visual fan book contains part of a six-chapter illustrated story called ''_Summer## Official Illust Story'', a
drama CD Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatised, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine ...
of ''_Summer##'', voice cast interviews, character introductions, and
ecchi is a slang term in the Japanese language for playfully sexual actions. As an adjective, it is used with the meaning of "sexy", "dirty" or "naughty"; as a verb, means "to have sex", and as a noun, it is used to describe someone of lasciviou ...
illustrations.


Music and drama CDs

''_Summers opening theme from the game is sung by
Miyuki Hashimoto is a female Japanese singer from Saitama Prefecture. She is signed to Lantis, a label which contribute songs to anime and video games. Discography Singles * ''Koko ni Iru kara...'' (Released August 25, 2004) # Koko ni Iru kara... — anime ...
, and the ending theme from the game is by YuNa; "Important Person" was also used as an insert song. The game's original soundtrack was released by Lantis on November 23, 2005, and contained thirty-one tracks. In July 2005, Messe Sanoh released a retailer bonus CD titled ''_Summer Original Arrange SoundTracks''. A
maxi single A maxi single, maxi-single, or maxi CD (sometimes abbreviated to MCD or CDM) is a music single release with more than the usual two tracks of an A-side song and a B-side song. Maxi singles are often mistaken for extended plays (EPs), especial ...
containing the opening and ending themes of the OVA was released on September 29, 2006. The OVA's opening theme is by Yuma Kosaka, and the OVA's ending theme is "_Summer", also by Yuma Kosaka. A soundtrack consisting of nine tracks titled ''Underbar Summer Soundtrack with Drama'' was released by Hooksoft on July 25, 2005, and it also came bundled with the limited edition of the ''_Summer'' game. It contains two in-game songs, a 20-minute-long drama, and the six heroines'
background music Background music (British English: piped music) is a mode of musical performance in which the music is not intended to be a primary focus of potential listeners, but its content, character, and volume level are deliberately chosen to affect behav ...
leitmotifs A leitmotif or () is a "short, recurring musical phrase" associated with a particular person, place, or idea. It is closely related to the musical concepts of ''idée fixe'' or ''motto-theme''. The spelling ''leitmotif'' is a partial angliciza ...
. Konami's theme is ; Shino's theme is ; Sana's theme is ; Chiwa's theme is ; Wakana's theme is , and lastly, Hinako's theme is . There are several
drama CDs Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatised, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine ...
based on the series produced by different companies. Hooksoft released a drama CD called ''_Summer The Secret Disc Character Voice Drama Collection'' on December 29, 2004, which contains six tracks, each track featuring a different heroine. The six tracks came bundled with the April 2005 issue of
Enterbrain , formerly , is a Japanese publisher and division of Kadokawa Future Publishing founded on January 30, 1987, as . Magazines published by Enterbrain are generally focused on video games and computer entertainment as well as video game and strate ...
's ''Tech Gian'' magazine. The first produced set of drama CDs contains three CDs titled ''_Summer: Everblue Days'' released between December 29, 2005, and April 21, 2006, by Marine Entertainment. On August 24, 2006, a drama CD titled ''_Summer## Appendix Special Drama CD'' was released by Hooksoft; it contains two discs, each track has a different heroine's story. The drama CD was included in the perfect visual book. On the same day, a drama CD titled ''_summer## First Press Bonus Drama CD'' was released, containing one disc of fifteen tracks. Another CD was released on September 29, 2006 by Softgarage as a
prologue A prologue or prolog (from Ancient Greek πρόλογος ''prólogos'', from πρό ''pró'', "before" and λόγος ''lógos'', "speech") is an opening to a story that establishes the context and gives background details, often some earlier st ...
to the OVA series.


Anime

An
original video animation , abbreviated as OVA and sometimes as OAV (original animation video), are Japanese animated films and special episodes of a series made specially for release in home video formats without prior showings on television or in theaters, though the ...
(OVA) series produced by animation studio Rikuentai, and directed by Takahiro Okao, was distributed by
Softgarage is a Japanese company that produces anime, games, character goods, music, and books. Softgarage was the company that produced the '' GR: Giant Robo'' anime. Though Softgarage primarily focuses on the production of original video animation (OVAs) ...
. Softgarage released the first episode of the ''_Summer'' OVA in Japan as a DVD titled ''_Summer Season 1'' on October 27, 2006 in both regular and limited editions, and the second episode was released as a DVD titled ''_Summer Season 2'' on January 26, 2007, also in both regular and limited editions. The limited editions were released on UMD (
Universal Media Disc The Universal Media Disc (UMD) is a discontinued optical disc medium developed by Sony for use on its PlayStation Portable handheld gaming and multimedia platform. It can hold up to 1.8 gigabytes of data and is capable of storing video ga ...
), and include illustrations by the staff of Hooksoft. After the ending credits of the two episodes, there is a short, humorous
bonus Bonus commonly means: * Bonus, a Commonwealth term for a distribution of profits to a with-profits insurance policy * Bonus payment, an extra payment received as a reward for doing one's job well or as an incentive Bonus may also refer to: Place ...
episode around five minutes long each. Takumi Kaizu, who was not voiced in the game, is voiced by
Takashi Kondo is a masculine Japanese given name. Written forms The name Takashi can have multiple different meanings depending on which kanji is used to write it. Possible forms of the name include: *隆 - "prosperous noble" *喬士 - "high, boasting, samur ...
in the OVA. The anime's opening theme, , is sung by Yuma Kosaka, who also provided vocals for the anime's ending theme, "_Summer". A character from ''
Like Life is a Japanese Eroge, adult visual novel developed by Hooksoft which was released on May 28, 2004 playable on Microsoft Windows, Windows as a CD-ROM, CD; a PlayStation 2 consumer console port called ''Like Life An Hour'' followed on April 28, ...
'' named Keshiko makes a small cameo appearance as the blackboard eraser in both episodes, though she is left unnamed in the OVA series. ''Like Life'' is an earlier visual novel by Hooksoft released on May 28, 2004.


Episodes


Miscellaneous

Solid Theater has produced two
PVC Polyvinyl chloride (alternatively: poly(vinyl chloride), colloquial: vinyl or polyvinyl; abbreviated: PVC) is the world's third-most widely produced synthetic polymer of plastic (after polyethylene and polypropylene). About 40 million tons o ...
figures for ''_Summer''. They are of the characters Konami and Chiwa, and were released in February 2007. Character goods such as phone danglers, an underlay, a clear file, a mouse pad, and fastener accessories were all produced by Exhaust, and sold at
Comiket , more commonly known as or , is a semiannual Doujinshi convention, ''doujinshi'' convention in Tokyo, Japan. A grassroots market focused on the sale of ''doujin'' (self-published) works, Comiket is a not-for-profit fan convention administered ...
. Also, a
dakimakura A ''dakimakura'' (; from ''daki'' "embrace" and ''makura'' "pillow") is a type of large pillow from Japan which is usually coupled with pillow covers depicting manga and anime characters. The word is often translated to English as body pillow, ...
cover depicting Konami was produced by Axia; the cover came bundled with the limited edition PS2 release. At Comiket 68, a paper bag containing ''_Summer'' and ''
Like Life is a Japanese Eroge, adult visual novel developed by Hooksoft which was released on May 28, 2004 playable on Microsoft Windows, Windows as a CD-ROM, CD; a PlayStation 2 consumer console port called ''Like Life An Hour'' followed on April 28, ...
'' related items was given out. The bag contained a CD folder, a mini-clock depicting two characters from ''Like Life'', Okiru and Keshiko (the latter had a cameo appearance in the ''_Summer'' OVA series), a mini lantern imitating the lanterns from the fictional
shrine A shrine ( "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred space">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ...: ''escri ...
in ''_Summer'', a cold bottle cover, a booklet-type post card set, a sticker set, a bookmark, a drawn underlay, a telephone card, and lastly, a
drama CD Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatised, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine ...
. An
adult An adult is an animal that has reached full growth. The biological definition of the word means an animal reaching sexual maturity and thus capable of reproduction. In the human context, the term ''adult'' has meanings associated with social an ...
fan disc A fan disc (sometimes called fandisk or simply abbreviated as FD) is a package of additional content, usually released by a game company after the successful launch of one of its titles. The contents of fan discs varies, but often includes new im ...
to ''_Summer'' and ''Like Life'', titled was released for Windows by Hooksoft on December 16, 2005. The disc includes a collection of wallpapers, screen savers, and opening movies for both ''_Summer'' and ''Like Life'', as well as unpublished voice actor interviews.


Reception

The Japanese video game magazine ''
Famitsu , formerly , is a line of Japanese Video game journalism, video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage (previously known as Gzbrain), a subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation, Kadokawa. ''Famitsu'' is published in both weekly and monthly f ...
'' reviewed the
PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October, in Europe on 24 Novembe ...
port of the game ''_Summer##'', and gave it a total review score of 20/40 (out of the four individual review scores of 5, 6, 5, and 4). According to a national sales ranking of
bishōjo game A or is "a type of Japanese video game centered on interactions with attractive girls". ''Bishōjo'' games are similar to ''Choose Your Own Adventure'' books in the way of narrative, in which the game tells a story but the player may make c ...
s sold in Japan, the PC release of ''_Summer'' premiered at No. 1 during the first half of July 2005. The game made another appearance in the charts during the second half of July, and ranked as the 18th most sold game, before charting for the last time as the 40th most sold game during the first half of August. On Getchu.com, a major redistributor of visual novel and domestic anime products, ''_Summer'' was ranked as the most widely sold game in Japan in July 2005, the month and year of the visual novel's release. The visual novel failed to chart further, but it was ranked as the fifth most widely sold game of 2005 on Getchu.com, but outranked by ''
Tsuyokiss is a Japanese visual novel that has been adapted into an anime television series directed by Shinichiro Kimura. The story focuses on a group of students at a high school and the various romantic attachments that the characters feel for each ...
'', ''
Yoake Mae yori Ruriiro na , also known as ''Crescent Love'', is a Japanese adult visual novel developed by August and first released on September 22, 2005, for Windows. It was later ported to the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable. A manga illustrated by Hoehoe N ...
'', ''
Fate/hollow ataraxia is a 2005 PC visual novel video game developed by Type-Moon, and the sequel to ''Fate/stay night''. The word "ataraxia" in the title is a Greek term for "tranquility", giving the title the combined meaning of "empty (or false) tranquility". ...
'', and '' To Heart 2 XRATED'', which ranked first. ''_Summer'' did however beat visual novels such as '' Happiness!'', '' Tick Tack!'', '' Tomoyo After: It's a Wonderful Life'', and '' School Days'' in sales that year. The theme song for ''_Summer'' appeared in ''Tech Gian'' The Best Hits listing in September 2009. Hooksoft held a popularity poll for the characters of ''_Summer'' between August 5–26, 2005. With a total of 15,740 votes, results were rallied up and announced on September 26, 2005, and recorded in the download section. Konami came in first place with a total of 4,196 votes, and with 4004 votes, Chiwa came second. Wakana came third with 2,616 votes; with 1,757 votes, Shino came fourth. Sana came fifth with 1,297 votes; with 484 votes, Yuno came sixth, and Hinako came seventh scoring 472 votes. Six other characters were included in the poll. As a prize for gathering the most votes, a downloadable wallpaper featuring Konami was made available on the website in various resolutions.


References


External links


''_Summer'' official website

''_Summer Renewal Edition'' official website
*
''_Summer'' OVA official website
* *{{vndb, 89, , _Summer 2005 Japanese novels 2005 video games 2006 anime OVAs Anime and manga set in schools Anime OVAs Articles with underscores in the title Bishōjo games Dengeki G's Magazine Drama anime and manga Eroge Harem anime and manga Hooksoft games Japan-exclusive video games Kadokawa Shoten manga Lantis (company) Light novels OVAs based on video games PlayStation 2 games Romance anime and manga Romance video games Seinen manga Video games developed in Japan Visual novels Windows games Yonkoma GN Software games