Natsu no Arashi Volume 02 Manga Review
夏のあらし！
Summer Storm

I’ve long wanted to read the Natsu no Arashi manga since I really enjoyed the anime adaptation. I started working on a volume 1 review, then I discovered I’d already done it in 2011. 😅 Oh well, time to reread that volume, then move forward with Natsu no Arashi Volume 02 review.

The Story, in Brief

Jun and Hajime argue over going back in time. Kaja (Kaya) tells Jun that she can only go into the past with a girl. Meanwhile, Hajime and Arashi (ARASHIYAMA Sayoko) travel back to war-torn Japan. Arashi saves the life of a boy (MURATA Sankichi) and his father so they aren’t killed in an air raid. When Arashi and Hajime return to the present, they find that Kaja and Jun have disappeared. Turns out Jun is a girl.

They meet the former manager of the restaurant from the 40s. Jun realizes Kaja loves the man, but even after 60 years, she cannot confess to him. An unexpected air raid happens, so Jun wants to return to the present. The fear from the bombers in the sky kits her hard. When they find the manager, Jun lashes out at the manager for his disbelief in Kaja, and Kaja for not confessing. Hajime and Arashi show up to help them get to safety.

Back in the present, the experience causes Jun retreat into the city. She encounters her model friends, and explains why she’s in a man’s server uniform. Kaja shows up to set things right with Jun. Jun’s friends gush over how a German girl looks in traditional, Japanese clothing. As they talk, some guys show up, causing Kaja to flee. Jun figures the reason Kaja is alive is because of her love for the manager.

Meanwhile, Hajime and Arashi travel back to the 80s, where they meet a boy named MURATA Hideo, the son Sankichi. Back in the present at a western styled mansion, two girls plot over Arashi. The mobile girl pays a visit to the restaurant, causing a negative reaction in Arashi. When Hajime tries to escort her home, the girl attacks Arashi, stealing her energy. Hajime tries to intervene, and the detective has to save him. Hajime learns the detective is Hideo.

Closing the Loop

The one thing Natsu no Arashi Volume 02 does is resolve one time paradox issue raised in the first volume and here as well. From the start, we saw Hideo in his role as a big, burly detective. He could not be alive if Arashi hadn’t gone back in time to save him, as she did in this volume. Therefore, whatever they do in the past has already affected the present. I believe this is the predestination paradox. Regardless, it allows Kobayashi-sensei some freedom in how he writes stories set in the past.

I did like Arashi’s and Hajime’s jump to the 80s. I believe Kobayashi-sensei grew up in that time, so it makes sense for him to do that. And it allowed Arashi and Hajime to first discover how their trip to save Murata-san and his son impacted things.

Wartime Japan

One of the intense elements that came from Natsu no Arashi Volume 02 is a look at wartime Japan. We had a glimpse of that in the first volume. Here, we get to see it before, during, and after an air raid by the Allied forces. Kaja’s attitude toward Jun’s fears is quite cold and distant. In her mind, if Jun got stuck in the past, it was no big deal. However, the 60 years Kaja has taken an opposite approach to Arashi. She has become somewhat cynical. At the same time, there’s a man she loves and cannot leave, no matter what.

Still, Hajime handled the wartime situation better than Jun did. Jun’s fear and anger were very understandable. She’s grown up in a peaceful Japan. So having bombs rain down with explosions everywhere, and fires raging out of control is for sure a scary thing. And yet, this anger and fear caused her to prevent the manager from dying in a pointless search for his parents. Further, it caused Kaja to start to change her look on things.

As an aside, I don’t know why Jun hasn’t let Hajime know she’s a girl. He thinks she’s a guy. I get why Kobayashi-sensei did it (“SURPRISE!”). I don’t remember why the secret remains, and it has been too long since I watched the anime.

Supernatural Villains

Kanako and Yayoi get introduced in Natsu no Arashi Volume 02 as the employers of Hideo. I remember them from the anime adaptation, and I know their situation gets resolved. But I don’t remember how. Still, at this point, Kanako is very much a threat to Arashi. And since she is a “ghost” like Arashi and Kaja, it will be interesting to be reminded of her role in the past and what caused Yayoi to be so weak.

I’m also hoping to know how it is that Kanako and Yayoi needs energy from Arashi to live, whereas Arashi seems to eat/drink/live like a normal human. I’m sure there was an explanation in the anime, so there should be one in the manga. The only cause for doubt is that the anime adaptation didn’t follow the manga all that closely, or so I was told.

Final Thoughts and Conclusion

In the end, Natsu no Arashi Volume 02 was a pretty intense addition to the story. We got to see the horrors of war, learn the tragedy of a ghost out of time, and another ghost who’d do anything to survive.