Summer Time Rendering is an excellent mystery-action anime that came out this year. The plot revolves around Ajiro Shinpei, a young boy who returns to his hometown following the death of a childhood friend. What appears to be a death by drowning is soon revealed to be a murder. So begins an investigation into dark secrets, supernatural phenomena, and time travel. Lots and lots of time travel.
In this list, I will go over and rank the best 15 episodes. Because I enjoyed every single episode, ranking them was difficult. But somehow I did it, and here we are. If you’re reading this, I’m assuming you’ve seen the show. Otherwise, don’t read any further because I will spoil everything!
15. Episode 1 - Goodbye, Summer Days
I'll start with the very first episode of the show. And as far as first episodes go, this one is perfect. The episode immediately introduces us to the characters and setting while maintaining a dark undertone. Its strength is in subtlety. Instead of a massive information dump, we're given more digestible snippets.
The episode also doesn’t waste time. Less than halfway through, we’re shown a strange flash. This is quickly followed by the revelation of Ushio's murder and other terrifying rumors. The final nail in the coffin of set-up is Shin's death at the end, which starts the next loop. We have lots of questions, but we’re hooked!
14. Episode 7 - Enemy
This is a thrilling episode in which we learn more about Hizuru and Ryu. We find out about the strange circumstance the twins are in, sharing a single body. Once again, only a small amount of information is revealed, leaving us to speculate as to what is truly going on. This is also our first proper look at Ryuu fighting, and it's nice to see him easily dispatching two of them with his strength and strategy.
In a surprising turn of events, the episode shows us a shadow expressing overwhelming emotions when her parents are killed. Up until this point, they had been presented as killing machines. A second surprise comes in the form of Hiruko, who survives Ryu’s attack. At the time, neither the characters nor we knew her true identity. The episode ends with Ushio’s appearance, which is always a blessing for the viewers.
13. Episode 8 - Memento
It’s always a pleasure to see Ushio just being Ushio. Her carefree attitude helps to make the scene lighthearted, helping to cut some tension. Shin, on the other hand, has his own struggles. With her guard down he can kill her, but refuse as he admits his true feelings to himself. The humor is short lived, as Mio’s shadow shortly enters with killing intent, giving us another fight scene.
The meat of the episode is served after the fight. We find out that the voice recording that guided Hizuru was from none other than Ushio, although how that can be is still a mystery. On top of that, Ushio herself has no memory. The episode ends with Ushio unlocking her phone and showing the others a video, finally answering some of our questions.
12. Episode 14 - To Be/Not To Be
This episode continues Hizuru’s flashback, as seen by Shin and Ushio. The stark contrast between the childlike Haine and the ravenous Hiruko is revealed. Not only that, we see how Ryu died and became trapped in Hizuru’s body. It’s a story we know, but it’s sad to watch anyway. More importantly, the same scene shows Hiruko lose the part of her that will become Ushio’s shadow.
After the flashback, Shin and Ushio gather everyone and get them up to date with her powers. I quite like the speech Shin delivers. He’s incredibly honest, pointing out that he cannot allow them to not fight with everything at stake. After that epic speech, the party comes to a shocking end when Shide shoots Shin from afar.
11. Episode 12 - Bloody Night
Shin just can’t seem to get a break, and his questions just keep piling up. Thankfully, this episode answers some of them. We meet the Mother of Shadows, the mastermind of this whole fiasco and the one wearing Shiori’s face. She is the one worshiped as the goddess of the island, which is in stark contrast with her very child-like behavior.
Our heroes find themselves in a desperate situation, making it even more satisfying when they find a way out. For a while, everything they try turns out to be fruitless, until Hizuru arrives with a distraction. This gives Shin the time to drink mercuric chloride and start the next loop. Another cool scene is when Ushio reverses Hiruko’ hacking, foreshadowing the true origin of her powers.
10. Episode 5 - Maelstrom
This episode is a tense horror-show. One of the first things it demonstrates is that shadows can be killed by attacking the shadow on the ground. But their victory is short-lived, as Shin’s questions and despair keep piling up. In front of his eyes, Toki expresses regrets for dirtying her hands, Sou is murdered, and Ushio’s shadow is restrained.
Let’s not forget Shide - what an entrance! In this scene, he is an unbeatable monstrosity who speaks in video game terms. The voice acting was stellar. making every scream and shout believable. When Mio finally dies in this loop, it seems to hit the audience much harder.
With the help of Hizuru and Ushio’s shadow, Shin is able to die. But before he leaves the loop, he witnesses the island’s horrific fate. And worst of all, his eyes meet Hiruko’s, which truly kicks the game into high gears.
9. Episode 9 - Flow My Tears
What’s better than Ushio? Two Ushios! And what’s even better are more answers. This episode begins with Ushio recounting the events leading up to Shin's arrival. We get to see Ushio’s first encounter with her shadow, and facing confusion at what to do.
While the two are suspicious of others, their tendencies help bring them closer. We get to see Ushio's shadow understand her nature and deal with the truth of her existence as they investigate. And as expected of Ushio, she is very accepting of her shadow.
The climax of the scene is probably the most intense part of this episode. We see an epic one-sided battle under the water. The two Ushios try everything in their power to stop Hiruko. But even a sacrifice was not enough. After watching this episode, Hiruko went from plain-creepy to downright detestable in my books.
8. Episode 13 - Friend
Time travel as a power is extremely overpowered, and this episode takes away Shin's advantage. It all makes sense, given that Hiruko's eye is the source of his power. Shin and team try to use their knowledge from the last loop, but Hiruko and Shide ambush them instead and make quick work of them.
We see an example of Ushio's quick thinking when she kills Shin before they can kidnap him. Unfortunately for them, Hiruko notices Shin's restart point is moving forward in time. And that means she has a new plan!
Before the next loop can start, we see Shin and Ushio explore an old memory. This one belongs to Hizuru, and it's pretty cool to see the younger versions of Hizuru and Ryu in the flesh. The episode ends with revealing that Hizuru and Haine were friends, which doesn’t exactly answer our questions. Thankfully, the flashback is continued in the next episode.
7. Episode 21 - Ajiro Shinpei’s Longest Day
'Longest day' is an apt title, as it certainly feels that way. Shin’s in a very bad spot, having lost so much and barely making it out alive. But there is still hope. Mio's shadow examines Ushio's seashell and informs him that it contains her backup. All he has to do is locate her body, which is still floating in the sea in this timeline.
Things haven’t been easy for Shin, and they’re not about to. If he wants to get Ushio back, he’ll have to outsmart Shide and Hiruko as she uses his own intellect. Fortunately, this time he considers a wide range of factors.
We find out that Shin can hide inside Guil, and it masks him from Hiruko. Combined with Ryu’s time difference, they actually outmatch Shide. After an intense chase, we get to see an epic rescue. As Ushio is fully restored, the two have an emotional moment before preparing to take them on for good.
6. Episode 20 - All Is (Not) Lost
This episode features an intense battle. We already know that Hizuru and Ryu are going to lose, but that doesn’t make it any less engaging. We learn about Hizuru's motivation and her personality. She is driven by the guilt of causing Ryu's death and wishes to put an end to things. But as is expected of her, she does not see herself as seeking justice.
By the time Shin arrives on the scene, they’ve already lost. Hizuru is on the verge of death and Toki is barely holding on. Despite the fact that there appears to be nothing Shin can do, the seashell drives them away. This scene pretty much confirms that Ushio is still alive.
Shin is emotionally exhausted and distraught after the battle. Before he can make an idiotic move by looping, the Mio’s shadow stops him. The next scene is very emotional, as we see Hizuru have her last words with Ryu and Shin. To the first, she entrusts her mission of saving Haine. To the latter, she passes Ryu so that he can fight in his body.
5. Episode 22 - Homecoming
Getting Ushio back may have been the biggest relief for our hero, but he doesn’t get a breather. Still, this episode is pretty much about extending Shin’s win. He finally has made an elaborate plan that can even outsmart himself. As in Hiruko, who’s still using his personality.
When Shin reveals that he will restart at Hiruko's cave, both the villains and the audience are surprised. Not only does he have Ushio back, with Ryu using his body he has to take advantage of this advantage. It becomes a race against time where we hold our breaths and stare at the screen.
Tension rises as Shide and Hiruko catch up, but the team is ready to give them a tough fight. What’s amazing is that Shin really has thought this through, including how to neutralize Hiruko. Because as long as she’s active, Ryu’s 2 second advantage can’t beat Shide.
At the climax of the episode, Ushio lands a powerful blow on Hiruko’s real body. Still, her compassionate nature prevents her from landing a fatal blow as the little girl begs her to stop. We know it's not over because Ushio and Mio are still standing. That, and the episode number might have been a giveaway. Shide reappears, forcing the battle to the final stage.
4. Episode 15 - Lights, Camera, Action
In this episode, we see Shin and team earn their first real victory against the Shadows. And it is oh-so-satisfying! Throughout the episode, the good guys outwit and outclass the bad guys. While that’d be boring under normal circumstances, Shin deserved a break after all the times he’d been killed.
When Shin discovers that his enemies have decided to kill him, he immediately catches on to their strategy. He realizes that they know killing him shortens the duration of time he can observe. So if they keep killing him, he will eventually die, leaving Hiruko as the only observer.
Shin devises a plan that is certain to succeed in the limited time they have. We see his intuitive understanding of others, which he uses to frustrate and provoke the bad guys. And it works as they fall into every trap he sets. Near the end, Shide seems to gain the upper hand by overpowering Ushio, but she was much faster than him.
The final scenes give us a glimpse into the true extent of Hiruko’s power. Driven to the corner, she literally erases the air in the room. This creates a vacuum, which means the fire is extinguished and the good guys can't breathe for a while. They use this window to escape, and even Ushio is forced to grudgingly respect her enemy.
3. Episode 18 - Face-to-face
This episode is fantastic for two reasons. Shide's identity is the first part, which has been a long time coming. Shin and Karikiri have a very geeky conversation which sets the stage for this reveal. And once that is out, we’re exposed to nitty-gritty creepy details of how he is what he is. And they’re very revolting.
A lot of the blanks regarding the island’s history is also revealed. By this point we have almost all the answers, and we can form a pretty good picture of how events unfolded. Of course, Shide’s motivation is yet to be revealed. But all in good time!
The second reason for why this episode is because it shows us the cons of Shin’s strengths. Every skill has a proper place. Shin's empathy and curiosity help him understand situations and people better, but they also prevent him from outright killing Shide. He knows he would be unable to pull the trigger before understanding his motivations, and this is what becomes his undoing.
Shide takes advantage of his naivete, luring them into a vulnerable position and kills Ushio. Mostly. This major blow pushes Shin to despair and regret, who madly shoots Shide. It also forces him to be smarter with his future plans. On the plus side, Ushio makes it thanks to some quick thinking on her part.
2. Episode 25 - I’m Home
This was the perfect ending for this show. I know, I know. An ending where everything is reverted undermines the sacrifices and the consequences of everything that happened. Still, based on the world's rules, this was the only logical conclusion. With the power of the awakened eye, why wouldn’t Ushio set the final outcome to be something she likes?
The episode begins as the first one did, except no one remembers. On one hand, things look the same. We see the same faces and places. But on the other hand, this is a world where Hiruko never replaced Haine. There’s no trace of the goddess or her worship, and all the victims are still alive now. We see Ryu and his daughter, who is definitely Haine, and a text reveals that Shin’s parents are still kicking.
There’s a slow build-up towards the climax. Shin and Ushio are both back to where they were, suppressing their true feelings. But their ambiguous dream of the previous loop pushes them to be honest with each other. As they stop skirting around each other, Shin makes up for his immaturity and Ushio releases her resentment.
This episode probably has some of the sweetest scenes. The beach scene where they play a game to catch each other’s shadow is obviously a nod to the events of the show, but also all but outright confirms that they’ll be together. The final scene, with fireworks in the background as they both remember, is simply stunning. The only other time when fireworks were used was also when these two returned to each other. The choice to end with the traditional Japanese phrases for “Welcome home” and “I’m Home” is brilliant and sweet.
1. Episode 24 - Summer Time Re-Rendering
It was a tough choice between this and the last episode, but in the end I decided to go for this one for several reasons. A lot happens here, starting with the intense fight which is just the beginning of the emotional rollercoaster. We see Shin and Ryu fight a losing battle against Shide, trying to buy just a little more time.
One of the most tense scenes in the show occurs near the end, when Shin reaches for the shotgun and Shide is about to shoot him. The shotgun is out of his reach, but he’s not alone! Ushio and Haine work together to move it to his hand, allowing him to finish Shide.
And then all that’s left is the resolution. In the end, a very reduced and hurt Hiruko begs to be released. It would have been an unsatisfying ending to see her be killed like that. Instead, we get to see an act of compassion on Ushio’s part. This moment is the brilliant culmination of Ushio’s arc, who had been juggling her violent and compassionate sides.
And let’s not forget the peak of this journey. As Shin and Ushio are sharing a heartrending farewell, he’s about to tell her his feelings. But before he can say how happy he was to see her once again, she vanishes. With tears streaming down his eyes, Shin stands on the beach and says to apparently no one. If that scene didn’t hurt, I don’t know what to say.
