Summer Time Rendering (Volume 5) – Opposite Sides / Made in Black / All is Not Lost

Dr Hishigata reveals just who Shideh, the four-armed shadow is which gives Shinpei a chance to confront them and put this to an end. However, Ushio makes a rash decision that could cost them everything!

Summer Time Rendering (Volume 5) – Opposite Sides / Made in Black / All is Not Lost

What happened?

The one watching over Heine is none other than Mashito Karikiri, the priest from the temple. Not only that but he’s been alive for over three hundred years. He was the first to find Heine and set up the temple on the island. He then had a child with Heine that ended up being a copy of him. So that he could live on, he made Heine transfer his memories to the copy. Thus allowing him to live forever. Well, as long as Heine is able to produce a child.

However, when Heine tried to absorb Ryunosuke, she couldn’t do it because of the guilt of killing her only friend’s brother. That injury is what has forced Shide to increase the activity of the Shadows. He needs her to recover so that he can create a new body. Shinpei went to the shrine with Ushio and confronted him. He talked and talked, bringing up why he killed Shinpei’s parents and how he’s been behind everything. Ushio couldn’t take any more and emerged, slicing off his head with her hair. However, he was a copy. The real Mashito was waiting with a spear. He plunged it into Ushio’s shadow and then threw it at Shinpei.

The next time Shinpei woke, he was back with the children they had saved on the way to the shrine, but Ushio was no longer with him. Then, Hiruko’s crow form appeared to taunt Shinpei. She also transformed into Shinpei and used a copy of his phone to call the others, telling them to meet him at various locations. It’s now a race against time to save them.

Summer Time Rendering Volume 5 Shinpei starts the next loop

What did you think?

Well, this series just gets better and better. This volume really was the point where everything went horribly wrong. Ushio and Hizuru have died. Hizuru did leave Ryunosuke with Shinpei so that could be interesting. Also, do I need to remind you that the original Ushio is still there and will revive herself on the beach as she did on the day of the festival in the first book? She’ll be able to regain her memories from Shinpei and see what’s been going on while she was out of the scene.

Sadly, I can’t see Hizuru making a return, but I still need to understand how she got the message that convinced her to come. It’s possible that once, Shinpei has set Shiori free that time will be rewound. However, I’m not sure how that will help anything unless Shiori is completely erased from time as a result. We also need to know how Shinpei got the eye.

Also, I can’t say I’ve trusted Masahito Karikiri from the beginning. There’s always been something kind of sinister about him, although it’s been hard to explain exactly what. It’s how Hizuru described it – he just gave her a feeling. This has been an amazing series and I can’t wait to jump into the anime once I’ve read the sixth and final volume. Let’s go!