Promotional Still for Summer Pockets © VISUAL ARTS/Key/Torishiro Island Tourist Association. North American License Holder: Crunchyroll. Used for editorial purposes.
An Exploration of Nostalgia and Maternal Bonds
Summer Pockets is the latest heartbreaking offering from the visual novel studio Key, responsible for titles such as Kanon, Clannad, Angel Beats, and The Day I Became a God. The meaning of the title only becomes clear in the final episode, during a conversation between the male protagonist, Takahara Hairi, and his aunt in his late grandmother’s storehouse. Although the source material and anime are marketed as a romantic story, nostalgia and the maternal bond are the true main themes.
The Story: An Endless Summer on Torishirojima Island
Promotional Still for Summer Pockets © VISUAL ARTS/Key/Torishiro Island Tourist Association. North American License Holder: Crunchyroll. Used for editorial purposes.
Takahara Hairi’s unusual and seemingly endless summer on Torishirojima Island serves as the backdrop for this story. It turns out that this situation benefits him, as he encounters several mysterious girls and builds lasting bonds with each of them. Every heroine he meets is pursuing a personal quest, and he helps them achieve their goals in various ways.
Over time, however, Takahara Hairi’s story is gradually overshadowed by that of his younger cousin, Umi. This shift makes sense because her story is the real focus; Hairi is merely playing a part. You might call his role seminal, but he eventually becomes only a bit player.
Screenshot from Summer Pockets © VISUAL ARTS/Key/Torishiro Island Tourist Association. North American License Holder: Crunchyroll. Used for editorial purposes.
Emotional Impact: A Key Comparison
Unlike in Clannad, the unseen onion-chopping ninjas weren’t a constant threat to me as I watched Summer Pockets. I couldn’t help but feel a stronger connection to the male protagonist’s sense of loss in Clannad than to the one experiencing loss in Summer Pockets. In contrast, Angel Beats was a mixed bag of emotions.
With its emphasis on Japanese sentiments about transience—such as the fading beauty of a sakura blossom—Summer Pockets could have easily evoked a similar range of bittersweet feelings. Ultimately, it didn’t evoke a strong emotional reaction from me. I hope this doesn’t indicate that I’ve become too cynical.
Narrative Structure: The Visual Novel Format Challenge
Summer Pockets shares the same ambiguity that affects other Key works. Its open-to-interpretation nature might be appreciated or disliked, which makes sense since most of Key’s stories were originally visual novels driven by player choices. Due to the many possible story paths in Summer Pockets, the anime requires 26 episodes to explore them all. The visual novel’s “true ending” acts as the series’ climax in the anime.
Content Advisory: A Word on the Rating
For parents and grandparents: This anime is rated 14+ for nudity, profanity, sexualized imagery, and suggestive dialogue. Yet there’s not even a bare buttock in the show, leaving me puzzled by the nudity claim. I wonder if shared kisses are considered sexualized imagery, and I also question what was so suggestive about the dialogue.
I keep emphasizing that streamers’ content advisories are unreliable. They are exceedingly liberal with the definition of “nudity.” According to Google’s AI, swimsuits and underwear can be classified as nudity in Summer Pockets—information apparently scanned from IMDb. I find this absurd.
I understand that immodesty is a concern, but it’s ridiculous to label every bath scene—even when nothing is visible—or people in swimsuits on the beach as nudity. It undermines the credibility of these ratings. When warnings constantly cry wolf about nudity and similar content, people start ignoring them. Eventually, actual objectionable content might appear, and viewers will be caught off guard because they’ve become desensitized to the advisories.
Final Verdict: Production Quality and Overall Rating
The artwork and music of Summer Pockets were well done. The anime was quite enjoyable and one I am willing to revisit in the future. I might be biased, as I’ve enjoyed other Key-related anime projects, but I give this anime 4.5 stars out of 5. This also happens to be the current rating for the anime on Crunchyroll.
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