An urban legend says that lighting fireworks at an abandoned airfield will beckon the “summer ghost,” a spirit that can answer any question. Three teenagers, Tomoya, Aoi, and Ryo, each have their own reason to show up one day. When a ghost named Ayane appears, she reveals she is only visible to those “who are about to touch their death.” Compelled by the ghost and her message, Tomoya begins regularly visiting the airfield to uncover the true purpose of her visits.

Inspired by one of his own drawings, the directorial debut from the celebrated illustrator, loundraw, brings his lush visual sensibility to a supernatural drama about the pains of growing up, and the importance of living life to the fullest.

For thoughts on Summer Ghost, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:

[youtube https://youtu.be/em9G8ESse8U?t=42]

Video Quality

Summer Ghost comes to Blu-Ray from GKIDS and Shout! Factory with a gorgeous 1080p transfer in its original aspect ratio. The animation style utilized for this narrative is bursting with character and nuance. Every frame is almost like a work of art that you would want to frame and hang on your wall. The colors alone are perfectly saturated with dazzling and deep hues delighting the senses. Black levels are deep with no trace of compression artifacts or digital anomalies.

This might be a directorial debut, but it is clear that loundraw has a keen sense of design, and the team he has assembled has really brought his vision to life in a formidable manner. Each environment is filled with little bits of character that make the world more fully realized. The character designs are wonderfully rendered as they each make a distinct impact. The transfer handles every change in environment with impeccable stability including no jagged lines or color bleeding. It is always a treat to see animation in high definition.

Audio Quality

The Blu-Ray comes with a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless track presented here in its original Japanese, along with an English language dub. The film is presented with optional English, English SDH and Spanish subtitles. Dialogue comes through clearly and without issue while working in tandem with competing elements. The lovely score delivers more raw emotion to the story as it envelops the audience through the surround sound presentation. The environmental detail in the surround channels is complex as the sounds of nature transport you into this narrative. This is a relatively reserved story, but the sounds make the most of their placement for some added texture to the world. GKIDS delivers a quality audio experience with this title.

Special Features

To You Before Dawn Documentary: A terrific 79-minute documentary which gives you an extensive deep dive into the creative process including fly-on-the-wall production meetings, interviews with the creative team, character and animation development, voice recordings, performance of the score and more. You not only get the technical details that will interest anime enthusiasts, but also more personal moments where you see individuals striving to collaborate with one another.

Feature Animatic: A 37-minute version of the film in rough animatic form is presented here where you can experience how the animation developed to what we see on screen.

Interview with loundraw: A nearly 14-minute interview with the director in which he discusses the background of his moniker, the development of Sumer Ghost, the thematic meaning behind the story, the characters that resonate with him the most, the experience of directing for the first time, why he chose to make a short film instead of a feature-length story and more.

Final Thoughts

Summer Ghost may not register as highly with some audiences due to being a short film rather than a full-length feature, but to dismiss it on length alone would mean you are missing out on a deeply emotional tale. First time director loundraw surrounds himself with top-tier talent to bring his vision to life which explores some deeply poignant subject matter with grace and nuance. The animation itself is stunning, and the characters are firmly defined in a way that keeps you invested from beginning to end. GKIDS and Shout! Factory have released a Blu-Ray with a terrific A/V presentation and an assortment of special features that make up for the brevity of the short film. Anime fans should not pass up this introduction to a great new talent who is making very positive first steps in the medium. Recommended

Summer Ghost is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: GKIDS and Shout! Factory have supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.