Iriya no Sora / UFO no Natsu

[yukatado]

Iriya no Sora / UFO no Natsu (INU) is an anime that begins with a deceptively benign plot. Boy meets girl at the school at night because they both happened to sneak in to take a swim. The boy is Asaba, a normal student, and the girl is Iriya, who we quickly discover is anything but normal. She reveals that she has strange metallic implants in her wrists; and, with a totally straight face, cutely asks, "Would you like to lick them [the metallic objects protruding from her wrists]? They taste like electricity."

Several MiBs seem to show up and Iriya convinces them not to do anything to Asaba, but she is taken away. Suddenly, she's a new student at Asaba's school. The first episode of the six episode OAV series ends with an attack on the city and Asaba and Iriya trapped alone in a secret underground base hidden under the the school's field. Iriya begins having a strange seizure and Asaba must do a Pulp-Fiction-style heart injection on her based on what the MiBs he met the other day tell him over the phone in the base. Just as he's about to drive the needle into her exposed chest, the attack is over and the door opens to reveal the whole school shocked to see Asaba over a semi-clad Iriya.

So this show seems like it will be comedic, full of teen hijinks and fun . . . until you get past episode two. In episode three and four, Iriya's quirky nosebleeds and passing out (a la Mutsumi Otohime from Love Hina) suddenly becomes heart-wrenchingly graphic and not so funny. Iriya's desperation and pain show clearly in her eyes and clenched teeth as she writhes. INU starts getting even darker and darker from there.

INU cuts me to the core watching it. Few and far between is a series that can affect me as much as INU does, making me want to cry several times. Like a terrible, mangled and bloody car accident that one cannot help but stare at, INU leaves me desperate to see its last episode in hopes that Asaba and Iriya can defeat the terrible odds against them. I fear a sad ending, but I must hold out that love will prevail. Unfortunately, this is a Japanese anime, and not Disney . . . and enough Japanese movies have not ended happily for me to dread only further.

However, I highly recommend INU. It's small (only six episodes) and very well animated. Iriya is a cutie, and Asaba's not a total limp noodle. Beware the graphic content. Not sexual, but watching a girl like Iriya so graphically shown seizuring will tear at you. Iriya emotes very well, and that only serves to pull you further into the horror of her situation.

I love this series, and I hope you like it too. This will go in my top ten.

[yukatado]

Here's the official site, for those who might read Japanese:

http://www.toei-anim.co.jp/animeister/iriya/