Natsu no Arashi! Manga Gets Anime

In case you're not yet familiar with Jin Kobayashi's sci-fi romance manga Natsu no Arashi! (Summer Storm), that's just because his only other previous manga was School Rumble, which easily eclipsed his few other works. So now that I have your utmost attention, presumably, here's the deal: Natsu no Arashi! will be adapted as an anime series by studio Shaft, and it should begin in 2009.


The announcement (via ANN) is being made in the next issue of Square Enix's Monthly GanGan Wing magazine, on sale November 26. For starters, there are two names sticking out of the staff listing: director Akiyuki Shinbo (ef - a tale of melodies, Nanoha, Tsukuyomi: Moon Phase), and Katsuhiko Takayama who will oversee the scripts.

The original manga has been serialized in GanGan Wing since 2006, and so far it was compiled into 4 volumes, with the fourth one coming out in Japan next week. The story, as introduced on Wiki, goes like this:

"13 year-old Yasaka is a boy staying at his grandfather's house during his summer vacation. One day he entered a store and met Arashi, a beautiful 16-year old girl working there. After trying to protect her from a man who claims to have been hired by her family to take her back by force, Yasaka ran away with her and now she stays at his grandpa's place with him. It didn't take much time for Yasaka to figure out that his new friend is far from an ordinary girl, as she possesses mysterious powers. The plot thickens when he finds a 60 year old picture of Arashi and another girl named Kaja, and to the surprise of all Kaja suddenly appears, and just like Arashi, her appearance hasn't changed at all since then."