Summer Pockets: Season 1 Episode 12 “Priestess of Sorakado” – Recap & Review

As the butterflies we have often seen are explained to us, we also get to see further the layers of what makes Ao who she is.

ByAmari Allah Hours Posted on Hours Updated on

Spoiler Alert: This summary and review contains spoilers.

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Episode 12 “Priestess of Sorakado” Details

  • Available On: Crunchyroll
  • Public Release Date: June 23, 2025
  • Director(s): Shinichi Taichi Yoshizawa, Tateda Shota Imai
  • Writer(s): Visual Arts

Episode 12 “Priestess of Sorakado” Recap (With Spoilers)

Aren’t They Cute Together?: Ao, Takahara, Shiroha

People are seeing something going on between Takahara and Ao. They see her resting on his lap, them hanging out together a lot, and even the aloof Shiroha takes note of what’s going on. But let it be known, it is partly by Takahara’s design. He, despite what he was told, keeps showing up at the mountain and learns why he was warned.

The butterflies, the Shichieichou, hold dark, sometimes life-threatening memories of people who feel they have things left to do, and Takahara nearly walks off a cliff when overwhelmed by a memory. Luckily, Ao saves him, but rather than take this experience and an additional warning to stay away, Takahara doubles down and makes it clear he wants to support Ao handle her family’s tradition and be there as she guides these butterflies to her family’s tree, where they can finally rest.

Now, she isn’t for this at first, and even with Takahara confessing his feelings, which she reciprocates, but she makes clear that it just isn’t a good time. Yet, he persists, and she accepts him being by her side through something she has trained for and built a tolerance for. But, admittedly, she comes to like sharing the burden, especially someone who understands how sleepy she is during the day.

And It All Comes Together: Ao, Ai, Takahara

So, why is Ao doing all of this? Well, yes, it is part of tradition. Her family, alongside Shiroha’s, is one of the “Three Houses” that make up the oldest families on the island. Now, for reasons unknown, the third house is forgotten, but all signs point to Takahara’s family being part of the third.

However, tradition is only a part of what has led to Ao doing all this, the main reason, the reason not everyone gets to know, is that she has an older twin, Ai, and Ao is looking for her twin’s Shichieichou. Based on Grandma Katou, Takahara’s grandma, it is believed that if Ao finds her sister’s Shichieichou, she can wake her up from the coma she is in.

This is also presented as an obstacle for Takahara to date Ao, for until her sister is awake, she feels she can’t be happy and move on to other things. So, with presenting that as the only thing that needs to be done for them to be together, Takahara, once again, doubles down on his commitment to help Ao, just this time with finding Ai’s Shichieichou.

New Cast and Characters

Ai

  • Character Summary: Ai is Ao’s older twin sister, who is currently in a coma, with Ao hoping that, based on a conversation she had with Grandma Katou, Takahara’s grandmother, if she finds Ai’s Shichieichou and brings it to her, she can wake her up.

Links

Review and Commentary

Highlights

How Firm Ao Is That She Doesn’t Have Time For A Relationship [89/100]

What I love about Ao is that, from what she says, you know she has desires, interests, and even is willing and wanting to date Takahara. She also wouldn’t mind being with a girl, but that’s a whole separate thing – stay focused. But what is important is that, while she does like the idea of a relationship, she also recognizes she doesn’t have the capacity.

From the duties bestowed on her via her family, then trying to help her sister wake up, Takahara is a lot. I mean, his grandmother just died, he isn’t from around there, so Ao knows it would just be a summer romance, and she is partly in this mindset of having her firsts. Never mind, she has all these ideas and fantasies she wants to live out and I feel like, when it comes to Takahara, she is still getting comfortable with the idea of him liking her, being persistent, and him pushing boundaries in a way which, if it was someone else, could be offensive.

To me, she is probably the most well-rounded girl on this show, and probably in the majority of anime I’ve seen.

Making Takahara’s Grandmother A Part Of This [83/100]

It is easy to forget the main reason Takahara is on this island isn’t just to escape the life he has with his family, but also to help clean out his grandmother’s things. And really, thus far, since Takahara hasn’t gotten to help much, if at all, his grandmother has been a bit of an afterthought. In this episode, however, with one of the items she had, “Twelve Stories of the Divine Mountain” being of use for Ao to know how to revive her sister, it led to her feeling included.

I would even say, while it has long been established that Grandma Katou was a presence on the island, now it feels like she actually left an impression on people and was an active and notable part of the community. Not just amongst her peers, but also the next generation as well. Like she didn’t just gain the title of “Grandma” from other people on the island because she was older, but also because they felt connected, loved, and loved her in such a way to bestow her that.

The Butterfly Effect [84/100]

Being that the butterflies, or Shichieichou, have been a presence on the show, but not really explained, giving them meaning beyond perhaps something cute or sweet was executed excellently. I would even say, in combination with Kamome’s arc, it creates this wonderful one-two punch. It explains how she existed in some ways, and also presents Takahara as lucky he didn’t encounter someone who could have really done a number on him.

But I think it also did so much for Ao. To know she built up a tolerance to the pain these people were going through, and even learned from some of them? It balances out wonderfully this sense of maturity and intelligence with her naughty side. After all, who knows what she may have seen?

Overall

Our Overall Rating [85/100]

Ao’s arc has allowed a full redemption of Summer Pockets.

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Amari is the founder and head writer of Wherever-I-Look.com and has been reviewing media since 2010. He approaches each production with hope, rooting for every story to succeed, and believes criticism should come from unmet potential, while praise is reserved for work that meets or exceeds expectations.