***Anime information***
Seasons: 1
Episodes: 26
Episode length: 24:00
Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Romance
Viewers rating: 8/10
Opening: 1.) Lull
2.) ebb and flow
Ending: 1.) Aqua Terrarium
2.) Mitsuba no Musubime
Plot: Long ago, all humans lived beneath the sea. However, some people preferred the surface and abandoned living underwater permanently. As a consequence, they were stripped of their god-given protection called "Ena" which allowed them to breathe underwater. Over time, the rift between the denizens of the sea and of the surface widened, although contact between the two peoples still existed.
Nagi no Asukara follows the story of Hikari Sakishima and Manaka Mukaido, along with their childhood friends Chisaki Hiradaira and Kaname Isaki, who are forced to leave the sea and attend a school on the surface. There, the group also meets Tsumugu Kihara, a fellow student and fisherman who loves the sea.
Hikari and his friends' lives are bound to change as they have to deal with the deep-seated hatred and discrimination between the people of sea and of the surface, the storms in their personal lives, as well as an impending tempest which may spell doom for all who dwell on the surface
***personal input***
Personal rating: 7/10
Opinion: {A special thanks and shout out to xXCookieHeavenXx who asked that I watch and review the series! I hope you all will bring me more recommendations in the future. Remember, I have a chapter exclusively for that purpose, but anyway...}
As previously mentioned, I was addressed by a reader and asked to review this anime (of course I'd planned to watch it at some point anyway) and so, that's what I've done and am doing. Ladies and gents! This is my pure, uncensored opinion of the anime Nagi no Asukara, or the lull of the sea. Let's get right into things!
So, starting off, let's cover the plot of this series. From the beginning of the first episode I was very interested in the world this anime was set in. Immediately, the series tosses around some rather intriguing concepts and mythological ideas. Mainly, people were once one large group living in a village under the sea. However, with time, some left and began to inhabit the surface, thus losing their gift from the sea god, their Ena.
A solid idea, and it was presented with more than enough background information to make it work. It was an interesting concept, and it got me more invested in the show. So, I do commend the series for having some excellent lore and past elements.
The present of the anime is a different story however. I'll be blunt. The entire first half of this anime was utterly, and completely pointless. Basically, up to episode thirteen was garbage. Until the sea village decided to go into hibernation nothing actually happened. The biggest conflicts of the show was some stupid middle schooler's discrimination on the kids from the sea.
There was also drama to the side with things concerning the sister of the protagonist and her relationships. Nothing too problematic though. And, I suppose their wooden sacrifice for the festival was broken by some stupid kids. Not that it actually mattered. What I'm saying is, all the "conflict" in the show from episodes 1-13 was overdramatic bullshit that was carelessly cast into the story to enhance the "plot" and characters. And, I'll go into more detail later, but the protagonist was one of the biggest dicks I've ever seen in an anime. But, more on that later.
Now, it's in the second half of the show that things did a complete 180° and actually managed to salvage a great finishing story. This anime had possibly the best display of a time skip I've ever seen. Rather than just saying that time had passed, they used elements of the story and created a logical explanation while not even having to take time out of the actual story to explain things. And just the way they decided to go about it, allowing some characters to age and others to not, it was a very clever move in my opinion.
It once this time skip occurs, and most of the characters return that things took a turn for the very interesting. Kids that were once children now stood the same age as some of the main characters, creating more relationship options in again, another very clever way. And the one's who didn't age were forced to adjust to the new environment. These elements of the show allowed for a decent psychological aspect to be incorporated into the anime without overtaking any of the major ideas already in place.
And the romance of this anime...well it was frustrating. The protagonist was an absolute ass, I have no idea why anyone would fall in love with him. Manaka was a clumsy and annoying girl, etc. In a nutshell, almost every character had a dominate trait that I found annoying or tedious or weird. I'm just nitpicking with a lot of them, but some of them, I just couldn't see them finding love without it being a clearly forced idea.
But I will say this; at the end of the series, when almost everyone had found their ideal partner, I was nodding my head and smiling with approval. There were a few things I would have changed, personally. But I was generally satisfied with the romantic outcome of the anime. In the end I had no real complaints with who dated who. Hell, one of my ships even became a reality.
To summarize the plot. Cool background and lore, but the entire first half of the anime was overdramatic for no reason, frustrating, and utterly stupid. However, moving past that, the second half of the show goes into great depth with the lore, ties all the loose end and finishes the show in a strong fashion.
Moving on, we have art style and animation. Now, for the art style, it was very pleasing. If the anime has anything to be proud of, it is it's very nice art. The surroundings and their features were very detailed and the colors were incredibly vivid. Making for a more dramatic take on the art, it helped get certain points across in a silent manner. But, honestly, I didn't like the character design for any male character except Uroko-sama. Otherwise, I hated how every male was drawn and animated. The animation itself was very well done. The anime played across the screen in a fantastic manner, and was incredibly fluid. No matter what the characters did, it was well presented.
Finally, the characters. Oh boy, let's talk about this bunch! As I've already mentioned, the protagonist was one of the biggest assholes I've ever seen in all the anime I've watch. He was rash, illogical, rude, completely insensitive and treated basically everyone like crap. Of course, around the second half of the show he begins making transitions into a better person, and it was cool to see him grow.
Most of others were alright, but for a longest time I found them to be bland. That being said, I think the anime did a wonderful job at displaying the immaturity and irrational tendencies of early teenagers. The characters were believable most of the time and they did things I felt I'd actually see a kid that age do.
The growth that every single character took was amazing. I was able to see everyone grow, not only physically, but also mentally and I suppose spiritually. They followed their ideals, doing what they believed to be right, and with time, they all became more mature. There was a clear line from child to adult and it was so cool to find an anime that clearly showed the transition over that line.
Now, to sum up everything I've said today! If possible, I'd say to skip to episode fourteen or so, but you can't do that. The beginning of the series can be slow, uneventful and frustrating, but it's actually worth it. The second half made up for the first half so well. In the begging the characters were quite annoying and I hated the lot of them, but they visibly grew and changed in more way than one.
Basically, everything in the show gets better as time moves along. If the anime had managed to keep a great and steady pace from beginning to end, then this anime would have earned an easy 10. However, with the amazing recovery of the second half, it's score was boosted from what may have been a 3 to a 7. If you have the patience for the series, it comes out with one of the best endings and a remarkable recovery. All in all, it was a good series.
Favorite character:
Uroko-sama
Hiradaira, Chisaki
Favorite part:
***Average***
Plot: 80
Op: 88
Character's: 80
Art style: 90
Enjoyment: 85
Nagi no Asukara average: 85 (B level anime)