Ranked #2082

Umi no Misaki (Manga)

In a past life, I was a Deity worshipped by my people, with a harem of beautiful young girls to devote themselves to me... or so I'd like to believe. But enough of this fantasy, as what I'm really referring to is Umi no Misaki. A Harem, Ecchi, Romance, Slice of Life with a very relaxing story revolving around an island community and its ancient customs and rituals. Sounds interesting, but for the most part it is just your standard harem focusing on the relationships between the central male character and his female attractions.

Set in the lush island of Okitsu, a city boy named Nagi Goto travels to such an isolated rural environment for family reasons and to see the Ocean's Cape his late mother talked about. It is there he meets a local girl named Shizuku Narumi. They then become acquainted with one another, subsequent to a sort of life / death situation. This is what kicks off a chain of events, whereby he eventually learns of his rescuer's uniqueness (to say the least) and some of the secrets surrounding Okitsu; involving their traditions and the Dragon God. Nagi eventually becomes a major part of it all. This is what basically occurs during the 1st volume and the volumes that follow just further develop the story, in a more romantic sense. Now I must say that the romance that occurs in Umi no Misaki is quite remarkable for a harem and will keep a lot of people hooked, even without comedy or drama, which a lot of harems or romance stories can't seem to do without. The well done & tasteful romance is the only reason why I'm still reading this manga, even with its sluggish pacing and the constant skirting around the main issues the mangaka seems afraid to address. But it could just be that my standards have dropped, after reading & watching some rather underwhelming harems.

Now for this to be recognized as a harem a protagonist is required and it comes in the form of a young adolescent/young adult (it's never really clear) named Nagi. In the beginning there’s nothing outstanding about him or his personality, as he is just as normal as me and yo-... well me at least. He quickly becomes a very involved in the plot and to an extent, a rather captivating character to both the readers and the girls. The girls aren’t quite what you typically find in your harems and anyone well versed in the typical tropes would know what I mean. It is rather refreshing that they all emit a form of perplexity in some way. The 3 main girls (Shizuku, Karin & Soyogi) all have contrasting personalities and it’s remarkable to see the effect Nagi has on each of them, over time. However it stumbles across the usual pitfalls of having interesting main characters and side characters that range from dull to plain annoying.

Yet one area this manga doesn't falter is in its incredible artwork, with a style that ever so often mixes realistic environments, with stylistic characters. The scenery is beautifully drawn, with fine detail put into the building architecture, ocean waves and the vegetation. Whereas the characters are somewhat well-drawn, with excellent facial expressions; their features can sometimes be out of proportion and the blushing cheeks look out of place. But I guess I'm just nitpicking here.

Overall Umi no Misaki is proving to be a dazzling harem series, with an ample amount of tasteful fanservice that doesn’t rely, too much, on the usual clichés. The whole Dragon God and Cape Maiden concept isn't unique but it is handled in quite the unique fashion and helps spice things up a bit but there’s still long way to go until this can become a truly remarkable manga. The reason I say this is that even though I absolutely love the way the romance is handled and that I simply cannot wholeheartedly predict an end scenario whilst reading it ( girl(s) he will end up with ); the slow pacing and the way it drags things on, is certain to kill ones interest as the story goes on. I'll still recommend this to anyone who enjoys a good romance or harem. read more

Hello guys reading my review, this is my first review so please don't think badly of it.
Now to get onto the grasp of this manga, i have read about 100 chapters so i would have a fair knowledge about this. You might hate this manga for whatever reasons but i give good scores to anime and manga because they are always entertaining in a way whatever the anime/manga is like typical,ecchi,harem,drama.

About: This starts off like some typical harem mangas and animes do, which i fairly like about it, it starts off the main protagonist then meets a heroine in a way, then he discovers a secret or something that would make him a harem king (or a lucky bastard). One thing i do like about this manga is that it has a little bit or more later on of ecchi (e.g. kissing,touching,sex scenes), it mainly focuses on the main characters and a little bit of the supporting ones, but they could of put more story about the main protagonist be known around the island and his classmates, but on the bright side you won't care much about details like this.

Art 8/10: The art is noticeably good, not bad but something over the top to slice it off, i do however like the cutesy act the heroines try to put on,but for chibi fans sorry this series won't have art looking like little people.

Story 7/10: Story is enough to put you on the trail, it won't make you go 'Gasp! what a twist', this series hardly details on the outside of the island like the main protagonist's past or what happens inside island

Character 8/10: The main protagonist, is a easy going and kind guy who isn't oblivious to girl's feelings and responds to all of them ("if you know what i mean -_-" ) However the girls are trying to gain his favor and they all kissed him, but i guess not that many unique characters such as a tsundere or flat chested girl.

Enjoyment 9/10: I pretty enjoyed this manga because of it's comedy side, and how they all are competing for his attention, this did make me curse a lot but like sorta a good curse, like saying lucky bastard to the main protagonist.

Overall 9/10: I would recommend this manga for typical harem,ecchi and romance lovers, it's definitely one of my most read manga. read more