The age-old idiom of "don't judge a book by its cover" never ceases to amaze me. Every so often you come across an anime that just blows your expectations out of the water and delivers something completely different. In the case of Nagi no Asukara, on the surface (or below the surface in this case) it mostly looks like yet another done-to-death high-school romcom. Consequently, if there was one thing I didn't expect coming into this, it'd be that it turned out to be the most beautiful anime TV-series I've seen aired since 2011.
--Story--
Nagi no Asukara (or Nagi-Asu for short) takes place in a fantasy
...
world where there exist two different subspecies of humans. In this story, people originally came from the ocean, however over time there were ones who started crawling up on land as well to see what lay above the surface of the water. Now, ages later, the population has been split completely into land people and sea people, and they generally live quite isolated from each other.
The story follows a circle of childhood friends from the sea, living in an underwater village called Shioshishio. For various reasons their local middle school closed down, and they had no choice but to transfer schools… to one above the surface. Trying to adapt to a life on land is not an easy thing, as they constantly have to keep themselves wet in order to not dry out their Ena; the protective shell given to the sea people by the Sea God, which is what enables them to live and breathe underwater in the first place. Furthermore, there is substantial discrimination and tension between the land people and the sea people which keeps raising new hurdles for the group of friends.
There are numerous areas that the plot revolves around over the course of time. There is the diplomatic relationship between the two groups of people, the mysterious supernatural aspects concerning the Sea God and Ena, and last but not least Nagi-Asu has some of the most complicated love drama I've ever come across in anime. However fear not, because Nagi no Asukara is an exceedingly rare case of romance done right.
--Characters--
You see, unlike 99% of all romance anime out there, Nagi-Asu is actually unpredictable. Normally you barely have to watch five minutes of the first episode of an anime TV-series in order to know with almost complete certainty which couplings will end up taking place before the end (unless there turns out to be no development at all, which is even worse), but not this time.
For one, the main character cast of Nagi-Asu is rather large as well as evenly divided in gender. There is also no one that really can be called a protagonist in this series; Hikari probably gets the most screen time but I wouldn't really go as far as to call him a “lead" character. Point being that it never really feels like anyone has any innate “advantage" when it comes to love rivalry simply due to the concept of plot armour, because they all appear to be on fairly even grounds from start to finish. Above all though, if you would draw up all the characters and their various crushes in a relationship graph, you would very quickly realize that there are just way too many arrows… and there is no obvious nor optimal solution in sight. Hence, I honestly didn't know how any of this would turn out until very close to the end of the entire series, and that is something extraordinarily rare in anime (which in itself is a pretty sad realization for the sake of the anime industry).
Anyway, all the love drama aside, the character development in Nagi no Asukara is fantastic. Each and every character feels like he/she actually serves a purpose, and adds something crucial to the bigger picture. The anime covers a quite large timespan and there is plenty of opportunity to see how everyone matures and changes over the course of the story. All the members of the main character cast have very specific and detailed personalities and depth behind them, and you never get the feeling that any of them are any less important than the other. I guess the best way to explain it is that the supernatural aspects aside, there is a constant sense of realism when it comes to the characterization in Nagi-Asu and it just kept getting better and better the longer it went because of it.
--Animation--
Oh the burden of not having an 11/10 rating.
If there is one thing you will realize within the first few minutes of the very first episode, it is that the visuals of Nagi-Asu are simply out of this world phenomenal. I'm not talking as much about the facial expressions etcetera although those are certainly very good as well, but this category is all about the environments. Everything involving the sea in this anime is breathtaking. Absolutely stunning. The underwater world and its submerged town has all kinds of marine creatures swimming around everywhere in perfect detail, and the lighting coming through the ocean surface (which works sort of like the sky in this case) and how it refracts with the water looked almost futuristic at times. P.A. Works really outdid themselves this time around.
That is not to say that the surface world is that much less impressively looking in any way, as the animation quality of this show is just all-round top notch. I don't really have much to say about it however other than the fact that it is really solid throughout; it's just that it kind of gets outshined simply by how gorgeous the water world of Nagi no Asukara is. I really cannot praise it enough.
--Sound--
Anything starring Hanazawa Kana is always an immediate potential winner in my book, but she's not exactly the only factor to take into account regarding the audio of Nagi no Asukara. As far as the voice acting goes, I think pretty much everyone really lived out their characters' roles as good as you could possibly ask for. While there was no one character that really stood out for me as being above the others in this regard, the amount of feeling that was put into the voice acting should definitely not be understated, and consequently I think it was a really good performance by the seiyuu cast in general.
Regarding the soundtrack… this part is actually pretty hard to comment on. The reason for this is that the music of Nagi-Asu is generally pretty quiet. It doesn't have any sort of epic OST or catchy/emotional music; rather it goes with a generally ambient theme that tries to up-play the atmosphere of the anime in general as well as its key scenes. As far as that goal goes, I think it does its job very well, but on the flipside it also results in the individual tracks not being very memorable as they're pretty much only good alongside the show itself and not as something you would ever listen to on its own in a music playlist. Not that that is necessarily a bad thing, but it's simply the way it works.
The various OP/ED themes would probably all fall into the category of “good, not great" to me; originally I wasn't too fond of them but they kind of grew on me over time as the show kept getting more and more emotional.
Overall I feel that the music of Nagi-Asu was mostly intended as a supporting aspect for other categories of the show rather than something intended to be great on its own. It's not the most common way of approach but if that was indeed the producers' goal then I think it was executed fairly satisfactory.
--Enjoyment--
This show took up almost all the spare time I had available over the course of the three days it took me to marathon it. Normally that is not something I manage to do quite as much anymore, at least not for anime of this type of genre, but in the case of Nagi no Asukara I really could not stop watching it. It has this constant drive of making you want to know more, both regarding what is going to happen to the characters in focus, but also regarding the entire population of the two human subspecies and the world itself. It is extremely immersive and has a huge sense of realism to it that makes it really hard to not get absorbed by it. Also, like I mentioned earlier, it is less predictable than most anime series out there so you can never take what is going to happen next for granted.
--Overall--
Nagi no Asukara is a series for people seeking feels and beautiful landscapes. It utilizes environments you normally never get to see in anime and it does so in style. It once again showcases that a seemingly stereotypical concept can be extremely successful when you add one or two twists to it on a very basic level, as well as boost it with very high production values. It also makes you care, not just for the main characters but for everyone and everything in it as the scope of Nagi no Asukara is unusually large.
This anime made me bask in its beauty as well as sob silently. It went above and beyond all my expectations and now I have to consider it as one of the best I've seen in ages. A gem not quite like any other.
Alternative Titles
Synonyms: Nagi no Asukara, Nagiasu
Japanese: 凪のあすから
More titlesInformation
Type:
TV
Episodes:
26
Status:
Finished Airing
Aired:
Oct 3, 2013 to Apr 3, 2014
Premiered:
Fall 2013
Broadcast:
Thursdays at 22:00 (JST)
Licensors:
NIS America, Inc.
Studios:
P.A. Works
Source:
Original
Theme:
Love Polygon
Duration:
23 min. per ep.
Rating:
PG-13 - Teens 13 or older
Statistics
Ranked:
#6952
2
based on the top anime page. Please note that 'Not yet aired' and 'R18+' titles are excluded.
Popularity:
#361
Members:
602,440
Favorites:
9,451
Available AtResourcesStreaming Platforms | Reviews
Filtered Results: 248 / 254
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Your Feelings Categories Apr 8, 2014
The age-old idiom of "don't judge a book by its cover" never ceases to amaze me. Every so often you come across an anime that just blows your expectations out of the water and delivers something completely different. In the case of Nagi no Asukara, on the surface (or below the surface in this case) it mostly looks like yet another done-to-death high-school romcom. Consequently, if there was one thing I didn't expect coming into this, it'd be that it turned out to be the most beautiful anime TV-series I've seen aired since 2011.
--Story-- Nagi no Asukara (or Nagi-Asu for short) takes place in a fantasy ... Apr 16, 2014
I made sure I watched it until the end even though I wanted to die, so that people would not say that I hated it just because I missed the best part.
It was crap from start to end, they took a nice idea about a fantasy world that could totally become decent and turned it into the most senseless idiocy about "love", a kid's fairytale with no goal whatsoever. The best ideas such as enviroment and history were completely skipped and left unexplained, the setting under the sea could become absolutely awesome and they botched it, because instead of adjusting it to the situation ... May 22, 2014
Moderator Edit: This review may contain spoilers.
When I first saw the description for Nagi No Asukara I really didn't know what to expect. The synopsis didn't really give off much of an idea of what this show was going to be like. So thinking that Nagi no Asukara would be another cheesy romantic comedy. I began watching with low expectations. Little did I know that what I was about to watch would be one of the most enjoyable slice of life anime I have seen in a long time. A long time ago people lived ... May 5, 2014
First a little background, having just watched Golden Time, I was on the look out for something new to watch and first came across Nagi no Asukara in the suggestions list. At a first glance at the anime and having read its description, I thought perhaps it could be worthwhile and decided to chance it. It didn't disappoint at all, this show was magical from start to finish and I couldn't have been happier to have stumbled across this gem. It certainly ranks among my top 7 favourite anime.
This show is a "slice of life, fantasy and romance" show in a nutshell, however it takes ... Nov 1, 2015
Oh, I'm not gonna make myself any new friends with this review. PA Works is one of those studios that you either praise the shit out of or you just don't give a rat's ass about. Even for the number of "successes" that they've had in the past, I don't really find myself feeling anything but indifference toward the bulk of stuff that they've produced. Hell, I'm surprised I found myself giving this show a negative review. Granted, I've never truly liked a single show that they've ever released. PA Works' programmes aren't as visually enticing as A-1 Pictures', they're nowhere near as emotionally involving
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Apr 3, 2014
The ocean is a mass and mysterious place. It seems to be endless and stretches beyond our imaginations with its vast amount of creatures that lives within. If I was to live in the ocean, the possibilities would be endless to how my life would change. But in the world of Nagi no Asukara, living in the waters is not an uncommon sight to see. No, in fact it’s a way of life for sea people like Hikari Sakishima and Manaka Mukaido. Nagi No Asukara chronicles the lives of a group of young people as they go through stages of childhood, adolescence, and maturity that
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Apr 7, 2014
P.A. Works is known for delivering shows chock full of drama in a school setting; however, different from shows like Hanasaku Iroha and Tari Tari, romance is the primary focus in Nagi no Asukara. Why does this matter? Because P.A. Works really nailed it on the head with the drama this time around, and romance might have been the reason why. Compared to other romances, Nagi no Asukara's unique setting combined with its compelling cast of characters makes Nagi no Asukara a fresh entry into the established school romance genre.
Nagi no Asukara's setting revolves around two worlds: the land above the sea and Shioshishio, the ... Aug 8, 2014
Since there are only good reviews about this anime, I thought it only fair to add in one that focused on the bad aspects of it. Keep in mind that this is only my opinion and that everyone is entitled to their own.
Let me start off with what I liked about the anime. Art: 10/10 The art style was one that I'd never seen before, therefore it was very refreshing and overall very pleasing. Since turquoise blue is my favourite colour, the art was really a gold mine for me, seeing as all of the characters who come from the sea have turquoise coloured eyes. ... Apr 16, 2014
If I had to define "beautiful" with an anime, I would have to say Nagi no Asukara.
The anime industry often has a tough time dealing with the idea of love. Very few have ever portrayed it correctly, and even then it's difficult to move us. They either fall flat because of pacing issues or the plot fails to convey a character's motivation causing climactic moments seem melodramatic or forced. Nagi no Asukara doesn't face these issues. In fact, the show has been one of the most well-paced anime I have ever seen in terms of character and plot development. I will get to that soon ... Apr 19, 2015
Nagi no Asukara is a story about two races of humans. One of them lives on Earth the second in the sea. I've got to say, the setting is actually a great one and can give birth to a good story but it failed to do so.
Story: 3/10 As stated before, the setting is original. The plot line however fails to bring forth anything. To put it in simple terms, it was crap from start to end. Basically, we follow a few youngsters and their romance. There is no goal whatsoever and the romance isn't even properly developped. They completely scrapped the idea within the setting ... Apr 3, 2014
Nagi no Asukara Review:
Are ya ready kids? I can’t hear youuu!!! OHHHH!!! Who lives in a village under the sea? Hikari Sakishima! Ill-tempered, in love, tsundere is he! Hikari Sakishima! Joking aside, my first impression of this show was that it was going to be just another slice of life anime, this time set in Bikini Bottom rather than in your average high school… Oh how wrong I was. Nagi no Asukara turned out to be sooo much more, and is not only currently my personal favorite show of 2014 so far, but also a future classic if enough people are smart enough to decide to ... Apr 17, 2014
This anime was rather dull and childish. "Emotions" and "change". This didn't really carry any message with it except the repetition of these two motives that aren't even deeply explored. Same shit you see everywhere except that here they actually even managed to contradict themselves a few times and have opinions that are logically wrong. Did they reach any conclusions on either of the subjects they tried to explore? Oh gosh they did, "the world is filled with beautiful shining emotions that are passed down and surpass time". A lot of attempts to be serious sound like a badly written essay of a 14 year
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Jun 12, 2015
I struggle to understand how others enjoyed this when I couldn't. The concept was great. It really was and I wanted to know how they'd explain the mechanics of the sea village. For example, how was gravity working to keep they food from floating out of their bowls and mingling with the sea. What did they do with trash and bodily waste?
But they never focused on those and instead spent an entire 26 episodes dragging out the romantic drama between various characters. I'm Sorry, but I live in Japan and the 14 year olds here are not so wrought with frustration, full of deep reflecting ... Jul 4, 2014
**SPOILER FREE REVIEW**
Well, for anyone who is a fan of the romantic drama genre, Nagi no Asukara (or “A Lull in the Sea”) is definitely a must watch. Personally though, I have never been a big fan of the genre for a wide variety of reasons, including its dependence on sappy melodrama, the abundance of clichés, and a lack of general depth in the plotlines. However, after witnessing the massive influx of monumental praise for this series, I couldn't resist giving it a try. Quite frankly, it's not hard to see why this anime received such high praise; beautiful animation, memorable characters (sort of), a ... Aug 1, 2014
In my opinion this anime is pointless. From the bad use of a concept that could have been well-developed (life under the sea) to the poor and banal characters (female ones particularly annoying). It's not romantic, not fun and more simply not entertaining. This anime is the festival of cornyness and if you are not thirteen and enjoy this thing you are probably a teenager that still dreams of rainbow-colored unicorns and has childish fantasies (myanimelist is full of people like this).
I don't want to waste other words. Jul 30, 2014
A lot of my friends were talking about Nagi no Asukara and at that time, I haven't started it. I wasn't very interested. But, as long time progress, I tried it. And I was mind blown. P.A Works have done a really, really great job by making this.
Story : Well, you might considered the background story a bit strange when you first watched it and then you raised your eyebrows. I mean, underwater villagers? It's a bit strange right? But, I promise you, with that kind of background, you'll be super amazed as the story progressed. Nagi no Asukara served you a really interesting drama ... Nov 2, 2014
Presenting a review of [Nagi no Asukara] for your reading pleasure.
Story(9): Nagi no Asukara has a very interesting story that will convey both heart warming moments and heart breaking moments. Much of the story is strongly driven by romantic entanglements of the various characters present. In a world where there are two types of Humans in the form of land dwellers and sea dwellers, when 4 sea dwelling teenagers are forced to attend school alongside land dwellers; the internal struggles as well as the emotional impact of trying to adapt to the new situation, results in an interesting Slice of Life type of drama. The ... Dec 27, 2014
Harem anime's are very popular aren't they? Some create a real frenzy when it comes to fans "shipping" certain relationships, in which a certain sect of the audience drool at the sight of a certain relationship developing. But with any drama, unpredictably can arise, and Nagi no Asukara really does break the harem stereotype.
Nagi no Asukara follows the story of Hikari and friends, whom live in an underwater city called Shioshishio from the help of Ena (a skin covering helping them breathe underwater). It documents them making the jump from going to school in the sea to on the surface, as well as showing the ... Oct 12, 2014
STORY
The story may seem like a typical romance, with a sea people twist, but it's so much more. At first, it was focused on the children and their feelings for each other and the surface. But as the children realized they were apart of something much bigger, the series was about accepting change and how some people wish for it and some fear it. More importantly, I thought this series told a good mixture of fantasy romance quite well. I loved the characters and was interested in the story's lore. The themes of unrequited love, change, and acceptance, were mashed around well. But, there lies ... Apr 3, 2014
Nagi no Asakura is focused around a group of four middle schoolers who live in a village under the sea and go to the surface for schooling, even with some hostilities between humans and sea dwellers for the former's abandoning of the seas to live on land. The series starts off focused on exploring the tensions between the sea dwellers and humans, with the four children learning to adjust to life on land and accept being among both races. This is mainly shown with Hikari who at first hates humans until his increased understanding of the close connections between his kind and humanity lead him
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