Just finished this anime, and wow...
I don't know, P.A. Works always has a certain why to develop the stories of their school drama/romance animes that I just love, and this anime was no exception.
Seeing the sea village reunite with the land village was so emotional. And that last scene with Manaka and Hikari ='). Also, the scene when Chisaki sees her parents for the 1st time in the last 5 years, it just brought some tears to my eyes honestly. This episode was a rollercoaster of emotions!
In the end, we got Manaka x Hikari, Chisaki x Tsumugu, and a possibility for Sayu x Kaname. Not my original ships for the show, but those have sank a long time ago, and I actually really enjoyed the way the anime ended. Was a bit worried they would just make Miuna de sacrifice and move on, but they actually managed to make a proper ending with no need for a sacrifice. I also liked how they just didn't thrown Miuna to that boy that confessed to her at last minute as a consolation prize.
I really loved the metaphor of someone without the feeling of love being like a lull in the sea (roll credits), because, at the end of the day, the ability to love someone is what gives us a spark to live. Also, the way Miuna understood that the best way to deal with the unrequited love for Hikari was actually helping him be happy by the side of Manaka that loves him was emotional, and that pain she felt, was, once again, something important for her own character development, just like how the sea was full of different sensations.
This anime delivered everything, visuals, good OST and an amazing plot. That time skip in the middle, for me, was what made this anime stand out from similiar ones of the same genre, and made me love it so much more, and added so many layers to the story, and I was honestly not expecting it to happen.
The only negative aspect I have to point out to this anime was the lack of development of Tsumugu, and partially Kaname too. Tsumugu was a character I was really curious about, but then his backstory was quite lackluster, and at the end I didn't really understand why he wasn't on good terms with his parents (yeah, they moved to the city, but he just ignored his mom on that earlier episode). For me that's what bother me the most in this anime, Tsumugu could have been a much more interesting character for the story, if they just developed him more. I also felt that Kaname was kind of put to the side a lot in the 1st part of the anime, and at the beginning of the 2nd part.
At the end of the day, I'm so glad I was able to watch this anime, I loved it so much, and I just couldn't stop watching! But I'm also sad that it ended, and I was really considering not watching the last episode for the time being. It's 2023, 10 years after its release, and this anime hits as hard as it did in 2013. This could have been released now, and I wouldn't even doubt it was a 2023 anime. When an anime can make you interested in a set of characters and appeal to your emotions, than you know the anime is good, and Nagi no Asukara is one of those animes. Will forever be sad about my sunk ship Manaka x Tsumugu, but this anime was just a delight to watch. In a way, it kind of reminds of P.A. Works other anime Irozuku Sekai no Ashita kara, that use some similair plot topics, but this one was just able to expand more in the topics it approached.
For me, this anime is a solid 10/10, and I would be super down for a OVA or some special episode, that developed some of the side characters, Tsumugu, or even a special episode that showed their everyday life after everything that happened! I can totally see myself rewatching this in the future, I already miss it! |