Summary: Nagi No Asukara (NagiAsu) takes place in a time and place where humans live like we do now in addition to people who live under water. Long ago all humans lived under water due to an extra layer of skin called Ena which allows them to breathe underwater. Some people remained there under the sea and some left and live on land. The story centers around a group of middle school students from the ocean who come up to the surface to go to school since their school has been abandoned. On the surface, the people can tend to be quite racist of those living in the sea.
It may sound a bit silly at first but the plot to this anime is simply wonderful. It’s hard to even explain why without spoiling the anime. The story is told in such a way that you bond to almost every single character emotionally and when things happen to them you connect to it and really feel it. There’s many twists in the things that happen that take you on a wonderful rollercoaster of a journey with these characters. The other great thing about this anime is that it breaks the barriers for its genre. We have your typical school-aged kids with their usual drama that goes along with them. Yet the story has a much deeper plot than that and they take it in an unconventional way. After watching so many shoujo animes, this one was a breath of fresh air. It really pulls on your heartstrings.
Characters: 10/10
Like I said before, this anime makes you feel something for almost every single character. Unlike some animes, I really cared about the fate of each one and wanted them to accomplish something by the end. The relationships between characters were much stronger than others I’ve seen as well. The pacing of this show was great and I felt that it really allowed you to get to know everyone in the right amount of time; not too rushed and not too drawn out either. The characters themselves were extremely likeable to me. There was one in particular that I really wasn’t crazy about in the first half of the show, but later they develop beautifully and really grow on me, becoming a favorite.
Music: 10/10
The music in Nagi Asu was pretty darn perfect. The music did a perfect job of making you feel the tone they were trying to get across. It brought suspense, sadness and happiness at the appropriate times.
Animation: 10/10
If for some crazy reason you don’t find yourself enjoying this anime, the animation is one thing that you can’t deny was stunning. The detail and use of color, especially in the underwater scenes was just beautiful. The attention to detail is what made this special. You can tell the animators really took the time and effort they needed to make this show look good. No random outsourcing for the animating on this one.
Overall: 10/10
This show I thought was phenomenal. There really wasn’t much of anything that I didn’t like. The ONE thing that didn’t quite please me was the ending. It was a solid ending and it felt like the show came to a proper end. I just wished that there was a bit more of a definite explanation of how the characters end up. But it wasn’t enough to make me dislike it at all. It’s really a great show that not so many people know about as of when I’m writing this. It’s one you should definitely give a try especially if you like the shoujo, romance, or supernatural genres.
