Then I watched it the second time and I peeled my eyes to look for things I could say to convince others to watch it. I didn’t find any. My opinion of the show dropped through the floor. Why? I didn’t notice this the first time, but NagiAsu is actually the most annoying show ever.
First, the good parts: P.A. Works is probably the best studio, in my opinion. Its art features a level of detail and fluidity unmatched by any other studio, save for maybe ufotable. Where it excels past ufotable is in character design: ufotable’s characters look like they are mannequins, but P.A. Works’ character designs are just perfect. As a result, NagiAsu’s production values are exceptional. In addition, the story has one of the best settings I have ever seen. NagiAsu is set in a modern world where a segment of the population lives in the sea, since they can breathe underwater, and the other segment lives on land. It’s a setting that is brilliant, and P.A. Works really makes it come to life in the beautiful backgrounds it makes. Finally, NagiAsu has one of the best soundtracks I have listened to.
Where NagiAsu fails is both in its plot and its characters. I thought the story and the characters were good the first time around, but on second thought, they were actually just annoying. Here’s an outline of what goes on during the show:
1. Peace
2. Some character has to start shit
3. Drama ensues
4. Drama resolved
5. Return to beginning
There are interesting developments happening behind this that are related to the amazing setting of this show, but in the end, the plot revolves around this outline. So the characters ruin the plot and the plot ruins the characters. It’s a never-ending cycle of doom. However, rather than getting you to hate these annoying characters for doing annoying things, they invoke the power of cute girls/guys and convince you that they are actually nice people. But the moment you start asking “why”, you’ll find it all deeply unsatisfying. People are crying, things are sad, you feel bad for them…all until you realize it is entirely their fault and they actually deserve it.
It’s annoying how so many anime use cute as an excuse for problems in the show. There’s nothing wrong with cute; I like cute things, but it shouldn’t be used as something to cover up flaws. It should be used more like a finisher, a topping. But if cute is continually successfully used to cover up flaws, what are writers assuming about us? I don’t like that they’re looking down on us like this. We’re not this easy to impress. We want actual quality.
If you get annoyed at people being annoying, don’t watch. If you’re tolerant toward bullshit drama, by all means watch.
