Reviews

Dec 19, 2018
Whenever I watch a show with a score below 6 they tend to fall into two camps, one is for shows that are completely and inrepably bad. The type of shows that are doing so much wrong it's hard to believe they got past the board room. The others are shows that while they have some big flaws, have something to offer and a reason that I end up giving them a decent score for. Sora to Umi no Aida falls into the latter half.

Be warned, as much as I like this show it's not the show to watch if you want a well thought out plot, and top tier animation. The art and animation is pretty mediocre and while they do throw in some cool visual cues in the background for the most part Sora to Umi is squarely on the bland side for art. The plot is at best a mess, and at worst makes completely no sense. Much of the background behind how the world works feels like a bunch of ideas thrown together to make a show without much proofreading or guidance as to whether they make logical scene. (Spoiler: they don't.)

So then what does Sora to Umi have to offer? Mostly I'd put it in the characters. Despite the melodrama that the show often dives into, it doesn't feel forced to me. This is part of who the characters are. They're basically like normal teenage girls. They don't seem to have much skills, and they are emotional messes that continue to make mistake after mistake, without thinking their plans through and while being so enveloped by their emotions. And I get it because I've been there too. When you're an emotional mess it's easy to lose track of everything and just go with whatever plan seems the best.

But despite their skills, fears, and flaws they're still trying their best. They aren't good at the space fishing, but they're still giving their all. And it's admirable. They really do feel to grow and do get closer with their interactions with each other. It feels so nice to watch them grow together and create bonds with each other despite their differences.

Most of all the show feels like it has heart. Even though the plot is a mess it feels like a mess that someone genuinely thought was filled with good ideas but never had the time to be able to refine them. And some of those ideas are fine. Others are more questionable, but overall I see what they were going for, and with the endearing qualities of the characters it overall feels endearing to me. It reminds me of Nanowrimo, where the words are the important part and the ideas are left to wander and go to all sorts of flight of fancy. And maybe because I do Nano so much that it feels so nice to me. Maybe it's because of the shear ridiculousness behind it all, probably both. Not to mention it doesn't hamper the characters and the things I like about the show.

Also Ruby is absolutely adorable and each of her interactions are great. And actually most of the cast won me over in the end. Their flaws made them endearing and there was some nice chemistry between the cast. The voice acting despite its ametaurness also fits oddly enough.

In the end I can't say that this show is great but it has good things to offer. The plot may be basic and there's a lot of stuff in the world that feels off but overall it has heart and it tries to show its point without making the main characters op or anything more than themselves. And for all its warts it certainly hooked me in. So if you like watching flawed young idiots try to space fish, and grow in the process, give it a shot, cause it just might surprise you.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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