The story: A chance meeting and falling in love, a great desire for many in times of Corona and so the story hits the right note (7/10).
The story centres on the relationship between Mio, a high school boy, and Shun, a young, promising novelist. Shun notices Mio sitting alone on a bench near the beach for hours, looking out to sea. The first shy contact, which Shun is able to overcome, does not quite have the intended effect. Nevertheless, both are swept away by the events to come, especially when the story jumps in time as Mio leaves the island of Okinawa for three years. The story is basically a beautiful love story, but at only 59 minutes it falls short of the emotional depth that would have been possible. In the time given, you can get an overview of the characters' feelings, you can enjoy the beauty of the art and then you are confronted with an ending that seems plausible because of the well-made source material, but you are not left with a memorable impression of the story as a whole. It is precisely this impression that leads to the often read criticism that the manga is better. However, it would be a shame not to watch the anime for this reason alone, as most people neither know nor will read the manga.
Characters: many of them unfortunately remain too sketchy compared to the original (7/10)
With a running time roughly equivalent to three episodes, the film unfortunately only manages to paint a sketchy picture of most of the characters. Their pasts are touched upon, the problems that arise from them are addressed, but the story moves on without any major obstacles. Regardless of the past, no one puts obstacles in the way of the two protagonists in their current life situation. On the contrary, the people around them even try to help, and basically it is Shun himself who stands in his own way. His story is solidly told, but the other characters, their motives, feelings and thoughts largely fall by the wayside in the film's short running time. Especially in relation to Mio, it is unfortunate that both main characters are not portrayed equally. Of course, films with such a theme are a particular risk and the industry has to think economically, but another 30 minutes of running time would have given the film the chance to describe the characters and their emotional world even more aptly. Even though the anime is very faithfully adapted from the manga by Kanna Kii, the inner conflicts and the resulting complicated romance, which also relates to Japanese attitudes towards same-sex relationships, the subtle part of the story, so to speak, are not the same. Everything is there, but the coherent atmosphere that the manga is able to create for the reader cannot be reproduced to the same extent by the anime for the viewer. But that alone, as I said, is not a sufficient reason to reject the anime.
Visuals: The simple beauty of a watercolour-like drawing style (10/10)
Studio Habari's drawing style mirrors the original in an enchanting way. The avoidance of the usual BL tropes is also evident in the drawing style, as the characters do not have the stereotypical long, sharp-edged physiques. As in the original, the character design is delightfully simple and endearingly humanises the scenario, reflecting the aesthetic of the story visually. The backgrounds are particularly appealing because they are simple but richly detailed and very colourful. The coastal region of Okinawa is simply beautifully depicted and even those who have not been there can imagine the ambience very well. In keeping with the delicate nature of the manga, the movements of the characters in the anime are also very smooth and flowing, so that the interactions of the characters within the beautiful backgrounds create a fantastic overall picture and give the film something magical.
Sounds: good, but pushes the viewer too much into predetermined emotions (7/10)
The background music is by the Japanese composer and pianist Mina Kubota, who has already written very beautiful BGM and theme songs for many anime, e.g. "A Letter to Momo" and "A Whisker Away". The arrangements in "Umibe no Étranger" are also well done, but seem a bit deterministic, as often the piano is in the foreground. Even though it is a very beautiful solo instrument, a more harmonious use with an orchestra would be perceived as less leading. The clear beauty of the instrument in the context of the scene and the music, evokes a very clear, emotional image of the scenario in the viewer and leaves no room for other interpretations, as image and sound fit together very well. The titles "Precious Person" or "Moonlit Night" are very apt examples of this. Moreover, the differences in the individual arrangements are sometimes very subtle, so that the typical listener often thinks he or she is hearing only one melody.
The anime title song "Zokkon" by the group "Mono No Aware" is an upbeat indie rock song and sounds a bit like a mixture of various Beatles songs. Even though the lyrics and the indie rock fit the anime, the theme song doesn't really meet my taste.
Among the male dubbing actors, Matsuoka Yoshitsugu, who voices the role of Mio, stood out for me. I found his performance very convincing, especially the change from the cheerful person to the sad way of speaking after the conflict with Shun. But the performance of Murata, Taishi in changing Shun's voice was also very good, especially the shifted tone when Shun is surprised again and again. Among the female voices, Shimamura, Yū particularly caught my attention. She voices the role of Sakurako, Shun's fiancée. The voice actress has an impressive versatility of expression and speech and also has a very clear, beautiful voice. Many will know her as the voice of Annie Leonhart from Attack on Titan. Her performance here is again a great achievement.
Umibe no Étranger surprised me with its aesthetic portrayal of the demanding subject without falling into the stigmatization of the genre. I would recommend the anime to anyone who doesn't immediately develop an aversion to the subject of gay romance, as the anime handles the subject very sensitively.
As always, thanks for reading and have fun watching.
