(L+CR) Nagi no Asukara (Nagi-Asu: A Lull in the Sea)

[Flower]

Umm... Can we stay on topic please?

[hsmsful1]

Man I would have liked to see how much off-topic they went XD
As for the main topic, Nagi no Asukara just has so much drama , more than romance which is good to a certain degree. I say to a certain degree because most people came in expecting it to be all about Romance.

And it just seems we won't know who Manaka would declare her love to or will we?
Chisaki seemed so ideal like for the five years she felt that if she left all her life in the sea by marrying Tsumugu, she would betray Hikari and the others so she decided to stay devoted to her first love. However after Hikari woke up, she felt like she can't be devoted to her first love as he is still a kid while she is an adult and because only Hikari and the others woke up, she now made her ideal that she can't love Tsumugu because otherwise she will be betraying not Hikari and the others but all the village which seems just cowardice for me.

It seems that they have already decided on the first couple: Kaname and Sayu. Sayu saved him from his loneliness and he thanked her in the best way. I always shipped them being together. Maybe because they have matching hairs .... just kidding. I just felt bad for Kaname because Chisaki would go for Tsumugu if she was able to get over Hikari .... and the surprise was that he knew it.

I hope Miuna doesn't end up being like Hikari. He thinks he is helping Manaka by wanting her to go for Tsumugu. He decided that during the Ofunehiki. But I just don't want Miuna to trick herself by telling herself that she wants Manaka and Hikari to be together. It would be fine if she confessed normally and Hikari , which will be obvious, rejects her normally.

[EroKing]

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[Kirarakim]

Originally Posted by Triple_R

I personally don't dislike Chisaki, but I definitely can see why people would.

I've noticed that people on this thread tend to dislike a character whenever they show any faults or setbacks. Yet those same faults and setbacks are what make us human. And it is when they overcome those faults that is what makes them great characters.

It is also why I still love this show despite its large focus on romance (and no I am not usually a fan of love triangles and shipping) because ultimately I care about these characters, warts and all. None of them are perfect but I think they will overcome those imperfections and find happiness.

And while I would have preferred if the series wasn't all about 14-yr old romance hijinks, I think they have become a very lovable bunch of 14 year olds (okay and two 19-yr olds).

So bottom line is Chisaki is awesome and Tsumugu understands this despite Chisaki herself not getting this (and certain people in this thread )

[SirAlex]

This show focus on romance too much like it's to die for. I'm on epiosde 20. Had to get this over with(already spent time watching; might as well finish).

[Kakurin]

Originally Posted by Kirarakim

I've noticed that people on this thread tend to dislike a character whenever they show any faults or setbacks. Yet those same faults and setbacks are what make us human. And it is when they overcome those faults that is what makes them great characters.

I can't speak for other people here, but I don't dislike her. It's just that's she's dropped from the top. In the first part she was what can be called something like my favourite character and part of that was because she had those faults (I'm no friend of 'perfect' characters, they tend to bore me). What caused her drop is that nothing's happening for 10 episodes now. She hasn't made any progress, but rather has taken steps back. As I said a couple of pages earlier, I personally am not of the type that can overlook 10 episodes if the end result is good. To make it clear, I am not in principle against resolving things with a bang at the end. On the contrary, sometimes this makes it all the better. For that to hold true, however, hints needs to be sprayed around in the earlier parts, where when you go back after the ending you'll get an 'aha, so this was indeed a significant hint / step forward, even if it didn't look like it at that time' effect. And this isn't what has been going on with Chisaki.

[bastek66]

Chisaki gets tons of hate and shitflinging just like Kouko last week.

[justpassingby]

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Hikari and Kaname's arms wwwwww

[bastek66]

Originally Posted by justpassingby

Hikari and Kaname's arms wwwwww

? I think you should check picture again

[justpassingby]

In case you didn't get what's with the "wwwwww", my first reaction to the image is the same as some of the reactions from 2ch. No ┌(┌^o^)┐ ホモぉ though.

[Kazu-kun]

Originally Posted by justpassingby

In case you didn't get what's with the "wwwwww", my first reaction to the image is the same as some of the reactions from 2ch. No ┌(┌^o^)┐ ホモぉ though.

Look at their arms again.

[Thess]

Cute. It looks like Chisaki and Tsumugu brought the kids somewhere and they are looking after them.

[justpassingby]

Originally Posted by Kazu-kun

Look at their arms again.

They're not locking, yeah. But like I said, "my first reaction".

It's hard to talking here compared to the Japanese board, is it?

[Arya]

Originally Posted by Key Board

I'm saying it's not just Nagi no Asukara. I'm saying that fantastical elements inherently compete with romantic elements.
The best kind of romances are the one that are grounded in "real life" setting, because it's easier to relate with real people with real problems

Adding fantastical elements to a story usually mean that now you have a lore/mystery to solve.
And fantastical elements gives the author one ignore laws of physics for the same of the plot card to use, and that can suspend disbelief

Well, personally I do think that Nagi no Asukara did a beautiful job blending the fantastical elements with its "real life" setting. If you take away the fantasy from all the events the story still stands firmly IMO. The most important event, the time skip, can easily be replaced by a big accident in which three out of the four sea kids got involved, staying in a coma for five years. And I also think that this kind of interpretation could help understanding particularly Chisaki and her grieving, and consequently Tsumugu in her regards. At times I have the impression that the fantasy elements gave the wrong expectations to some viewers, but, I mean, the way the underwater physics has been handled from the very beginning should have clarified that the story was less a fantasy story than on paper you would have expected.
In my opinion the fantasy element that feels out of place is Manaka's inability, because it really feels like a plot device. Taking away the fascination that their arc had in the first half. But it's the only one. Every other aspect in the show feels really down to earth to me. Starting from the characterization of each character. I'm not saying that the show is perfect. It really has its flaws, but they are not related with its fantastical aspects imo, that (well, it depends on how it will end) are just real aspects/events depicted through a fantastical lens.
On my part I felt much more fantastical Golden Time than Nagi no Asukara. At least, until I watched it.

[kuromitsu]

Originally Posted by Arya

Well, personally I do think that Nagi no Asukara did a beautiful job blending the fantastical elements with its "real life" setting.

If you ignore that the fantastical elements don't make sense, making them a cheap trick. The sea world in this show just doesn't make sense. It's our world, except under the sea, with everything and everyone behaving just as they would on land. Every now and then sea characters remember that they're underwater where physics work differently, but not when they would need to do so - obviously, the writers don't care about the sea world only insofar as it looks nice and provides plot convenience when necessary.

[Miraluka]

Originally Posted by Thess

Cute. It looks like Chisaki and Tsumugu brought the kids somewhere and they are looking after them.

I find this funny because the one who needs to be looked after is Chisaki .

[dark44]

i dont know why people say Chisaki have feelings for Tsumugu didnt she confessed when she was drunk that she like hikari that mean in her heart there is only hikari but he reject her and she well end with Tsumugu only because he is the only one left for her

[Kazu-kun]

Originally Posted by dark44

i dont know why people say Chisaki have feelings for Tsumugu

She said so herself.

Anyway, I think you need to watch the series again.

[deadite]

Originally Posted by kuromitsu

If you ignore that the fantastical elements don't make sense, making them a cheap trick. The sea world in this show just doesn't make sense. It's our world, except under the sea, with everything and everyone behaving just as they would on land. Every now and then sea characters remember that they're underwater where physics work differently, but not when they would need to do so - obviously, the writers don't care about the sea world only insofar as it looks nice and provides plot convenience when necessary.

I don't see how fantasy has to make sense. This isn't science-fiction and I was completely on board with Spongebob physics from the very beginning. You have the realize the harkens back to old legends were underwater people really do act as it water is land. And I am pretty sure Ena the magical/biological rainment is what is responsible for it. Some of us actually can stretch our suspension of disbelief even further. This is what "magical realism" is; you treat seemingly magical/impossible things as if it was an everyday occurrence.

[kuromitsu]

Originally Posted by deadite

I don't see how fantasy has to make sense.

A world needs to make sense. Not necessary compared to reality, but it has to be consistent with itself. The sea world in this show:

-has actual underwater physics when it comes to the flora, fauna, and also some other instances of people swimming, or jumping higher than they would on land...

-but the underwater physics are completely ignored when it comes to everything else, apparently because it's inconvenient and it's difficult to work around the characters being underwater in an underwater society. (So why put them there in the first place? Just make them magical forest dwellers or something.)

I mean, seriously, they didn't even try to explain it away with "it's the Sea God's magic!" The only time that's touched on that was with the magic fire, as if the existence of underwater fire was the main and only concern...

I'm a very character-centric person, for me setting tends to be a secondary issue; also, I'm very much aware when we're not supposed to think too deeply about something. But there's a limit of how much handwaving away of setting issues I can accept in a show that, ostensibly, takes itself and its setting seriously.