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

[Kirarakim]

Originally Posted by Triple_R

It's just more of Nagi no Asukara being Nagi no Asukara (and yes, at this point, that's as clear a statement as "SHAFT being SHAFT" ).

Some of the people complaining have disliked the series from the start but have continued to watch and post how awful the series is like they want to prove they are right.

Don't get me wrong I know I post my dislike for series too but it is usually for a few weeks and then I do the sensible thing and drop the show.

Nagi no Asukara is not perfect but I am still mostly loving every minute of it. Granted I haven't seen the latest episode so maybe I will see the errors of my way and realize what a disaster this show is.

[kresslia]

The last half of the episode was such a waste of time. It shouldn't have taken that long just to let us know that she lost the ability to love.

Also, Miuna is as annoying as ever.

[Moeterum]

Originally Posted by kuromitsu

Chisaki who still loves Hikari but also loves Tsumugu who loves her back but didn't do anything about it for five years so it's getting really awkward now.

Huh?!

What makes you think she loves Tsumugu too?

[Kazu-kun]

Originally Posted by Moeterum

What makes you think she loves Tsumugu too?

Well, in this show you can never be sure of anything unless you have a direct statement, and sometime not even then, but the fact is that there are some hints suggesting she has feelings for Tsumugu too, so I understand where kuromitsu's coming from.

[kresslia]

Maybe Manaka losing the ability to love will push forward some of the characters who still need to confess. Y'know, realizing how you need to make a move before it's too late, appreciating what you have, etc.

I'm mainly referring to Tsumugu, Sayu, maybe Miuna too?

[Moeterum]

Originally Posted by Kazu-kun

Well, in this show you can never be sure of anything unless you have a direct statement, and sometime not even then, but the fact is that there are some hints suggesting she has feelings for Tsumugu too, so I understand where kuromitsu's coming from.

There were hints? Where? I don't recall any.

[Leo_Otaku]

Well, that was a lot of info dump at once. They could have spread that out a bit more in earlier episodes. Other than the reval the episode was pretty slow and hardly any development. It looks like Kaname has backed off of Chisaki for now. Tsumugu is still taking forever to address he feelings to her.

Originally Posted by Leo_Otaku

For the red umbrella, I think it could be a symbol of Miuna's /Manaka's feelings of love in general or their feelings for Hikari. Since red is symbolic for love. Either that, or it could be Manaka's Ena?

So I was onto something there lol. Anyway, I can see that Miuna will sacrifice herself so that Manaka can have her heart back. Or maybe she will be Uroko-sama's wife XD. Or someone will make some equal trade off.

[DragoonKain3]

Oh, now it all makes sense with the umbrella in the OP! Manaka lost her ability to love, and the umbrella coming back to her would be her getting it back again. The red umbrella comes from Miuna because she likes Hikari like Manaka's pre-hibernation self, and thus no one is better qualified than Miuna to teach Manaka how to love again.

[Kirarakim]

I think it is an interesting twist about Manaka, but honestly I think I wouldn't of had her so happy go lucky. It doesn't gel well with a girl who is supposed to not love.

I mean from all appearances Manaka is completely happy, more so than anyone actually. And when they say she isn't able to love anyone is that just romantically or can she not feel any love at all? I assume it is just romantically.

edit: Reading through Triple R's post, he's right without the ability to love, Manaka seems to have it the best because she feels no pain of disappointment. But I guess the question is that pain worth it in the end? I wonder if Nagi no Asukara will capture that theme.

[Triple_R]

Originally Posted by Kirarakim

I think it is an interesting twist about Manaka, but honestly I think I wouldn't of had her so happy go lucky. It doesn't gel well with a girl who is supposed to not love.

I agree, but maybe Okada's thinking is this - Which human beings are most likely to lack any familiarity with romantic love? Why, young children, of course. Well, Manaka's current playful, happy-go-lucky approach to life is very child-like, in my view.

While Chisaki and Miuna look back fondly on their childhood (or the childhood they wished they had, in Miuna's case), Manaka is actually granted the natural mentality of a child; while some characters fear changing/moving forward, Manaka ends up regressing in a sense. Personally, I find this pretty fascinating. There's some different ways Okada could go with this, and it'll be interesting to see why one(s) she chooses.

[Flower]

An info-dump indeed. As for whether or no it "could have been spread out in previous eps"... well, maybe theoretically it could have, but I dunno, I think it worked ok for me. In general a lot of things fall into place (I guess on a "meta" level), but even I think it sheds a little bit of info on individual charas in the series too.

I think one of the reasons this method of presentation is working with me is because while it is a big info dump and makes me want to go back several eps and re-watch the pieces being scattered to us inthe light of the newly acquired sketch of the whole picture on a meta level it does NOT address the "drama dynamic" - that is the element of the story that many viewers have become effectively entangled in and are interested to see the resolution thereof.

Tl;dr?

Great work. Looking forward to the resolution of this great series. ^^

[Arya]

Well, four episodes left and I'm also starting to be pessimistic about the ending. But probably it's just because I'm not very fond of info-dump episodes.

On the Tsumugu / Chisaki front instead it seems that Kaname realized something, probably that he has no chances and maybe is trying to move on. Or not, he was just probing the actual situation. Surely it would be appreciated if Chisaki'd give Kaname an answer. But giving the little time reserved to them I doubt the show will explore nothing more than just the essential.

[Guardian Enzo]

I think Chisaki answered Kaname pretty unambiguously when they were the same age. I certainly don't think a five-year age gap added is going to move the needle in his favor. I feel badly for him, don't get me wrong, but he certainly shouldn't feel as though he's been strung along.

[kido22]

I'm seeing Chisaki worried about something
tsugumu I see very thoughtful
in the 24th episode is going to happen something between the two
tsugumu can not go to college without telling Chisaki.

[Arya]

Originally Posted by Guardian Enzo

I think Chisaki answered Kaname pretty unambiguously when they were the same age. I certainly don't think a five-year age gap added is going to move the needle in his favor. I feel badly for him, don't get me wrong, but he certainly shouldn't feel as though he's been strung along.

Letting aside that this is Nagi no Asukara so you'll never know, I agree with you, but it's just that I think, as a general "rule", that who confesses usually deserves a clear answer, and with clear I mean articulated. For a matter of respect to that person and even in terms of closure. At least, for me it has always worked as a first step to move on. In this case obviously it could be unnecessary due to the five years gap, but the fact that Kaname asked could mean that he did not have his closure. it also would be nice even to develop Chisaki's character a bit further.

[Triple_R]

I didn't have a problem with this info-dumb because...

1) It was organic.

2) It was about time that we learned some new things.


What I mean by "organic" is that it didn't feel artificial. Having some narrator voice spill the beans on a bunch of important plot points can often feel artificial. Having the main villain reveal every last detail of his complex master plan can also feel artificial ("broad strokes" reveals to gloat about it can be fine, but revealing every last thing really is dumb).

But Uroko is not a narrator, and nor is he a villain, really. He has no particular reason to keep Hikari and Miuna in the dark. In fact, the way he's being hounded, it makes sense he'd eventually tire of the chase and decide "F it, I'll tell them what they want to know". So why wouldn't he lay it all out there this time?

Honestly, having the curtain slowly pulled back and information revealed bit by bit in a piecemeal fashion, can often feel artificial itself. So I'm happy with the info-dump here.

[Guardian Enzo]

Originally Posted by Triple_R

I didn't have a problem with this info-dumb because...

Typo, joke or Freudian slip?

[Triple_R]

Originally Posted by Guardian Enzo

Typo, joke or Freudian slip?

lol, well... There is a certain silliness to parts of the narrative, and its overall handling of its "end of the world" plotline. So I guess my viewpoint here came out as a Freudian slip.

But I really am glad that the Sea God just can't hand-wave everything away, even if the exact mechanics of that is a bit silly.

[Kanon]

Originally Posted by Triple_R

And while the Manaka reveal was predictable for many viewers here, I still find its overall execution very interesting. Manaka has lost her ability to love another person (at least romantically), and yet she seems emotional, bubbly, cheerful, optimistic, energetic. In fact, you could argue that she's happier now than she's ever been.

Contrast that easy happiness with the unrequited love pain that almost the entire rest of the main cast are going through. Is Okada making a point about the cost of romance? Is she challenging the old cliche of "It is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all"? I don't know, but the current contrast between Manaka and the rest of the cast is striking to me. It's hard to think that Okada herself is oblivious to the contrast she's created here - A girl who can't love (and doesn't remember ever being in love) contrasted with lots of characters enduring unrequited love.

Sure, Manaka's memory corruption and complete lack of eros love can be a bit creepy in certain moments, but ignorance definitely seems to be bliss for her.

Anyway, just some thoughts I wanted to throw out there. I found the latest episode pretty good on the whole.

The contrast is indeed very interesting, but I don't think the message Okada wants to send is that you're better off not loving, although it would be a very original message and one I don't completely disagree with (unrequited love sucks). They're portraying Manaka's current state as a bad thing, what with her creepy dead eyes and her lack of compassion (she didn't care when Akira got burned). She's missing a big part of what makes us human.

[Triple_R]

Originally Posted by Kanon

The contrast is indeed very interesting, but I don't think the message Okada wants to send is that you're better off not loving, although it would be a very original message and one I don't completely disagree with (unrequited love sucks). They're portraying Manaka's current state as a bad thing, what with her creepy dead eyes and her lack of compassion (she didn't care when Akira got burned). She's missing a big part of what makes us human.

Is it a bad thing if she's happier this way? Maybe so, but there's a level of ambiguity here that I fear might be getting missed by some viewers. In other words, there are definite pros to Manaka's current state of being. I think it's a mistake to brush that entirely aside and focus strictly on the brief periods of creepiness.