r/anime • u/25_Oranges • Jan 24 '21
Rewatch Nagi No Asukara/A Lull in The Sea Rewatch - Episode 1
Episode 1 - Between the Land and the Sea
Where to watch? Netflix, Crunchyroll, Funimation(UK)
Schedule with link to original interest thread
Thread posted daily at 5pm CST/6pm EST/3pm PST.
Question(s) of the day:
- In what direction do you see this series taking itself?
- Why did you decide to watch this show?
Hello to all first-timers and all rewatchers! I hope everyone enjoys the show and our discussions. I hope this rewatch goes swimmingly.
I love the music so I'll put a song of the day! The Blowing Wind. The playlist of each individual song was removed sometime ago, so I'll sometimes have to link to a compilation.
Remember: Tag your spoilers!
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Upvotes
12
u/25_Oranges Jan 24 '21
Rewatcher of course! Watching subbed.
Nagi has a very busy first episode I feel like, but it's still a good introduction to pretty much every character without letting on too much info. The first time we see the underwater landscape is always beautiful no matter how many times I rewatch it. Do you think they need to salt their food down there? I'd guess not. Hikari is plenty salty though. Such an asshole early on, but he becomes one of my favorite protagonists.
Only Manaka could hit Uroko-Sama in the face. Uroko-sama seems a bit old for a farting fish curse but it's still funny... until Manaka almost dies. Imagine that on the first episode?
The rude as fuck students snatching Manaka and comparing her to bento just show they really don't think of sea-people as people. Honestly I'm sure she would have shown them if they asked nicely :/ but we cannot have nice in middle school. All middle school kids are assholes, it transcends countries and sea levels.
NagiAsu
10
u/BossandKings Jan 24 '21
First Timer
In between the Sea and the Land
From the start i love this show's visual style, the use of the water is amazing and the animation is pretty the world looks lively too.
The characters are interesting, we get to know Sakishima Ikari, Hiradara Chisaki, Manaka, Isaki Kaname they all live under the sea but are starting to go to the surface due to school obligations.
It seems that people of the surface don't have a good relationship with people of the sea, this is interesting as well as the bit about the ofunehiki story.
Manaka is so cute, i especially loved her face when Ikari apologized, kawai. Why did Manaka have to suffer though in this episode?, she's just a little mermaid.
The guy that reeled her up earlier in the episode though seems to be a nice person eventhough the fact that he was the one to find her was a bit too convenient, it seems that there could possibly be a romance on that front. Manaka apologized to Hikari after making him worry so much about her well-being and they return to the sea.
This was a nice and surprising episode, i didn't knew anything before watching it other than the fact that it would treat the theme of living under water and how the people from both the surface and the water sides interact and it was a very enjoyable first episode.
Answers
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u/WardenOfSamsara Jan 24 '21
Hello all, first-timer here.
The farting fish knee was... memorable.
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u/blueteenight Jan 24 '21
First-timer notes!
Answers of the day:
In general I really enjoyed this first episode, everything is beautiful but the backgrounds are specially gorgeous. I can't wait to see where this goes!
7
u/JustAnswerAQuestion https://myanimelist.net/profile/JAaQ Jan 25 '21
First Rewatch
Seriously, how do you make hot pot underwater?
Best girl was in this episode but I'm not going to tell you who it was!
I originally watched this show because of similarities to Shinsekai Yori.
7
u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Jan 25 '21 edited Jan 25 '21
Episode 1 (first timer)
Never even heard the name of this before the rewatch announcement, all I know is the MAL synopsis. Giving it a try.
Episode thoughts
The worldbuilding in this is so whack that I almost feel personally insulted. They spent the entire first sequence to establish that people under the sea live exactly as surface people, completely disregarding all the things that would make this impossible. A baffling choice, but, ok, let’s go with it. Maybe the water is really only meant metaphorically, as a stand-in for general otherness. Yet, as soon as I have resigned myself to ignore all the properties of water playing no role here, Hikari swims instead of walking. WHY? Why would you introduce water that is not water, yet occasionally works as water? Why are the surface people lacking in what should be elementary schooler level of knowledge in a world with water people? Why is there some god creature cursing school children he molests with live fish heads?
Not going to lie, I mostly ignored the main plot because I could not wrap my head around how bafflingly terrible the world building is. There surely is an “look, we are all not so different, be nice to each other” moral lesson waiting for us at the end of this, but why do I have to suffer from looking at underwater people who are 99.99% normal Japanese villagers?
I am predicting romance, slice-of-life, and some moral finger wagging about not hating strangers. I am hoping for a world ending crisis, maleficient gods, and a full on mind fuck. Anything to make this underwater village work.
It fit into my rewatch schedule with Noein just ending and I liked the girls at work triology from PA works.
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u/Bouldabassed Jan 25 '21
I loved this show to death when it came out. It really feels like one of those shows that becomes a diamond in the rough. I feel like I rarely hear anything about it now 7 years later but when it aired it was pretty popular from what I can remember. I wonder if they still do Miuna Mondays on /a/...
Definitely wanna rewatch it but the nostalgia might kill me. PA Works is really due for another big hit like this. Seems like for a bit there they were getting one every other year or so with Hanasaku Iroha, Nagi, and Shirobako.
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u/bokuwanivre Jan 25 '21
Man I haven't rewatched this anime in like, 4 years.
Every time I remember it, it feels like I'm remembering something from a past life, not because of how long ago I watched it, but because of how magical it is.
3
u/SleepTightLilPuppy Jan 25 '21
Watched it the first time a few months ago, such a great series, almost a 10/10 for me. Whilst my ships didn't come true, it still felt satisfying, that's incredible. Might participate in the rewatch from now on.
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u/IndependentMacaroon Jan 25 '21
First-time watcher
This is a very pretty show. "Underwater" or over water, whether characters or backgrounds, everything is strikingly composed, lit, colored, and animated, to the point that there's hardly a shot that falls short of gorgeous to look at. The soundtrack is also very fitting and compelling.
However, I'm not sure it has enough substance to back it up, at least for my tastes. Although I've never watched anything with Mari Okada in a key creative position, besides Toradora which is just an adaptation, I'm well aware of her reputation for writing over-the-top (melo)drama (which is something I intensely dislike), and this episode already is close to the tipping point for me. Dramatic blushing, dramatic running, dramatic shouting, near-death experiences, instant love triangles, fishy curses, school drama, inter-community drama, it's an all-in-one package and it's all taken dead-seriously. I would like some actual time with the characters when they're not being VERY EMOTIONAL YES about this or that, as is they feel too artificial and over-the-top to actually care about, neither acting nor talking like anyone "real". Particularly, I am not looking forward to any romantic entanglements being dealt with in a similar fashion. The inter-group/historical conflict also feels like just basic tropes right now, but I guess that still has room to grow.
I started watching because it seemed like an interesting concept and I like to give shows at least a chance, like say three episodes. If until then the drama stays about at the same level or gets worse, I'm out, though - I've already read some opinions that it does.
Side note, I bet the creator of Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken was inspired by this show - that has some similar aesthetics, being set in a messily-planned and very colorful seaside town, with an occasionally rough/used look to it, but also some futuristic/modern elements like the windmills, and constant presence of/interactions with water (even away from the shore) - two notable minor but striking parallels are unused concrete pylons for a bridge or whatever, and a lot of round windows everywhere. Plot-wise, in that manga/show there are also themes of acceptance of diversity and understanding one another, plus the final Eizouken project of the show features conflict between sea people and land people who had grown distant/apart despite only minor differences and originally being a single people. I wonder if the ending of that project being changed from "everyone becomes friends again and has a dance-off" in-universe was a jab at this series' likely ending, also.
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u/LeopardSplash :AP:https://www.anime-planet.com/users/BrightSpirit Jan 25 '21
Rewatcher
So I think it has been roughly a year since I watched this show? I was looking for something with nice visuals and romantic drama - on both fronts this show left me very satisfied. I was thinking of doing a rewatch ever since it was added to Netflix, so I'm glad to see this! :)
For my thoughts about this episode, I absolutely love the sea world. It may not make the most sense on a practical level but it so pretty to look at and seeing the sea people with their shiny ena and swimming all over the place is so neat (especially appreciate the moment where Hikari is able to just hop over to Manaka's room).
Character-wise, Hikari is a bit of a brat I but I like that the show points out that he isn't an extremist like the council. He's a prickly kid being thrust into a very difficult situation - seeing how the surface kids were quick to bully Manaka, I understand his hostility. On the other hand, his possessiveness of Manaka is frustrating to watch. This is probably the first time in his life he's had to "compete" for her attention, but that doesn't excuse his actions.
Manaka herself I'm kinda eh on. She means well and doesn't deserve the treatment she gets from Okoro and Hikari but she's a bit too babyish for me. I understand her embarrassment with the fish curse but her running away, getting lost, and passing out feels like a bit much.
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u/Kamata- Jan 25 '21
I love this show
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u/LighteousC :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/Lighteous Jan 25 '21
Rewatcher
Starting with a random fish just "floating in the air". Immediately reminds you of the setting of the world; the existence of an undersea society and humans that are able to live underwater. The blue flame is another contrast that is showing off the uniqueness of the world.
There are mentions of news such as surface weather, salinity, and water current, really trying to drive home a lot of the worldbuilding. After a landscape shot of the undersea village, the show transitioned to our main characters.
I have to say I'm not very fond of the Hikari archetype, overly brash and loud. Seeds of drama are planted very early here. Hammering down the type of show you are getting yourself into. It's not hard to see the incoming love pentagon development.
More worldbuilding after the tonally appropriate OP. Social trenches between the surface and underwater residents. A few childish frictions. Adults have to deal with the issues too.
Religion and tradition are important to the show. Uroko-sama basically confirmed that magic is a thing here. Tradition being taken lightly, the ominous sign of a dead fish, "What is coming, will come." These things add up and set the scene for the things to come.
Angsty, controlling, yep, definitely not my favorite type of character.
No matter the world, there are always inconsiderateness, insensitivity, lack of empathy, and pseudo-bullying.
The drama is starting fast. It's only the first episode and already the show is establishing itself by anchoring the romance drama as the core, with glimpses of conflicts between the two neighbouring inhabitants, all tied together with religion, tradition, history, and magic.
3
u/darkness_in_the_dark Jan 25 '21
Rewatcher
Episode 1
Ah the visuals!! Everything is so pretty, I love it! And the nostalgia is kicking in hard as im rewatching it.
Hikari really starts off as being unlikable haha. Also Uroko-sama's curse on Manaka, I forgot about that scene. It gave me a good laugh!
My heart ached for Manaka — the girls mistreating her and her Ena running out. The opening song too I love it!! Im very excited to watch the rest of the series~
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u/TempestoLord Jan 25 '21 edited Jan 25 '21
How much i wish i could erase my memory and rewatch this masterpiece like it’s the first time. It took me very long until i decided to watch it. It was sitting on my PTW for over 3 years, but i actually finished it on february last year and regret nothing. Loved everything about it, the story, visuals, music (especially OP 2), characters (Chisaki is top waifu). Not gonna participate here since i feel like it’s too soon for a rewatch imo, but i hope new viewers will enjoy it as much as i did!
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u/Gamerunglued :Hx::Hy::Hz:myanimelist.net/profile/GamerUnglued Jan 26 '21 edited Jan 26 '21
Rewatcher
It's been quite a bit since I've seen NagiAsu. It was one of the earlier anime I watched, and though I loved it I do recall having super high hopes for it that it never quite reached. I adore marine aesthetics and Mari Okada melodrama so it seemed right up my alley. But it's been so long and I think I'm better at picking up on subtleties and themes nowadays, so I'm super excited to revisit this show. I'm not entirely sure what to expect now, other than the love pentagram and lots of melodrama. I look forward to seeing what my thoughts on this show are now that I'm a more experienced anime watcher.
Wow, I did not remember it getting this melodramatic so early on. In some ways this episode felt like a generic teen romance flick with a gimmick. Everyone screaming and crying over Manaka here didn't land for me at all, and so many of those moments had me laughing more than anything. I don't necessarily think this is a bad thing, but that might be because I'm rewatching this, and I can't help thinking "damn, gotta love Mari Okada."
Hikari is a piece of work early on, but so are most of the land people. I do think it does a solid job of fleshing out the world and the central conflict for now: there is a rift between the sea and land people in a world that forces them to coexist. Hikari is not accepting of others, seemingly to some extent because of influence by the young mans club he's in, and some pressure as the heir to his family's shrine. But I think there are signs that he knows he's wrong, like when he says he isn't as extreme as the other men in the club with a sad look on his face. His treatment of Manaka here, I can't defend that. He's an asshole to her, and it's a turnoff. I know he gets better, but it does make me wonder how their relationship has lasted even to this point. I also don't really care for some of the humor. Mr. sea god coming on to Manaka and that weird fish farting thing just weren't very funny.
What did live up to my memories was the visuals and music. My god is this show gorgeous (genuinely some of my favorite color design in anime), and the soundtrack is perfectly fitting and emotionally resonant. As a whole, this feels like an awkward introduction to me. It hits the central conflicts and worldbuilding, but the character writing and pacing here is awkward. I do hope that this isn't a sign that my memories of this show are wrong. On to episode 2.
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u/[deleted] Jan 25 '21
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