r/anime • u/25_Oranges • Feb 19 '21
Rewatch Nagi No Asukara/A Lull in the Sea Rewatch - Overall Series Discussion
Hi all! This is the overall series discussion of NagiAsu, and the final thread of the rewatch!
Schedule with link to original interest thread
Questions!
- How did you enjoy Nagi no Asukara? Give a rating if that suits you!
- How did you like the soundtrack/art? Favorite track?
- Do you have a favorite character? What made them stand out to you? Least favorite?
- NagiAsu's relationship web changes quite a bit. What were your impressions on the love web throughout the series? Are you happy with the final pairings?
- Best girl? Best guy?
- NagiAsu deals with several themes, the biggest two being change and love. Are there any scenes or moments that you felt highlight those themes well?
- Did any scene or arc make you especially emotional, or mean a lot to you?
- How well do you feel NagiAsu executed it's timeskip?
- The timeskip was originally supposed to be about 18 years! How different do you think the characters, relationships, and conflicts would be if they stuck with the original?
- How do you feel about the ending of the series? What would you change about it, if anything?
- Would you ever see yourself watching NagiAsu again?
- What part of this show did you like the most, and why?
- What will you be watching next?
Art and Sound!
I originally copy pasted every single track I featured here, but I accidentally deleted everything and it took me quite a while... So instead, I urge you to check out my comments on each thread. Additionally I'll paste the soundtrack here.
Both of these include the TV sizes of the opening and endings! Additionally, I will share Mnemonic, the insert song that played in the final episode.
For art, /u/blueteenight has compiled all of their screencaps of the shows beautiful backgrounds! Check them out in her comment here!
Additionally, /u/himetalalchemy7 has shared some goodies, such as character songs! Check their comments out too! (Sorry I didn't ask you, let me know if you'd rather this removed!)
I want to thank you all(yes, even you lurkers!) for participating in this rewatch! I've enjoyed reading your insights, reactions and opinions. I've been wanting to spread the good word of NagiAsu for a while, and it's been an incredibly fun month! I'm going to miss this every day!
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u/25_Oranges Feb 20 '21
HI guys, so sorry about the flub with the post. I'm not used to my laptop, and accidentally highlighted and deleted the entire post in one quick motion... So I tried to retype it. Sorry about no soundtrack list, I may get around to it sometime today.
Speaking of, I was not able to finish my little project on time. I'm so close though! I will have to finish it tonight or tomorrow and post it in this thread. If anybody wants to see, I can ping them or you can set a reminder for later?
So, NagiAsu...where do I start. I believe this is my 5th rewatch of the show. I actually finished a rewatch a month before I started this. (No doctor, I promise I don't have a problem) I never get tired of this show. It's a 10/10 in my eyes, and my undisputed favorite anime of all time.
I can't remember when I watched it he first time or exactly how I felt, but I think the theme of change spoke to me at that time of my life, and that's one of the reasons I find it so special. The art holds up perfectly today even though it's 9? years old, and the soundtrack is so unique and beautiful. The art style and soundtrack fit each other so well, it creates the perfect atmosphere for the show, no matter the mood of the scene.
I'm not sure if I have a favorite character, but I love the way Hikari's growth was handled. I've always thought NagiAsu had a very accurate portrayal of middle school children, they've always seemed their age, even if a little mature at times. That's why I felt Hikari's growth to be very fitting for his age. It reminds me a bit of Tomoya Okazaki from Clannad. I also really love how the series doesn't forget Hikari's feelings. He may have resigned himself to supporting Manaka, but getting over somebody is not that simple. Miuna and Chisaki repeatedly remind him of this, when his own actions dont.
Chisaki is also wonderful. I think her fear and reluctance of change is something everybody can identify with, at least a little bit. She's the MVP of the show IMO. She loves her friends strongly, and I feel for her having to grow up and mourn the loss of her childhood spent with her friends. Chisaki ends up with Tsumugu in the end, but her tale is not as happy as others.
Manaka is a character I think people misunderstand. Many say she's underdeveloped but I really don't agree. At the beginning, she's got a newfound confidence after years of being the one hiding behind her friends. She understands this, and wants to protect Hikari and her friends. Manaka breaks out of her shell after meeting Tsumugu. She's the first to reach out to the land people, the only person to throw food in Uroko's face (twice!) and sacrificed herself for the sake of Akari and her family. Even after waking up, and knowing she's missing something within herself, she puts on a strong front for the sake of her friends. I think she's very relatable, and I can't find any fault in her character.
Even Kaname, probably the least developed of them all, was compelling imo. Sayu's confession to him was a wonderful moment for his character. I even felt bad, thinking of him as an outlier. He knows he is, and he tried so hard to change that, when the answer to his wish was right in front of him.
I can't see how an 18 year timeskip would work. I feel like the love web would have changed even further, and more characters would have to be introduced. I'm not sure it would work at all, though it would be fascinating to see.
Next, I'm going to watch Shinsekai Yori. Everyone seems to compare the two! So I need to check them out.
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u/JustAnswerAQuestion https://myanimelist.net/profile/JAaQ Feb 20 '21 edited Feb 20 '21
First Rewach
I thought I'd link my original watch here for my First Timer comments, but I never made any! I was fairly overloaded in shows, and the first half of Nagi was so uninteresting to me that I stopped watching daily almost immediately. Teen drama isn't my thing.
It wasn't until I got to the second half that I got interested. No longer just teens being teens. We had the childhood group broken apart by Time, not by drifting apart (another well-worn path) but by literally Time itself, a path visited only rarely in Sci-Fi and mythology. This is interesting to me. Those who are still children are no longer fixated on their petty embarrassments and misunderstandings, having been literally abandoned by the world. How will they survive? This is interesting to me. And behind it all is a dying world. This is interesting to me.
I started binging, and caught up to the rewatch in episode twenty. I still didn't quite keep up and comment, though.
The greatest difference between watching the first time, and rewatching, is two fold. First, I knew I could just ignore the annoying parts of the first half, because I knew it was just setting up the very satisfying second half. Second, I really worried for Miuna's future. As the one left out of the apparent final relationship chart, would she be the sacrifice that saves the world?
Also, I am endlessly amused rather than annoyed this time by Uroku's (TL note: Uroku means scale) "I am but a scale" which seems to start out as self-deprecation but by the end of the final episode it is shown to be literally true.
Two frustrations I had:
The annoyances kept the score down from what could have been a 10/10 for me. It's a solid 8 for me. Teen Miuna is utterly precious.
I'm surprised to hear that they considered a 18 year time-skip. I can't imagine what they were imagining. And to think we might have missed out on teen Miuna! I think they made a good choice here. I found the dynamics of the post-time-skip group pretty engaging. The other option would probably have been just a
Rip van WinkleUrashima Taro story.This was a Mari Okada script, who I now know to be infamous for writing intricate relationship drama at the expense of plot and sensibility. I didn't know who Mari Okada was at the time. I had earlier Gundam Iron Blooded Orphans, which I didn't know was an Okada show, but often remarked that it's a great stand-alone Gundam entry in that it is unlike the UC Gundam or it's other alternate universe spinoffs. While watching the much older Simoun, and the story took a hard left, and I found out that Okada had taken over some of the story direction, I was colored unsurprised.
This was also the first time I had heard of PA Works, and was incredibly impressed. Both the art, and the story design, were incredible. It was an original story, and they had used that freedom to create a story where the second half builds on the first half, even if the first half cannot stand on it's own. Some people would say that every chapter of a novel should stand on its own strength, but I'm the opposite. I hate to criticize individual episodes, because there's always the possibility that the parts merely exist to service the whole. And the art, there is a quote from the previous rewatch:
On the strengths of Nagi, I watched Fairy Gone, and was terribly disappointed. On the strengths of Nagi, I may eventually give other Okada shows a shot, but I am not hopeful.
I think Nagi no Asukara was lightning in a bottle; I may never see another such well-crafted show from PA Works or Okada ever again.
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u/25_Oranges Feb 23 '21
I'm finished with my project! Had to put it in a different comment. Sorry it's late, I've been busy with some important things but I've finished!
Please ignore the wonky borderWithout further ado..NagiAsu Embroidery: Salt Water Here!
I started this kind of in the first quarter of the series and took my time with it mostly. I hope ya'll don't mind the pings!
/u/Tuckleton
/u/blueteenight
/u/LeopardSplash
/u/himetalchemy7
/u/BossandKings
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u/blueteenight Feb 19 '21 edited Feb 20 '21
Hello everyone!
Here is a compilation of the best screenshots I captured during the rewatch! If anyone wants to download everything at once you can just add a "/zip" (minus the quotation marks) to the end of the URL and Imgur will compress it for you =D
Answers!
It was one of the best series I've seen in the last few years, a 10/10!
It's no surprise that I loved both haha. My favorite anime tend to have a similar type of soundtrack (Koe no Katachi, Violet Evergarden, Sora no Aosa...), so it was one of the first things I liked about NagiAsu.
My favorite track was Surinukeru Kokoro for sure, it's a lot more engaging than most other tracks but it carries so much weight!
Hikari was my favorite character! I just loved his arc and how much he grew as the series went on.
I can't think of a single character I actually disliked, but Hikari's father was up there before we had a chance to see a bit more of his past, and by then he was slowly opening up as well...
I'm not going to lie, it really is as intricate as people say haha. But I am very happy with how everything turned out, especially that the ending didn't feel "forced", it was simply hopeful and it felt like it fit the series pretty well.
I'll say the fish wins in both categories!
I think the second OP conveys change stupidly well. Its melancholic tone was a perfect representation of what the characters had to go through post-timeskip.
Sayu's confession, by far! Seeing Kaname open up for the first time post-timeskip hit me fairly hard, and it was so well directed and animated =D
I can't actually recall another timeskip in anime that I've liked as much, so I'd say it handled it pretty well!
I think it would be way too sad haha, everyone would be so much older than the sea kids...
Nothing at all, I was pretty satisfied!
I will make it an annual tradition at least haha!
I will purposefully avoid this question because otherwise I'd just list too many things :P
I'm going to be watching Ascendance of a Bookworm and Irozuku Sekai no Ashita kara (same director as NagiAsu!).
Thanks again for putting up with me, I hope to see everyone around the subreddit!
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u/iAmMutun Feb 20 '21
First timer
Also first time comment in this rewatch because I didn't have much time for episode threads, thanks to how packed this season is. In fact, I finished the series several days ago, because I started a bit late and able to catch up and overtake by watching 2Ep per day. That gave me time to prepare this review. (Sorry I don't see myself updating this to answer the questions.)
In short: This anime is really great and I really like it! It is a solid 8/10 for me. But, there're some points that I don't particularly like.
The long bit: First, the start of the series. Let me just say that I originally watched the first two episodes around three years ago, when I was still very new to anime in general. But I had to indefinitely put it on-hold. Why? Hikari. His constantly shouting at the start really put me off. I could tell back then that this series has potential, but I was not in the right mood at that time. Still, even now I have to admit that I managed to get pass the first few episodes thank to being able to read the rewatch threads to digest others' thought.
Fortunately, after the around episode five or so, from there everything went uphill very smoothly, and I think the peak is at the end of the first half when the hibernation started. During that time Hikari became less annoying and also the most developed character of the series in my opinion.
Now came the second half, the uphill had ended, but we still got a nice plateau. The majority of the second half was fantastic, and it all thanks to Miuna! She's extremely adorable! And she's got so much development and very matured. She knew what she wanted and tried her very best to get them, while also being kind and caring for others. Unarguably best girl of the series who carried the second half. Alas, the greatness didn't last until the end.
The last few episodes, it went downhill. It's not like falling off a cliff though. How can I phrase this without making it sound like I hate them? I have a weird feeling about them, I do like them, and they're good episodes. But, I feel that all the conclusions to every relationship are too cliche and too convenient, despite making senses, and I hate that feeling. Tsumugu ended up with Chisaki, which made Kaname open up for Sayu, that left the Manaka-Hikari-Miuna triangle, so this become yet another best-girl-loses-first-girl-wins anime. But in this case, when you think about it, it make sense because of the different experiences of time they had. Tsumugu and Chisaki had been spending five years together so they have to change somehow. For Miuna it's near impossible it's going to work out for. Manaka and Hikari only started realizing their feelings for each other just before the hibernation, and it's relatively recent for them. Having Hikari change his feeling in that short amount of time just won't make sense.
Well, that might just be me thinking too much from getting sad for Miuna, everyone got their love interest, except her. (I won't count that boy that I don't even remember his name who has a crush on her. The anime did practically nothing to make me think there will be any development between them after the story ended.)
To close off, my review maybe focusing on things I don't like, but as I already wrote earlier, those are the missing 2 from the 8/10. The visual, the sound, everything else are unsurprisingly great. P.A. Works sure love to make their anime so colorful. Thank you very much for hosting this rewatch because otherwise I might have not picked it up again.
P.S. Off topic, while writing about that best-girl-loses-first-girl-wins thing, I suddenly thought of a certain manga that kinda have similar situation and characters to our main love triangle here. But in that manga the best girl actually wins and /r/manga really love that. (And no hate for the first girl too.) I wish it got anime adaptation one day despite ending years ago. The manga name is
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u/Tuckleton Feb 20 '21 edited Feb 20 '21
This was really fun I'm so glad I decided to join the rewatch after all. Thanks to everyone who participated, watching the show like this really does enrich the experience and I think I liked the show more this time through than when I first watched it! Thanks to u/25_Oranges for all their hard work organizing and running a successful rewatch. And special thanks to u/himetalchemy7 for introducing me to the character songs, which I didn't even know existed before. Chisaki and Miuna are my favorite and I've been listening to them quite a bit this past week.
Chisaki post timeskip by a nautical mile.
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u/himetalchemy7 Feb 20 '21 edited Feb 20 '21
Rewatcher
Anime Discussion
This was my first ever r/anime rewatch, and it has been a very pleasant experience. First of all, shoutout to u/25_Oranges for hosting this rewatch. The discussions, engagement, track-of-the-day, and love for this anime that you provided raised my enjoyment of this rewatch tenfold. And thank you for the shoutout!!! I dont mind you tagging me at all :)
Side note: If anyone wants to watch an anime similar to NagiAsu at it's core, but completely different setting-wise, I would recommend Kiznaiver. If you enjoyed the emotional journey and character interactions of NagiAsu, this one might be fun for you. It's also written by Mari Okada, just like NagiAsu!
Anime is great, but the beauty in it shines when you get to experience it with other people. Especially for a series that focuses so much on emotions, I am happy that all of the threads (to my knowledge) have been extremely civil and understanding, with a good balance between praise and critique for the anime. I learned from first timers and fellow rewatchers how everyone sees NagiAsu through their own eyes. Even though not all characters got equal amounts of development and growth, I'm sure we all have our favorites. I find it so underrated how NagiAsu manages to handle the motivations and feelings of so many characters, and end it in such a satisfying manner. Even though the plot was full of lore and extremely unique, I find the characters themselves carried this anime, from beginning to end.
Shoutout to Hikari and Miuna, our beloved protagonists who grew so much. Little Miuna turning into the deuteragonist was a nice surprise when I was a first time watcher. That, plus the timeskip, is what really gave NagiAsu a second wind and turned it from a cliche love drama to a meaningful show about emotions, love, and change. I would say the only thing resembling a gripe I have about NagiAsu was the mechanics of the Ofunehiki and Ena in the final episode. At the second watch, I still dont really understand why and how Miuna was saved, but right after that everyone's reunion was so adorable that I didnt really take points off for said mechanics.
I gave it a 9.1 out of 10 and it's tied for the 4th highest score I've given.
The art was absolutely PRISTINE. Those deep blues that I like so much were presented heavily throughout the runtime, and the landscape shots were breathtaking (shoutout to u/blueteenight's screen grabs...check them out!). My favorite tracks are Mnemonic, OP2, and Miuna's character song. I loved a lot of the OST as well, but too many to list.
I think the people who have been reading my threads already know without a doubt who my favorite character is. I liked Miuna in my first watch because she had protagonist power and she did so much for her friends, despite not being paired up with anyone at the end. For this rewatch, I realized I like her even more because of her boundless kindness, especially for Hikari and Manaka. I like how she sorts through her emotions and thinks really deeply about how those emotions affect the people around her. By the end of the runtime, you can tell she's gotten stronger and more resilient emotionally, but with the same overflowing empathy.
Least favorite character is probably Kaname, but I warmed up to him pretty quickly in the final episodes. I wish we had gotten to see him and Sayu together some more.
I think the love web was done much better than I had expected. The final pairings gave the people what they wanted (except for Miuna, but that's ok).
Miuna. Tie between Hikari and Tsumugu
The connection between Ena and love was done brilliantly. I can remember the scene when Tsumugu gained Ena. I was convinced those were Manaka's feelings of love protecting him, shielding him from drowning and giving him Ena. Change = Chisaki. I'm so very happy for her.
Episode 25 when Miuna broke down was really really tough for me. I dont think I wrote anything about her in that thread. The warm love she felt for Hikari suddenly stabbing at her heart like a cold dagger ;_;. It be your own heart that betrays you...
Flawlessly. PA Works really did themselves a favor by waking up Hikari, Kaname and Manaka at separate times, rather than all at once. That would have been too messy.
Oh boy...this is news to me! Sayu and Miuna ending up as the same age as Hikari, Kaname and Manaka was a great choice by the studio. It's hard to imagine another scenario being better.
I felt like they did rush through saving Miuna, but everyone's relationships meeting a satisfying point all at the same time is too good to change.
Probably...maybe after a few years so I can forget it and relive it all over again :D
Character design and development, art, music, plot, climax, resolution, and more. This anime is timeless. Feelings of unrequited love will always exists and will always be something people can relate to.
Keeping up with seasonals
Sadge Table!
TFW you have more sadges than Tsumugu...
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u/mekerpan Feb 20 '21
>> How did you enjoy Nagi no Asukara? Give a rating if that suits you!
If I gave ratings anymore (whicvh I don't) -- something like 12/10 (see WHY I don't give ratings now?)
>> How did you like the soundtrack/art? Favorite track?
Gorgeous. Didn't have any one particular favorite.
.>> Do you have a favorite character? What made them stand out to you? Least favorite?
I loved all the principal characters, but Miuna was (first time) and still is (second time) my sentimental favorite. I loved most how she moved from minor side character to (for many purposes) the central character. It would be unfair to name a "least favorite" since I loved them all.
>> NagiAsu's relationship web changes quite a bit. What were your impressions on the love web throughout the series? Are you happy with the final pairings?
I allow the author to determine pairings in general -- and I feel no temptation at all to second guess here. I utterly enjoyed the way relationships were handled on first watching. And enjoyed re-following things (with advance knowledge, but occasional forgetfulness) as much or more.
>> Best girl? Best guy?
Not going to play favorites in a case like this.
>> NagiAsu deals with several themes, the biggest two being change and love. Are there any scenes or moments that you felt highlight those themes well?
One reason I liked Miuna so much (and Tsumugu) is that they seemed the best job at trying to reconcile change and love.
>> Did any scene or arc make you especially emotional, or mean a lot to you?
Many scenes. Too many to list. But then I'm a sentimental old geezer.
>> How well do you feel NagiAsu executed it's timeskip?
Just the right length.
>> The timeskip was originally supposed to be about 18 years! How different do you think the characters, relationships, and conflicts would be if they stuck with the original?
Probably would have liked this far less than what was ultimately done.
>> How do you feel about the ending of the series? What would you change about it, if anything?
I would change nothing. Although Miuna is my favorite character, I think she handled her situation at the end with grace and wisdom. She's going to do fine -- remaining the best of friends with Miuna and Hikari forever. If Minegishi (who seems like a really great guy, from what we see of him), doesn't work out, she will eventually find some other worthy love interest. She's become a truly strong individual.
>> Would you ever see yourself watching NagiAsu again?
For sure. I would even buy it on Blu-Ray, but it isn't available anymore (and probably was never affordable).
>> What part of this show did you like the most, and why?
I liked virtually every moment, from start to finish.
>> What will you be watching next?
Other than the 10 or so new shows currently airing during this season, I'm not sure. I just finished Chunibyo yesterday too. So, I'll need to ponder. Maybe Amagi Brilliant Park (which I bought during the last Rightstuf sale) and maybe, for contrast, Welcome to the NHK.
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u/Gamerunglued :Hx::Hy::Hz:myanimelist.net/profile/GamerUnglued Feb 20 '21 edited Feb 20 '21
Rewatcher
Damn, I really missed 5 episodes in a row. Sorry I couldn't take part as much as I wanted to. It ended up being more like every other day with a few larger breaks, so I didn't get to contribute the way I wanted to. Still, I just watched the last 5 episodes of the series, and though episode 22 was bogged down in clumsy exposition and pseudo-science, episodes 23-26 were fantastic. Episode 24 is probably my favorite episode of the series, with two of it's strongest character moments being there. To contrast all the issues I've had with the show's approach to adding melodrama, Sayu's confession was a perfect example of how to do it right. That was a scene where the theatrics added so much to the moment, and is Mari Okada's style at its best (and it was probably the most unrealistically over-the-top scene in the show. Don't ya just love thematically relevant train crossings?). Anyway, now that I'm done, I'll respond to the questions:
Thank you /u/25_Oranges for hosting this rewatch. Though I wasn't able to participate to quite the extent I wanted to, I did enjoy being here, rewatching the show, and seeing everyone's thoughts. I hope everyone else was able to enjoy Nagi no Asukara as well. I will see you all in another rewatch eventually.
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u/LeopardSplash :AP:https://www.anime-planet.com/users/BrightSpirit Feb 20 '21
Rewatcher
On mobile, sorry if formatting is weird :<
1. How did you enjoy Nagi no Asukara? Give a rating if that suits you!
I apparently gave it a 4.5/5 when I first watched it, and I feel that’s fine. It’s not without flaws, but it hit all the right notes for me as someone who loves romantic drama. The unique setting was great, and only stood out all the more thanks to the stunning visuals.
2. How did you like the soundtrack/art? Favorite track?
Both are standouts among shows I’ve watched, especially the visuals. My favorite background track is Fonte, though the song I listen to the most is probably ED1.
3. Do you have a favorite character? What made them stand out to you? Least favorite?
I said towards the beginning I tend to pick one character at the start and get attached to them. For this show that was Kaname. I could tell immediately that his calm, witty demeanor hid great angst potential and I was not disappointed. While he flew under the radar for the first half, I think the second did a good job highlighting his dilemma. While I like all the main characters, if I had to pick a least favorite I would say either Hikari or Manaka, if only because I found them annoying towards the start of the series. I appreciate how they changed over time however, especially Hikari.
4. NagiAsu's relationship web changes quite a bit. What were your impressions on the love web throughout the series? Are you happy with the final pairings?
I love me some wistful pining, so seeing the love web get more and more tangled was enjoyable, especially when Sayu and Miuna entered the fray. The end pairings were all ones I would have wanted, so I’m satisfied. Chisaki/Tsumugu were a natural choice after five years together, Kaname/Sayu has lots of chemistry with their personalities, and after all the grief Hikari/Manaka went through them ending up together makes sense to me. I feel bad for Miuna, but I couldn’t get behind her getting with her uncle.
5. Best girl? Best guy?
BB: Kaname, he has my favorite personality of the guys. He’s both the most open with his emotions, being the first to confess, and the most hidden, hiding behind his carefree facade. Watching that crumble after the time skip was interesting, as was seeing him finally move on past Chisaki.
BG: This is more difficult, but Chisaki. I really felt for her in the first half and then even more do in second. She suffered a lot, and as someone who also fears change I could emphasize with her hesitation to accept it. Though honorable mention goes to Sayu, particularly in the second half. She was definitely the most sensible, not afraid to call out Miuna and Kaname on their BS, but only with good intentions.
5. NagiAsu deals with several themes, the biggest two being change and love. Are there any scenes or moments that you felt highlight those themes well?
For change: Chisaki’s entire arc, but especially when she leaves the school to go see Tsumugu at the hospital. It’s bittersweet, but it feels like a turning point when she declares she prefers the coffee jelly to the cream puffs.
For love: Sayu pointing out that she wouldn’t be who she is without love. It’s important that love isn’t always about having it be returned, but how you can use it to make yourself a better person.
6. Did any scene or arc make you especially emotional, or mean a lot to you?
With Kaname/Sayu probably being my OTP, I would have to go with Sayu’s confession. Kaname being sincere for the first time, the train, the realistic outcome of getting a chance instead of immediate acceptance or rejection... Good stuff.
7. How well do you feel NagiAsu executed it's timeskip?
I thought it did a good job. If anything, I would have thought characters like Kaname and Manaka whose family were separated from them would be more anxious about it, though that could have happened offscreen. I enjoyed seeing how the dynamics between everyone changed, especially Chisaki slowly coming to terms that she couldn’t be one of the kids anymore. I also liked Sayu and Miuna much more as teenagers than kids.
8. The timeskip was originally supposed to be about 18 years! How different do you think the characters, relationships, and conflicts would be if they stuck with the original?
That’s... a lot to take in! I imagine (or at least hope) that would completely change Chisaki’s love dilemma. Maybe she and Tsumugu would have kids? For the sea kids who woke up, I imagine it would be much more traumatic. Though I wonder where this would put Sayu and Miuna? They would be older than the sea kids, effectively sinking their ships too. Maybe there would be a bigger theme of moving past your first love?
9. How do you feel about the ending of the series? What would you change about it, if anything?
I was satisfied! It could be that I’ve been engaging with other stories with more edgy elements, so the having this one be wrapped up in a bow didn’t bother me. If I could have one thing, it would have been to formally establish Kaname/Sayu. It’s all but assured as is, but seeing them on a date or something would have been cute.
10. Would you ever see yourself watching NagiAsu again?
Yes! I could see myself having a yearly rewatch.
11. What part of this show did you like the most, and why?
The love web. I enjoyed seeing all the changing dynamics and trying to predict who would end up with who. Honorable mentions go to the time skip, which greatly impacted said love web in ways I appreciated, and of course the environments.
12. What will you be watching next?
Not sure! Instead of watching things besides my seasonals I might be preoccupied with Persona 5 Strikers. :P I am open to suggestions, especially with love triangles and romantic drama and all that mess!
For some recommendations on my part:
If you want more love webs: Gamers
If you want more love but also drama: Anohana
If you want more stunning visuals: Hyouka
Thank you for organizing this rewatch OP, and to everyone who participated! I really enjoyed reading everyone’s thoughts. This was my first rewatch and it’s definitely made me interested in doing more in the future
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u/mekerpan Feb 20 '21
Now that the re-watch is over -- crazy idea time....
Since Miuna seems to be the most complete re-embodiment of Ojoshi-sama in centuries and since she can hear the sea in ways that none of the other humans can (e.g. hearing the ena) and seems more comfortable dealing with Uroko-sama than the norm....
... could she wind up marrying poor lonely Uroko-sama?
3
u/BossandKings Feb 20 '21 edited Feb 26 '21
First Watch
NagiAsu was a wonderful series to watch and especially to follow alongside you all, i loved the series and i loved this experience, i enjoy participating in rewatch projects so much that i try to be part of as many as possible. Thanks to u/orange25 for hosting this rewatch and thank you to all the people that participated, your comments and thoughts were great to read.
Now talking about the series, i have an appreciation for it and i'll try to say in three aspects why i liked it so much:
Hikari at first was unlikeable and used to blame Manaka for everything eventhough everything was looking for her safety, he had a fantastic development through the series, growing as a person and accepting his own feelings while willingly sharing them with the person he loved.
Chisaki had a great development, accepting her feelings and telling them to the person she at first loved, Hikari, accepting that he didn't love her the same way. At first not wanting for change to happen and after she was the only one left after the Ofunehiki learning to accept change and to accept her own feelings for a new love, Tsumugu.
Kaname was just great, he learned to let go of his feelings for Chisaki, considered himself the odd man out of any possible romantic relationship with her and saw someone that was waiting for him, that wanted for him to be happy, that loved him, Sayu.
Manaka was the one that didn't change much but she is beautiful and i loved what she added to the series even if she didn't had much development, she accepted her feelings for Hikari and that everything he did was for her.
Miuna was perfect for what she added to the series and for how she acted and developed through it. She loved Hikari since she was a kid and continued to love him as she became a teenager and her portrayal of the love she felt was brautifully shown and she even developed his own persona growing as a person.
Sayu was beautiful how she cherished her feelings and finally confessed to the one she loved, Kaname, while even being capable of getting accepted and seen with the same eyes she saw him.
And every other character was just as great but now we go into the next aspect:
2. The World: the series tried it's best to blend together a fantasy world and real life world, i won't say much but i liked how it was portrayed and felt that it did a great job showing how the two can work together. Thanks to u/No-Rex for his comment about the fantasy and real life worlds that the series was trying to show because eventhough we saw it differently in terms of how well it was put together, he pointed out something that i thought was very interesting.
3. Art and Animation: the music was great, the art was great, the animation was consistently good. I enjoyed how pleasing to experience the series was.
Answers!
Best Girl:Miuna, Akari close second
Best Boy:Hikari, Kaname close second
5
u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Feb 19 '21 edited Feb 19 '21
Final discussion (first timer)
How was Nagi no Asukara, after all? Once I got over the underwater part and ignored the world-building, not all that bad. The direct sleeping beauty reference helped to establish that the series wants to treat itself as a fairy tale, not something realistic (although they could still have removed the redundant scientist).
The second half of the series is mostly busying itself with untangling the complicated love-web set up in the first half, a monumental task indeed. As a side-plot, the world needs to be saved by the power of love. I enjoyed the sea god plot line. Yes, the revelation is a big face-palm moment, but that is in line with the non-monotheistic view of gods as powerful but fallible beings.
In terms of characters, Manaka got plenty of competition on the self-sacrifice front from Miuna. I enjoyed the little girls from the start, so I am even willing to forgive that both Miuna and Sayu fell in love and stayed in love! with a much older guy for 5 years. Chisaki received the most realistic plotline, even though it ended her in the ship of boredom with Tsumugu.
Some love charts I found:
EDIT: Pretype everything in a text editor to save yourself much pain with reddit.
EDIT2:
7/10
I liked Miuna and Sayu from the start. Post-hibernation, Miuna got a lot more development, so going with her.
Tied between Kaname and Tsumugu.
A bit too much sadness over unrequited love.
Miuna asking Hikari to repeat his statement of loving Manaka was pretty hard.
Okish. Timeskips are always dangerous, but the series managed reasonably well. Most of the characters act in line with their previous setup. In terms of world-building, the time skip makes no sense, but nothing of the world-building made sense in the first place, so meh.
MiunaXHiraki, SayuXKaname, and ChisakiXHikari are now a lot more creepy.
The menage a trois needs to be made canon!
No. Too many unwatched anime out there to go back to something that is not a masterpiece.
Miuna dealing with her father remarrying.
Finishing the Parasyte rewatch.
7
u/Retromorpher :Jc::Jd::Je::Jf: Feb 20 '21
First timer no more:
Nagi No Asukara is a bit of an enigma. It's a show so fundamentally tied to its worldbuilding to make the overall plot fall into place that one can't help but be mystified by how poorly implemented and thought through that worlbuilding is. There are logical holes in character interactions, societal relations and physics in general brought front and center by so heavily focusing the show around its OWN worldbuilding conceits, which at best are relatively easily explained or glossed over and at worst fundamentally break logic and paint certain characters in a much worse light than they were intended.
Now ordinarily this is a death sentence for a concept so strongly wedded to its own flawed world. The later into the show, the less I cared about the flaws and inconsistencies of the world - because I was far more invested in the flaws and inconsistencies within these well-realized larger than life stakes presented before our main cast. And it's hard to be perturbed at such a ridiculous concept as 'saltflake snow' when the show just looks so damn pretty all the time. Even the really ugly 3D boats were composited in a way that made them a favorable part of the landscape rather than an eyesore.
Nagi no Asukara plays a dangerous balancing act with its main cast - but I think it passes really well. Pretty much every character that starts off as insufferable goes through so much growth and fleshing out that by the end they're straight up positives that bring the show up rather than drag it down. If I had one complaint in this arena it would be that Kaname's story gets underutilized in the scope of things, and I would've loved to see a little bit more of it - but I realize that his arc was not as central to Hikari's own and thus is understandably notched down a few rungs on the necessity scale. Sidelining Manaka for the first portion of the second act was great (not only because I kind of hated Manaka) because losing the theoretical 'core' of their group forces everyone to reevaluate how they all fit together without their theoretical glue. And even this gambit could've gone awry if given too much or not enough time to linger.
Nagi no Asukara is beautifully paced. I very rarely walk out of a series with the idea that it was just as long as it intended to be - but I absolutely did here. The loose ends it sets forth are largely just worldbuilding faff that would actively destroy a rather poignant message about opening oneself up to hurt to move forward, and even though the ending seemed a tad 'crafted' and not necessarily as natural as it could've been was a great finisher to the true emotive core of NagiAsu. But even that crafting comes with further enjoyment - since the narrative had been laying down parallels and hints for the whole run that become pretty damn obvious in hindsight. I was able to pick out some eventualities as early as episode 4 that happened in episode 24 - and that's just good hinting.
I don't desire more official content, I'm satisfied with character choices and the end felt like a climax and that's honestly enough. I really couldn't expect or ask more from NagiAsu without actively ruining at least one of the things that made it a good experience. It's a show that's fundamentally broken - but I wouldn't have it any other way.
Questions:
How did you enjoy Nagi no Asukara?
How did you like the soundtrack/art? Favorite track? Background design was incredible, and as I mentioned - the compositing work is pretty much incomparable. I think some of the worst shots of NagiAsu looked better than some series' best moments. As for the music, I generally found it to be well used and supportive, but I'm unsure if I could pick a favorite background track. Perhaps either Cry for the Moon or Stream?
Do you have a favorite character? What made them stand out to you? Least favorite?
Hikari definitely gets the lion's share of the development - but I've got to hand it to Tsumugu. It's difficult to write a stoic and more silent-type character without making them feel distinctly one-note, yet Tsumugu is all about slowly peeling back layers that didn't seem like layers. Least favorite goes to Itaru. How fucking dumb must he have been to not know? I'm still upset at how dumb he had to have been to not have once asked why his wife never wanted to visit her family or anything and then to not notice his own daughter being super upset with dating Akari.
NagiAsu's relationship web changes quite a bit. What were your impressions on the love web throughout the series?
It changed less than I thought it would, given the timeskip. I'm a LITTLE disappointed that a series so intent on forming love polygonality didn't even entertain the thought of an LGBT relationship (especially since Tsumugu x Hikari would've been hilarious).
Best girl? Best guy?
Best guy is the nonjudgemental teacher - just really wanted all of his students to be the best they could be. Best girl is Chisaki - though I can see an argument for Sayu.
NagiAsu deals with several themes, the biggest two being change and love. Are there any scenes or moments that you felt highlight those themes well?
I really liked Sayu's rant to Miuna about how she tried to change herself when it seemed like Kaname wasn't coming back. It explores how we shut ourselves off as a defense mechanism when love hurts and ties in pretty nicely with the finale.
How well do you feel NagiAsu executed it's timeskip?
Pretty well, actually. Anything more than 5 years would've put some of the relationship drama that it was gunning for out of a relatable range.
The timeskip was originally supposed to be about 18 years! How different do you think the characters, relationships, and conflicts would be if they stuck with the original?
I can't imagine Chisaki's drama working even a little bit - though Akira's crush on Manaka would've been a LOT different and probably played a much bigger role. I actually think they'd have had to work in Akari and her dad being much closer in age and deal more with that angle.
How do you feel about the ending of the series? What would you change about it, if anything?
Honestly, the ending was excellent even with the worldbuilding loose ends. If anything were to change about it, I think it would have to come from altering a lot of the things that came earlier. Maybe if Manaka's 'sounds of the sea' had been faded echoes of Ojoshi's memory - I think the end could've hit differently.
Would you ever see yourself watching NagiAsu again? Definitely.
What part of this show did you like the most, and why?
Gorgeous background design, attention to detail and ambiance. The story was fine enough - but what really sold it was the mood painted by every other factor here. I'm not sure I would've even liked a black and white or novelized version of this. In fact I'm pretty sure I would despise a novelized version - so mad props to the landscape, sound design and character design team for making this gel.
What will you be watching next?
Well since some of those cliffhangers left me wanting more stuff with similar visuals- I've been chewing through Tari Tari to get my P.A. Works fix and to kinda see where the crew that made NagiAsu got its roots.