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「遠い波のささやき」 (Tōi Nami no Sasayaki)
“The Whisper of Distant Waves”
Well, looks like Miuna fans are getting their cake and eating it too.
Maybe I’m a bit more plot and world-oriented than most when it comes to dramas of this sort, but as far as what happened this episode, the part that stuck out the most (outside of Hikari’s always wonderful characterization) was not the exploration or potential for romance between Hikari and Miuna. I found it convenient that poor little devil Akira got rubella for the sake of getting these two a little date (shame, Okada, shame, first the old men and now the children?) among other little concerns, but had that not been the case, I’m still a little iffy about the focus here. It was hardly a bad episode, aside from a few more slips in animation than usual, but the fact that the end held the most interest for me says a lot about the dynamics between characters here. They don’t feel quite as natural as they did when all the other sea kiddos were around; showing Hikari and Miuna laughing and getting along didn’t really make it feel as real of a relationship as when Hikari was with the other kids. It was a particularly pushy bit of narrative device, and I didn’t really care much for it personally.
In fact, as much as I wanted to throw my own shoe at her, I understood Sayu better here; she’s definitely a selfish piece of work, throwing dramatic tantrums for no real reason but shallow jealousy and childishness, but you know what, I was fourteen once too. And boy, was I just as bad. It sucks being the third wheel, and it sucks seeing your best friend being “taken away” by a romantic interest, and at that age you’re still liable to be stupid and prone to letting your emotions take you places you wouldn’t normally go (though that doesn’t mean everyone grows out of it either), so I understand why she burst out in anger like that. It wasn’t really pleasant to watch (or even necessary to the narrative) but I can’t fault her for being realistic as far as middle schoolers go. Whether or not she’ll grow out of it is another story.
In any case, I find Miuna to be alright as far as pining heroine goes, (though I think I much preferred Chisaki), but I do miss the chemistry and development from the first cour. Naturally that’s been missing considering half our cast has gone MIA, but hopefully with Kaname’s return we’ll start seeing things set in motion. It’s not that there’s anything wrong with Miuna, really, but at this point in the narrative she almost feels like an outsider pushing in on a bubble that should only be burst at her own peril; though that’s just me. Perhaps to someone else, she looks more natural with Hikari than I give her credit for; regardless, I kind of feel like that’s still something a tad beside the point, especially when I consider the fact that Miuna, the halfling, has suddenly realized she can breathe underwater.
That’s significant, if only because of what we already know. Children born of a union between sea people and land people are not supposed to have Ena. And Miuna has in the past experienced a near-drowning incident. So the important question is, why now, and why Miuna? Is it because of the state of the sea villages? Has the sea god intervened somehow? I can’t imagine this being purely convenient for Miuna’s sake (though that’s definitely a possibility), so I can only hope this somehow ties in with the bigger story at hand.
Preview
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Love how Kaname has no shame!
lol walking around naked and asking someone what time it is like a BOSS!
Kaname’s bare entrance (literally) is right up there with Arnold Schwarzennegger walking naked into a bar and saying, without any emotion: “I need your clothes, your boots and your motorcycle.” LOL
I was hoping for some kind of Terminator entrance, as well. haha.
LOL~ I can only imagine how hilarious it would be if they had actually used the Terminator reference XD
Du-du-du-du-DUN!! (Terminator Theme)
Hm, so Kaname and Sayu will be in the same grade? Sayu fight!
Wonder if Sayu will go a bit tsundere on him… If played and scripted well, that could be interesting to watch.
I was wondering how they were going to re-introduce Kaname this season. His confidence knows no bounds! XD
Also, it seems that Kaname may have been called back by Sayu’s will the same way Hikari was called back by Miuna’s, maybe? How the heck are all the other residents of Shioshishio supposed to wake up, then?!?
I can’t wait until next week… I want to see what happens with this Chisaki-Tsumugu-Kaname situation works out!
So Miuna suddenly became a sea person? Interesting – that wasn’t something I was expecting (though she has wanted to be one since she was younger).
There’s one other land person who has also desperately wanted to go underwater, and he happens to be a quarter sea person. Hmm…
She didn’t became a see person, the Ena from Kaname’s “shell” got on her skin allowing her to breath for a moment (thanks to her mother’s origins)
It happened because of Kaname’s awakening?
I guess that’s as likely an explanation as any other, but I think there’s going to be a lot more to it than that.
Maybe its the sea god picking and choosing who he decides to let stay in his domain. He might simply not like the mixed heritage offspring so wanted to keep them out.
Oh god Miuna is a self-absorbed childish bimbo who runs away and makes people worry unnecessary about her.
I pity Sayu and specially Hikari. Not only she was behaving ghastly, using her best friend to just score Hikari around and not giving a crap about her obvious discomfort, but she headed melodramatically alone, standing up Hikari who was pretty lost without her.
Seriously. What.
At least Sayu had the maturity to stay.
You’re right, let’s blame her for behavior typical for her age. Blame the author who from some unknown reason didn’t make middle schoolers as mature as us. Of course, we would never do such a thing. We are too grown-up and too cool for that.
Running away into a dangerous and rust deserted zone, leaving Hikari (who has just awoke from some magical coma) behind in a big city, without calling her parents even though her brother is sick isn’t “normal” behavior for a 14 years old. And you shouldn’t sympathize with a drama queen.
On the other hand, Sayu’s behavior is normal: petty and bitchy but immediately realizing her mistake and staying without causing more trouble to people.
Seriously, stop diminishing what she did. Miuna’s terrible friend behavior was understandable but her overreaction and running away was not and should not overlooked as nothing but an infantile and self-centered brat behavior.
Wait. what? When did we have such low expectations of teens? That’s insulting their intelligence and wisdom.
So Miuna’s sea genes from her mom finally kicked in. Huh that took awhile..sea puberty.
I really wanna know how it lead to this situation, can’t wait.
And I also think Sayu shined a bit herself this episode, I mean you rarely take her seriously until this very moment.
As for Kaname, him coming back is such a teaser I really want to see how he’ll react to everything.
It looked more like some power from the deep gave Miuna her Ena.
If I was to make a guess, she’s not the only one who is able of this but everyone who has a parent that came from the sea.
Maybe the Sea God now allows immigrants back into the sea? LOL.
Shipping routes forecast update:
Sayu X Kaname
Miuna X Hikari
Chisaki X Tsumugu
because: now their mental/physical ages match.
Seriously though Miuna becoming a mermaid seems to be a sign of new things coming along with return of the hibernated ones… And I take it as a good omen from the Sea God.
*watches the episode*
Faints to the floor. Mouth foaming. “Miuna…”~
We did expect some pairings over last episode, but I never expected some nice “upgrades” done to her. 🙂
manaka rule them all, manaka to find them,
manaka to bring them all and in the jealousy bind them
Miuna, after this episode, is closer to the mental and emotional age of her brother.
You forgot:
Manaka x SeaGod
I lol’ed but to think again that make sense
Manaka X Sea God FTW!
I want Kaname propose a ménage à trois to Tsumugu and Chisaki, like the boss he is. Kaname banzai!
I’m not sure about their mental/physical ages matching. I think Chisaki’s time stopped on that date 5 years ago. She seems to still live at that point mentally, basically being pushed forward by time but not much else.
I still don’t like the Chisaki x Tsumugu pairing. Still feels like it came out of nowhere and them being pushed towards each other because all their friends were gone is not a good enough reason. In 5 years the age difference between Kaname, Hikari, Chisaki, Miuna, Sayu, and Tsumugu won’t seem as much of an obstacle so why rush to pair them up now?
While more time to Chisaki & Tsumugu would be welcomed to better flesh-out their relationship,I don’t see why you’d think it came out of nowhere. Even before the time-skip,Chisaki & Tsumugu had a few subtle moments that could serve as build up for a possible pairing. True that they were brought together by circumstances for now I believe that could’ve eventually happened even without the time skip.
I believe Tsumugu always seemed a bit more interested in Chisaki and she showed some slight interest in him as well. It’s not surprising that they’ve grown more attached to each other throughout 5 years,even if it looks like it’s more on his part than hers.
Chisaki never showed any romantic interest in Kaname and her interest in Hikari seems like nothing more than a child’s crush. In their case,the time skip served to speed things up. Yea,maybe it did speed things up too much but remember that the show need’s to divide the screentime between many characters,they can only focus so much on these two.
Indeed. I said last week that there Hikari wouldn’t look at Miuna in a romantic way but if Manaka won’t ever show up again(or if she’s become some higher deity or the sorts) then Miuna will have her chance.
Also,now that I think about it better,seeing the 3 guys & 3 girls with Manaka absent in the OP makes me think that outcome is even more likely to happen.
Dammit Miuna! D:
She had to freak out at the last minute and unknowingly drag poor Sayu out just to conceal her own embarrassment. Even as a Miuna shipper, I’d be just as peeved as Sayu if I were in her position. At least Kaname is now back, that’s the least Sayu deserves after suffering in silence this week.
The preview shows Kaname living with Chisaki and Tsumugu, which might complicate things a bit. But the physical age difference could be decisive in this relationship paradigm shift.
Wonder if Miuna’s belated Ena awakening only applies to mixed children like her (and Akira and even Tsumugu for that matter), or this is in fact inherent in all Land People?
Since theoretically, all Land People are descended from the Sea People who have forsaken their Ena long ago. Maybe the Ena was never really forsaken, but was unused for so long that the Land People simply forgotten how to use it, much like the vestigial tail humans all have.
I found that the focus on Miuna this episode made the episode quite a drag to watch. I never had anything against her character before and always found her cute but that’s the thing: she’s just cute. She was just a cute side character of sorts who helped the growth of Akari x her dad’s relationship and now she’s suddenly forced into a main heroine role (there wasn’t even any Chisaki this episode who is an actual main character who we are more invested in) and becoming some sort of pseudo Manaka.
Unlike Hikari and Manaka (both of whom had some pretty good chemistry and a natural feel to their relationship regardless of shipping etc in my view), it’s almost painful watching the series try to force Hikari and Miuna to have some sort of spark and honestly, it’s falling pretty flat in my opinion. I’m not nearly as excited to watch this series as I was before they started forcing Miuna into the spotlight. Hopefully Kaname’s return will breath some life back into the next episode and stop forcing Miuna to be the central heroine
I wouldnt say Hikari and Miuna dont have any spark because they actually do, at least in my opinion, but this spark is more of the spark one has with their family member. They have a good back and forth as brother and sister or Uncle and niece (however you want to see it). The way i see it, whether Miuna and Hikari become an item (which probably wont happen im sure…although i could be wrong) doesnt really matter to me. I see them having a good relationship but that’s about it.
In regards to Manaka, i really didnt dislike her but i didnt care for her either. I was actually invested in the way Hikari felt for her rather than Manaka herself as in i only cared because of how strongly Hikari felt for her…she just didnt vibe with me. I will agree that the series has been trying to force the idea of Miuna and Hikari being a possibility (how many times have we been reminded that she’s 14) but nevertheless, i have found their interactions to be respectfully handled. If they become an item, oh well, but i feel more comfortable with the idea of them having a familial relationship
Right, Kairi, now that I’ve properly read your post, I believe you’ve been totally unfair to Sayu when you said: “she’s definitely a selfish piece of work, throwing dramatic tantrums for no real reason but shallow jealousy and childishness”
You try being suddenly asked out just to act as silent company watching your friend openly flirting with his/her friend of the opposite gender while you’re being more or less ignored, and not become bitter and annoyed. Being 14 or 44 is irrelevant.
I have been there and done that. For five years in a row at some point even. But my point is not that she shouldn’t feel such things, but rather that she let it out in a tantrum. Miuna gave her the short end of the stick, but it doesn’t mean she had to use spite to get her point across.
I read your post Kairi and I think it’s fair. Sayu is being kinda mean but it is understandable- Kaname is presume to be missing, maybe even dead and here is Octopus-head stealing her best friend. I get it. I understand it. She’s just been irritated that’s all.
“but rather that she let it out in a tantrum. Miuna gave her the short end of the stick, but it doesn’t mean she had to use spite to get her point across.”
While I don’t disagree with what you’re trying to say about how Sayu could have reacted better, but I believe the problem lies with us having too high of an expectation of how a 14-year-old of her upbringing would realistically react in such a situation. And Sayu’s reaction seemed spot on on what I would expect of her character.
I can’t blame Sayu. She acted like a petty teenager when she was ignored so rudely, but here’s a keyword: teenager. Miuna acted no better than she was 9, dangerously acting like a spoiled brat who screams attention, leaving Hikari alone and knowing her parents would worry when her brother is sick because of this.
I am supposed to be sympathetic to Miuna? They are doing a poor job if they tried to make her seem sympathetic.
Sayu immediately saw her wrong and didn’t give further problems. Miuna needed to be found and talked about it. I am sorry, but Miuna is not only a selfish girl and a bad friend, but she’s also emotionally immature spoiled brat with little consideration of feelings that doesn’t benefit her.
i think that both parties are at fault.
seeing that miuna was asked to accompany hikari at the spur of the moment and being teased about it being a date prompted her to call sayu without thinking things through. she didn’t have any intention to flirt/flaunt in front of sayu in the first place, it was for the uniform.
for sayu, i think she already knew about miuna’s feelings towards hikari and she just felt that the world is being unfair to her because hikari woke up but kaname is still asleep or worse, already dead. she couldn’t keep it bottled up leading to the confrontation and she just let it out.
both acted with their emotions and not their heads, but hey look at their circumstances. anyne could’ve turned the other cheek but where is the drama in that.
i disagree with people painting miuna in a bad light just because she acted MORE bratty, childlish than sayu and pinning all the blame on her. saying that she is a bad and selfish friend just because of what happened this ONE episode is unfair for her character.
My debate with Kairi concerning the extent of how understandable Sayu’s childish behaviour is aside, Durga, I find it quite rich that you would apply one set of standards for Sayu and yet another different set for Miuna, for both of them behaving exactly the same way – i.e. like the bratty 8th Graders that they are.
The term 8th Grader Syndrome – Chuunibyou – is born precisely as a derogatory term to describe people who behave like 8th Graders.
@echykr:
Both weren’t behaving the exact ‘same way’. Miuna was the offender party, Sayu did act like a petty teen back to Miuna’s horrible behavior. Nonetheless, Miuna’s actions were also teenager like and even sympathetic until she ran away like a spoiled self-centered brat to do her woe is me act.
Exactly like she did when she was 9 years old.
She ran while Sayu stayed and faced her guilt and feelings. She ran, leaving Hikari, not thinking TWICE not just about her friend, but about her family: Hikari, her parents, and her sick brother, to be emo and sulk in that dangerous deserted place. And this is somehow more mature for you? She didn’t act 14, she acted 9 years old.
I hope someone understands my joke…
@Durga
I don’t think you’re seeing this from Miuna’s perspective. When you run from a problem and sulk in a place where no one knows where you are, EVERYTHING is on your mind. It’s not easy to just blank out and just not care about anything. In Miuna’s case, her dormant feelings for the boy lost at sea now very hurriedly coming back (or perhaps they haven’t ever left? maybe even gotten stronger because of the void he left behind?), her friend who she hurt as an unfortunate side effect of Hikari coming back (and not even realizing it until it was way too late), and her sick little brother. Not to mention the people still lost at sea. Forgive her for not being more mature for her age. Everyone has their own way of dealing with their emotions and in this episode, there was a lot of crying and not a lot of thinking.
I also believe that girls do not want people to see them crying. Especially the guy that she is extremely fond of. It was better for Sayu to stay since she likes Kaname and wouldn’t mind letting Hikari see her in her moment of weakness (like he has before). I’m not saying what she did was smart, but i’m not saying she was wrong either. Yea she acted like a brat, so did Sayu.
If i wanted to blame anyone, it would be Akira. He’s the one who really started this whole chain of unfortunate events.
CURSE YOU AKIRA FOR BEING SO ADORABLE EVEN GERMS WANT TO LOVE YOU!
Rubella doesn’t deserve him. She just makes him cry (and i hear she gets around….)
I have no idea where and how you applied this 9 year old standard criteria to the action of ragequitting. By your standards, Sayu’s outraged response could easily be construed as the actions of an 8 year old.
So no, I do not agree one’s action is more or less childish than the other.
And who is to say both would not mature and grow up after this lesson and made up with each other? The way you’ve been insinuating in your posts, you make it sound like Miuna would never grow up, that I find a problem with.
@Synic: I’m sorry. But what?
What does the “people lost at the sea” have to do with Miuna. She doesn’t give a crap about any of them except for Akari, Hikari had her dead mom. If it had been Hikari or Chisaki, you’ll have a point, but you’re even trying to paint this as some grief Miuna has is laughable. Nothing you said refute the FACT that Miuna’s a self-centered, immature little girl who hasn’t changed in 5 years and Hikari called her out on both accounts: as egocentric and as 9 years old in her childishness when he picked her up.
What she did is awfully reprehensible. I hope she’s grounded for a month.
Don’t dare to blame a kid for getting sick against his will. Miuna CHOSE to run to this place, chose to disregard everyone’s feelings, chose to act and react on that manner. She was on the wrong and she acted on a way undesirable. She needs a lot of growing up to do because right now, she’s the most immature member of the cast.
The ones i refer to as “lost at sea” are: Hikari, Kaname, and Manaka. I didn’t mean the people living in the sea (if that’s how you interpreted it). To be fair, Miuna loves the sea so maybe she’s thinking of the people hibernating as well. That much hasn’t been made clear.
Hikari – obviously, she loves the guy. 5 years later, he comes back to see everyone grown up and while they’ve obviously grown physically, to him, he still sees the same two girls he knew the other day. But he still finds how everyone is different to be extremely difficult to cope with.
Manaka – Hikari is (probably) still hooked on her (get it? xD they’re fish! Ok, enough with the derogatory slang…and poor jokes). How can Miuna feel any sort of happiness that Hikari is back while he’s still brooding over the girl who he watched get swept away by the sea god? Would that not place unnecessary stress on her? Miuna can’t convey her feelings because she knows what his answer will be. Right now everything is dependent on Manaka.
Kaname – While not directly connected to Miuna, i’m pretty sure he holds some sort of weight. Gotta give this guy some credit. He’s the kind of character who used to watch from the sidelines and provide support when it was necessary and when he took action, holy crap did it change things. Didn’t he befriend Miuna as well? I mean….she must have after he basically shot love arrows into Sayu. His presence wasn’t all that “in your face” but what he did in the background spoke volumes. This guy loves Chisaki, who loves Hikari (maybe Tsumugu in the future??), who loves Manaka. Pobresito Kanamito.
Her friends are MIA, save Sayu. With Hikari back it’s a little better but he’s still not going to be with her like she wants. Not until everyone is back. Not to bash Sayu, but i’m pretty sure the weight on their shoulders (using the info we have so far) is pretty much the same. That’s why i think Sayu had a bigger role in the whole argument as she’s the one who cracked (hence the “oh woe is me, it’s not fair!” tantrum). The whole situation is messed up. Both of their potential lovers love someone else. Love triangles suck…
I agree with you to a degree. Miuna is still immature, but so is everyone involved. I want to say this is because the driving force of the group is MIA. Until Manaka returns, time has stopped for everyone, including the problem child in question, Miuna. But Miuna has come a long way. You have to at least agree with that. The quiet girl who hated Akari for replacing her dead mom, now calls Akari “Oka-san” and from where i’m watching….doesn’t seem to hate her anymore or the little bundle of joy that is Akari.
I’m still convinced that her leaving was the best thing to do. If she had stayed, Hikari would have had to deal with two crying, silent girls and it would have eventually lead to one of them leaving anyway. If not, it would have become something much bigger than it should have been. So why postpone the inevitable? If Miuna leaves to think in her little spot instead of causing more trouble for Hikari, why is that a bad thing? And if Sayu came looking for her (finding her boot as if she was going to apologize for snapping), i think that Sayu is taking the blame here. Sayu was in the wrong by using Hikari against Miuna who really was hesitant to go shopping in the first place. DARN YOUR ADORABLENESS, AKARI. I say that in a joking manner…I don’t blame him at all :p Who could?!?
Plus i wanted to note that the crane arm (if my eyes haven’t failed me) falling wasn’t in Miuna’s original plans. Yea she chose to go there…but the place was deserted and had been for a while. Nothing had ever happened before so why should she steer clear of this place? This is her safe zone. The “dangerous” part felt forced to me. I mean a single, rusty screw, caused the collapse. I begin to question the engineers that built that piece of crap…
TL;DR: People at sea still very much making waves. Oshiooshi Engineers are terrible. Time Status : Stopped.
Maybe next episode Miuna and Sayu will have a reconciliation of sorts. Actually, I kind of expect it happen. I hope it satisfies both of us. 🙂
“but at this point in the narrative she almost feels like an outsider pushing in on a bubble that should only be burst at her own peril”
I think that’s the point though; Miuna essentially is the odd ball out and it makes sense for the narrative to portray her in that way. I guess the way that i see it is that, in this case, Miuna is not an outsider in the narrative due to her character not being up to par, but rather her purpose is to be that character who feels like an outsider, yet wants to push herself into this fantastical world in which the guy she loves lives in (what a happy coinkidink that she awakens to her Ena this ep). Id say that works pretty well as a plot point and gives her character relevance in the grand scheme of things. Not to mention that it strongly resonates with the overarching theme of the second OP with Miuna wanting to go “a place” that might be out of her reach.
Miuna was more whinny and used for the sake of manipulation by the writers in the first cour so i definitely appreciate this change of pace for her; This is an improvement over her past self; so far, this second-cour has been doing things fairly right in my book. My only concern is that the story might get overly-fixated on the love-whatever-gram going on, so much so to the point were things might get unnecessarily clustered and tense. To the point where melodrama of epic proportions may ensue which would hurt the series. Nagiasu is at its strongest when it focuses on its thematic elements and how it relates to the characters feelings for one another; here’s hoping it remembers that.
Since halflings don’t have ena and the sea god is a dick going from past experiences I would wonder whether this may have been a bit of divine intervention from a slumbering sea goddess in the making?
Hmm, I was wondering whether or not Manaka had any significance in that event. I mean, maybe she persuaded good old Mr. Sea God to give her ena so she wouldn’t drown…
I just hope that Miuna gets to keep her ena, because it seems likely that it was just a temporary solution for her to stay alive.
My reaction to this episode: Kaname! yes! YES! YEESSSSS!!!
Indeed. With Kaname’s return, we’ll probably get some forward momentum here. Shaking up the staus quo – that’s what he’s good for.
DAMN IT! WHY DOES MIUNA HAVE TO BE SO ADORABLE! IT’S CRIMINAL I TELL YA!
Ugh. for some reason my reply to your post went elsewhere… but still….
** UPGRADE COMPLETE!! **
I know right xD
So much undeserving hate for Miuna, when she actually does her best too. I’d like to have those five main (Hikari-Tsumugu-Kaname-Chisaki-Manaka) get more focus, but Miuna is just too cute, I cheer for her instead. xD
Wow,Kaname is going to be living in Tsumugu’s house along with Chisaki . The next episode should be pretty exciting I hope .
Upgrade complete!
These three are the only reason I keep watching this anime.
Kaname’s back and Manaka’s still nowhere in sight. Well I’m not expecting her to return after all: her spot has been filled in by Miuna now. This really changes everything for the love chart: Manaka’s gone from it, Chisaki’s not chasing Hikari anymore, the former lolis are now officially in it and Kaname x Chisaki is blank.
“…I was fourteen once too.”
I know right? A friend once invited me to a party and I was dateless while he brought his girl. *RaGe!!!!!* I was so OOP and shit. It was a bit insensitive of Miuna to invite a friend just so she can hide her embarrassment. It also ruined what should have been an OTP date. Booo! I feel you Sayu! But don’t worry: Kaname’s back for you to love.
So yeah, 10/10 episode right there!
come to think of it, the reaction to miuna’s and sayu’s childish squabble is pretty much the same as the reaction to hikari’s immaturity at the start of the series.for this one, i would actually forgive it that the girls are acting as expected of fourteen year-olds in much the same way that hikari acted very much like a fourteen year old back then. of course, i would certainly want to see her grow and mature in the succeeding episode.
one thing i realized is that the whole uniform deal actually had a sad air for hikari. his struggle in choosing whether to go with a hama junior high or a nami junior high uniform effectively reflects is confusion as whether to cling to the memories of the past he had lost or move on completely. miuna was actually aware of it, hence she impulsively suggested that the old uniform was should be the one made.
as for the kaname-chisaki-tsumugu triangle, this looks like an interesting development (though i hope the development of kaname moving into tsumugu’s home is well laid out). tsumugu and chisaki definitely love each other, but they are going to have an even harder time to face it now that kaname’s back into the picture.
and that twist of miuna suddenly growing ena is sure raising lots of questions. i am guessing that this development in miuna’s character is somewhat tied to manaka in ways i don’t know yet.
If you haven’t, go watch the OP again. It’s so perfect for this series
NnA taking its own pace after the timeskip (both on macro and micro level), and it’s great to balance the ship after that event. this episode had the feeling of NnA’s scent of before the timeskip, but we can somewhat feel that things are heavier, even if no one in NnA say so directly, there is the shadow of that event that is following us. silently, but following.
nothing surprises us that Hikari returns to school and joins Miuna’s class. but the atmosphere in this show around Hikari is so great, that despite this situation was expected, it was still so funny and pleasant.
despite it’s been 5 years and all, Hikari is still an adolescent growing up. it’s his nature to be who he is, as we’ve seen this episode, demonstrating his nature of before the timeskip. but it’s also some sort of defense mechanism among teenagers, as Akari’s husband termed it – his facade. after all, it was only yesterday the Oufheniki or join people of the land. so it’s hard to Hikari, I can feel that it’s tough for him and he is different. but he is trying for everyone else sake and for himself.
we didn’t see Chisaki and barely got a glimpse of Tsumugu this episode, maybe it was to maintain the pace and all and not push it, but it’s natural. they are sorta adults now, have their own business to take care of. and I think it’s enhance the feeling that Chisaki and Hikari aren’t meant to be.
however, Kaname has appeared in the end of the episode. of course, it was expected that he would show up soon. but it’s mostly interesting to see how his appearance will affect the group. mostly Chisaki. she had screamed back there when Kaname fell. and we all Kaname had feelings for her. considering he is like Hikari, namely, sees present day only as yesterday to that day of 5 years ago, it’s not gonna be easy ride. I wonder how much this is gonna affect the dynamic of the group, because Kaname seems himself, nonchalance asking “which day is it”, but even the silent Kaname gonna have tough time. there is also Sayo in the picture…interesting.
in the big picture, I think something big has happened – Miuna could breath underwater! why no one is excited beside me? I missed those spectacular visuals underwater.
now, this is certainly a welcoming surprise and a change in the macro level. is that mean everyone who has sea-genes can breathe underwater?like Tsumugu?because I think so…moreover, is this an effect of the events 5 years ago?did the sea-god is in charge of that change?was it for the sake of his people?
if that’s the case, it’s mostly interesting because it means Ena isn’t useless anymore among people. those who have Ena eventually will be able to live under the sea?
this is a definitely crucial factor for the sea-people. if before they were on the verge of extinction, now the situation has changed. their most important gene, the Ena, has become dominant?well, not really dominant, because Miuna doesn’t need to bath in sea salt every 5 hours, so it’s more like co-dominance. that’s what I think. and this is great change.
Miuna is the way for the sea people to wake up again :] Pink flakes/sparkles is that indication of Manaka??
The situation between Miuna and Sayu reminded me of my best friend back in highschool my friend who has a boyfriend invited me to go to the mall she never indicated that her boyfriend was coming along so we did meet and hang out but i felt like i was only used to carry on conversation and i got mad at my friend in Sayu’s case she felt like she was used and i find Miuna a bit selfish it doesn’t mean Hikari woke up that she have to be using people for her happiness and not care about Sayu’s feelings.
Miuna and Hikari are clicking together and everyone are paired with someone and Manaka is all alone.. :'[
Oh, Manaka surely has a good fun with Sea-God. Maybe he has tentacles? I want them to animate that!
okay.. yeah.. i think you’ve been watching too much hentai.
YASS. KANAME IS BACK.
I enjoyed Hikari and Miuna’s interactions. Cute, without feeling too unnatural. But it was painfully obvious that Hikari didn’t reciprocate her feelings. I guess only the future will tell if they’re going to get together or not.
On the flip side, my girlfriend didn’t feel the whole HikarixMiuna thing. After reading some of the replies up here, I guess I know why. XP
Oh my Lord…and here it comes. Damn. I have just to confess this upright: the timeskip really destroys everything that i love about this series. Been patience about the mystery and all, but god i really dunno how to react to this anymore.
I mean, whaa-? Now Miuna and Sayu are the main girls already?? What happen to the main heroines?! They were just some little kids peeking at the sea kiddos and the gang through the windows during Ofuneshiki and now we’re watching their dramas???? What happen Okada Mari???
I love Miuna when she was just a little gal, she was cute back then but i dont think i can handle her now. Gimme back Chisaki and Manaka please…
I think Miuna plays a big part of the story she is half sea breed and Hikari have been trying to go back to their sea village but he kept on being pushed away by unknown force from the sea now Miuna will be the way to go swim there and find answers and maybe wake up the sea people. Yes i agree bring back Manaka and Chisaki to us i miss them :'[
I don’t think Sayu was afraid of losing her best friend, rather, she’s jealous ‘coz Miuna’s loved one is back while hers hasn’t.
And… I kinda like the Hikari X Miuna now, even though this is just going to end up like Kirito X Suguha (SAO).
That direction is always heart-rending. Forbidden love is always something. It’s only a matter of thought whether the character will break all barriers and pursue the love that shouldn’t be, or just give themselves up and hope to be happy and move on.
Hope we get to see more of Chisami and Tsumugu next episode, Kaname coming back should be very interesting…
Also, I do agree that Miunas’ actions were a bit over-the-top and uncalled for, but I forgive her. I mean, she’s a young character under the stress and confusion of her feelings, and we shouldn’t expect her to imeddiently act mature. I do however, hope to see some more character development on her and Sayu. :3
(Kaname and Sayu can be third wheels together! Sorry, I was dying to say that…)
Walking tall and naked, with style, that’s just how Kaname rolls.
No picture of Akira’s smile? That was one of the best parts of the episode ;/.
I don’t think that Miuna’s Ena will be permanent. Why? Because the timing seemed to correlate with Kaname waking up. And as you may remember , we saw that the Sea Dwellers had to thicken their Ena to hibernate. Now he has woken up , it would make sense that the excess Ena had to go away somehow. And as Miuna has Sea Dweller in her , and happened to be in the sea at that time…she ended up getting Kaname’s excess and being able to swim a while.
But I really do think it is only temporary.
aww no i hope it won’t be temporary it would be awesome for her to see her biological mother’s parents.
I think maybe the snow on the surface is giving people Ena again, who knows, that was my only conclusion.
However, most of the time this episode had me waiting desperately for Kaname’s return and I am really damaged that it was near the end – oh so now I have to wait another week? I am in deep pain as it is!!
Though, I think Hikari’s putting a mask here, with all the laughing and things. Like Akari mentioned something about putting up a facade – he doesn’t really feel like laughing, but Hikari isn’t the type that would let his emotions get the best of him, so he would never speak out how he feels. To think of it, even with the begining, Hikari was the narrator and we got to know how he feels from just that.
Kaname! I have not much to say except waiting. I suspect the event that he saw last has changed him and the Kaname we will see now will be a different person. I guess sea people have no shame! First the naked Hikari now Kaname xD but well, if you have been sleeping knowing you won’t wake up ‘tomorrow’ I think you would like to know the date first.
I can’t wait for next week, in fact, I really hate them for making us wait so long! Cheers, M.
So much Miuna hate.
Well, I guess Manaka shippers are still around waiting for their chance.
I didn’t like Manaka and now I don’t like Miuna either.. for me the anime wins more when focusing on Chisaki, Tsumugu, Hikari and Kaname.
Wow another good episode and it sucks that this will be the last episode that I watch and won’t be able to finish it for 2 1/2 months since Kaname just came back. I hope everyone enjoys it and there will be at least a happy ending 😀
Oh, that’s really a pity! I hope you won’t be spoiled with the ending of the show for this two months, take your time and come back to us. 🙂
i tried my best to try to like miuna and hikari but i just canttt see them as a couple! forever hikari and manaka <3 🙂
forever shipping this ship :]
I want to see more Kaname-Chisaki-Tsumugu actions :] this is what i have been waiting for since my Manaka and Hikari ship isn’t sailing well.
thats right! I want the original casts/the main casts to appear again and enjoy their attics. Sadly due to the time skips we couldnt watch any of those raging-hormones emos…i’ve always wanted to see how the young teens(sea kiddos and tsumugu) coping up with their desires. But thanks to le Sea God and all the hibernation, we’re watching Sayu and Miuna’s instead. And that aint fun. Meh :\
Damn you sea god why you gotta be a b*** like that!!
and yeah i do want to see more of the main cast i did watch this series because of them -.- so hopefully less drag more getting to the point.
If you watch carefully after Miuna falls into the sea she /gains/ ena. The salt flakes drift past then a shimmer passes across her skin. She didn’t have it all her life, she was granted it just then. Remember what was said in early days? Ena isn’t just a genetic thing, it’s a gift granted by the Sea God, and its been given to her.
I’m of the opinion that Miuna received Ena as a gift granted by Manaka to keep her from drowning because that would make Hikari sad.
Manaka for Sea Goddess!
I for one thought the exchanges between Hikari and Miuna were pretty funny but only in a brother/sister kind of way. Seemed like more of that family teasing versus romantic flirting. Did you guys notice how Hikari just changed out of Tsumugu’s old uniform and threw it in Miuna’s face because he wasn’t embarrassed to be in his underwear around her– just like how you treat family, not love interests? Also, maybe this was Hikari being mature… but I think if he saw Miuna romantically, then he would’ve ran after her when he saw her crying? To be fair he does ‘go after her’ when he realizes where she would be, but he didn’t really seem like he was in a rush.
Also my heart dropped when I thought Hikari was going to get crushed. He can’t die like that right after waking up for a couple days! Lol
Pretty excited for Kaname’s return– and lol at the fact he’s staying with Tsumugu and Chisaki. Well this won’t be awkward at all.
Captain YOLO’s back!
This episode needed more Chisaki but at least we got plenty of Hikari. At any rate,I’d much rather see how things roll from Chisaki’s perspective instead of Miuna’s.
Ikr?? I would really prefer to hear her side of the story on how she lived and coped with life in the other side and i want know if she developed any feelings living with Tsumugu but now Kaname is back so hopefully things will change from now on :]
I have a strong feeling that eventually, Kaname is going to break down in fears. Bottling all his emotions up… It’s not going to end well.
If Kaname cries, I will flood my house.
I want Kaname, even if Chisaki doesn’t -w- ahaha, he’s so awesome!
I’m just glad Sayu voiced out her frustration of being a lamppost to Miuna x Hikari.
Sayu, you don’t have to be a lamppost anymore! Go chase your beloved Kaname…
I think the problem with our impressions of both Miuna and Sayu is that so many anime characters in their teens are mature and wise and heroic (like hikari kind of)that we think characters who actually act like angst and hormone ridden teenagers are acting outside the norm. how many of us did REALLY stupid shit at 14 cause we had a crush? I can’t defend their actions, but neither can I defend my own looking back
I wonder how Kaname react when he sees chisaki and tsumugu ugghhh i hate waiting i wanna see it already D; But i sort of like ChisakiXTsumugu even though I was shipping with hikari at first, though i know it wouldn’t happen but then kaname confessed and i was like D;
Well, this was a good episode, for us Hikari x Miuna shippers, but still when we got to the part where Hikari was afraid that Miuna might out grow him and she said “then you can have my milk, too”, I feel ashamed for thinking this, but I’m sure I was not the only one in my mind that just went “if you know what I mean, ehehe *wink wink nudge nudge*”. No but seriously, they need to get together and get married, the chemistry between the two seems so natural and good!
And I’m wondering when Miuna got her ena, maybe it’s because Manaka became the sea god’s wife or she became the sea goddesses and she saved Miuna by giving her ena or something? Just speculations but it’s a possible explanation.