First Impressions / Nagi no Asukara

「デトリタス」 (Detoritasu)
“Detritus”

I think we are all forgetting the real victim in all of this; his name is Akira.

Though I haven’t said much of anything about Akira and Akari recently, I just wanted to point out how much I’ve liked them and their mother-child relationship in the background for some time before getting to the meat of things. It’s probably no secret that I adore Kaori Nazuka’s work, and while this season her character has had very little screen time, I enjoy seeing these little moments of every day life beyond the dramatic nature of Nagi. Akari and her family really are the epitome of “life goes on” when it seems otherwise to the sea kiddos, and I admire the ability of the series to portray this juxtaposition even in little glimpses like this. Akira is a pretty believable little teenybopper, mischievous and running around causing little troubles everywhere, and it’s moments like his infatuation with Manaka and Akari’s attempt to humor him that add to this pretty realistic dynamic of a family beyond all the watermelon tears of Miuna and Akari’s relationship in the first half.

But as always, drama is king in this series, and there are plenty of those tears to go around. If you’ve been watching the pretty obvious signs, it’s clear that Chisaki and Tsumugu were bound to eventually go somewhere, and it’s clear that Chisaki’s circumstances were bound to confuse her. I don’t particularly like the way Tsumugu assumed and pulled Chisaki into a hug like he did (even if she was obvious, it is a matter of respecting her wishes and confusion), but the point was made. Since before the time skip, there has been something there, and Tsumugu felt the spark even if Chisaki pretended otherwise. However, that makes things harder for her now that she is forced to face the fact that she has to move on from her childhood. She even considers running away, by becoming the new sacrifice no less; I suppose she imagines that in becoming the sacrifice she can pause her growth while the others grow to her age, eliminating the uncomfortable change. Whether or not that is foreshadowing I couldn’t say, but I could certainly see someone taking the Ojoshi’s place, and not necessarily Manaka.

In that capacity, I don’t think Hikari is wrong to be wary. As much as the other’s tell him to be more optimistic and to fight, the thing is that he already has a pretty bad experience to go off of. Yes, this time they are using a wooden Ojoshi-sama and not a live sacrifice like Akari, but even so, the fears are very much justified. This is a good example of learning from experience; after all, if you hit a stone wall with your bare fist you learn you won’t break it no matter how many times you hit it; in that case it’s smarter to think of new ways to break down the wall. It’s also true that perseverance is important, but it’s at least understandable to see why Hikari would hesitate now to repeat his experiences.

Last but not least, there is Kaname and Sayu. Shippers are probably having a field day now that at least two pairings are starting to formulate, but what I found most gratifying was seeing Kaname cry. He has always been too mature for his age, and while that’s not necessarily a fault, it’s good to see that he’s a kid like any other from time to time, and that he can show it openly. It’s good to see the kiddo catch a break, but I don’t see Sayu (or any of the characters) as “consolation prizes” for anybody. People aren’t prizes awarded for exemplary suffering or good nature on the part of others; he and everyone in this series deserves happiness, but I’m happy to see Sayu step up and claim that happiness at least a little at a time on her own. If she wasn’t there, I think Kaname would have been fine too, but the important part of this relationship, I feel, is that Sayu brought out that hidden pain of Kaname’s and forced him to face his feelings, just as all the other kiddos have been forced to do on this long road to heartbreak.

Note: Apologies for the late post, I have just finished midterms as of yesterday and have been fighting with my internet since arriving home for spring break.

 

Preview

46 Comments

  2. Miuna: “The least I can do for Hikari who has feelings for Manaka… is to make sure that Hikari doesn’t find out about my feelings.”

    Uh oh, Hikari is going to find out about her feelings, this basically confirmed it.

    Cerulean
    Reply

  3. With only 2 more episodes to go, I’ll say this now. No matter who ends up with who, we a’re in for one hell of a ride, and I for one, have my butt placed firmly in the front row seat of this feels-coaster.

    HazeItr
    Reply

  6. Hey, Kairi, i can’t help but be amused as to how you and Enzo are on the opposite sides with this episode. while he bemoaned the series’ supposed derailment for not focusing on the social environmental issues, you praised its decision to zoom in anbd stick to the interpersonal relationships that are going on in the center of these (a view that i actually share).

    i kind the agree with him though that the way the development in tsumugu’s and chisaki’s relationship was a bit problematic. not that the episode itself was particularly bad with it, but i wish they could have spread out some of chisaki’s flashbacks here to earlier episodes to give this one something more solid to stand on. prior to this, their relationship was presented in a too subtle manner, so the sudden overtness can be hard to follow at times.

    flamerounin
    Reply

    1. I haven’t read Ezno-senpai’s review yet, but that’s interesting. I can see where he’s coming from though. I had a few issues with the confession, per say, but I don’t bemoan the details here if only because I feel like it’s been kind of obvious since the first half that there was something there. Some development would have been nice, but I could definitely see it coming as it is.

      Kairi
      Reply

    2. If only the interpersonal relationships were better done…

      To sum it up,too many things happened for convenience’s sake & not enough details being shown that would make viewers appreciate the romantic developments. Also,this next one isn’t exactly an objective issue since I’m sure many people love such characters but I don’t really like how the characters are trying to be such paragons of virtue – it’s taken to the extreme. The fact that most of them are kids makes it even harder to take seriously. They try to be as selfless as they can and when they fail,melodrama ensues and they hardly learn from their failures.

      Now,these issues were actually present from the very start but I suppose that those among us who haven’t been very fond of NagiAsu as of late subconsciously directed our attention at the other aspects of the series(even if they were only side dishes) since we found them to be the better part of it(at least that’s how it is for me). Now that there’s not much of that anymore,there’s nothing to cover up for the not-so-tasty main course that is the romance.

      MgMaster
      Reply

    3. @Kairi
      that’s probably why i am also not that perturbed by the way the events unfolded, i clearly see the convenience, but i was also well aware from the start that it would come to this.

      @MgMaster
      That;s why, right from the start, i made sure to distance myself a bit from the romance aspects (no shipping is my rule when watching these shows). helps me see the flaws more clearly and weigh them against the better parts. and by that, NagiAsu is still a solid show for me. they are actually handling the interpersonal relationships a lot better than what Golden Time (the other thursday series i watch) is currently dishing out.

      also, outside of this particular part (and again, i very well recognize that this is a problematic part), i still find chisaki’s character arc an interesting one to follow. i actually detest her indecisiveness and bouts of immaturity, but that’s also what i find interesting. same goes with the other characters, i don’t like how they act, but they are still catching my interest nonetheless (that’s another of my personal rule: no such thing as a “favorite character” )

      flamerounin
      Reply

      1. That;s why, right from the start, i made sure to distance myself a bit from the romance aspects

        And that,IMO,is a major flaw in itself. What’s mainly a romance show should make the viewers yearn for romance,not try to distract themselves from it. I realized a few weeks ago that NagiAsu actually did a good job at hiding it’s flaws in it’s 1st half by offering us something else besides romance and I actually wouldn’t have minded to be ‘distracted’ by it’s environment & racial issues until the end but that was tossed aside in favor of letting Okada off the leash.

        For me it was something like: “Okay,the romance aspect of this anime clearly isn’t that good but it has other things going for it so I’ll look forward to that more.”
        A few eps in it’s 2nd half: “Okaaay,I can’t look forward to how it tackles it’s environment & racial issues much anymore either since they’re apparently not given much attention.”

        Still,it’s way better than Golden Time,a series that I’d usually drop but I got past it’s 2nd half and decided to see it through. Can’t wait to be done with that one…2 weeks,just 2 weeks more…

        I know I’ve been a bit harsh with NagiAsu in this post and I certainly don’t hate it or anything as it’s still a decent anime. I am,however,disappointed since it could’ve been more.It couldn’t provide very good romance but it still had a chance to be a really good show,but it threw that away too.

        MgMaster
        Reply

      2. @MgMaster
        “And that,IMO,is a major flaw in itself. What’s mainly a romance show should make the viewers yearn for romance,not try to distract themselves from it. ”

        No, what i meant with distancing myself a bit is that i don’t get too overly attached with it and go into shipping mode with all the attached character myopia. like i said, it’s a personal rule of mine when watching any romance anime. helps me appreciate the love story (read: “love”, not “romance”) better outside of the “feels” thing. and by that, i do find NagiAsu’s love stories actually good, except, of course, how this particular plotline unfolded (sayu’s and kaname’s scene actually gave a nice contrast to this).

        In the case of Golden Time (they only have one episode left, btw), even that space for impartial appreciation i gave myself was taken away by the 12th episode. plot threads just kept disappearing and reappearing for me to really gain that better appreciation for how the relationships develop. one particularly egregious example was that annoying Linda-Mitsuo-Chinami triangle that appeared out of nowhere just to disappear again in a single episode. (heck, i can’t help but notice how Kaito Ishikawa’s role here as tsumugu is given a more consistent presence then his role as Mitsuo in GT, considering that tehy are both main characters. mitsuo’s appearances in GT feels like it was purely done for plot convenience).

        flamerounin
        Reply

    4. Well in honestly the racism issue was tackled in the 1st cour. Land and Sea dwellers pretty much have reached a mutual understanding even if they aren’t on the best terms. Sea folks and Land folks interact with each other a lot in the second cour. The environmental aspect wasn’t going to be huge since even the first cour already said that it would actually take a very long time.

      Also, I’ve lost interest in Enzo’s reviews as of late. I used to follow him a lot but recently his views depart from mine quite a bit now. He focuses on inane things and can’t resist his stabs at Okada. He derided Miuna when she was nearly universally loved character. When everyone was seeing a timeskip, he was so against it. Most of his reviews are just self-fulfilling prophecies. It’s like he knows that it will be a failure already.

      forger
      Reply

      1. yes, it was obvious from the moment that Uroko-sama said in the first half that the freezing of the world won’t be happening for the next couple hundreds of years (which made it look more like a natural cycle in this world than an all-out “end of the world” scenario) that this particular element would be more of a background event. he even re-emphasized it in the second half.

        and in retrospect, the “racism” tackled wasn’t even racism at all. if you look closely, there was no such things as “you sea dwellers/landies are inferior to us” being thrown against each other. they even showed that on the city itself, sea dwellers were treated equally. it is actually more like just firction between the landies and the sea-dwellers in that particular community. now, it looks like it was us the audience who made it overblown by labeling it as racism.

        with respects to Enzo, he did give praises to Okada. but i do find it a bit odd that he is taking it all out against the show just for the way that tsumugu’s and chisaki’s confessions unfolded, which, honestly, is more of them not providing the necessary flashbacks earlier, than the plot thread being shoddily developed.

        flamerounin
        Reply

  8. Woot Sayu! You go girl! 😀

    (And to think there was this guy who was dismissing Sayu’s chances a few weeks ago by claiming Kaname doesn’t regard her as he merely patted her on the head like a dog. What’s he got to say now? :3 )

    Poor Kaname has always felt passive, even when he makes the move, it’s always dependent on their respective responses. Thus his frustration and loneliness at these missing 5 years, and finally Sayu is there to provide a shoulder for him to lean on.

    Now that Kaname’s heart is sorted out, all that’s left is for Tsumugu to sort out Chisaki’s, who knows deep down inside her heart that she has moved on from Hikari to Tsugumu, but is unwilling to let go because of Manaka, assuming that Manaka still likes Tsumugu.

    Thus to untangle it all, whereas before he seemed rather lukewarm about Hikari’s pleas to help him, Tsumugu is now fully on-board to free Manaka from her love-limbo, and in turn freeing everyone else’s as well.

    That leaves poor Miuna, who is resigned to letting Manaka have Hikari, but I just have the feeling Hikari would find out her feelings despite her best attempts to hide them at the very last moment. o.O

    Finally, the Sea God was pretty fired up when he smelled a live offering 5 years ago, surely a wooden offering, even with Manaka’s pendant as bait, wouldn’t be as effective? Who will he take this time? Miuna? Or even Chisaki, who, to Tsumugu’s horror, contemplated offering herself?

    echykr
    Reply

  9. Tsumugu’s “I know you like me” sort of ruined his very poetic confession from the last episode. It also felt a little out of character. For the past 5 years, Tsumugu always supported Chisaki by giving her the time and opportunity to overcome her problems herself. When he actively helped her, he made it so she wouldn’t notice it (e.g. the plum juice scene). On the other hand, the damage was already done when she overheard his confession, so perhaps he decided that this was for the best.

    Anon
    Reply

    2. “I know you like me” might be a little harsh and I don’t think it was translated like that. The wording is very important because it exerts and emphasize certain feeling. So two different sentences which have the same meaning might give off different vibes. It might seems a little pushy coming from Tsumugu but he still gave her an option when he said “If it was a misunderstanding, then I’ll let you go.” All she has to do is to say “yes, it was a misunderstanding,” and that will be it. But she had a huge reaction, she felt exposed to whatever she was keeping in and ran away.

      Nina
      Reply

      1. Yes,I totally agree. Wordings are important and I’m pretty sure it just got translated that way. Who knows…maybe half the things we read are not translated right!!!Man, lets just learn Japanese,guys.lol

        berrish17
        Reply

  10. Kinda surprised how i like this episode better than the rest. Perhaps it is because Kaname and Sayu finally gonna be together after this XD Being in the side line really did a harsh beating on Kaname, not to mentioned he lost the frozen 5 years to Tsumugu; he was also lonely inside. Glad he’s willing to change his perspective and moving on. 🙂

    That aside, Chisaki really plays the tragic heroine’s role perfectly. I know Chisaki is trying hard for not accepting the word “change” in her dictionary, she doesnt want to change no matter what; and ironically she fits it perfectly in this series, which happened physically and mentally after 5 years. And her indecisive attitude towards her feelings also cost a lot pending in this anime…sigh…good thing Kaname found his solace ^^

    And gosh, cant believe how kakoii Tsumugu became after these episodes! Even Hikari looks kinda pathetic with his doubts against Tsumugu’s plans. I though he was more hyped up getting Manaka’s feelings back. :/ Even Miuna trying hard to help Manaka while dealing with her emotions! I think im gonna love Tsumugu even better after this! He is a proud man!

    Chisaki is an idiot if she still lying to herself for keeping her crush on Hikari. Time to move on girl! Thats what Kaname is trying to tell you, no one will blame you if you decided to change. All in all, i cant imagine how Okada-sensei gonna wrap this series with all its enigmas. Hopefully it turns out worthwhile after all the dramas and the unpredictable emotional rides.

    onion warrior
    Reply

    1. Originally posted by onion warrior: “Perhaps it is because Kaname and Sayu finally gonna be together after this”

      I love how this sounds. Effing finally!!! A ship got to its destination!!
      Oh. I’m so happy, I’ll literally explode out of joy.

      Helvetica Standard
      Reply

  11. Kaname is free from the NTR! Tsumugu did what all NTRers do, they force themselves on the woman, I thought Chisaki wouldn’t push him away and I would’ve lost all respect for her at that moment, but she didn’t and I’m proud of her for it.

    Stop giving me feels Akira! There should be a law against levels of cuteness. Akira is overpowered, I hereby sentence Akira to the eternal hugs prison!

    magoiichi
    Reply

    2. this was the point i was trying to make a few weeks ago. He shouldn’t have expected anything from the situation they were forced into. I’m rooting for him, but i saw that rejection coming. Chisaki gained major points with me because of it.

      Synic
      Reply

  13. Kaname’s sad face was only up when the other 3 were not looking, and Sayu’s role here might help him finally move forward. I have to say that watching Nagi no Asakura still hurts my feelings..

    I am back to the episode where Kaname abruptly asks Hikari who he loves in the class room, Hikari confesses to Manaka, Hikari runs after Manaka, Chisaki runs after Hikari.. and Kaname stays there. That to me was the climax of this whole series and the fact that this is not concluded yet hurts me even more.

    I love Kaname and Sayu but I still believe that Chisaki owes Kaname an answer. He still confessed to her in front of her parents (like a man) and every now and then drops the let’s go out together bomb, but never once has she given him an answer, and I believe that is not fair. If the series does not provide me an answer to ChisakixKaname I will be very sad and dissappointed. No matter what ship is shipped, I believe there are things that need answers.

    Hikari owes Manaka a confession, Manaka owes Hikari an answer, Tsumugu needs an answer from Chisaki, Manaka needs to tell Tsumugu how she felt (if there was any), Chisaki needs to sort her feelings for Hikari, Kaname needs to confront Chisaki, Chisaki needs to answer Kaname, Chisaki needs to answer Tsumugu.. if those are not sorted, I will be utterly dissapointed with the feels ride this show has given me..

    Mm many thanks for your post 🙂 M.

    Mi-Chan
    Reply

    1. but kaname already has the answer right there. chisaki practically told him that she is already deeply in love with Tsumugu. that’s why the poor guy finally let it all out, cause he already got that answer he was waiting for from chisaki.

      flamerounin
      Reply

    2. @Mi-Chan I think Manaka did tell Tsumugu what she felt. Remember the ‘you’re the sun’ conversation just before the Ofunehiki? I think that was the complicated equivalent of a rejection , so to speak. And how can she possibly give Hii-kun an answer if she doesn’t even remember what she told the sea slug?

      Aki-Chan
      Reply

  14. Chisaki was animated wonderfully… chubby? when Tsumugu embraced her. I don’t know how else to express it, but I liked it…

    And about time Kaname caught a break. It helps that Sayu’s probably just as smart as he is at this point.

    Jacked
    Reply

  15. The fact that the only picture in the preview is the sea means that something big will happen next episode.
    And also , I realise Chisaki’s attitude is rather annoying, as this seems to be one of the rare cases where putting someone else first actually hurts more people than if she just accepted her own feelings and put those first. . . , but it seems rather obvious that she’s been dealing with a very strong ‘Survivor’s guilt’ so to speak. One of the rare cases where putting someone else first actually hurts more people than if she just accepted her own feelings and put those first. I doubt that something like that is easy to get over. No wonder she thought it’d be a relief to not have the ability to love. In any case , it is a bit unfair to just…dismiss her or be that angry at her.

    Aki-Chan
    Reply

    1. Not really, Chisaki’s actions are perfectly normal, in fact, she is the character more real for me… I had the opportunity to meet people like her, and I also don’t like people like that, but it’s interesting to see this in an anime character.

      She is extremely insecure. Not admit her feelings for fear, fear of change and I don’t blame her for that. Think about it, you get away from your friends and parents for five years, even though they are not dead, but at the same time not knowing when you would see them again. When your friends come back, you are already an adult and they are still children, and there is all those things were not resolved when you were children. How would you react? Psychologically she’s a mess and the anime shows it perfectly. She one of the best characters in this anime in my opinion just for acting like a real person.

      vane
      Reply

      1. I think you somewhat misunderstood my point. I did mention that I get why some viewers may be annoyed at her, but I was agreeing with you. Hence my use of the term ‘Survivor’s guilt’ to describe her

        Aki-Chan
        Reply

    1. They would end the show at 25, an odd number. That makes no sense, they’d end at 26 most likely. First 13 episodes was the first season, the last 13 will be the second season.

      magoiichi
      Reply

  17. Little by little as all of them shares their feelings for each other Manaka is slowly hearing waves of water and it’s getting stronger she’s starting to wonder what love is.

    Chisaki should be more true to herself she knows she loves Tsumugu but she’s trying to hold on the past and that she needs to tell herself that she only love Hikari. tsk tsk i feel sorry for her she suffered a lot and i could totally understand her but at some point she needs a wake up call.

    Miuna is only torturing herself by distancing herself from Hikari let your feelings be heard you’ll be happy YOLO.

    Sayu finally broke into Kaname’s walls she’s the type of girl who can change lives.

    Mina
    Reply

  19. This is probably the first episode since Manaka woke up where she actually talks about her feelings and other people’s feeling so openly and on comparable equal footing. It’s like, for a while she’s been treated more as a subject but now she’s having these conversations about herself and everybody else so it feels like she’s finally a part of the gang again. I mean, at least the viewers know how she’s doing, and it looks more like the Sea God just took away her memories of who she loved and not necessarily forgetting the concept of it, so speculation on what it’s meant on her not being able to love is cleared up.

    I thought it was getting a tad egregious in how many indirect revelations happened from people spying on other people’s conversations. Kaname hearing what may as well be Chisaki contemplating suicide is expected, but now Sayu was there too further down the hall? I can’t take it anymore! It’s either people are running away from love confessions or overhearing other people’s problems that aren’t their business.

    The truth is in the axe
    Reply

  21. No moment has made me more dramatic and, be like, “so totally relate, man” than the moment Kaname lost his facade and cried out his true feelings for probably the first time… Never have I ever liked Sayu this much for bringing it out ..

    Red HeartGold ZX
    Reply

  22. “A lull in the sea” is the perfect subtitle for this show. Just when everything hits critical mass at the Ofunehiki, a massive lull puts everything on hold and dams up everything. Now that time has begun to move forward, the psychological effects on everyone is creating probably the best characters this season. Truly an exceptional use and execution of a time-skip. The subtleness of everything is almost an excellent poetic metaphor compared to the sea, which I think can also be described as subtle.

    J_the_Man
    Reply

  23. Told you Chisaki was already in love with him. It was fairly obvious since episode 9. Kaname noticed Chisaki “only made those faces” for Tsumugu. Her stubborness to believe her feelings for Hikari were anything more than a fleeting puppy crush she attached herself to because she was afraid to change was plain in the insight. Kaname made jealous faces only towards Tsumugu and his reactions to Chisaki holding him while she ignored blatantly everyone else in episode 13 gave more honesty in what she truly felt than any of her shallow pretenses of loving Hikari. Now the feelings grew in 5 years of his company, the result was obvious.

    It’s up to her now if she wants to be happy or not. Kaname shed his unhealthy fixation with the past and had decided to be happy at last. I’m proud of him.

    Durga
    Reply

    1. A part of me agrees with Mi-Chan, no matter what though, even if Kaname has shed his tears, I would like Chisaki to acknowledge Kaname one way or the other, if not as a lover, he still deserves the answer he needs. I never liked those girls irl, I’ve seen many hopeless good men confess to girls and never get answers.. the reality of life is that you never move on without a closure, so even if the anime Kaname moves on, this will still hurt. Yes, chisaki has gone through 5 years of change, but let’s not forget that to Kaname this change was not there when he slept but is there when he woke up..

      I can’t see Chisaki being a ‘poor girl’ in all of this, her life moved on, she left her friends behind, but all she cares about seems to be herself lately.. hardly there’s any notice to Manaka or Kaname if it is not Hikari, I don’t know.. I love this show but this is continuously tiresome..

      Hopeless
      Reply

      1. Chisaki notices Manaka more than she notices Hikari. She’s always had this weird Manaka complex since the beginning. She likes the way Hikari treats Manaka and notices Tsumugu because Manaka has noticed him first. She fears not being rejected by Hikari, if you actually recall her lines in the last episodes of the first half, but that their relationships will change. She’s paralyzed by her phobia of changing and deeply traumatized because her life changed abruptly one night when she was 14 where she lost everything. During that event, she blatantly displayed her preference and feelings for Tsumugu (that embrace) which obviously made her feel guilty as the years passed.

        She does think about herself, but she’s not doing this on purpose, she’s trying to be kind with Manaka who she surely believes loves Tsumugu and must feel like a “backstabbing bitch” for nabbing him while she was sleeping. Remember she didn’t witness the moments Hikari and Manaka shared as the viewer did. Manaka tried to get her hook up with Hikari to make it worse.

        It’s a combination of all these elements: her guilt for taking Tsumugu, the survivor complex, the fear of change, and her own mental instability. She needs to cope with this and I suspect she will soon.

        Durga
        Reply

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