A Lull in the Sea

Alt title: Nagi no Asu kara

TV (26 eps)
2013 - 2014
Fall 2013
3.946 out of 5 from 13,047 votes
Rank #1,259

Long ago, humans lived in the sea. However, some humans defied the Sea God and moved to the land, creating the division that now exists between Shioshishio, the Sea Village, and Oshiooshi, the village of the land. Now, four middle school students from the Sea Village, Manaka Mukaido, Hikari Sakishima, Chisaki Hiradaira, and Kaname Isaki must attend Mihama Middle School on the surface. While getting used to their new lives, these four and their new friend from the surface, Tsumugu Kihara, learn how true bonds of love and friendship can overcome any separation.

Source: NIS America

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In Between the Sea and the Land

Episode 1

In Between the Sea and the Land

The Chilly Desert

Episode 2

The Chilly Desert

The Tradition of the Sea

Episode 3

The Tradition of the Sea

Because We're Friends

Episode 4

Because We're Friends

Hey, Sea Slug

Episode 5

Hey, Sea Slug

Beyond Tomoebi

Episode 6

Beyond Tomoebi

The Ofunehiki Shakes

Episode 7

The Ofunehiki Shakes

Beyond the Wavering Feelings

Episode 8

Beyond the Wavering Feelings

Unknown Warmth

Episode 9

Unknown Warmth

The Saltflake Snow Falls and Falls

Episode 10

The Saltflake Snow Falls and Falls

The Changing Times

Episode 11

The Changing Times

I Want to be Kind

Episode 12

I Want to be Kind

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Reviews

Raynabananas
6

Summary Nagi no Asukara (aka Nagi-Asu) is based in a semi-fantasy world. Humans used to live upon the ocean floor but there were a curious few who decided to leave and see the surface. Some stayed and lived there. As time went on, the surface people and the sea people became separated and usually had nothing to do with each other. However, the story begins when Nami Junior High School shuts down and the remaining students had to go and study in a school at the surface. Our 14-year-old protagonists undergo many differences to their relationships and surroundings, and have to learn to cope with them and understand whether things really do "change" or not. Story - 7/10 The anime's primary genre is romance, however the story is pretty much about how friendships are tested because of feelings developed for characters. If you want hardcore romance, you won't be getting that from this anime. The story revolves around relationships and characters changing. How everyone deals and copes. The story to me was unique in a sense that we had a sea people civilisation upon the ocean floors and their lifestyle is completely different to the surface. At the beginning of the anime, the idea of racism is involved but is not a primary theme as that topic dies down after the first few episodes. The anime really begins to take shape in the middle. My only issue was that the plot beat around the bush at times and some parts I felt were important werent really delved into as much. I was nearing the end of the anime and felt so many things weren't concluding and as expected, some things had closure in the very last episode and other things were left ambiguous (which I hate, but I know some people love.) While certain aspects were unpredictable, others were super predictable. How some relationships were shaped, however, for me felt they were kind of awkward and nearly out-of-the-blue. You would expect some kind of foreshadowing but then you just get this sudden moment and you're like, "What the hell?" Animation & Sound - 8/10 I'm putting these two together because they shared the same score and they're both pretty much about technical things. I gave them an 8 because I loved how fluid everything seemed. I was in love with the sea people's blue eyes, they were just so pretty so see because they seemed like they reflected the ocean. The scenery was excellent and characters' expressions were so nicely conveyed. The sounds were good too in a sense that sea waves had such nice dynamics and when I had my headphones on, I felt there was a hint of surround sound happening. Very good technicalities. This aspect of the anime was my favourite. Characters - 5/10 What the animation & sound cannot make up for, however, are the characters. I suppose I'm just being biased or probably denying the point of the anime, but most of the characters pissed me off so much. They irritated me so much that I wanted to slam my whole body into the wall out of frustration. Hikari at first annoyed me but he had the best character development. You could see his personality shaping up and he was becoming more open and accepting. I was fine with him by the end of the series, but I just wished the conclusion for his character was something else other than what was done in the story. Other characters like Kaname and Tsumugu I felt were verging on 1-Dimensional as there were times where they had their key moments but they weren't enough to satisfy me and I felt they could have so much more. I just felt like they were characters that were just simply there for the plot and weren't actually explored. Same goes with Sayu and Miuna. I had mixed feelings for Chisaki on the other hand, I wasn't too sure about her or her character. They didn't have any kind of foreshadowing over her character in the second half of the anime and it felt super rushed. On the other hand, Manaka is by far the most annoying heroine I've ever witnessed in anime in the past couple of years of my anime-watching. She had some character development at the very end but throughout the entire series, I just wanted to her to go away. Honestly, I just felt the characters were just your typical cliched love-circle personalities that I just simply hate. You have the cutesy cry baby girl and you have the head-strong, stubborn male protagonist. You have the boy that everyone thinks is so kind and you have the aloof guy. It just felt like a character template that everyone else was using. While I apologise to some as they may have actually liked the characters and thought their character development was good, I was just too busy crying my eyes out in anger as I watched these characters go about their lives, aggravating me in the process. Was this the point of the anime? Possibly.  Overall (Personal Opinions) - 6/10 It's been a while since I watched an anime that delved into the story that really is moderately paced and is really to do with characters' relationships. But I think I'm ready to head back to action and a faster-paced anime because I realise such animes just make me feel frustrated. The point is, the characters aren't supposed to be perfect and you can't expect such characters to be loveable all the time. But I would prefer to associate myself with imperfect characters and possibly sympathising with them, not hate their guts. I just couldn't associate myself with any character at all so everything they did, I just felt angry. If you're the kind of viewer who likes romance animes that explore two characters, developing their own relationship, this isn't for you. But go ahead and watch this if you enjoy complicated relationships and semi-drama. --- Note: I understand there are those who don't agree with my opinions and that's okay because we all watch something with a different experience of it. I apologise if you feel angry reading my review but please note that it's just becase of different opinions, feelings, experiences and associations. Thank you for reading my review! ^_^

duchessliz
8

  Long ago, all humans lived in the ocean. But some who longed for the land abandoned the ocean, casting off the special raiments granted to them by the sea god to adapt them to life under the sea... Though mankind was divided into sea dwellers and land dwellers, each with different ways of thinking, they were all still fellow humans, and they continued to maintain contact as time went on. Due to the closure of their school four young teenagers from under the sea are sent to attend school on land. Sakishima Hikari, Mukaido Manaka, Hiradaira Chisaki, and Isaki Kaname live in an undersea village, while Kihara Tsumugu lives on land. As these middle school second years meet for the first time they attempt to understand one another and their differences as they try to get along. When things in the sea suddenly start to change the four teens relationships begin to change in the wake of what is to come ... The youthful fantasy tale of these young people's lives unfolds in a strange and beautiful world. As a P.A Works production I simply knew it was going to be beautiful. . .and it was! Breathtakingly gorgeous animation that often made me pause watching just to admire the beauty of it! The soundtrack was also incredible! I absolutely LOVED the music choices! And the VA's did an amazing job! The plot was also very unique and not at all what I expected when I went into this ... I was thinking mermaids or some such shit but, I got something completely different and was pleasantly surprised at how well it was carrried out! I've never really dealt with drama well so I was kind of turned off by that but I still loved how things were put together. I even got teary eyed several times! The characters were amazingly well done with each character growing before you as the anime progressed. As they struggle with their feelings and what's going on in their lives you watch them fully develop right before your eyes. Overall I started this anime because it was by P.A Works and I adore their animation, but in the end I completely fell in love, not just with the animation but with the whole package! Nagi no Asukara was a wonderful surprise! Very glad I watched it!  

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