Opening Songs
OP 1 - Lull ~Soshite Bokura Wa~ (Ray)
OP 2 - Ebb And Flow (Ray)
Ending Songs
ED 1 - Aqua Terrarium (Nagi Yanagi)
ED 2 - Mitsuba No Musubime (Nagi Yanagi)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Romance
Episodes: 26
Its when an anime tries something different where things start to get interesting. "Nagi No Asakura" immediately strikes us with something new...at least it struck ME with something I've never seen before. I mean, high school romance or middle school romance is already something we've seen 101 times already, throwing in an unfamiliar element or two might switch things up a bit, and that's why the concept of an underwater world works so well here. But because its something different it turns some viewers off immediately, but sticking with "Nagi No Asukara" really pays off. It rewards viewers with a brilliant story about love, conflict, drama, and how differences can break or change someone. Brilliant characters carry the overall story through, and everything shapes up into a beautiful picture at the very end. Though as I said, you'll really need to stick with it to the end.
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| Life under the sea isn't as easy as it seems. |
The first opening song is "Lull ~Soshite Bokura Wa~ " by Ray. I liked Ray's "Rakuen Project", the opening in "To Love Ru Darkness", but that one had a slightly faster tempo. Ray's songs in "Nagi No Asukara" are a lot slower and have a more soothing feel to them. "Lull ~Soshite Bokura Wa~ " gives off that feel nicely, and so does the second opening song, "Ebb And Flow", which is also by Ray. "Ebb And Flow" gives off a better feel for an anime like "Nagi No Asukara" though.
The ending themes are both by Nagi Yanagi, which are a great fit since she sings some really good slow paced songs. The first ending theme "Aqua Terrarium" does that nicely, it gives that soothing feel when we listen to it, just like the sea. The second ending theme is "Mitsuba No Musubime ", which is kind of the same thing, but isn't as good as "Aqua Terrarium".
Rating: 8.0/10
If you're willing to stick with the unfamiliar premise of an underwater world and characters that can live underwater, its going to pay off in a bit. The story is great, though it only heats up and gets really interesting after the first half of the show. The first half is more of an introductory phase while the second half is where things get real. There's conflicting emotions within each character, and needless to say, the main cast itself is pretty strong in terms of their character. Almost every character has a good deal of character development here, and seeing how they interact with one another as things intensify between them is always interesting. There's a lot of romance and emotional impact here, so if you like that stuff, you're going to have your fill here provided you stick to the end. With great characters and a promising story, its hard to not get engrossed in the whole thing.
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| They won't have it so easy for long. |
The story focuses on four teenagers that live in the underwater town known as Shioshishio. Hikari, Kaname, Chisaki and Manaka are 4 best friends that have stuck together since they were young, and recently, their middle school in Shioshishio closed down, forcing them to move to the surface world to continue their education. Unfortunately, Hikari, being the undersea lover that he is, refuses to wear the uniform of a school up on the surface, and he manages to persuade Kaname and Chisaki into it as well. On their first day to their new life on the surface, Manaka is caught by a fishing net, and meets a surface boy known as Tsumugu. Manaka starts to admire him and looks at the surface world a little bit differently. Luck has it that Tsumugu is in the same class as Hikari and gang when they enroll into the academy. While the other surface kids look down on the underwater kids, Tsumugu stands up for them. This intensifies the hatred between the surface and those living in Shioshisio...
"Nagi No Asukara" is really something that you'll need to stick to the end for. Its full of feels, that's for sure, and it won't stop letting up. You'll grow attached to the characters, and everyone gets a piece of the pie. It also ends magnificently, though things could have gotten a little bit better for our two main protagonists. Everything still works out in the end though, and as a complete package, "Nagi No Asukara" serves really well for fans of the romance or drama genre.
Peace.
