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Old 03-07-2014, 02:26 PM   #76
Talon87
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First post to reply to since Episode 14. Sadly the only post, and there won't be another until 22, but here goes!
Quote:
Originally Posted by big bad birtha View Post
I've been keeping up with this show. Just nothing to say I guess. I have been enjoying the show a bit more lately though. There hasn't been as much annoying melodrama, so it has been alot more interesting.
What would you define as melodrama? What would be two examples of melodrama from Episode 13 prior and what would be one example of melodrama from Episodes 14 thru 20? I know that you tend to not like what you identify as "melodrama" in series, but based on past series the impression I've gotten of what it takes to classify something as melodramatic for you is such that ... well, that Nagi no Asukara has been "melodramatic" even more in the second half in the first half. That's why I'm asking.

Quote:
Originally Posted by big bad birtha View Post
Episode 20 spoilers:
Spoiler: show
Last week's episode was a 20 minute long Chisaki moe fest, which was still interesting. I kind of forgot what all went on, but I liked it.

This week's episode was okay. I figured Manaka would stay asleep until the last episode. The highlight of this episode would have to be Manaka's goofy "Eh?". I wonder when they'll kill her off? She woke up early, and I'm sure they'll milk alot more drama out of her.
Response: (Episode 20 spoilers)

Spoiler: show
Yeah, I'd have to agree. I enjoyed 20 just fine up until that scene, but my enjoyment was around the "8/10 Very Good, 9/10 Great if I'm in a generous mood" level. From the moment Manaka opened her mouth forward, that final scene was definitely a 10/10 for me. That "Eh? :o" of hers. Just too perfect.

I'm actually surprised to hear someone say that they think Manaka will be killed off. The idea had not crossed my mind -- or perhaps it had but was thoroughly pushed out by the events of Episodes 18 and 20. I feel like enough has been shown at this point that we can safely (re-)conclude that Lord Uroko and the sea god are not malevolent beings. Given such things as Lord Uroko putting Hikari's father to bed, not slaying or imprisoning the children for their transgression against the sea god, and not killing Manaka five years ago when she hurtled down to the sea floor, I feel like it's been safe to conclude that this may be a P.A. Works that ends on more of a "happily ever after" note, romantic heartbreak aside, than one which ends on a mixed note with tragedy tossed in. But since you do bring it up, I guess here is my speculation regarding Manaka as of where I am in the show right now.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

On the topic of ena: I could see Manaka remaining without it permanently. I could also see her getting it back. For how she gets it back, the most obvious is Miuna restoring Manaka's ena to her, forfeiting it herself. But of course there's also the possibility that the sea god is generous and allows both Miuna and Manaka to have ena.

On the topic of dying: I could see the angle where they say that, because she was roused too soon, Manaka is now going to die. But I think it'd be more likely that if they want to pursue the "Ye dun goofed, Hikari" angle, they'd instead simply say that Manaka needs to be returned to where they found her. We see this a lot in anime where somebody gets a pet from an exotic biome, takes it home, the pet begins to die, and so they end up returning the pet to where they found it. That's the sort of angle I'd expect more at this point than the death angle. It would just be way, way too traumatic for Hikari if Manaka died at this point -- as her death would weigh heavily on his conscience. "I killed her. I killed Manaka. Kaname warned me not to do it. Miuna warned me not to do it. But I took Manaka from the sea and ... and ... WAAAAAAAAAAAAUGH! " I think that would haunt him for the rest of his life. And I just don't see Nagi no Asukara going in that sort of dark direction.

On the topic of getting to stay awake: I could see it going either way. More on this in a second.

On the topic of getting to stay on the surface: Well, if she remains enaless then this is a given. If she gets her ena back, then I'd say that I could see this going both ways.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Back to that topic about getting to stay awake. This is one that I'm wondering about for the entire sea folk cast. It was implied before the timeskip that the calamity facing humanity was not going to peak until three to four generations from now and that the sea people weren't going to be awoken from their slumber until after the calamity had passed. This implies a total slumber ranging from six to eight generations, give or take a couple. That's somewhere in the neighborhood of two to three centuries. It's only been five years and already Hikari and Kaname have woken up naturally, Manaka following suit artificially weeks later. Unless the sea god was a) lying or b) grossly ignorant about the nature of the calamity, it would stand to reason that the calamity has by no means peaked and that the sea people need to stay in their slumber for another few centuries.

This of course begs the question, then, of what will befall Hikari, Kaname, Manaka, and the others. I imagine that if the calamity is indeed nowhere near passing and if the sea god chooses to keep the people of Shioshishio asleep, then the main characters of Nagi no Asukara who are awake are each going to be given the gift of choice: choose to stay on the surface, enaless, or else choose ena and (re-)enter a state of slumber until the calamity has passed. Who would choose what is definitely up for debate. However, this is how I see the different pairs possibly playing out.

For example, say Miuna chooses to retain the gift of ena. Then she would have to say goodbye to her father Itaru, her stepmother Akari, her half-brother Akira, and she would have to go into a state of slumber for the next several hundred years. It's a pretty big sacrifice to make -- but if she loves Hikari that much and it's worth it to her to do this in order to be with him, then she'd do it. Alternatively, if Hikari rejects Miuna (presumably for Manaka) and Miuna accepts this, then I imagine she'd choose to remain on the surface.

For another example, say Kaname starts to fall for Sayu but doesn't want to give up his gift of ena. The show has already established that Sayu has few ties to her life on the surface. She's already told Miuna her plans to go to the big city after graduation from high school; there, she plans to live life as a single woman large and in charge. In other words, she plans to leave her family behind, her childhood friends, all of them. She plans to strike it alone. So for her, I would think the choice would be fairly simple: accept the sea god's offer, become a mermaid, go to sleep in Shioshishio for the next couple centuries, and when she wakes up she has a legit chance to pair off with Kaname.

But I'm honestly not sure how this will play out for any one character. I could see things going either way. Does Manaka choose the surface or the sea? Does Hikari forfeit the sea to remain on the surface with Manaka, Chisaki, or Miuna? So on and so forth, I could see just about every character making either choice. The adventure, thus, will be in seeing which subroutes P.A. Works decides to take -- if they even go in this general direction in the first place.
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Old 03-07-2014, 03:29 PM   #77
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Hmm....it's hard to explain what "melodrama" gets on my nerves, and I might not even be labeling it right. Also when I said "lately", I just meant the last three episodes.

(I guess up to episode 15 spoilers?)
Spoiler: show
Most of what got on my nerves involved Miyuna. I want her to win, but god she's in a bunch of annoying scenes. Like in the earlier episodes after she warmed up to Akariiiin. So much bellyaching and overdramatic nonsense. I did like her bonding moments with Hikari early on though.

Even when she grew up, most of what she did in the episode after the timeskip was for the sake of pointless drama. After that though, I don't remember anything else she did that irritated me.

Let me think....outside of Miyuna....I don't remember Chisaki ever bothering me...same with Hikari (with the exception of the latest episode). Honestly I can't think of that many. Watching weekly kind of makes you forget alot of details about a show.


On the topic of (episode 20 spoilers)
Spoiler: show
I was mostly being an asshole. I always thought Manaka would be asleep until like the last two episodes or something, so her waking up "early" made me think they'd have some moments with her then kill her off.

Also I always thought the sea kids woke up from hibernation early because they went into hibernation improperly.
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Old 03-10-2014, 09:53 PM   #78
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Episode 21:

Spoiler: show
I've honestly not too much to say. I was disappointed to see that no one opted to talk about 21 even after they could see that I was trying to breathe life back into this thread, but having watched 21 myself now, I can see why none of you who are watching Nagi no Asukara weekly may have felt compelled to post. It was an entertaining episode, as almost every single Nagi no Asukara episode has been so far, but it didn't offer much in the way of particularly memorable moments nor major information drops. In fact, if I'm being completely honest ... it was kinda underwhelming. ^^; It wasn't bad! But I went into this episode expecting lots of fireworks regarding the romance and lots of excitement regarding the plot. I didn't get either.


The OP credits received minor visual changes this episode. P.A. Works is not hiding the fact that Manaka's and Miuna's fates seem to be intertwined. At the very least we can expect the question of whether Miuna should return her newfound ena to Manaka or whether she can keep it to come up.


Manaka is either atypical (totally possible ) or else is putting on a strong face regarding her cheery disposition after having woken up. Both Hikari and Kaname had a much harder time of things. While it's said that Manaka is having a naturally easier time owing to the fact that "the gang" is all back together for her whereas it was still broken up for Hikari and Kaname, that still doesn't change the fact that Manaka seems to be responding to the news about the timeskip far too well. Why did she not voice any desire to immediately see her parents in Shioshishio? Why did she instead go on a happy tour of the school grounds on a Sunday!? Strange.


Manaka's hollow look in her eyes near the end of the episode seems to be foreshadowing some negative consequence for Hikari's premature extraction of Manaka from her resting place. Almost certain to show up again and to be explained before the end of the series.
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Old 03-11-2014, 01:08 AM   #79
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Episode 22

//attempting to breath life and activity to this place

Spoiler: show
I really liked this episode. To be perfectly honest the past few episodes were great, but just a tiny bit dull, lacking in drama. But this episode was a pretty good plot twist!

First, may everyone be enlightened by this cute Manaka:

Spoiler: show



With that out of the way, this episode was pretty dramatic if I may say. There were a lot of funny parts though. I laughed when they were attempting to find Uroko in the long tube thingy (those things appear everywhere, what are they?), baiting Uroko with food and porn magazines, which draws an interesting question as to how Sayu/Miuna got hold of it. And fish!Manaka.

Before getting to the meaty parts, some small stuff. Miuna still being awkward around Manaka, and Kaname/Tsumugu/Chisaki part of the romance insert shape seeing some sizeable development. Then they get to Tsumugu(?)'s house, where Sayu overhear Kaname attempting to ask Chisaki out again, causing her to FREEZE in her steps before he passes it off as a joke. Wow.

So the main meal. When Tsumugu got the fish, Hikari talks about how Manaka pretended she still had the fish even though she got rid of it in the past, but Manaka doesn't remember. Then Hikari and Manaka got to the pool where Hikari and Tsumugu had a swimming race at school. He broke his toenail or something, and remember the part where Manaka rushed to save him? Hikari reminisces about that, but Manaka gives him a blank face. She forgot about that, causing Hikari to RAEG out, being a not gentlemanly person and send the conveniently walking into school Sayu/Miuna down. Then Miuna gives chase while Sayu complains about bad Hikari!

So they got into the forest and found this altar to the Sea God or something. They see Uroko-sama! TA-DAH! A bit of talk that rounded everything up. Manaka became Ojooshi-sama, but part of her conscience didn't want to take such a role. Stuff and stuff happen. She was the one who PEELED her own Ena off! The cackling sound Miuna heard was Manaka's Ena hitting one another. So Miuna then realised something about the "To gain something you have to lose something" quote. If Manaka peeled her own Ena off, what was the thing she lost then?!

The ability to love someone. Hence she lost all her memories that were involved in romance. She remembered getting curse and having the fish, but not having pretended it was there even after it was gone because it was her way of appealing to Tsumugu or something.

So when the two rushed back, they saw Namaka playing with Akira, where Manaka notices them, turns backward and says "Okaeri (or something)

Spoiler: show


Next episode has Sayu screaming. This gun be good.
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Old 03-11-2014, 07:53 PM   #80
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Episode 22:

Spoiler: show
I'm just going to jump right into the talking points.

The calamity: Lord Uroko confirms that the calamity's peak is still two generations away even with Hikari having inadvertently accelerated the process by removing Manaka from the sea floor. It isn't magically nearing its end centuries before the sea god had originally predicted. Thus, we can all but scratch off our list o' possible endings the endings where Shioshishio's residents all wake up in the next five to fifty years. And we can certainly bubble up the possible endings which ask us to consider whether Hikari, Manaka, Kaname, Chisaki, Tsumugu, Miuna, Sayu, or anyone else will be (re-)entering a state of hibernation before series' end or not.

The sea god: Lord Uroko reveals that the sea god has long been dead but that it's his will which lives on, not his corporeal form. As far as corporeality goes, Lord Uroko reveals that he isn't just one of the sea god's scales -- he was literally born of one of the sea god's many scales the moment the sea god died. So in a manner of speaking, Lord Uroko is the sea god: just a much weaker form of him and one with many brothers and sisters of presumably equal power.

Manaka: it appears that she was forced to give up two things. One, her ena. Two, her ability to love -- and, apparently, any of the memories of past experiences that would go along with that. I'm still a little hazy on this (I'll want to go back and re-watch 22 later, I think), but I can already tell you that I'm not a huge fan. It felt a little too cheesy even for me. Actually, do you know what it reminded me of? The moment when Lord Uroko proclaimed that Manaka had lost the ability to love? It reminded me of Sanetoshi from Mawaru Penguindrum. It felt like the very sort of thing he would say, and the very sort of plot development that Mawaru Penguindrum would give us. It feels out of place in my Nagi no Asukara and I don't like it.

Kaname: the opposite of smooth. I mean, what does he think he's doing!? ^^; We haven't seen a character in Nagi no Asukara self-destruct in matters of love this badly before. He is just ... wow. If Chisaki was miles out of reach before, she's light-years out of reach now. I feel bad for Sayu. ^^; The show still hasn't done enough to justify why it'd be a happy ending for her to wind up with him. Yeah, she wants it: but is it really in her best interests to wind up with a guy like Kaname? ^^; I want the show to demonstrate to us that the answer is "Yes!" before we reach the end.

Last edited by Talon87; 03-11-2014 at 07:59 PM.
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Old 03-20-2014, 12:40 AM   #81
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Episode 23:

Spoiler: show
This episode did a lot of little things to advance characters' storylines, but overall I felt it was only an okay episode. I don't have a problem with supernatural elements in my storytelling but there is just something indescribably hokey about "She lost the ability to love! :O" that takes me out of the experience. I can't tell you why undersea people, a Rip van Winkle-esque timeskip with magically-induced comas, or SUDDENLY WHIRLPOOLS, WHIRLPOOLS EVERYWHERE is okay to my brain but a girl losing the ability to love isn't ... I can't even tell you why a girl losing memories is fine but losing only those memories that pertain to her experiences in love isn't. It just isn't.



This cel reminds me of the gununu meme.

One thing I did enjoy about Episode 23 was the heavy presence of Miuna in the first two-thirds of the episode. While it was a two-thirds that was more or less dedicated to Hikari and Manaka development, Miuna managed to show up quite a bit. The girl's adorable, I really love her chemistry with Hikari, I just ... am so frustrated that the writers aren't developing that angle any at all. My sole consolation is that, for right now, Kaname x Sayu has gotten even less development. So maybe, I tell myself, that means that if Kaname x Sayu is going to get a whole bunch of development in the final few episodes then so too will Hikari x Miuna. But the lack of Kaname x Sayu material won't mean much if the writers end up shooting that relationship dead in the water. And then where will that leave me?


Of course the main event of this episode is Tsumugu's gaining of ena. I've talked in previous posts about how this story may end up putting a question to each of the main characters: "Surface or sea?" Those who choose to remain on the surface lose their ena while those who choose the sea retain their ena (or gain it if they never had it before) but then have to enter into a state of slumber for the next several centuries. I've also talked in previous posts about how the sea god may have plans to reunite the two races of men under one roof, gifting each of them ena one after the other. Either one of these bits of speculation could end up being incorrect, but the one thing that's certain is that Tsumugu's acquisition of an ena coating fits in pretty nicely with both of them. This episode re-establishes that Tsumugu has few ties linking him to the surface world. He's not quite Sayu or Kaname, but the episode confirms that Tsumugu doesn't have much of a bond with his parents; previous episodes have shown us that his grandfather is on Death's doorstep; and recent episodes have shown the faaaaaaintest signs of a possible parting of the ways between Tsumugu and his research professor. You add all of these things together and you have a guy who doesn't really have much reason to have to stay on the surface: he could easily join Chisaki under the sea and live a happy life with her there, if only he had ena. And now he does.

I felt really bad for Tsumugu when Chisaki found out. Not only because of her reaction but because this is clearly not how he wanted her to find out. He did not bide his time for five years like that just so that she could find out the way that she did and then run away from him in tears.

I liked the scene, though, as someone drinking up some good romantic drama. Especially since I feel like this one is going to have a happy ending for Tsumugu. It's been firmly established that he is not romantically attached to Manaka, not now and not five years ago either. And it's been firmly established that he didn't just fall in love with Chisaki after she moved in -- he noticed himself starting to fall for her soon after the Shioshishio students arrived in school. So Tsumugu's only avenues as a character in this romantic drama now are a) Tsumugu x 0 or else b) Tsumugu x Chisaki. And since Chisaki's indicated that Kaname is pretty much no way, no how ever going to happen , that means the only barrier now to Chisaki's heart for Tsumugu is her lingering feelings for Hikari. It will be interesting to see how the writers address these feelings, especially after they chose in Episode 19 to flare them back up within her.

If I think of anything else to say, I'll be sure to let you guys know. Other than that, it was a fine episode but not one of the series' greatest. Really hoping for some more movement on the Kaname x Sayu front and the Manaka x Hikari x Miuna front next week.
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Old 03-28-2014, 04:04 PM   #82
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Episode 24:

Spoiler: show
I enjoyed this episode. But it's been almost one week since I saw it and I still haven't posted about it. I should at least say something. ^^;

The biggest deal, of course, was the Kaname x Sayu development towards the end of the episode. I enjoyed the scene. Though I should say that, paradoxically, I both disliked the scene for seeming "too easy / too convenient" for Sayu and yet at the same time liked just how realistic Kaname's answers to her felt to me -- because his reactions mirrored what my own would have been were I in that very position. So it's funny that I simultaneously find his reactions not just believable but relatable yet at the same time find them to be unbelievably convenient for the happily-ever-after ending Sayu fans have sought.


There wasn't too much major motion on the Miuna x Hikari x Manaka front, but at this point it seems all but written that Hikari will wind up with Manaka. The show seems to be building up towards:
  1. Manaka getting her memories back
  2. revealing that what she had been going to tell Hii-kun after the boat race was that she wanted to go out with him after all
If it gives us 1 but not 2 -- if instead the writers reveal that Manaka was going to have a serious heart-to-heart conversation with Hikari in which she told him that she just didn't feel about him the same way that he feels about her -- then I'll be thoroughly impressed. And possibly pleased, too, since it could set the stage for Hikari x Miuna after all. But I'm not sure how pleased I could be: with only two episodes to go, there's pretty much no time left to properly develop a relationship between Hikari and his foster sister / daughter-in-law.


Of course the second big focus of the episode was its opening scenes with Chisaki. The writers seem to have backpedaled away from the developments they showed in Episode 19, arguing now that Chisaki didn't so much rediscover her love of Hikari (as originally depicted) as she convinced herself of this in an emotionally desperate attempt to convince herself that she wasn't betraying them. We learn that Chisaki more or less "forbade" herself from falling in love with Tsumugu over the past five years because she felt that that would be betraying Hikari and the others. It's slightly messed up, sure, but it's very believable stuff. Chisaki has always seemed to be a very confused person when it comes to love and it therefore comes as no surprise that she would display such grand confusion here.

Yuki noted that Kaname got his redemption with this scene. I think that's fair to say. I enjoyed Kaname's actions in his scene with Chisaki. He seemed to genuinely care about her as a person, divorced from any possessive feelings of wanting her to be his, and he sat there with her and helped her through her miniature crisis without any expectation of something in return. You could see it in his eyes and hear it in his voice: he's given up on Chisaki as a lover but he hasn't given up on Chisaki as a dear friend. That's pretty admirable. I think a lot of people, men and women alike, struggle to maintain friendships with a crush after they've confessed their feelings but the crush has rejected them.
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Old 04-21-2014, 09:53 PM   #83
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Episode 25:

Spoiler: show
I first watched this episode weeks ago, before Episode 26 had aired. But many things came up which prevented me from writing up this thoughts-post. And I didn't want to move on to Episode 26 before writing this post. Tonight, I was like, "Man! How come we still haven't seen Episode 26? " Remembered. And I was like, "Today's the day! >O" And so here I am, almost one month late to the party with my thoughts on Episode 25. I rewatched portions of the first half and all of the second half to refresh my memory, so without further ado ... thoughts!


This episode wastes no time establishing who our focus should be on: Miuna. Ancillary to her, Hikari and Manaka. Ancillary to them, the other main characters. While Chisaki, Tsumugu, Kaname, and Sayu all make appearances, the focus is very clearly on preparations for the boatrace and Miuna's feelings for Hikari.

In one of the series' most awkwardly convenient scenes yet, Miuna's little brother Akira manages to drop Manaka's sea slug pearl into the sea. As Miuna dives after it, the sea god seems to be pulling it away, towards Shioshishio. Miuna does manage to finally to catch up to the pendant ... and that's when she hears Manaka's voice from five years ago. "I like Hii-kun." Tsumugu soon shows up and says, "I thought so." Awkwardly convenient! What should have been a privately awkward moment for Miuna is made into one she must share with Tsumugu, and the lovesick girl floats helplessly to the top of the sea, finally coming to terms with the fact that Hikari x Manaka is going to happen.


Tsumugu x Chisaki is the next one up to plate. Yuki commented once that, paraquote, "as the series has gone on, Tsumugu and Kaname appear to have swapped places. Before, it was Kaname who was the kinda awkward kinda eww-creepily-aggressive jerkface. And now it's Tsumugu who's doing it. " I have to agree: while I liked Tsumugu earlier in the series okay, and while I certainly don't hate him now, his scenes in the past few episodes have been difficult to watch because of his words and actions. The way he's all like, "Because you love me #amirite" to Chisaki is ... it feels like the sort of gross and somewhat creepy male machismo that we expect out of stereotypical bodybuilder types, not out of "the quiet nice guy" character that Tsumugu has been up until now. While we've been encouraged by previous episodes' developments to cheer for a Tsumugu x Chisaki pairing, Tsumugu's behavior in these past few episodes has made Chisaki's willingness to marry him that much more awkward for home audiences. Oh well. At least they're happy together.


So back to Miuna. XP (What did I tell you? This episode belongs to Miuna and don't you forget it!) She and Hikari are by the beach at night and Miuna reveals to Hikari that she knows he likes Manaka. Honestly, I thought we'd already had this scene ages ago. I was surprised to (re-)discover that Hikari had not known Miuna knew about his feelings for Manaka until Episode 25. Miuna presses Hikari to say the words himself, "I like Manaka." He can't bring himself to do it, but only because he's such a stereotypical 14-year old boy about things. Miuna becomes increasingly serious and desperate, practically pleading with Hikari to say the words. Finally, he gives in. "I like Manaka." "Again!" shouts Miuna. "I like Manaka!" Hikari proclaims. "Again!" goes Miuna. Hikari wonders just what the heck is going on. Why on earth is Miuna making him say he likes Manaka over and over again? What is she, some sort of wanna-be teenage matchmaker? So he turns to face her, barking, "Hey, will you give it a res-!?" And then trails off immediately as he sees Miuna biting her lip and fighting back tears.

This scene was, for me as a Miuna fan, a mix of good and bad. I didn't like it for how awkward it felt or for how childish it made Miuna out to be at points; but I did love it for how seriously P.A. Works treated it. The animation was amazing; the screencap above, for example, could be a desktop wallpaper if there were a higher definition version available. I also liked that, even as dense as Hikari is, he had to have figured out from what just happened that Miuna must have had feelings for him. (Hold this thought. We'll come back to it ... ^^; ) I guess just in general, I liked the scene because it was a grand sendoff for the Hikari x Miuna pairing that sadly just doesn't appear to have been meant to be.


Around the halfway point, the episode cuts to the day of the boat race. Final preparations are being made and everyone's excited. Tsumugu's grandfather even leaves the hospital for the day to come and visit! The girls look stunning in their ceremonial dresses; Kaname comments to Chisaki that the costume really does look best on a grown woman ; and while I agree with him, I think Sayu and Miuna are rockin' it as well. Even Lord Uroko decides to attend the ceremony on the surface! His arrival by Miuna's father's Jeep was kinda silly but warm and cordial, like a joke told by a dear member of your family.

Everyone is so excited for the big event. What could possibly go wrong?


... right.

To the surprise of absolutely no one watching at home, history repeats itself. And yet everyone in-universe seems not just horrified but surprised as well. Why!? Why are you surprised!? As Yuki put it on Skype, paraphrased, "What did you think would happen!? XP" The villagers did everything the same this time as they did five years ago. Same maiden totem, same boats, same costumes, same chants ... It's not like the sea god changed either in the past five years! He's still the same god who fucked you all over five years ago. Locking everyone but Chisaki under the sea. Releasing only Hikari, Kaname, and Manaka five years later. Not releasing Manaka by choice. Robbing Manaka of her memories of and understanding of love. Why are you people still worshipping this deity!? I mean, I can understand worshipping it out of fear if he's one of those Old Testament-style vengeful gods, but why on Earth did you guys go through with this optional ceremony that you knew could cost people their lives? It's pretty darn ridiculous.


Manaka falls overboard and Miuna dives after her. After all, Manaka lacks ena now. Chisaki likewise leaps overboard, desperate to save her friend and also grappling with a lot of survivor's guilt. Kaname jumps overboard too ... but then does a 180° as he sees Sayu is about to fall overboard herself. His priorities finally in their proper place , Kaname tends to Sayu and the other surface dwellers, leaving Manaka to Miuna, Hikari, Chisaki, and Tsumugu.

If you thought the scene with Miuna and Tsumugu at the beginning of the episode was awkward, just wait until you see this one. *sigh* As Miuna risks her life to save Manaka, her ena begins to dissolve and respond to Manaka. The others can clearly see this from where they're hovering but neither Chisaki nor Hikari understand what's going on. That's when Tsumugu steps forward to explain to them, "The sea is responding to Miuna's feelings. Mukaido loves Hikari ... and so does Miuna."

... ... ... YOU JERK! What the hell's WRONG with you!?!?! Manaka made you swear not to tell Hikari how she felt about him. And you kept that secret for FIVE YEARS. Now, as she's on the verge of getting her memories back and being able to tell him herself how she feels, you're going to rob Manaka of this moment? You asshole! And as if that's not bad enough, you also have to go and tell Hikari that Miuna likes him!? Even though that was none of your business and she was dealing with it herself in her own way?

Also: WHAT THE FUCK! Why is Hikari acting so surprised? You mean to tell me that he still didn't know how Miuna really felt about him even after the nighttime scene at the beach!? I mean ... I know that boys can be thick about these sorts of things (I was when I was in middle school and high school), but good God, Hikari: Miuna couldn't have made it more obvious to you had she tried.

Anyway, Miuna manages to rescue Manaka, restore her ena to her, restore her memories/understanding of love to her, and push her out of the way as the sea god's vortex sucks her down to the sea floor. Hikari leaves Manaka to Chisaki while he and Tsumugu attempt to rescue Miuna.


Arriving at the graveyard of the Wooden Maidens, Hikari sees that Miuna is unconscious and atop the stone hand, just like Manaka was before her. He attempts to free her but is repelled by some sort of force field. And as ena fibers like spider silk begin to ensnare Miuna and form the cocoon that will be her home for the next n years, Miuna loses consciousness, thinking to herself again and again of just how much she loves Hikari.

I think I speak for most fans when I say the following: I "saw this coming" insofar as I considered it a probable outcome, but despite said "probability" I did not think that the writers would actually go through with it. Thus, witnessing Miuna become the new sacrificial maiden was satisfying insofar as I felt like my prediction was vindicated, exciting insofar as I hadn't believed it would happen and didn't know how things were going to turn out, and heartbreaking as I love Miuna so much and so I'm pissed off for her that she has to be the one who misses out on her friends and loved ones for the next n years instead of a) the Wooden Maiden, b) nobody at all, or c) a willing sacrifice besides her.
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Old 06-22-2014, 05:35 AM   #84
Fallen Icarus
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Wow. So I just finished watching this show and it's been an interesting ride. I'll see if I can't get some words out, even though it's been some time since the anime finished. A bit surprised no one commented on the last episode though. :x
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