Holy FUCK was that a big tidal wave of emotion. Pun fully intended.
Since last October I’ve had an eye on this show, thinking, “Oh, that show looks really pretty. Maybe I’ll watch it sometime.” Well that sometime finally happened a few days ago, and am I glad I waited until now to watch it all at once, because I think this is one of those shows where waiting every week would have ruined the experience. Hell, I didn’t even know anything about the show other than what I could make out of a few screenshots I’d seen over time, and thank god for that. There are shows that are fun to watch while they air, and then there are shows that are better marathoned (though my definition of marathoning is pretty loose since I took four days to finish, but that’s beside the point), and this is a shining example of the latter.
From what little I’ve seen of them, Japan seems to have a knack for making shows based around the water, or to be more specific, the sea (couldn’t stand any more than two episodes of Free!, but thanks for trying, Kyoani). Tsuritama, Ika Musume, and Seto no Hanayome are all excellent shows and Nagi no Asukara is just another one to tack on as a great marine-themed series.
Of course, this one isn’t all fun and games in Oshiooshi and Shioshishio; there is melodrama and conflict up the ass. But hey, I seem to be a sucker for that kind of stuff, even if I don’t like to admit it. Hell, I’ve watched Toradora three times and loved it every viewing, but I digress. Nagi no Asukara is on an even higher scale of drama; if Toradora is a love triangle (it’s bigger than that, but this is just for comparison’s sake), Nagi is a love tetrahedron. So many feelings are thrown around a few times, and yet, somehow it all works out for the most part, which makes for a pretty satisfactory ending, which is more than can be said for the vast majority of series nowadays, assuming they even get proper endings in the first place. I’m not getting into details about that aspect of the show, though. That could potentially spoil something, so I’d rather not risk that.
Aside from the actual plot, the other details were handled very well. Firstly is the art; I suppose I’d say I’m a fan of Buriki’s work. As shitty as Haganai is, the characters at least look appealing. Then there’s Denpa Onna, which did a much better job of handling Buriki character designs, and the fact that he did the character designs for Dokodona is the only reason I even gave that thing a second glance. Yet, the characters in Nagi no Asukara somehow don’t really look that much like those three, as if they were designed with a different, more conservative approach. Still, they work and are visually appealing, albeit a little more generic looking than the characters from the latter three series. Then on the other end we have P.A. Works doing the animation. Truth be told, I’ve only watched three other shows from that studio (Angel Beats!, Another, and Tari Tari — I’ll get around to watching Hanasaku Iroha and True Tears one of these days), but when it comes to TV anime series, they do some top-notch work in making them look pretty. The humble villages of Shioshishio and Oshiooshi were really brought to life and provided for some excellent scenery porn, and I’m not keen on the details, but I really hope that this show was done in native 9**p like Hyouka was so that the 1080p BD’s are actually worth it.
The soundtrack was okay, I guess. Most of the tracks were contemporary, easy-listening tracks that generally fit the mood, though they certainly liked to reuse that one song for when danger or conflict was approaching. I think I heard that specific one four or five separate times, which isn’t really too bad, but it’s still noticeable. The OP and ED songs were great, though. I didn’t skip either of them once throughout all 26 episodes. Apparently I had heard of Ray before from Ano Natsu de Matteru’s OP, but that one just must not have stood out to me much. However, I’m gonna make sure to check out more of her stuff now, because Lull ~ Soshite Bokura Wa and Ebb and Flow are both very good listens, as well as the extra tracks with each album. Then there’s Yanagi Nagi (Get it? Yanagi Nagi doing Nagi’s ED songs? Okay, not that clever) of Supercell fame. I don’t really have to say much there, I already like her work and all, so Aqua Terrarium and Mitsuba no Musubime are just more good tracks to add to her repertoire. And on the subject of sound, the casting was fitting for the most part, though they could’ve used someone else for Manaka. Everyone has their own opinion of HanaKana, and while I usually like her roles, she merely fit the character “okay”, and while no specific names come up at the moment, I’m sure someone could’ve been just a little more fitting. I was also kind of vexed that Ishihara Kaori got typecasted into the bratty, annoying loli, but [spoiler] thankfully that timeskip fixed everything and she got to use an older voice for Sayu. [/spoiler]
So, is Nagi worth a watch? Hell yes. Is it one of the best shows I’ve watched in the past year? God damn right it is. It might not be for everybody, though. It is an undeniably pretty show, but the characters and their interactions might be jarring to others, and understandably so. But inside, I’m a middle aged housewife who craves this kind of stuff, so I personally find enjoyment in it. At the very least I’d recommend the three or four episode rule with the mindset that it WILL turn into a dramafest, and then just take it from there. It might not be getting another season, but that’s fine. This show was good as it is and I would like to thank everyone from the anime staff to the subbers for putting their efforts into a great show.
Pudding Heart Translations 