Review of A Lull in the Sea

**SPOILER FREE REVIEW** Well, for anyone who is a fan of the romantic drama genre, Nagi no Asukara (or “A Lull in the Sea”) is definitely a must watch. Personally though, I have never been a big fan of the genre for a wide variety of reasons, including its dependence on sappy melodrama, the abundance of clichés, and a lack of general depth in the plotlines. However, after witnessing the massive influx of monumental praise for this series, I couldn't resist giving it a try. Quite frankly, it's not hard to see why this anime received such high praise; beautiful animation, memorable characters (sort of), aperfect soundtrack, and an immersive world that's impossible not to fall in love with. However, while NnA manages to break free of many of its genre's traditional flaws and stand out from the crowd, it seems to add a new flaw of its own for every flaw it eliminates.

Synopsis: In this universe, all humans were created by the "Sea God" and designed to live underwater. However, some humans who longed for the land abandoned the ocean, casted off the Sea God's gifts, and began a new life on the surface. Mankind was divided into sea dwellers and land dwellers, and it didn't take long for them develop a strong dislike for each other. The story follows four sea-dwelling teenagers who begin attending school on the surface, as their experiences with the land-dwellers create a youthful fantasy tale as the character's lives unfold for better or for worse in the bittersweet world that they live in.

Let me just go ahead and say this right off the bat: NnA has one of the best settings and conceptual fantasy elements for a fictional world I've ever seen in an anime. Shioshishio, the underwater city, feels unbelievably alive, as does the surface world. It is truly special how immersive this setting really is, especially when you factor in the amazing and well-thought out mythos that the world is attached to regarding the Sea God and split between the ocean/land dwellers. That being said, I was dumbstruck when the show proceeded to glaze right over the world it had masterfully crafted as if it was nothing special. The plot of this show pays an insultingly miniscule amount of attention to its setting, which is by far the greatest part about the show. It's essentially skipped over in the beginning in favor of introducing the characters first and then only reappears in flashes and during major plot events; what this show instead opts to focus the majority of its time on is something that everyone and their mother has seen a million times over; Love polygons! While I have nothing against shows centered around romantic drama, I've already touched on some of the problems the genre always seems to fall into, and while NnA is a very good installment into the genre and does most aspects of the concept correctly, it is no major exception to copious melodrama and clichés. It’s just frustrating that there were so many great opportunities for potential main-plotlines here, like the hatred between the land dwellers and the sea dwellers (a symbol for racism?), yet they decided to go with something cliché. Overall, the plot is a pretty standard romantic drama with less focus on the exceptional setting and mythos than most people would want; a missed chance.

Being a show about romance, NnA is very character driven; it's these little guys that are going to either make or break the anime for you, and in my opinion, they make it. I think the best thing about NnA's characters is that the writers completely understand the role that each character should have and do a fantastic job of balancing the amount of screentime each of them get as well as fleshing out their emotions and motivations. A brilliant example of this is the character of Kaname, my personal favorite. He seems to be nothing more than a bystander character at first; he is given no discernible personality or emotions what so ever. However, when the show actually takes the time to give him a spot in limelight, you can see how much of a well-written and relatable character actually he is. The lack of attention that the show gave him compared to the other major characters in the beginning was purposeful; it served isolate him as "the odd man out", a feeling that we later see that Kaname was not oblivious to. This, my friends, is some very clever character writing. The rest of the characters, as I just mentioned, fill their respective roles more than adequately. Hikari is the protective friend with a short temper, Manaka is your typical ditzy girl character, and Chisaki is the shy, big-breasted girl, but they are more than just stereotypes; they all have depth to their personalities and they all receive character development, which is all you can really ask for. There is one character who really bothers me though, and that is Tsumugu. I don't understand why it is still considered acceptable to write characters like this… He has no personality what so ever, he never receives any development at any point, and he has only one expression: a blank stare. Could this guy be any more boring? And yet he is a huge part of the series of love-polygons that this show is centered around? Ridiculous. Overall though, this is a pretty well done cast of characters. I'd be shocked if you didn't find at least one that you get attached to.

It’s also worth mentioning that NnA has some truly beautiful animation; everything is colorful, bright, fluent, and alive. There aren't many scenes where the animation is fast paced, but when those scenes arrive, they also look fantastic. NnA is the definition of eye candy. The music is also well executed; a very calming selection of music for a very calming anime. It doesn't have the heart-wrenching emotional tracks of, say, a Clannad: After Story, but I don’t think it needed to. I don't think I've ever seen a pair of OPs that perfectly represent the anime they are attached to, both animation-wise and sound-wise. I don't think they could have been done any better (same goes for the EDs, I suppose). The voice acting is pretty good as well, although there is a lot more SCREAMING then crying going on here…

In conclusion, if you are a fan of romantic dramas, you have no excuse for not watching NnA; you will absolutely love it. If you are not a fan of the genre, I still think it's worth a watch. The immersive world, excellent animation, and well-written characters make the experience worthwhile. The only people who I think should pass on this anime are those who can't stand shows about romance or shows with very little action.