Review of A Lull in the Sea
Has anything ever caught you so off guard that even days later you find yourself at a loss for words? That's how Nagi no Asu kara made me feel. Except without the loss for words part, clearly, judging by this review. No anime ever surprised me like Nagi no Asu kara. I would be remiss not to begin with the animation quality. This anime made me pause several times throughout the series simply to gawk at how beautiful it was. It was hard to focus on anything else, even several episodes in, as the quality never really flagged. The filigree sun filtering through the water, thepacks of fish floating through the water-air, ornate scrolls in sacred places, the gradient of clouds in the sky, all of it is stunning, saturated, and beautiful. Buildings have a distinct, vaguely marine architecture above water, and below the surface a semi-Mediterranean style creeps in as well. P.A. Works was the right studio for this, and their love of the pastoral filters beautifully into NagiAsa, with rusty old ships and street signs being given a life and beauty all their own. Art director Higashiji Kazuki (Charlotte, Angel Beats) should be given a lot of credit here for putting a 26-episode series on par with some of the best movies I've ever seen, never mind serial anime, in terms of lovingly detailed and ornate art. My only animation complaint is that the character animation slips a bit at the start of the second cour, but it's not enough to detract from the series.
The pretty pictures aren't just window dressing for a quirky moe slice comedy, which I feared from the previews -- that idea went out the window somewhere between Manaka's cursed knee-fish farting and Akari's confession in the especially-stunning 5th episode. Horribly unlikeable and un-compelling characters at first slowly develop depth and pathos with time until you forget that they ever seemed flat in the first place; Miuna especially went from near comic relief when first introduced to a deeply vibrant character, all without NagiAsa straining at any facet. Still, a few characters (Kaname in particular) had virtually no substance throughout the entire series.
The ending of the each cour includes scenes as gripping as any to come out of anime, reminiscent of Made in Abyss or even bringing to my mind the ending of the old Berserk anime, such was the pathos they were able to bring out. The denouement of that scene to begin the second cour gives depth and gravity to the characters' suffering, though the time skip could have been handled slightly better. Inter-character interactions and relationships always are balanced on the knife-edge that separates the sentimental from the truly absurd (a love pentagon? hexagon? octagon? how many sides can this thing have?), but it somehow works for NagiAsa, and nothing feels forced. There are better works for character development and love polygons (Toradora comes to mind), but there is plenty to hold the series down and plenty of development to make every leg and every angle feel real and meaningful.
NagiAsa's soundtrack is ordinary, and a 26-ep anime could use a few extra tracks so we don't hear the same ones so often, but it is well-done and well-used. The first OP and ED are serviceable but the second of each, and especially the 2nd OP, truly shimmer and showcase the series' artistry. (And the second OP's subtle change after [REDACTED] is a nice touch.) The sound effects are fantastic, especially the low atmospheric rumble or faint whalesong just present in some of the underwater scenes, especially the ones accompanying the saltflake snow, that give them an eerie or forlorn undertone.
Things like underwater echoes and the ability to speak naturally underwater are also the correct decisions for making a work of this kind, even though they don't necessarily fit known laws of physics. NagiAsa's fantasy setting is one that has the courage NOT to explain itself, and that's part of its charm. It has the guts to give you underwater newspapers, tomoebi (google "sun dogs" -- they're real, actually), and saltflake snow and not explain a goddamn thing about how it all works. And you know what? I appreciate that. And this isn't to say they skimped on worldbuilding -- there's an entire mythos, cultural stigmas, rituals, a world that grows and changes over time, hell there's even part of a god living in a shack outside town. What more could you want?
The message of the anime (as well as its protagonist) embodies this bold, almost flippant attitude as well: Have courage even in dark times, like Hikari's light, let your deepest desires surface, lest they be washed away with the tides of time.
If you like fantasy, slice of life, romance, or if you just want something a bit different that's also a feast for the senses, you'd be remiss not to check this out. I know I gave it the maximum score, which in MAL-world means I must be biased and delusional, but it's anime the way it should be -- gorgeous, poignant, deep, original, without fanservice, queerbaiting, or miscellaneous pandering. It's an anime that stands on its own two feet and is proud of what it is -- just like its own characters.