Review of A Lull in the Sea
Nagi no Asukara was an incredible journey from start to finish, so I was compelled to write a review. Initially, the thing that drew me to Nagi no Asukara was the concept of people living underwater, which sounded cool, and I stayed for the worldbuilding and extensive character development. Art: The art is simply gorgeous! The scenery - especially underwater - is incredibly drawn. The way that Shioshishio is both fantastical and yet in a sense similar to Oshiooshi, showing that their inhabitants are no so different - even if they live in different places. Sound: The soundtrack complements the events very well. What particularly stood out tome is ED2, which when it kicks in at the end of an episode hits hard after a cliffhanger.
Story: The story has quite a focus on romance - especially in the second half - and while romance isn't my thing I can appreciate that it's well written. I feel though that there's a lot of untapped potential here, as the worldbuilding tends to take a backseat to the romance.
To this end, I found the first half more enjoyable than the second half - but the second half was by no means bad. At times, it felt like there were some "missing scenes" that the animé could have benefited from having been included.
Still, the story is well written and is definitely worth your time.
Characters: The characters were really well designed. All of the main cast had depth and dimension to them, and were explored and developed throughout the series. You find yourself caring about the characters, and you see them grow as the series goes on.
The concept of Ena is also worthy of note here. Unlike some anime with superpowers or supernatural abilities, Nagi no Asukara takes the time to flesh the concept out. While it's a fantastical ability, it does not come without cost: if those with Ena (a layer on top of the skin) want to live on the surface, they must ensure that their Ena does not dry out by regularly soaking in salt water.
Voice acting: I watched the English dub, so I can't comment on the original Japanese voice acting but the English voice acting was well delivered. You could really feel the emotion in the voices of all involved, which added to the realism of the show.
Overall, Nagi no Asukara is a great show that is worth your time to go watch. Romance is a prominent theme though, but despite this there's still something for those not interested in the romance too. Being a longer animé (i.e. longer than 12-13 episodes), there's really time to explore the world and get emotionally attached to the characters. I enjoyed the animé, and would recommend it to others :D