Review of A Lull in the Sea
Although this show falls into some common traps that make many romance anime bad, it's still worth a watch for anyone looking for emotional impact and closure. As you can infer from the summary, the story has an intriguing premise, and the studio does fairly well in using its novelty. With people who are born from the sea and people who are landlocked, the story sets up an interesting dynamic between a society of divided people. While this is a main focus in the beginning, the show does slowly abandon this theme as it goes on, and decides to concentrate more and more on therelationship between the characters. By the end, this unique setting contributes little to the show; anyone who is looking for complex world-building or themes about society and human nature will not find it here. It really is mainly for romance fans, and while it does execute it better than many other romances I've seen, it does sometimes resort to cop-out solutions given there are many characters, and all of them are involved in the romance.
The art and sound are extremely fantastic though. The visuals definitely helped a lot in my enjoyment of the show, and there are many beautiful scenes. If you're even a casual romance fan, the visuals will be worth watching.
With so many characters, this show does surprisingly well in handling each one. Many shows often just seem to forget about some side characters, so when they suddenly play a role, it seems forced and out of line. Each person has a role to play, and each has their own struggles, happiness, worries, and quirks. This show also doesn't employ the common tropes seen in harems, so there's a more realistic connection between each character. This doesn't mean every character is likable; many may find the main ones to be annoying, but they are well-developed and often relatable.
It's clear P.A. Works put a lot of effort into this one given the top quality visuals and sound, and for any romance fan, Nagi no Asukara is a good watch. The plot has some weaknesses, but none big enough to ruin the story, and the show's real strength is its ability to handle the relationships of so many characters without making it feel like any of them were unnecessary. People seeking in-depth development on its unique setting probably won't find it in this show, but anyone looking for an emotional story with a central focus on romance will find it here.