Review of A Lull in the Sea
Nagi no Asukara is a drama about four children that live under the sea, and their merge as they are forced to attend sea on the surface. A lot of romance, tensions, and events unfolds to leave an extremely memorable and impactful series. As a person that usually doesn't go for dramas, starting this series at first seemed a little risky. It's not unlikely that I would get bored with a similar series as far as the genre goes. However, Nagi no Asukara proved me wrong and thereafter. This turned out to be a stunning work of art and definitely the most underrated show ofthe Winter 2013 season. Nobody is talking about this enough! Anyway, I'll get this started:
Story (9) - NnA has a very deep and meaningful story which includes entangled love hexagons and profound themes of racial tensions between the people of the sea, and the people of the land. This results in a fantastic and modern coming of age story across the board. The events that unfold makes for an enticing storyline, full of heartbreaking moments and a huge sense of friendship and togetherness. This really had an impact on me. The love interests for one another as the story develops creates a huge web of love which kept me emotionally invested and interested in the story. Only criticisms that keep it from getting a 10 would be that the show throws a lot of material out in the beginning, which was a tad confusing, and the ending dragged out a bit, even though I can see their reasons for it based on the way it ended.
Art (10) - Right off the bat from the first episode, you cannot deny the AMAZING artwork, especially the colors, which really enhanced the viewing experience. The way the underwater village was animated visually tells you the story of a magical and stunning place with a lot of history, and that was amazing to me. At first I thought the huge blue eyes were pretty corny, but they really grew on me, and I understood that the eyes represent the visual differences between the two races of people. Eye color is no different than skin color. Oh, and I loved the facial expressions and smirks, they were precious. Art was definitely outstanding. No flaws.
Sound (9) - This is the section that I have the most trouble reviewing, but I can confidently say that NnA had great sound. Beautiful voices, beautiful underwater sound effects, only thing keeping it from a 10 is the OST, I think they could have beefed it up a bit. Still great.
Character (9) - Incredible development. The unique relationships between these childhood friends leads to a very beautiful understanding of the characters, even though you won't see their kind of relationship in any other show. You really get to empathize for the characters as they express their feelings, since they share such deep emotions with another. Each two characters have their own, unique relationship, but was not hard to keep up with. The relationships felt very realistic in this sense. After some time, it almost seemed like I had my own relationships with each of them. You get to see true transformations and watch these people evolve, and that results in a very profound sense of investment and love for the characters.
Enjoyment (10) - I very rarely marathon shows as fast as I watched this one. One episode after the next, watching this show never got tedious or old. Thankfully, I watched all of them and caught up on the day that the last episode aired, so I didn't have to wait between episodes. Otherwise it would have been incredibly frustrating. This is definitely the type of show that you can knock out in a few sittings, and it's hard for me to find those. I also rarely cry, ever, but I did once or twice during this show. It's amazing how emotionally invested I got in only 26 episodes. Amazing amazing amazing
Overall (9) - One of the most memorable and amazing shows I've seen, and I will be recommending this to everyone. Even if you're not sure how it sounds (even after this review), at least watch the first episode, because it WILL capture your interest. This is a truly beautiful and profound story that won't be forgotten. Nagi no Asukara truly did not disappoint. High notes all around