Nagi no Asukara – 06
Maybe we’ll get an ‘Everyone Confesses to Kaname’ episode?
No Akari this week, but more work on the Wooden Sacrifice for the Boatdrift Ceremony, with more help from everyone, surprisingly.
Just Go Swim in the Ocean!
Everyone has an individual changing room
Having come to at least a nice break point with Akari last week, this week we get back to focusing on the kids in school. And it seems like there’s a lot more acceptance of the umiko-tachi by the kids from the surface, even if Chisaki puts all the other girls to shame in the development department. It was somewhat amusing seeing the kids change their clothes into swimsuits when they just jump into the ocean in their clothes most of the time. Also, all the surface girls in their towels were pretty funny, all changing in these little tents.
Trying to get into MetaFap
But it’s gotta be tough for the umiko to swim in a swimming pool. You’d imagine that it kinda feels like breathing smoke or a similar irritant. Similarly, swimming at the interface of the water is probably pretty difficult, especially in an unfamiliar stroke. But it still annoys Hikari to lose to Tsumugu, just like it annoys him to lose any time. But you can’t blame him for injuring himself, doing something that’s unfamiliar like a kick turn. What you can blame him for is still acting like a little jerk around Manaka. I’ll be honest, I don’t know what his issue is with Manaka. Maybe he feels like he’s being shown up by her. Maybe he’s just annoyed that she’s actually striking out on her own, making friends, being proactive. But I really don’t get why Hikari is so gruff and automatically against whatever she does. Perhaps it’s just that he realizes he’s being left behind.
Chisaki feels alone
Even when together, Chisaki feels alone
The one who is really feeling left behind seems to be Chisaki, tho. And it doesn’t help that Manaka is unsubtly trying to get her together with Hikari, even though Chisaki told her to forget about her confession about him. And Chisaki even seems to be regretting that, although whether that’s because it feels like a rejection of her friendship with Manaka or because she doesn’t want anything to change is unclear. It’s an interesting shift, tho, because before she was worried that she couldn’t get Hikari because of Manaka, but here Manaka is actively shipping the two of them, and yet Chii still balks at every time Manaka tries to get them together.
Hitching a ride
Or maybe it’s because Manaka is doing enough growing for all of them. Kaname realizes, and tells Hikari, that Manaka is the center of their group (how convenient that ‘manaka’ means ‘center’, even though it’s spelled in kana). But even the center needs to grow, and she gets some good advice from Tsumugu, who thankfully Manaka can now talk to normally (does that mean she’s lost her crush on him, or that she’s now able to actually fall in love with him?). She should be more confident in herself, and one indication of that is finishing her thoughts. And she definitely is more of a ‘self’ when she doesn’t trail off, and brings herself to complete what she’s saying.
Back to school, and it really is nice to see everyone more accepting of everyone else, from both directions. That looks to continue next week based on the preview, with more rejection of the divide between sea and land people. And hopefully we’ll see Manaka and Chisaki both continue to grow up. I don’t know how much Kaname really needs to grow up, but it sure did look like that girl was all ready to confess to him. Heck, Kaname’s so smooth, maybe I’m about to confess to him.
Hikari really did feel random this episode, tho. It was better that he mellowed out a little later (although declaring everyone his minions is a lot much), but I wish there had been more reason for him to be all cross with Manaka, rather than just him being embarrassed or something. He did really well in the previous episode with Miuna, but this episode went back to being randomly grouchy.
About Highway
Proving that you don't have to be young to love anime, I enjoy all genres and styles of shows. If it's not hurting anyone else, you should never be ashamed of what you like!
POWUH: 600-699 and LN Enthusiast with 623 comments
Hikari only swims free, that’s why he was slow in that contest. Though seriously, a sea dweller losing to a land lubber in terms of swimming. It’s making my head hurt.
POWUH: 600-699 and LN Enthusiast with 623 comments
Oh and being an Ai Kayano character this season is suffering with Chisaki here and Linda in Golden Time.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
Something has to give when she gets minor roles as a hot nurse and a rune eater.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
Nothing says that someone who swims all the time has to be fast about it. If it was something he’d actually have an advantage in, like staying underwater, that’d be different if he lost. But surface swimming is not something he ever does. It’s like saying that because I’m a civil engineer, I should be good at building a swingset. I’d probably be better than a random person, but not as good as someone who does that from practice.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
Your swingset would rock the park….
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
It wouldn’t fall down, that’s for damn sure. 🙂
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
…with a train engine…
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
The whole process was ironic in spite of what they are.
POWUH: Metanorn Regular with 88 comments
Two words: BUSTED NAIL
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
Ugh, don’t remind me. At least when I smashed my fingernail it just came off later, not got ripped open.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Ooh, really bad and unpleasant memory from that. I had a similar incident as a kid when I kicked a soccer ball while going around barefoot. I managed to kick the ball as far as I wanted but didn’t look down at the damage or feel the pain until the adrenaline from the excitement began to wear off. The nail came off a few moments after.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
If it all changes, and it changes for the worse, I’m going to be the one to blame. Everyone is feeling this to one degree or another. And don’t confess to Kaname, Sayu might just vandalize your place. For whatever reason, right?
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
I do wonder why Sayu is still hanging around, especially outside. If you want to help, go to the room and offer. Why stalk Kaname and unnamed land babe?
I actually don’t think Manaka is thinking “I don’t want anything to change.” She certainly reacts to things with “I don’t understand why that’s wrong” but she’s not afraid of changing things. She just doesn’t understand why Chi and Hikari are so afraid of things changing, things that to Manaka feel like completely natural evolutions.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
P.A Works was paying tribute to KyoAni’s Free! this week and I think it was well received. It makes sense the sea kids wouldn’t need swimming lessons as it was something that came natural to them since birth so it’s not a shock they didn’t know about that school subject.
It was interesting seeing Hikari and Tsumugu race each other. Now we know a natural born talent like swimming for Hikari means nothing if you’re not in the right environment. Tsumugu had the advantage because his enitre body wasn’t submerged. It’s kind of a insult to injury when you look at things from Hikari’s view.
Chisaki needs to vent, have someone to talk to often because she’s going to explode at this rate if she keeps holding it in. I’m glad she realizes things can’t stay the same forever. You got to move on no matter how painful it is.
POWUH: and Athenaeum Châtelaine with 2212 comments
Enjoyed the episode and all the characters growth. Hikari shows that even fantasy land mer-boys suffer from stereotypical male pride and competition, and being comforted by the girl you were trying to impress even though you lost does bruise that “sensitive” male ego. 😛
It is interesting to see the sea people’s point of view and how they notice things beyond their culture like how they were just looking in shock at the weird anime thing of grabbing another girl’s boobs?! I know I’ve never gotten the whole idea of that, and I guess it’s another culture thing that will never connect to the western world (big boobs are really not that impressive -_-).
Tsumugu continues to be the quiet piller of advice, the guy that everyone listens to. Manaka is growing quite a bit a learning to show her real self. Chisaki I think is frustrated with all the changes happening around her and to her and she knows that everyone is changing too. She cannot stop change no more than she can stop the tides.
She shows anger and jealousy to Manaka who is so in tune with Hikari at times that she does even think to done her scaredy-cat facade when he needs her or is in trouble. To her it’s instinctual. Chisaki doesn’t have that instinct, and she is angry at Manaka for having something she will never have.
However they are all friends and time will tell where that friendship will lead them.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
I can say that I’ve never been in a social situation where one girl grabbed another’s boobs, but I do know a guy on FB that has corset parties, so maybe it happens there…
Seems you’re coming around on Tsumugu. 😉 It’s true that the guy who is quiet can be the one everyone listens to the most.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
Boob grabbing by other girls? Work in a restaurant…
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
It didn’t even happen when I did that…