Nagi no Asukara – 16
“We were just going to make a baby sister for you…”
Time for more Nagi no Asukara, but wanted to let everyone know that I’ll be dropping episodic blogging for Nourin (but we did add Sakura Trick to MetaFap!). So what happened under the sea this time?
Everything Old is New Again
Tako-senpai is back
Hikari returns to school, back in the same class, with the same teacher, as when he was frozen. Something that’s really obvious, though, is that there are a lot fewer students in this class. And that’s not just because the four kids from Shioshishio aren’t there. There’s definitely been some decline in population everywhere.
Hikari is really hamming it up as the ‘senpai’, even though all his being older comes from being asleep. But the reaction from most of the other kids is just him being an oddity, at least initially. And the idea of him being Miuna’s uncle is brought up, giving Miuna a little bit of a start, since that would put a stop to any kind of romantic relationship between the two. But as the guy who had the crush on Miuna (and who Hikari misunderstands as being the guy Miuna’s interested in) points out, he’s a step uncle, so it’s no different from Akari and Itaru marrying.
A Wedge Between Friends
Girls fighting is not an endearing sight
But watching Miuna get flirty with Hikari (even if Hikari doesn’t really know why Miuna’s being flirty) really starts to grate on Sayu, who gets invited to the city with them to get more annoyed. It’s a shame the rest of the family couldn’t go, and you’d think that maybe Hikari and Miuna would be under quarantine if Akira has Rubella (why would they be vaccinated but Akira not?). But while they’re there, Sayu and Miuna get in a big fight, and split up with Miuna running off wondering why her friend can’t support her, but knowing that it’s tough for Sayu as well.
Bothering the tailor
I don’t really get Hikari’s waffling on the uniform, and maybe that’s just more of the “I don’t really like Hikari” attitude I have coming through. He doesn’t really want a land uniform, fine. But it’s more like he doesn’t really want ANY uniform. It’s just more of his usual stubbornness, that trait that still bugs me because of the selfish, and so often just pointless to me, nature of its application. And I know that he can be more thoughtful, because he is, even right after that.
Hikari helps out
It shows a lot of thoughtfulness that he knows where to try to look for Miuna, and that he goes to talk to her. And he does help Miuna come out of her funk a bit, although the interruption when she was (presumably) about to try to confess to Hikari will probably change things significantly. It’s hard to know what to make of her sudden acquisition of ena. At first I was wondering if it was a delusion, but there’s no way that someone who couldn’t swim, like Miuna, could go to not drowning without something else happening, especially in heavy clothes like that. Plus, I finally noticed that she got all shiny at that point. So it seems like it was a legitimate change, but will it stick? Could it have been something temporary because Kaname was being awakened at the time?
More beautiful artwork
Kaname returns, and Miuna develops ena? To me that’s a very interesting development because it would mean that a lot more people would seem to be able to move under the sea. Or is it something special for Miuna for being either a mixed child, or even in love with Hikari? I start to wonder if the sea god is starting to grant either wishes or prayers: Miuna coming to love the sea like both of her mothers, Sayu wishing the boy she loved would come back…
Telltale brown hair
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
That’s no trouble at all. You guys look like you have a lot on your plate already this season with all the Tag Team posts. I bet none of you thought it would be like this.
Kudos to Sayu for reading between the lines without asking so much as a question. It would have been quite a mess if the niece was allowed to fall for her uncle. There’s no telling how Akari would react.
So Miuna is able to breathe underwater now. It was nice to see that smile on her face. If I remember correctly, her biological mother was from the sea just like Akari and that could explain the Ena development which means hybrid children like Akira aren’t excluded from this particular trait, after all. Maybe there’s hope for Tsumugu since he’s 1/4 of the sea species.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
I don’t mind watching Nourin, but it’s just not going anywhere quickly. They do one gag per show, and stretch it out the whole way. The best thing the show could do is develop a personality for Ringo immediately, one that’s not ‘resist Minori’s attempts to run Ringo away from Kousaku’.
I think Akari wouldn’t mind at all if Miuna and Hikari fell for each other. Given Akari’s sacrifices that she made for love, she certainly understands that it’s not amazingly rational all the time. And if it’s ok for Akari and Itaru to be a couple and have children, it’s just as acceptable for Miuna and Hikari.
Miori, Miuna’s mother, was from the sea. I was trying to see if Miuna’s eye color had changed, but I think it’s always been that slate blue, as opposed to the more azure color of the sea people or the brown of the land people.
We’ll have to see if this is something that everyone can take advantage of. I’m reminded of the end of Starmind by Spider Robinson.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Show still continues to blow my mind, Okada is right in the zone with this arc. This could have been Hanasaku 15-18, but she learned her lessons well. It’s gonna be a fun fun ride.