Nagi no Asukara – 19
Waiting quietly for something to happen
Boo, my vacation is over. Back to work, and with the Olympics still going on, that means this week will be pretty busy. But there are still anime to watch, and posts to write about the anime you watch!
Manaka Is Back, But Is She?
Manaka is fine, just not waking up
They’ve brought Manaka up to the surface, but while she’s alive and breathing, she’s not waking up like Hikari and Kaname did. And they don’t mention whether her ena is recovering or continuing to erode. So was it the right decision to bring her up? Or should Hikari have left her there in the care of the Sea God? It’s hard to tell, but given Tsumugu’s grandfather’s extended version of the story of the Ojoshi and the Sea God, it seems that if Manaka was in the role of the fabled offering in the legend, she wouldn’t have died at the hands of the Sea God, just been sent to the surface. So how much credence should there be in that story? And how is it not a ‘happy ending’ as grandfather puts it?The offering got to go back to the person she loved, at the cost of her ena that she didn’t want in the first place. I think the circumstances of the story fit the current situation, so who knows how much Hikari’s intervention will upset the apple cart.
Grandfather has a timely story
Hikari’s not looking back, tho. He’s happy to have brought Manaka back, and thinks she’ll wake up and everything will be hunky dory. Too bad it’s not working out like that. And while everyone has some feeling like this will start moving things forward, it’s not sure how much it really will.
Chisaki to the Fore
Hikari’s still a boy
Chisaki is really someone stuck between ages. Looking grown up in her nifty nurse’s uniform, she still doesn’t think she really fits the role, instead feeling like she’s just putting on a costume, even as she performs her work well. But at the same time, she can’t help looking back, to that old school uniform she barely fits in and to Hikari. I took Chisaki’s first statement about Hikari, that he wasn’t rugged like the men she’s encountered as a nurse, to mean that she realized that he hadn’t grown up, and that she was feeling the difference in their age. And she’s been feeling that difference, that she’s supposed to be older but not really feeling more mature. Somewhat jealous of the feelings that Miuna is able to have for Hikari, the look in her eyes, and not really sure what she can do, Chisaki wonders how much is lost in growing up. She’s right, you do lose things growing up; mostly as you experience things, you lose that sense of experiencing new things. But as Tsumugu says, you replace them with other things as you grow.
Does Chisaki pick up on the quiet war here?
Chisaki’s really in the middle of everything now, tho. Tsumugu, happy that the others came back because he feels that Chisaki can now move out of the hold her life has been in, seems to be ready to actively pursue Chisaki. And Kaname hasn’t given up and probably won’t give up even if Chisaki tells him there’s no chance. And Chisaki herself realizes that she still likes the way Hikari is, his resolve and his strength. It certainly is getting crowded around her, and I can see some fireworks happening if she realizes that Tsumugu and Kaname are starting to fight over her when she doesn’t really feel like she’s a prize to be won by either of them. For his part, Kaname is really acting like a kid who’s trying to act older than he is about Chisaki. I think he’s definitely realizing how little chance he has with her: She likes Hikari, and she’s comfortable with Tsumugu, and even though Kaname confessed to her, she never really felt that way about him in the first place. And while at the end of the episode, everyone thought things would get moving again, it’s kind of obvious they really don’t, since Manaka isn’t going to wake up (haven’t I been saying that Manaka won’t come back? I think that’s still the case, because whether she’s asleep on the ocean floor, or asleep in Akari’s house, there’s not much difference).
Bonus Chisaki Service
The person that I’m really feeling bad for is Miuna. I don’t know if it’s come through here, but I’m quite the Miuna x Hikari shipper. And seeing her realize how much he is slipping away from her is kind of tough. I think the 5 year time frame is an interesting one, because that’s really the maximum difference there could be between Hikari and Chisaki and have there still be some interest there in both directions. But of course, we don’t know if there really is any interest in the Hikari to Chisaki direction. Given the choice between Miuna and Chisaki, who would Hikari pick? That’s a tough one, and I think with time, the choice would come out to Miuna. Maybe if that got delayed for a few years, like 20-year old Hikari and Miuna and 25 year old Chisaki, there’s a different answer. But 18-year old Chisaki and 13-year old Hikari is pinging hard on the sketch-o-meter.
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: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
Goodness, but the Relationship Conga Line is stepping up the beat. I feel sad that Miuna is missing a few steps; but like yourself, I’ve not signed onto the Miuna x Hikari ship.
With the revelation that she sees what she loves in Hikari, I think Chisaki is telling us, and herself, the type of person she wants to love. Hard times that she cannot see it in the guy that has held a torch for her soon after he met her. I think Tsumugu only ever had a curious, friendly relation with Manaka.
Wow. That was a hard note. Sleeping Beauty comes to mind.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
I’ll admit that I didn’t see a whole lot of attraction from Tsumugu towards Chisaki before the ofunehiki, especially with him recatching Manaka right before that. I think there’s a lot more attraction now from Tsumugu, but he’s been holding back the whole time.
Chisaki may like those qualities in a boy, but given that Hikari is the only boy with those qualities around, that kind of limits the choices. I think it would be interesting if Tsumugu tried to be more like the things Chisaki likes about Hikari: protective, confident, and demonstrative about it (I’d say he *is* protective and supremely confident, he’s just not bombastic and self-aggrandizing about it like Hikari is).
And I’m going down with the Miuna x Hikari ship. I think that perhaps the biggest roadblock to it isn’t Chisaki or even Sleeping Manaka, it’s Hikari himself seeing Miuna still as 5 years younger than he is.
POWUH: 900-999 with 915 comments
Hmmm… Tsumugu really liked Chisaki before the Ofunehiki, tho. He noticed Chisaki, what she felt and how she was a lot better than he did with Manaka, while he looked like he simply enjoyed conversations with the latter.
And Sleeping Manaka is like a bomb waiting to explode, so she is a danger to Miuna x Hikari, even more than Hikari being incapable of seeing Miuna as something else. Yes, I hope Manaka wakes up for the sake of the story, even though I am a Miuna x Hikari shipper, as well.
And that nurse sailor-like uniform is awesome.
And Miuna should let her hair down more often.
Aaaaaand I’m just glad Nagi no Asukara went this route.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
Maybe it’s because I was always very Tsumugu x Manaka prior to the ofunehiki, but while Tsumugu was definitely friendly, and almost a confidant with Chisaki, it just never struck me that he was as attracted to her as Manaka. I thought he was insightful with both, as he had plenty of good advice for Manaka as well. That is just how he is.
I don’t think Manaka’s going to wake up, and if I’m speculating, I think they’re probably going to have to return her to the sea.
POWUH: Metanorn Regular with 88 comments
Kaname loses the cool cat battle with Tsumugu, especially that the latter has advantage in age and time spent with Chisaki. I still can’t get over the fact that either Tsumugu has been enduring all this time or he just respects Chisaki a lot, knowing her true feelings.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
I totally agree that Kaname can’t win this battle. I was thinking earlier that this is the first time we’ve really seen Kaname lose his cool. And really, he’s got no call to. Chisaki isn’t his. She never was his. The only reason he even thinks he has a chance is because she couldn’t bring herself to outright reject him. But instead, he’s turning into a complete beta male trope, even getting to the point now where he seems to be getting angry that his process-based approach to making Chisaki love him is a complete failure (as it always is).
On the other hand, Tsumugu’s just a boss. You could even put ‘like a BOSS’ after everything he does. 😉
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Kaname and Tsumugu are the most bottled up characters I’ve seen in the series. If not approached, I’m sure none would’ve spoken about what was on their minds and though they were acting civil to each other, there was always this suppressed feeling of hostility between them, even before the Boatdrift Ceremony. Anyway, Tsumugu has the upper hand since he spent five years comforting Chisaki anyway he can.
If Manaka’s condition is the Maiden’s story being made reality because of her crush on Tsumugu, then it’s safe to say Akari would’ve ended up like that if Manaka didn’t substitute herself.
So Manaka, Miuna and Chisaki all have feelings for Hikari. I’m curious as to who will ultimately win him over. In all honesty, I’d rather not choose because these girls are so kindhearted and it’s a bummer to imagine any of them being left with disappointment.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
Tsumugu has the upper hand because he’s just better at being himself, and because Chisaki actually cares for and is somewhat interested in him. Kaname’s just always been on the outside looking in, and is finally realizing that.