I kept hoping Miuna wouldn't suddenly start drowning in the bottom of the sea if Manaka ever woke up there. Wondering what type of repercussions taking Manaka out of the sea will bring. Maybe the whole village will be frozen (sleeping?) forever now because of that? Maybe Manaka (pls not Miuna or Chisaki) would have to re-submit herself later to the sea once they figure this out? Miuna's height marking gave me weird death flag feelings.
Uroko said arranging the ceremony will have no effect whatsoever. It's quite possible what happened during the ceremony, Manaka's fate included, was nothing but a coincidence, caused by the creation of the strong currents and the dome over the sea town. It's likewise quite possible the ceremony was always meaningless, other than to the participants themselves. Uroko also did nothing at all to prevent them from taking Manaka back with them. Before the time skip he once stopped people from leaving, although relenting shortly afterwards, so I reckon it's more likely he would have now done something, had rescuing Manaka been bad in the sea god's eyes. He was also humouring Miuna, despite it being obvious she wouldn't let Manaka die if she could help it.
Uroko isn't the Sea God himself, but a scale of him. I was under the impression that during the ceremony, the Sea God suddenly changed its mind due to the passion everyone put in. It decided to accept their offer in return for saving the Earth (or whatever). Until then, Uroko was right in that the ceremony shouldn't have had any impact.
That's my take anyway. See the Sea God's "hand" grabbing Manaka.
If it's not Isuzu-chan Mii~
Episode 19 - HS
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Hibernating underwater aside, I think sleeping for a week on dry land, in room temperature, would require at least hydration. Not to mention more complicated things such as preventing pressure ulcers.
It's a pity Chisaki's love for Hikari was so rekindled by the coincidence of deciding to visit the sea village at the same time. Although I suppose it would have happened anyway sooner or later. The scene of Chisaki and Tsumugu drinking was nice, but I also liked how Tsumugu remained so composed during all the scenes, especially compared to Kaname. I don't care if he's too robotic in general, but right now I enjoyed such calmness instead of the usual over the top anime reactions. Maybe in the long run reaffirming her feelings will help Chisaki move forward. At least it could push her to decide what to do about Tsumugu (and Kaname, but I don't care about that dude). She's still living in his house, so maybe loving another dude yet remaining there would start to bother her after a while and give her a concrete reason to make a final decision.
I think she'll find Tsumugu to be as "gentle" as Hikari was, and realise why.
If it's not Isuzu-chan Mii~
Interesting admission from Tsumugu to Kaname that one of the reasons he has been holding back from pursuing Chisaki is because they other three weren't there. Now he and Chisaki can start moving forward again. He may be soon making is move after all.
Secondly, the alternate way to take his words to the dosing Chisaki, "fulfill what you lost with new things," was that he did love Manaka, but that things in suspension left him unable to come to a conclusion, and he started filling the loss with growing affection for Chisaki. It's not that he treated Chisaki as a rebound (nor she him), but that you take a longer look at other things that make have passed your notice before.
What has me worried, though, is that like Hikari and Kaname have been saying, Chisaki hasn't changed. She's still stuck in the past: reminiscing her childhood, or even wanting to relive parts of it, trying the old middle school uniform, being really happy when the old friends tell she hasn't changed. It feels like her fresh profession is the only new thing she embraces. Will she be able to overcome that aspect of herself?
Episode 20 - HS
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I've been feeling, during the last eps, that this show has shifted more towards oppressive drama from the airier, atmospheric episodes of the beginning. Consequently the predictability has increased. Thus Manaka waking up right now was hardly a surprise; it was about the time if the story intends to truggle forward the path it seemingly has chosen.
But perhaps something will still change and mystery will prevail. I suppose that will depend on whether the weather phenomenon including the sea god or the love polygons will be more prominent from now on.
Curses, the annoying girl's awake now.
I was wishing/envisioning Tsumugu trying to drown himself in the ice-cold water himself to test the adaptation theory since he has some Shioshishio blood in him to a degree as well. I suppose that was a bit too far-fetched though.
And I totally empathise with him about being envious of others having so much emotion and passion. I'm somewhat like that myself.
If it's not Isuzu-chan Mii~
Come on, it was still cute the way Manaka woke up. Hikari getting all fired up to the point that she had to wake up and hold him back. Pretty much exactly what Tsumugu told Miuna to do, create extreme circumstances where change will happen.
This episode also reinforced Miuna's choice is hair style and length. She knows that Hikari prefers girls like Manaka, and kept her loose hair in a nearly identical cut.
Overall, I felt this episode returned toward the airier, goofy episodes, despite the numerous confessions and admissions and sad faces everywhere. We had Kaname and Hikari getting all bothered over Chisaki's curvy hotness, Akari being the best mother ever, the wake-up scene, the contrast of Sayu being responsible and acting like an adult but getting bored and reading Snow White, and Sayu and Miuna discussing how they want to be part of the group again.
Really, I don't know why the two of them didn't try harder to worm their way in now during this episode. There is no greater chance for them to get in. They're the same age as three of them, and Chisaki's 5 years on the surface has changed her and made their group a lot looser. Sayu and Miuna need to strike now.
Indeed. It's too bad they are holding back because they seem to think they have no chances or that pushing forward now would make them look like bad people. Although now with Manaka awake as well, the latter shouldn't be such a problem.Originally Posted by Ryllharu
Tsumugu obviously has played himself out of the group more or less, looking very much like an adult in the company of kids when he's with them. Chisaki is hanging somewhere in the middle, with how much she's looking behind her back all the time.
Tsumugu is doing it out of purpose as well. I think he's giving Chisaki space to decide for herself how "back in time" she belongs.
If it's not Isuzu-chan Mii~
Episode 21 - HS
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Hmm... After what seems like a good while, this show managed to surprise me. I wonder, though, if Uroko realised that for a scientist like Tsumugu that won't be a curse but a blessing. One might think it would serve some kind of higher purpose, especially considering the episode title, but the fact it appeared right after Tsumugu noted they could bribe Uroko with porn mags suggests otherwise. Unless Uroko, being a man of refined humour, was simply waiting for a moment like this to make his move.
Quite a nice episode all in all. Manaka was certainly a lot more energetic and happy than I expected; she's really an airhead. The most I enjoyed the calm scenes of Chisaki and Tsumugu, although the family scenes back at Shiodomes were jolly as well. When Chisaki left the others, it felt like she realised she doesn't anymore belong to the company of kids goofing around, having turned adult for good. I hope it really was so because that would spell well for Tsumugu.
The blank look in Manaka's eyes during dinner and the fact that she does not remember her promise with Hikari is worrying.
Peace.
So Chisaki's grown out of cream puffs and moved on to the more 'adult' coffee jelly. Good to hear!
Firstly is it possible to curse someone who isn't Shioshishio? I thought those were bits of Ena coming off Tsumugu's show there.
If it's not Isuzu-chan Mii~
I definitely agree. Despite how much Manaka and Hikari claim that Chisaki hasn't changed, she has, and when compared to the rest of them, it starts to stand out. On the roof she could tell she didn't fit with the others. They're still kids (as are Sayu and Miuna), and she's had a long and lonely five years. The memories are still there, but the chemistry is starting to fade. She grew intimately close to Tsumugu and given the natural way the two interact, I'd even say she grew closer to him in five years than the four did all the time they were growing up.
Chisaki is past her awkward love stage, the rest are still figuring life out. Though it isn't her taste in confections, it's how well she can still relate to the middle school five. The problem that I think she's starting to grasp is that she can't. It's just part of growing up.
It definitely felt like she was growing more distant to the other three, just over the course of this episode.
It was a blank look, but with a smile. I'm actually wondering if she's really Manaka. I was guessing that she was momentarily possessed by the Sea God, or that she's the Sea God in disguise.
If it is the latter, one thing I'm certain of is that Manaka isn't dead, she's still down under the water, hidden away. I think it more likely that she's channeling the Sea God.
It could also be that he's still taking things from her. Ena was first, memories are next.
Episode 22 - HS
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Quite a believable explanation for the Sea God's all douchebaggery. If the powers, emotions, and consciousness are separated and all messed up, it makes sense very petty things could happen. Up until now I thought Uroko was only avoiding responsibility and hiding excuses when he kept saying he's nothing but a scale, but in the end he's literally one. He was surprisingly open this time, though it won't seemingly do much good for mankind, at least with Hikari asking the questions. It was pretty funny how Hikari hardly gave a shit about the land becoming uninhabitable compared to Manaka not being able to love. The dude has his priorities right.
Tsumugu getting more serious with Chisaki is a very welcome thing. He really was waiting for everybody to get back before pressing the issue, but now he's patience is finally nearing the limit. Not that you could tell that from his unpassionate face, but still.
One thing I do like about Tsumugu is how frank he is. That's perhaps the biggest difference between him and Kaname. They're both smart and observant, but the latter tests the water with statements before double-backing with "Just kidding" and so on. It makes him look less sincere and more scheming. By comparison, you can count on Tsumugu being 100% serious when he opens his mouth, for better or worse (better, in this case - particularly since Chisaki seems to be so insecure about herself).
If it's not Isuzu-chan Mii~
Kaname is still a kid, so such behavior suits him better, giving him leeway, but an adult like Tsumugu would get a dose of maliciousness with jokes like that. Of course Chisaki herself is an adult now as well, so behaving like that will hurt Kaname's chances as it ought to make him look more like a brat in Chisaki's eyes.
Episode 23 - HS
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When this ep began I was afraid it would be all about Manaka and Hikari. I can't really connect with those two for various reasons, the foremost being Hikari's bratty personality and now Manaka's weird, flawed personality. I suppose I still haven't really gotten over the fact Manaka's absence kind of removed her from the pool of characters for me. Fortunately the ep didn't deal solely with those two, though, and things got a lot more intriguing when the others appeared.
Naturally the ending is what made this episode. First the fight with Tsumugu totally overpowering Hikari but being totally cool about it, and then the real deal. I certainly hadn't foreseen Tsumugu's confession to turn out like that, an accident, but perhaps it was for the best. The earlier scene suggested he didn't really know how to choose the moment. What Chisaki said during the gathering probably made it only worse: It might be hard to confess when the other person has just told she could be happier without the emotion of love. When he jumped after Chisaki, I was really happy. He looks so calm and emotionless all the time, and has even lamented his lack of expressions, that doing something stupidly romantic like that was really nice. The last golden touch was so successfully comparing Chisaki to the sea. He really is a cool dude.
I'm looking forward to the next ep!
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