[HorribleSubs] Nagi no Asukara - 14




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This series has been quite cruel to poor Chisaki, who didn't really deserve it.

I was close.
It would be great to see Hikari and Kaname wake up first, but now having Miuna and Sayu be high schoolers middle schoolers in the same year. Then you'd have Chisaki wake up a few months after to make a mess of things. Manaka would stay asleep. The downside to that would be that it would be really unfair to Tsumugu, but honestly I'm not sure he really cares about Manaka that way.
Miuna and Sayu are indeed middle schoolers now, and Sayu's now-serious outlook is a little cliché and disappointing. Hopefully that will change a little when Kaname wakes up. Sayu being a lovesick spaz was half the fun of her character.

I'm really impressed with Miuna. She consoled Akari right away. All of the anxiety she felt about calling her "mother" disappeared immediately, and she was able to let Akari rebuild a family without too much disruption. She kept things stable while Akari lost it, and the flexibility Miuna gave her was something Akari definitely needed more than anything, thinking everything going wrong was her fault. Long hair is a plus too, though I can't help but feel she's been keeping it close to a specific length (Manaka's specifically) as a way to entice Hikari upon his return. Rejecting the boy was fantastic, and I liked the way she went right for it, despite Tsumugu telling her CPR doesn't do a lot (if anything) for sea-folk. It's hard not to root for Miuna now that she has the age advantage, and Manaka will presumably stay asleep from the new OP.

But Chisaki...she had it rough. She was left as the sole-singular sea-folk. Akari is a surface dweller with her own family now, as stated, and Tsumugu's grandfather is too. I don't think she really deserved 5 years of suffering, but she's made a life of her own now. Unfortunately, she's now close to 20 (coming of age ceremony referenced) as is Tsumugu and the rest of the surface classmates. Even if she wanted to rekindle things with Hikari, I don't think she ever would. Not could, would. Chisaki is the type to get bothered by age gaps. I also liked that she refused to see the Tomoebi, because it wasn't the same without the other three.

Moreover, it seems she and Tsumugu have grown close over the years. They're family, but at the same time, they're a lot more than family.

I do wonder what woke Hikari. Was it the Tomoebi (I couldn't tell whether or not it was a regular occurrence or something that only happens every few years, despite frequently happening underwater), or was it Miuna wishing she could be reunited with her lost love? How much is the Sea God continuing to meddle in the relationships of young ones?

At least Chisaki is legal now. It's not creepy to be attracted to her anymore!