Nagi-Asu: A Lull in the Sea / YMMV

Alternative Character Interpretation:
- Hikari. Is he just a Hormone-Addled Teenager who doesn't know how to express his feelings properly? A Tsundere? An undersea boy who's having a hard time adjusting to living in a new environment, far away from everything he knows, and copes by means of anger? A childhood friend who's just trying to look out for his friend? A misogynist/soon to be domestic abuser who treats his female friend like crap? The fans are VERY divided over this. Although he is much more likeable in later episodes and arguably becomes the series most popular character.
- Both a fandom and in-universe version with Akari. She started dating Itaru after his previous wife and her good friend, Miori died. Akari claims that she she felt bad for the Shiodome family and wanted to make them happy by spending time with them and eventually marrying in. Uroko believes that she is just re-phrasing it in a positive light, how it was an "illicit love", she is taking advantage of the Shiodome family's poor emotional state and that she was actually happy when Miori died because then she could finally be with Itaru. Akari thinks that what he says is harsh but she does not deny it.
- Is Itaru an overall Nice Guy that tries to do the right thing or is he an irresponsible father, boring, incredibly stupid (check out Idiot Ball on the anime's main page) with no personality or his own agency, instead revolving around Akari or Miuna and only serves as a plot device to add forced drama? Due to the wide age gap between him and Akari and the fact that she was still a school student when she fell in love with him, has caused some people to label him a "pedo".
- Is Sayu a spunky kid with hilarious lines and good friend to Miuna, or an incredibly annoying Bratty Half-Pint that needs to be properly punished for her stupid actions? Althogh, the second half seems to have fixed her personality problems.
- Is Kaname a mature and interesting character that can't catch a break from being continually shafted and deserves to be happy? Is he a boring Kaworu expy? Is he a Yandere with Nice Guy Syndome towards Chisaki? Is he actually a Bitch in Sheep's Clothing and Manipulative Bastard because he originally wanted to leave Tsumugu to die?
- Later episodes have caused all seven leads (as well as the supporting cast) to become this.
Angst? What Angst?: Besides Miuna and Sayu, everyone else seems pretty OK with the oncoming Mysterious Ice Age of Doom. Many of them seem convinced it won't really be that bad, or that it will take such a long time to happen that it doesn't really matter. Sound familiar?
Awesome Art: It's P. A. Works after all. The trailer already guaranteed you.
Awesome Music: The first ending "Aqua Terrarium" and second opening "ebb and flow."
Broken Base:
- Some people thought Akari's story was well-executed, moved the plot along nicely and really helped with Hikari's character development while others thought it was tedious, a painful chore to watch and often times pointless as well because it did not focus on the main leads, their relationships and worldbuilding as much as it could have. This arc also contributes to Akari's polarising popularity within the fandom.
- And in the second half, some fans were not pleased with how the main point of view changes from Hikari to Miuna.
- Many people were left feeling unsatisfied with the ending because it left most of the romance open-ended (which is very typical of Okada) and only one (sort of) couple - Tsumugu/Chisaki became official. Well, kinda. Even fans of Tsumugu/Chisaki were annoyed by the lack of romance between them in the final episode and the fact that they didn't get to see a kiss. Others considered the ending too happy and simple because they wanted something bittersweet or another timeskip.
Fan-Preferred Couple: Tsumugu/Chisaki was popular in the first cour because the two had a relationship removed from the Love Dodecahedron drama - bordering on Ships That Pass in the Night. The second cour actually had them become the Official Couple.
Germans Love David Hasselhoff: The anime sold poorly for P.A. Works. However, it's relatively popular in the West to the point that it was given an English dub.
Les Yay: Manaka is plunging into the ocean, due to being chosen as the bride of the Sea God, and the scale of the Sea God that holds The Power of Love has been separated from her. Who's going to be the one to dive in and save the day by offering himself as the Sea God's sacrifice instead returning her ability to love to her? Surely Hikari, right? Nope, it's Miuna, and following Manaka regaining the ability to love, they have a Held Gaze moment that lasts for nearly four minutes while Manaka says this:
Manaka: I think I understand you more than anyone else in the world.
- When Hikari and Miuna resurface after he saves her from becoming the sacrifice, Manaka runs right by Hikari, saying nothing, to hug Miuna and ask if she is all right.
- Chisaki gives Manaka mouth-to-mouth resuscitation after she's rescued from the sea.
Narm: How can we take the scene◊ between Akari and Miuna in episode 11 seriously when Miuna's tears look like giant bubbles and aren't streaming down her face like normal tears do?! Chisaki emits similar comically gigantic tears a few episodes later.
- Miuna trying to eat sushi at the pre-hibernation banquet while crying because she doesn't know what will happen to her friends and family. It could come across as heartbreaking and funny at the same time, or even Narm Charm.
Rewatch Bonus:
- Watching the series a second time with the knowledge that Manaka reciprocated Hikari's feelings but didn't want to betray Chisaki offers a more interesting take to her interactions with Hikari and her attempts to "pair" him together with Chisaki (e.g. Episode 5 when she wonders what answers she wants from a sea slug while watching Hikari and Chisaki, and Episodes 9 and 10 after she rejects Hikari when he hugs her).
- The Manaka-Hikari-Miuna triangle and Miuna's conflicts in the second half will definitely be seen in a new light when one watches the first half again and takes note of their interactions during that part.
- In episode 23, Tsumugu more or less says that he has been in love with Chisaki since the 4thepisode.
Romantic Plot Tumour: Whilst the show is listed as part of the 'romance' genre, it manages to suffer from this, with a really interesting concept becoming clouded by a Love Dodecahedron that makes little logical sense.
The Scrappy:
- Manaka. It's impossible to find any forum discussing Nagi no Asukara without twenty or so people expressing their hatred for her. The fact that she has a tendency to cry a lot and her Nice Girl personality doesn't help.
- Tsumugu has been on the receiving of quite a bit of hate, if only because he gets in the way of one of the most popular pairings and has received less character development than the others.
Tear Jerker:
- After a forced meeting with Uroko and a night of crying alone in her roon, Akari tells Hikari that she will stop seeing her surface boyfriend. She begins to joke with Hikari as usual, only to start softly crying while hugging him.
- Although he keeps butting heads with his son Hikari and keeps advising Akari to give up on Miuna's father, their father, Sakishima Tomoru, does really care for them as seen in episode 7. When they both made up their minds to leave Shioshishio and were consequently being forcefully held back by Uroko-sama, Tomori bows and begs for Uroko-sama to show them mercy and let them leave. The episode ends with Hikari and Akari leaving for the surface and Tomori left all alone, having lost his wife, his daughter and his son.
- The ending for episode 13 qualifies as this.

YMMV / Nagi-Asu: A Lull in the Sea

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