Nagi no Asukara - part 2

Reading this review reminded me of my first time watching Kaiba. Starts off beautiful and interesting, but the plot, which mainly comes in the second half, just wasn't as interesting as the first half.

Maybe it has something to do with P.A. Works. This still sounds interesting, I'll probably give it a watch.

Also I feel your pain about the non-spoiler review writing. Literally the most frustrating thing to do when a show doesn't have much action or anything flashy like that to gawk at.

This review is really thought out and in detail. You do make some strong points about this show and I'm not gonna lie. Some of your points I disagree with.

Yes anime with inconsistency and pointless overdramatizing can be pointless for an anime but it could also make anime more enjoyable. In Sword Art Online 2 and the end of the GGO Ark, (I'm ONLY making a statement and I hope proving the idea...)  SPOILER AHEAD IS YOU HAVE NOT SEEN SAO II
Remember near the end of the ark where OPAF Kirito gets stabbed by the electric needle and should of died... He was in pain! But the pointless overdramatizing made that part suspenseful and make those who didn't read the manga (muah) think "OMG hes dead!". But in all reality he got "lucky" with the electrode still attached to him, saving his life.
 

unfortunately, that's all I can think of right now to the point of "pointless overdramatizing". I hate LOVE writers block.

Lokorfi wrote

22700
As much as I liked the visual aspects of this anime, I have to admit, it's very inconsistent.
 The eye candy and nice character designs being one thing, the frame errors and misplaced
 things seem to find their way into this anime, too.

One must keep in mind that frame errors, while they should be spotted and fixed immediately during production, is common. Not every anime can be perfect visuals. I applaud the creators for being able to keep it at a minimum while still maintaining the aesthetic.

22700
The problems the teenagers face in this anime are all over the place, but said teenagers
 don't make the logical choices where they should.

Not just illogical choices, the lack of choices is where this anime goes sour in your mouth.

22700
In the end, I didn't even know what to treat seriously - so much was going on the
 screen and not all of it has ever been tackled.

The only thing that I could make out was the love polygon over everything else. That's the thing- they prioritized who loves who over the story itself in my opinion. Some of which didn't even make complete sense at the time.

22700
All in all, I liked Nagi no Asukara. I liked it so much I refused to write a review
 right after watching it not to disrespect it - and, trust me, I was really light
 on this one; I initially wanted to write a 10-page long article on how much I hated
 the way they ended it. I think it's a good watch, if not for the few things that
 take away from the original focal. Will definitely live up to your expectations...
 at least, until the last episode comes and makes you feel otherwise.

Thinking about the ending left some bile in my mouth, please write that 10-page article.
Watching this when it was airing definitely left me with disappointment and exhilaration over
and over
and over.
But now I realize that it just left me exhausted trying to keep up with my emotional turmoil.
Love your article. It puts everything into words that I wasn't able to.

The following goes to both you, and Kiss of Death.

In the end what I have to say will come down to: Should I watch this? However, I have a few more questions before we ultimately get to that question.

Visually the anime looks really good, in fact that is what piqued my interest. It looks like your typical moe-filled anime, but it genuinely looks really good in terms of art. I don't want to watch something that visually is kinda all over the place. I like consistency, but I can live with minor bumps, they're bound to happen anyway. Will I really notice the flaws, or do I have to really be looking for them to notice them?

Lack of story, and lack of choices by characters. This'll probably be my biggest turn off because if there isn't a decent story, or plot I'm just going to get bored. How bad is the lack of story? You mentioned a love polygon (When will we get love decahedrons?!) that is more noticeable than the story itself, or at least overshadows the story a bit, is it too much? Is there too much love, and too little progression?

Bile. Mouth. Ending. Quite descriptive, so I must ask was it really that bad? I've seen anime with bullshit endings, but it hasn't ever left me with a bad taste in my mouth like I'd just been done the wrong way. Will the ending make me feel like I just wasted my time watching the anime? 

Additionally I believe there were some remarks about the anime not knowing whether it was a comedy, or a serious anime. Should I go in with a serious mind, or should I just chill out and take it with a laid back attitude? 

Thank you both, Kiss for the review, and Lokorfi for the additional information. So it comes down to: Should I watch this? 

I look forward to your replies, and hopefully something new to watch. ^^

Lokorfi wrote

23762
Visually the anime looks really good, in fact that is what piqued my interest. It
 looks like your typical moe-filled anime, but it genuinely looks really good in
 terms of art. I don't want to watch something that visually is kinda all over the
 place. I like consistency, but I can live with minor bumps, they're bound to happen
 anyway. Will I really notice the flaws, or do I have to really be looking for them
 to notice them?

Personally, as I've said to Kiss earlier in the Discord chat, I'm completely blind to frame errors and inconsistencies with design. I just know because other people are saying so. All in all, you'd have to be more detail-oriented like Kiss to notice these things.

Lack of story, and lack of choices by characters. This'll probably be my biggest
 turn off because if there isn't a decent story, or plot I'm just going to get bored.
 How bad is the lack of story? You mentioned a love polygon (When will we get love
 decahedrons?!) that is more noticeable than the story itself, or at least overshadows
 the story a bit, is it too much? Is there too much love, and too little progression?

It's not there's too much love and too little progression, it's too much of both. There's not complete balance between both of these aspects, and it's stifling. You need harmony to make your viewers/readers more comfortable with the work that you're putting out. They just wanted angst built on top of angst.
The lack of story is just that; lack of story. The conflicts in Nagi no Asukara have almost no depth and are not that hard to solve, or aren't even solved completely, only given a temporary solution. The characters are utter shite btw, they care more about their little groupie thing than the fact that they're letting the land and the sea go into complete turmoil.

Bile. Mouth. Ending. Quite descriptive, so I must ask was it really that bad? I've
 seen anime with bullshit endings, but it hasn't ever left me with a bad taste in
 my mouth like I'd just been done the wrong way. Will the ending make me feel like
 I just wasted my time watching the anime?

Fucking horrible.
Waste of my time.
Made me regret
Every
Single
Episode
that I watched every week it came out.

Additionally I believe there were some remarks about the anime not knowing whether
 it was a comedy, or a serious anime. Should I go in with a serious mind, or should
 I just chill out and take it with a laid back attitude?

Now that you know that it's probably not going to end well for you, just try and take it all lightly. Don't start shipping anyone either; they fucking do that themselves enough.

I hope you enjoy it more than the both of us.

Thanks for the response! I'll give it a shot, but I'll probably abandon ship if I even slightly begin to dislike it. I don't wanna waste my time, but I'll give it a shot and hopefully, as you said, will enjoy it more than both of you.

I do often browse through the reviews and I have to say they're incredibly well written! They're really consise and they get the key points across and that's really useful for people who are looking for a good gague on if they should watch it or not. I watch a lot of review channels for films on YT as they're generally my go-to for moving image stuff, I sadly just don't have enough time for anime usually. Annoyingly I'm also dyslexic so reading through reviews can be really tough, however on the main thread you split it up with images which is really cool.

Either way, yeah. Great stuff, really admire the amount of effort you put in, good reviwers are really helpful and often few and far between, I know I've gotten so much enjoyment through suggested films from reviewers. Make a YouTube channel or start doing some podcasts and I'll listen to every one! Super cool stuff uwu. Sorry if this breaks up any good discussion, just thought I'd voice my appreciation a little.

Kiss of Death wrote

Umm... thanks for responses! I know you might have all wrote them just to get Senpai's special award, but nonetheless, I always wanted to have such a wide insight on my reviews, so for that, I'm eternally grateful. Now then, to address each of you.

@Lokorfi
As I already said in Discord chat, I mentioned the frame errors because they were exceptionally nasty. I understand that no production is perfect, and I tend to ignore the super small details that don't really matter or draw your attention, but some things, especially focal points (in this case characters' faces) are really important and having such error slip into the final product is, in my eyes, unacceptable. Not that it doesn't happen with most of the anime, anyway...
There was a lot going on in the anime, they decided to put into it a combination of many little backstories, routes and small details, but in the end it's just as you said - the love polygon overpowers everything else.

@[deleted]
Yeah, I really encourage you to try it. Even if my final verdict is as it is, I really enjoyed it for the most part, so I'd love it if you could take a share of at least some of that.

@[deleted]
Sorry, I should have been more specific. I don't mind drama for the most part, and usually it's all in just the right amount. The example you brought up is also 'just the right amount' I'm talking about. They keep you in suspense intentionally just to make you breathe out in relief a while later. It's a process well known and mostly well used - talking overdramatized, it would be if they devoted half the episode or more air time just to show the other cast reacting and being super depressed about it, killing the whole mood in the process.
The things I perceive as overdramatized are often either the mood killers as I mentioned already or things so silly you can't believe they based serious drama on them. For example:

• a serious fight between two women because one of them has smaller boobs (it's a thing in some anime, the fight went on for at least half the episode and killed all sorts of comedy mood that could be felt before)
• "I haven't asked her out yet but I'm pretty sure she's in love with somebody else so I won't ask her out and act all butthurt about it for the rest of the show."
• the entirety of Twilight

@[deleted]
1) You might or might not notice the flaws, but most of the time you can just live on with them because the show is interesting enough. Most of the time however it's just minor flaws that only my stupid eyes will notice.
2) The story goes on pretty okay, we get more than enough to keep us entertained, so that shouldn't be a problem. The only noticable downside is by the end of the anime where any conclusion other than resolving the love polygon is nowhere to be found.
3) It's not a bullshit ending by any means, comparing it to most shounens it'd still be pretty decent, but at the same time, it leaves you somewhat dissatisfied with the way it ended. In the end, it's up to you how you perceive it.
4) I'd say brace yourself for the drama since it's inevitable, but enjoy whatever pieces of light comedy you'll find.
So yeah, I say watch it, as I already said, it's a pretty good anime despite its shortcomings, so I want you to enjoy what I enjoyed, and I still feel sorry for you having to go through the ending.

@[deleted]
Thank you very much! I'm glad you enjoyed it. In all honesty, I planned to write two last reviews today and just quit the business once and for all since the interest seemed to have gone really low, but after this 'miracle' happened (I still have to kiss Senpai's butt for trying and making it happen) I'm convinced to stay for a while longer, so long as potential readers remain.
As for making a YouTube channel or podcast, I'm not really sure if I'm cut out for it...

Thanks for the response! I think between yours and Loko's response I'll have to give it a shot. Hopefully I'm able to look past its shortcomings, and really enjoy the anime. This ending sounds like a real killer though. Lol

23819

• the entirety of Twilight

I LOL TOO HARD... But thanks for clearing it up.

I like your reviews. You keep to the point but it's thorough. But when you mentioned Plastic Memories, it brought back a ton of old memories. That show hit home so much. I was watching that show weekly when my grandma died. For some reason, I always associate that show with all the good times I had with her. Sorry to get emotional. I cried my eyes out every week an episode came out.