Watching Nagi no Asukara episode 14 after the 3-week broadcast break was like screaming my emotions out. If we imagine my emotions like my digestive system, it’s like throwing up–with the exception that all of it is stuck in my throat, and I can’t let any of it out. All I can do is cry on twitter. If I could actually translate this confusing emotion into a physical response like grief or elation, that would have made it easier. But it’s like being overloaded by the meta, I have no way to scream in a way that soothes my nerves.
The funny/ironic thing is, there isn’t even that much drama in the episode. Spoiler aside, let’s just say if we can consider the “character relationship flowchart” version of the romantic relationships in the show as some kind of elaborate papercraft, you know, like a fancy Christmas card or master-grade origami, then Nagi no Asukara just folded it and popped out something 3D from a 2D piece of paper. This omo-esqe analogy is my way to avoid the spoiler for you, but by making the story bifurcate like that and then… fold it upon itself, my mind just got blown at what results from it.
Part of it is also amusing because it is taking some key story ideas from the Onegai franchise, or it sure feels that way. Amusing because it’s got that vibe at the very start, now it is using a similar story concept and it is beyond my belief that we’re going down this road in a very “what if” sort of way.
It’s also a very otaku thing. A normal person watching Nagi-Asu is not going to have these preconceptions or unconsciously jump to conclusions about romance triangles involving Hikari like OMG HERE GOES AGAIN AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH.
The rest of you watching this show, I hope you’re having as great of a ride as I am.
PS. THANKS MARI OKADA damn it.
PPS. They sure tried to keep cour 2 a secret, kinda.
January 11th, 2014 at 5:28 pm
They really did try to keep cour 2 a secret, at least the contents of cour 2 a secret. I was expecting that the first arc would resolve itself with a friendship fixes everything schpeal. But man, cour 2 just really hit it hard. I commend the director’s ability to translate all that feels into a well directed episode.