Hello and welcome to my blog for the second episode of Nagi no Asukara. Chances are, if you’re reading this, you read my first entry and for that I thank you. I like episode two because my two favorite characters, Miuna and Sayu actually get to talk! Aside from that, you find out some pretty important details about the world the characters live in and what impact their choices can have on them.

The second episode opens up with the curse being lifted from Manaka. In other words, the fish leaves her knee. After the fish leaves, Manaka starts thinking about how Tsumugu told her that he thought both the fish and Manaka were beautiful. The fact that the curse has now been lifted upsets Manaka so she goes to Lord Uroko and throws food at her in an attempt to get him to curse her again. Lord Uroko responds by eating the food she threw at him. He doesn’t curse her. Then the beautiful theme music plays.

BAKA MANAKA. This scene drives me crazy because the only reason she wants to be cursed again is because she’s infatuated by Tsumugu. I can understand wanting to do something because the person you are infatuated with likes it but I draw the line at disrespecting others to achieve your goal.

After the theme song is over, Manaka approaches Tsumugu at school to thank him for saving her life the day before. Tsumugu asks how the fish in Manaka’s knee is doing and Manaka lies saying that he is doing great. Hikari then approaches Tsumugu and thanks him for taking care of Manaka and tells him that surface people have no business concerning themselves with the ocean village of Shioshishio and Hikari walks away. Manaka chases after him telling him that he was being rude. They argue and Hikari gets upset because Manaka keeps calling Tsumugu by his first name. She tells him that she doesn’t know his last name and gets upset. Hikari leaves.

If you’re not used to Hikari and Manaka arguing, you better get used to it. Hikari tends to argue with her a lot. He’s just sooo jealous and it gets on my nerves. I’ll be honest, while I love this anime; Hikari and Manaka are my two least favorite characters. Tsumugu is smart and mostly ignores Hikari. You can see the huge gap between how mature they are despite the fact that they are both the same age.

Chisaki approaches Manaka. Manka proceeds to tell Chisaki that she messed up because Tsumugu saved her and even though Hikari was worried about her too, she got mad at him. Chisaki tells Manaka that Hikari was really worried about her and that even when he was having trouble breathing due to his Ena drying out, he wouldn’t stop searching for her. She tells Manaka that Hikari isn’t really mad at her so she shouldn’t act like she’s afraid of him because that will only annoy him. Manaka asks Chisaki how she knows this and Chisaki says that it’s because she’s known both of them so long.

Chisaki is a great friend. She likes Hikari but refrains from making any kind of move because she knows Hikari likes Manaka. She also does her best to make Manaka feel better after she has an argument with Hikari. I guess that’s probably why Chisaki is my favorite character from the underwater village of Shioshishio.

As Hikari is leaving the school building, Sayu calls him an octopus head. Hikari remembers seeing Sayu and Miuna at the store his sister works at. They ask Hikari if he knows her and when he tells them that Akari is his sister, Sayu calls him a liar. Sayu tells Miuna that they were acting close and that they are probably boyfriend and girlfriend. Hikari asks them why they aren’t at school and Sayu tells Hikari not to treat her like a brat you brat. Sayu then tries to attack Hikari but he stretches his arm out and puts his hand on her forhead which prevents all of her attacks from hitting. Kaname approaches them and pats Sayu on the head and she blushes. She tells Kaname to get his smelly fish hands away from her. Miuna then kicks Hikari and they both run away.

I know I’ve mentioned this before but I absolutely adore Miuna and Sayu. They are best friends and Sayu supports Miuna 1000%. So adorable….squeeee You’ll find out later why this scene occurs.

The teacher then asks the class if anybody is interested in making a wooden maiden for the voluntary Boatdrift Ceremony the school is doing. He then goes into the history of why the Boatdrift Ceremony occurs. Tsumugu volunteers which leads to Manaka volunteering which leads to Hikari volunteering. Chisaki and Kaname end up volunteering as well. Hikari complains saying it’s something the surface people are supposed to do. Chisaki reminds him that he didn’t have to volunteer. Tsumugu starts asking questions about Shioshishio and you find out he is actually quite knowledgeable about it.

I love backstory and the backstory behind the Boatdrift Ceremony is great!

Tsumugu is extremely interested in Shioshishio. If there is one character that I feel like represents me in this anime, it’s Tsumugu. His desire is to visit Shioshishio but he can’t breathe underwater. Often, I feel like I’m trapped within my own world when what I really want to do is explore other worlds. (In my case it is to travel the world)

Later, as the kids from Shioshishio are heading back to the sea, they see Hikari’s sister, Akari, kiss a guy from the surface. They freak out and Chisaki speculates that it is Akari’s boyfriend and Hikari gets mad because she hasn’t mentioned having one and he’s a surface guy. Hikari says it probably won’t work out and she would end up back in the sea. Kaname tells him that is impossible because if a child of the sea gets into a relationship with a child of the surface, that person is banished from Shioshishio. Manaka says that she thinks it’s wrong to keep a child of the sea out of the sea just because they fell in love with a surface person. Hikari asks Manaka if she is thinking about getting in a relationship with a guy from the surface and she gets upset and jumps in the sea. Chisaki tries to intervene but only angers Hikari even more.

If I had a penny every time Hikari argues with Manaka, I would be rich…..seriously though…..we’re only in episode two and it’s getting really old. You kind of have to get used to it….although things do get better eventually. A child of the sea really has to love a surface person in order to risk getting banished if the residents of Shioshisho find out. It’s a decision that will affect you and perhaps haunt you for the rest of your life.

Back in Shioshishio, Chisaki tells Kaname that she wants to stay in the sea forever with him, Manaka, and Hikari. Kaname tells her that is because it is comfortable to stay there and that once you start longing for other places, that’s when life gets harder. He then states how surprised he was that Manaka was the first one to take a step out of Shioshishio. Meanwhile, Manaka has looked up Tsumugu’s last name and has memorized it so Hikari will no longer get angry about it.

Chisaki would be happy if things never changed….but alas change is on the horizon and she’s not that comfortable with it. I know exactly how she feels. Change is the one thing I hate yet I long for.

Manaka tries her best to keep Hikari from getting mad at her and I want to knock him in the head whenever he yells at her anyway.

At the dinner table, Hikari is going to question Akari about her kissing the surface guy when she interrupts to comment on the television show she is watching saying that she wished she had a baby girl. Later, while Hikari is in bed, he thinks about how all he wants is to protect Manaka like her Ena does but she is willing to throw it all away for the surface.

I can relate to both Hikari and Akari. Akari wants her relationship with the surface guy to be successful and produce a child yet it means she loses everything. I too wouldn’t mind losing everything I have to gain something greater. Hikari feels like he needs to protect Manaka but what he doesn’t realize is that Manaka doesn’t need protecting. I understand that from experience.

The next day, as they are working on the Wooden Maiden, Manaka calls Tsumugu by his last name and Hikari gives her an irritated glance. Manaka wonders why Hikari was mad when she called Tsumugu by his last name when that’s what she thought he wanted her to call him. Tsumugu asks Manaka how the fish in her knee is doing and she lies to him again. As Chisaki heads outside to throw some unneeded wood into the fire she realizes that Manaka really does like Tsumugu and she remembers when Kaname told her that if Manaka was ever out of the picture, it would be her by Hikari’s side. She then notices a hole that was being dug and Tsumugu comes out and tells her they are digging the Shioshishio kids a pond so they don’t have to go back to the sea as soon to refresh their Ena.

Hikari just can’t be pleased…..no matter what Manaka tries to do to appease him. It’s so frustrating when you do something because you think it will make somebody that you care about happy when in reality, it just makes them more irritated.

Later, back in Shioshishio, Manaka is once again begging Lord Uroko to curse her. He asks her why she wants to be cursed and she says it hurts to lie. He tells her that until now, she has always had somebody to protect her but now she’s going someplace where she might need a lie to protect herself. As Manaka is leaving the Shrine, she sees the Men’s Club has a hold of Akari. They are furious because she is involved with a surface man. Akari’s father, who is also the Head Priest, comes and sends the men home and that he will talk to his daughter about it. He takes Akari into the Shrine with Lord Uroko and the end theme plays.

Manaka just needs to tell Tsumugu the truth and be done with it. Seriously….it’s like she’s afraid he won’t like her if she doesn’t have the fish in her knee. As for Akari….she’s chosen a hard path since she’s the daughter of the Chief Priest and in a relationship with a surface guy. I sympathize with her.

I’ll be honest, I wasn’t sure I would get this finished in time…. >.< It’s been a long hectic week for me and my blog entries have been taking 4-5 hours to complete.

Overall, I felt this was a great episode and I hope you join me next week when I post my third and final entry for the third episode of the anime Nagi no Asukara!

Thanks for reading!

~Ryuji