This does not please the sea god.
What They Say:
Episode #7: “The Ofunehiki Shakes”
The Review
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
The kids finish the Ofunehiki offering for the festival and plan to go ahead with the ceremony. First they have to convince their elders to do as they have done and set aside their business issues and go ahead with the ceremony. This is, of course, easier said than done.
The kids put up a good effort, collecting signatures from around town to present to the elders underwater and the fishermen on the surface. It’s hard to resist Manaka’s big blue eyes and Hikari’s loudness. Add in Kaname’s charms with the ladies and a couple of little kids and the signatures start flowing in. It turns out that the villagers don’t seem to have any problem with it.
It’s almost comical that both sides have these obstinate middle aged men standing in their way. Hikari, Tsumugu and their teacher call a meeting to see if both sides will agree to the ceremony. Both sides agree to show up and at first everything is going well, almost too well. Then the first insult is thrown. The next thing you know the old salts are on their feet and a full blown argument has ensued. None of the kids can stop the argument, and the teacher certainly can’t. Matters escalate when Akari and her boyfriend show up and get drawn into the fight.
Then someone backhands Hikari into the statue they spent so much time building, which falls and decapitates itself. Hikari and Akari’s father won’t back down with his demand that Akari break up with the surface boy. It’s the last straw for the two siblings.
Akari makes up her mind to leave and live on the surface. Akari can’t stand to live with his father anymore, and decides to leave also.
The conflict over the ceremony was expected, and I’m disappointed in the adults in this situation acting worse than children. They let their petty prejudice and stupid argument effect their children’s lives and futures in the worst possible way. The exception to this may have been Hikari’s father, who knew that reconciling the two sides was a lost cause. However, his fear over his daughter may not just be that of a stubborn father and village traditionalist, as we find out in the last moments of this episode.
As Hikari and Akari leave, Uroko-sama decides they need to be convinced to stay. Their leaving could be problematic, as Uroko is supposed to be keeping a promise to protect them as “his descendants.” We don’t know if this means they are directly descended from the sea god or what, supposedly all sea peoples were. Uroko unleashes the wrath of the gods on them, sending a freezing whirlpool out to halt their progress. Only when they don’t give in, and their father pleads for Uroku to be merciful, does he let them go. Calamity is coming, we just don’t know what it will be or when it will hit.
In Summary:
Nagi no Asukara reminds us that prejudice usually is passed down from adults to their children by having the adults exhibit the worst sort of pigheaded behavior. I have to say it’s a nice break from the love quadrangle. I guess we’ll find out soon if the kids will fix the statue one more time and carry on without the idiot adults, or give up on it. It’s clear that Hikari and Akari will be able to weather any man-made storm as long as they have each other. It’s the supernatural storm that worries me. Just what is so important about their heritage that it might be the breaking point of an entire society?
Episode Grade: B +
Streamed by: Crunchyroll
Review Equipment: 27” iMac running OS 10.8.4, via Safari 6.0.5, FIOS 15/5 Mbps connection. Your milage may vary.
