Nagi no Asukara Episode 24
Once more, with feeling.
What They Say:
Episode 24: “Detritus”
The Review
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Tsumugu confesses his love to Chisaki, and Chisaki can’t bear to hear it.
Why does she have to be the difficult one?
Tsumugu tells her that he’s grown to know her, and love her, and Chisaki is clinging to this notion that she can’t love him. She promised that she’d only love Hikari, but why? He never felt that way about her. Chisaki tearfully admits that she felt like falling in love with Tsumugu would betray her countrymen and Manaka’s feelings. However, it’s quite possible that Manaka was actually falling for Hikari prior to the time skip. Chisaki is only causing herself misery by denying her own emotions.
Hikari is playing the part of the martyr as well. He won’t admit to Manaka how he felt about her, even when she asks him what love is. She realizes that part of herself seems to be missing when Akira gives her a childish love letter. Manaka feels only emptiness where love should be. Luckily for her, Tsumugu has a plan.
He proposes that they carry out of the ofunehiki ceremony once again. This time they would use Manaka’s sea slug stone necklace to return her feelings to the ocean, thus freeing her to no longer be the sacrifice. I don’t see this working out how he planned it, since warm bodies seem to work the best. (Plus, Miuna in the opening implies that she’ll be involved more intimately.) This time the kids have no problem gathering folks in short order, including old classmates, to prepare for the ritual. Uroko, still hanging out at the surface shrine, is bemused by that whole thing and even agrees to help.
I couldn’t help but laugh when they showed Kaname listening in on Chisaki and Tsumugu, and Sayu spying on Kaname. Out of all the characters in this show, I doubted that Sayu and Kaname would work on any level, even though I wanted them to. They had probably the least amount of connection between them, but Sayu is so earnest that she is able to actually get through to Kaname. He’s been the third wheel for so long, and had no family to comfort him, so when Sayu says she held a torch for him it’s the comfort he needed. Kaname decides to stop treating Sayu like a kid and start recognizing her as a girl his own age. It’s a small victory that was a long time coming, and a step in the right direction for Kaname to move on.
In Summary:
One couple down, two to go. It looks like Manaka might understand that something is missing, but Chisaki and Hikari are betting on the wrong horse to save her. Hikari needs to wake up and be more direct! This is the kid who would come in swinging, and now he decides tact is in order? As they said in The Little Mermaid, kiss the girl! At least the situation with Kaname has been settled, and Chisaki has to realize she can put herself first and that it’s okay to change.
Episode Grade: B +
Streamed by: Crunchyroll
Review Equipment: 27” iMac running OS 10.9.2, via Safari 7.0.2, FIOS 15/5 Mbps connection. Your milage may vary.
