THAT Animeblog

Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky,
Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,
Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die,
One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.
One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.

As a sailor I cannot help but listen to sea stories, and given that this sea story is by a big shot director I will give it a chance even if the habits of Marin and Urin are strange. So yeah they are woefully under dressed and certainly being in the frigid ocean they might want to dress a bit more warmly, though I suppose that this was unavoidable given that the origins were pachinko machines. At least the rest of the sky dwellers took notice about the strange water people. Though as it was a beach is suppose that it wasn’t too far out of the realm of possibility, certainly Marin looks enough like a gaijin so that the locals wouldn’t give her crap to her face at least as they prefer to snivel behind people’s backs, Given the OP I doubt that Marin and Urin will start dressing in a more modest fashion, though certainly if they were to do a better infiltration they will have to alter their dress code. Still I can overlook such quirks of their water people society as after all every culture has their disagreeable aspects and at least under dressing is as mild as you can get.

She speaks the truth.

So Marin is a local hero who wants to help people, and is easily distracted by shiny objects. She also has the habit of bending over instead of going prone, but at least her heart is in the right place. It seems that for Marin and Urin there is great attachment to beautiful things and how they are a reflection of righteousness instead of vanity. Still I was amused that all this fuss was over ONE RING that could not be destroyed by any means that Kanon possessed, I hope that they will either resort to dragonfire or the fires of Mount Doom to destroy it. I suppose that Marin’s seeming lack of intelligence can be attributed solely to her utter ignorance of the malicious ways of the sky-dwellers, so it can be excused for now…at least until Kanon figures out that Marin must be educated. I suppose happy go lucky Marin will complement the down and out Kanon. Speaking of Kanon while Marin is getting all the glances (to be fair Marin certainly is ugly) Kanon is certainly my favorite. The poor girl gets dumped at noon and scant hours later her dipshit former boyfriend is out with another girl enjoying the sights. I hope eventually Kanon levels up to Mogami Kyoko-class so that she can send forth her hate to strangle her tormentor. Still she does have that dark mode going for her and on occasion she does have some G Gundam mannerisms.

This hand of mine glows with an awesome power…IT”S LOUD ROAR TELLS ME TO GRASP VICTORY!

I did like the judicious use of SD where appropriate so it kept the magical girl feel and provided respite from Marin and Urin’s choice of dress. As much as I think Urin has her moments just looking at her makes me feel kind of dirty. I guess that even if every one is sporting expose midsection that a couple inches of cloth kind of make a difference. I did like Kanon’s mom though I have my doubts that she should be looking twenty and fitting into her daughter’s high school uniform, not that it is a bad thing of course… The last thing worth mentioning is the darkness which I have no clue what it is though I suppose that in good time we will see more of the story. So far for a first ep it wasn’t too bad as we met the principal characters of importance, Kanon, Marin, Urin, and Kanon’s mom. Kanon’s-ex and his new bimbo can rot in hell for all I care, undoubtedly that rather short period between break-up and new bitch probably indicates that he was a cheating son of a bitch. I am very quick to anger and even quicker to judge so I will be bashing the louse with vigor. But really fuck him.

The ED was adorable and certainly letting Urin watch the unedited version of the Little Mermaid was going to cause trouble. Still the parallel is clear beware of the land of the sky-dwellers, also the Little Mermaid was a dumb bimbo and it’s best to not do what she did, namely she should have stabbed that faithless dog that passed for a prince.

Impz’s little corner of annoyance

It is only a sign of their vanity and ill-gotten wealth, not virtue.

… And it’s good to be back. I wonder if I am a forgotten man already.

After watching Umi no Monogatari, I have a sense of ambivalence about the show. It’s not that there is something fundamentally wrong or unwatchable from the show. I mean, the girls are pretty, the animation is good and there is enough fanservice to fulfil those fans who enjoy cute little things in cute little swimsuits. The show had good production values and some major cash pumped in albeit the current economic downturn. It ended on a decent climax, and we still do not have any idea where it is going. Also, the director as repeated by Crusader a few times in private, is a big shot director that has done the likes of Kanon and Aria. Surely, nothing wrong can come out of this, right?

The story goes about with a typical ditsy sea maiden. She decided to bring a beautiful ring to the “Air land” because she wanted to return it to the beautiful person who threw it off to the sea. The story in the first episode evolves around her search for the girl and an introduction of the other cast, such as her younger grumbling loli sister. The episode ended with her loli sister unsealing a malicious soul from the tomb.

After watching the show, there is something wrong. More accurately, something is missing. Now, I am sitting down thinking: Why does the show bore me, even when the evil spirit came out? Why am I not feeling anything for these characters, like I felt for the characters in Kure-nai since the very first episode? The question goes down to the unmemorable characters. None of them interests me. Their character dynamics seems commonplace and mundane. Don’t get me wrong. Mundane can be a good tool to use in a slice of life series, or when the characters are the centrepiece of the series. This just does not strike me as a character-centric show.
Perhaps the character and series will develop fast enough and become an excellent show, but I always feel that a show on its debut should have memorable and interesting characters that will pull you in. If it is not the plot that intrigues, the characters must do that before you lose interest. Both the sea maiden leads, namely Marin and Urin, just do not ooze any unique traits or qualities that are apparent immediately.

In anime, anything is possible. Hence, demanding superficial viewers like me wants something special. It’s either you make such an extraordinary ordinary character or a really weird main lead that captures your attention (for good or for bad). When it is a half-baked character like Marin, you just find it hard to find any interest. Compared to Umi No Monogatari, Aria’s characters are refreshingly quirky, especially with Athena and Alice in the mix. It’s probably a premature prediction, but I believe that the characters are going to be dividing interest. Some will consider them to be the best ever (cute innocent girls in swimsuits, count me in!) while others might bemoan their wafer-thin depth. Prove me wrong, Umi no Monogatari.

In all, Umi no Monogatari had all the right ingredients to do well in the future. Considering how the director is amazing in his many works, it can be good. However, nothing has been striking “Must watch about the show, and I have no reason to keep watching it. Maybe, if I get to see a green haired loli swimming around in that cute swimsuit… Or not.

(Crusader: Dude it’s not like Aria grabbed people by the horns right away either… Also my sailor sensibilities place you doing something unseemly in that “corner.”)

Image Dump

Urin is also aware of how much crap the sky-dwellers have dumped into the ocean as well, Aquaman told her…

I hear the A-10s are on the prowl…

I just thought that this was kind of cute.

Ditto here.

Not all of it is mind you…

It’s funny when there is no context.

With any luck she will be the hero who slays that ingrate of an ex.

It’s amazing she passed herself off as a classmate for this long…

The fake high school student is fine too.

An advocate of technical school I take it?

I concur all you need is the ability to intimidate to be successful…

Context is important…

Damn right you are mom.

Next time bring a gauntlet so you can hit him extra hard and really rearrange his face.

Cast it into the FIRE!

Oh my god, Becky, look at her butt.

In the land of Mordor…

Yes meet your new partner…

ERUPTING BURNING FINGER!

It cannot be destroyed by a weapon we here possess.

You know not even the fire of Ancalagon could destroy it…

Maybe Marin’s habits are similar to Tom’s.

But really it was an excuse to hold your hand.

Were not at the Sammath Naur yet…

Either way it’s true.

Well her ex is certainly a bottom feeder.

What is heartbreak?

Yeah because he bought it at a 99 cent store.

Let’s not forget cheap, it’s made of scrap and plastic for crying out loud…

Shit it won’t fetch much if you pawn it…

We are more terrible than that kid…

Get a metal detector.

Then turn around
Stick it out

Even white boys got to shout
Baby got back

Well you ain’t it Miss thing…

Enemy sighted…

I expect great things from her…

Terrible but great…

Yeah I don’t know why he left you for that either…

Welcome to the best years of your life.

With a wife like that I sort of understand even if I don’t approve.

Man even Kanon is checking her out.

No she’s just a tourist…

Indeed it might have chipped and shattered.

Brilliant idea old bean, children should never go about unaccompanied.

Grab your Garmin…

ARTILLERY!

If you hear it you’re fine, if not you won’t live long enough to care…

My precious…

The Ring has a will of its own…

If all else fails duck, as a defensive strategem it is unreliable, but very reassuring.

The lesson no good deed goes unpunished…

If you like Pina Coladas, and getting caught in the rain.
If you’re not into yoga, if you have half-a-brain.
If you like making love at midnight, in the dunes of the cape.
I’m the love that you’ve looked for, write to me, and escape.

Turns out he hates Pina Coladas, and getting caught in the rain.
He’s into yoga, he doesn’t have half-a-brain.
He dislikes making love at midnight, in the dunes of the cape.
He’s not the love that you’ve looked for, do not write to him, and escape.

A knife in the dark is worth a thousand swords at dawn…

Death is only the beginning…

What can I say the real deal ain’t so happy is it?

After the Little Mermaid turned to bubbles she created a tidal wave which destroyed the Prince’s Kingdom, killed the prince and the princess while she was three months pregnant…THE END

I thought that this was cute.

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