DESCRIPTION

CAST

MANGA DramaUmibe no Étranger

REVIEWS

• 

  monoh

  95/100
  Umibe no Étranger is not only a meaningful story but an important mlm film

  ---

   

  I want to get a few things out of the way first:

  1) Just as with many Japanese animated films, I found Umibe no Étranger on TikTok, but the video I came across was an edit using clips of the explicit scene. There's nothing inherently wrong with enjoying sex scenes from any anime, movie, etc. that aren't problematic. However, it's important to bring light to the fact that there is (or should be) more to BL anime than the explicit scenes, especially in a movie like Umibe no Étranger. This movie is so much more than that. Not to mention the sex scene in this movie was not put in as any kind of fan service, nor there for the sake of being explicit. It serves a purpose and meaning to the story as a whole. Umibe no Étranger is a beautiful story—which is why I'm writing this review.

  2) There is an age gap in Umibe no Étranger, and some would consider it to be large. It is a bit frustrating to see manga/anime that pushes the limit so far when their ages could have been so much closer with no hindrance to the story, and it would be completely understandable for someone to be uncomfortable with their age gap of 7 years (the movie mostly takes place when Shun is 27 and Mio is 20). That being said, nothing about Umibe no Étranger is pedophilic, and nothing about their relationship can be considered grooming. As much as I wish their ages could have been closer, the characters' relationship does not begin until Mio is well of age. Mio and Shun are both adults.

  3) I have not read the manga. This is only my review of the movie.

  let's begin!

  

  ---

   

  visuals

  

  Unfortunately, I was unable to find this movie anywhere that let me watch it in HD, although I was so anxious to watch that I didn't look very hard. This took me out of the experience a bit, but the visuals, to me, were still very pleasing and comforting.

  

  This frame in particular immediately caught my eye, and I thought it was a brilliant and beautifully artistic way to represent the characters. I would include more screenshots but I don't really have the time to go through the movie again, and there aren't many pictures available online.

  ---

   

  mlm representation

  

  Note that I am not a mlm. I am gay, but my perspective watching this movie will not be the same as a gay or bisexual man.

  Good representation for the LGBTQ+ community is hard to find across the board, but it isn't a stretch to say that BL suffers the most from over-sexualization. I was glad to see a movie like Umibe no Étranger, and throughout the film, I thought to myself "this actually feels like a queer person wrote it." Too many films today, anime or otherwise, feel like a straight or cis person looking in and trying to describe what a queer relationship would be like. A film doesn't have to have the absence of homophobia (internalized or otherwise) to portray a queer character, because those are very real things that queer people experience. However, too often it feels like a film comes from a straight perspective, trying to fit queerness into the heteronormative world. Again, there doesn't have to be an absence of those very real problems like questioning one's sexuality or internalized homophobia, but if a story that's meant to be a romance focuses more on those feelings rather than how they affect that character's relationship, or the relationship itself, my bet is a straight person wrote it.

  Umibe no Étranger doesn't do that. [very minor spoiler next sentence] We see Shun struggle with his sexuality, but it feels accurate and real. His struggle to accept his sexuality isn't the focal point of the movie, but it has real effects on his relationship with Mio. An LGBTQ+ romance that isn't just a coming-out story? Wow, what a breath of fresh air.

  See next section for my small inclusion of the wlw characters, Eri and Suzu.

  ---

   

  story & characters

  
  

  This portion of my review will contain spoilers.

  I honestly couldn't tell you whether I was just in an emotional mood today or Umibe no Étranger was just that good, but I was already crying a bit after the first 5-10 minutes. There was just something about the way the director(s) portrayed Mio's childhood that really got to me. The contrast between his extremely happy self and the grieving, lonely 17-year-old Mio got me worked up. This movie does an amazing job at storytelling. There is a three-year time skip, but Umibe no Étranger doesn't waste your time with typical queer romance tropes. Even as Shun is struggling with his sexuality, this is simply a barrier in their relationship but is never meant to serve as the sole focal point of the movie. You can feel his frustration and Mio's as they try to piece together what they're feeling and how to go about their relationship. Their fears and concerns are relatable and believable. They are complex, mlm characters that are written brilliantly. This was what got to me the most; Mio and Shun feel like real people that you're watching struggle and fall in love.

  

  I also appreciated the further inclusion of wlw characters. These kinds of minor details really add to the immersion and representation of Umibe no Étranger, and it just goes to show that by being mindful of details like these can really help to normalize LGBTQ+ relationships in media. The inclusion of Eri and Suzu isn't forceful or out of place, because neither are queer people and their relationships. We simply exist, just as Eri and Suzu do in this movie.

  ---

   

  final thoughts

  
  I'm really a sucker for these types of movies, in the same way I love watching 12-episode, emotional anime. Movies like Umibe no Étranger tend to be my favorites. I really enjoyed the storytelling, plot, and characters, and just the overall experience of watching a genuinely good BL anime. I can only hope that we see such good anime adaptations, shows, and films like this for GL anime as well.

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• 

  SomeoneLikeTim

  70/100
  Umibe no Étranger: A Sweet love story with great visuals.

  
  
  <img width='420' src='https://64.media.tumblr.com/de1a35b724260ead2c5fb66a016bf198/914f71c2ec0629b1-24/s500x750/bd590e1e64cb01d5f22d4ec82fba1f03e75fb719.gifv'>
  
  The story in itself is passable, while there are likable aspects, such as how the story treats the characters' sexuality with care and respect and doesn't try to make any situation melodramatic. There are certain aspects to the film that may leave the audience wanting more and not fulfilled with the whole experience. At first, the film is short. With an extra 30 minutes added to the film, the characters could've been fleshed out as well as their thought processes could've been made clearer. We only get to learn so much about Shun, a little more spotlight on his character could have helped to connect to him emotionally. His concerns are on point regarding if he should allow Mio to get close to him, however he goes about it in a round about fashion. Given his past, his insecurity isn't uncalled for; but he drags out the matter to the end of the film. Then there is the drama that falls flat, while the film never does anything bad per say, it still lacks a dramatic climax. This again happens due to the short duration of the film. But like I said before it's not all bad, the film does a great job at connecting the audience to Mio's character through aptly placed flashbacks that transition smoothly into scenes at present. And after the timeskip, there is a decent romantic development between the lead characters despite the impediments that Shun is able to bring into the relationship by himself.
  <span class='markdown_spoiler'><span>There is a sex scene in the movie, however thankfully it acts less like a fanservice scene and more like proper lovemaking scene between lovers. This scene has got good art direction. Another thing worth mentioning about this movie is how it doesn't downplay Sakurako's feelings towards Shun, however the port scene puts a dent into this as she tried to kiss Shun and he didn't deny her advance despite having his boyfriend with him.</span></span>
  
  The cast isn't large in this movie, the main characters Shun and Mio are decent characters. Mio is the better written character of the two. And just like I mentioned before, after the timeskip Shun's actions can get on people's nerves with how he makes the plot go in circles. However, they make a sweet couple that you would like to root for. And despite the minimum amount of screentime given to Shun's backstory, his struggles are still impactful and makes one feel for him.  The supporting cast has no one noteworthy except Sakurako, who is a decent character though she does sometimes play into the stereotypical female character in a BL story. 
  
  <img width='420' src='https://64.media.tumblr.com/e7871875404341dc64d5db4d96b43316/0c12a4bbf4b739d2-af/s500x750/267c2101bc5139c6ddd9a014889d93979c433f5a.gifv'>
  
  The visuals are gorgeous in this movie, especially the usage of visual metaphors to impart meaning to every scene. The cinematography is quite good as well, the shots are taken from interesting angles. The usage of colors is on point as well, and I felt like I was sitting near the sea while watching the movie. The character designs are good as well, they have soft line art and the eyes especially are drawn really well to evoke feelings of warmth and empathy towards the characters, and feel for them. The backgrounds are gorgeous, and could easily serve as wallpapers.
  
  The OST though for most part provides the movie decent support, it lacks diversity. For most part it's the same track being played. The theme song is decent. The voice acting is decent as well, with special mention to Yoshitsugu Matsuoka (Mio's VA), whose voice acting is dynamic as ever in this movie.
  
  While **Umibe no Étranger** has flaws in its plot and may not be close to being the best in its genre, but with great production value as well as sincere portrayal of homosexual love it ends up being a decent watch.~~~

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• 

  otaguseverywhere

  20/100
  Here comes another popular well rated romance movie that makes no sense.

  Here finally after 2 and a half years of continuously watching anime, I found something that I can call my "Most Hated" show ever. I just completed this show and decided to read some reviews and I honestly don't understand the appeal of the show whatsoever. I know this is somewhat of a controversial opinion but bear with me.

  First of all, let me say that I am not a hater of an anime/manga about LGBTQ at all. If you check my list you will see that I consider 'Doukyuusei', 'Bloom into You', 'Asagao to Kase-san to be pretty good shows and 'My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness is one of my favourite manga of all time. So I don't particularly hate Umibe no Etranger because it is BL.

  First I would like to praise it for having good visuals and voice acting. The art style is pretty decent but the animation is eye-catching and the background visuals perfectly fit with the character emotions and the mood of the show.
  So that's the only praise I have for this thing.

  Before talking about my problems with the show I would like to say what I think is the most important thing about Romance anime. "The romantic progression between the main characters (why and how they fall in love)".

  Now talking about my first problem with this anime and that is the romantic progression between the main characters.
  We don't know much about both of our main guys especially Mio. We know Shun lives with a lesbian couple and an old lady and their parents were against him being a 'Gay' and Mio lost his mother and always sits on the bench outside where Shun lives.
  And Shun started having feelings for Mio. Why? Because he is gay? Is that how straight people think about Gay people? that they like whoever they see as long as it is a boy? At first, when Shun talked with Mio, Mio yelled at Shun coz he thought Shun was just talking to him out of Sympathy. And by looking at that it's obvious that they won't be able to get along with each other for quite a bit of time. But No. Mio immediately apologise to Shun the day after and decided to spend a day together. And Mio decided to go to the mainland and he returns to Okinawa after 3 years and confessed his love to Shun. Everything progressed way too fast that it's unlikely for people (at least for me) to care about the characters and their relationship. What I hate about most romance anime is that " Characters will fall in love even tho they have no logical reason to" and what makes it even worse is when characters fall in love with each other but we dont even know much about either of the two. Why should I care about the love story of 2 dudes when I barely know them or I have barely seen how they've grown their feelings for each other? Its like watching some random kids in public fight. We enjoy watching them fight but deep down we wont care even if someone dies right there.
  And for a romance anime if you cant make viewers care about the main relationship it's pretty much impossible to make up for that flaw.

  Now about my second problem with this anime aka. "The Characters"
  Shun and Mio are bland as fuck.
  They arent blessed with many character traits. The only thing we know about them is that they are 'broken' and love each other. And that's the only thing we got when we asked more about the main guys character traits. The author tried to rely on their not so good childhood to make viewers care about them but failed to do so. And even tho the author showed us some bits of Shun and Mio's childhood we never saw the complete picture of it. Which further makes their 'Broken' trait even less interesting and makes viewers care even less. And supporting characters are almost nonexistent. The Lesbian couple did some teasing to Shun and Mio about their relationship and that's the only thing they did. And Sakurako who had some sort of role in the story was not executed properly too. She was there to make Shun overcome his trauma (his parents being against him being gay) and make Shun return to his home. But we didnt see Shun doing so. So I'll say she was a wasted character.

  Now about some problems I have with the show that some people might not have problem with.

  1: Their first kiss was stupid and forced asf. It was only there to satisfy the thirst of some fujoshi.

  2: There is a time skip so early in the series that makes the relationship of mc's even more confusing. Especially considering what Mio said to Shun at the ending of the show " I love girls but still I fell in love with you". But but why? What happened in those years that Mio fell in love with Shun? Guess we'll never know.

  3: Like the Kiss scene I was talking about the S3X scene in final part of the show is uncomfortable asf and the comedy between the scenes ruined it even more.

  Those are it.
  Umibe no Uranger is my most hated show of all time but I don't think it is the worst thing ever. It might be pretty enjoyable for the targeted audience.

  A lot of unexplained stuff, lack of depth in character, pacing issue, lack of logic behind romantic progression etc ruined this anime to its core.
  Only if the main guys had a bit more depth to their character and instead of the huge time skip if it was focused on their romantic progression this anime would have been somewhat enjoyable to watch but we can do nothing except for imagining about it.

  In Short/ Tldr: Watch 'Doukyuusei' or 'Bloom into You' instead.

  Thanks for reading. I am open to criticisms so feel free to comment if you disagree with my review.

  Have a good day/night.

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