SHIROI SUNA NO AQUATOPE

DESCRIPTION

CAST

MANGA DramaShiroi Suna no Aquatope
ONA Slice of LifeShiroi Suna no Aquatope Mini

REVIEWS

• 

  ACasualViewer

  80/100
  Lost the plot midway but production values and cast make up for it.

  Aquariums present their visitors with a glimpse into the deep sea, including all the marvelous and colorful aquatic lifeforms found in our world and they also provide many avenues for educating the public on the richness of marine life and the importance of our biosphere. Aquatope, an original PA works anime focused on aquariums was the first significant aquarium related series in the anime medium and it brought the aquarium experience to life with its excellent visuals and interesting educational facts. While the story, like many anime originals, eventually loses track of its original goal, the anime still delivered quite an enjoyable experience and did a lot of things right. This review will cover the various aspects that make up the Aquatope anime and will generally cover both the good and bad points that the audience can expect.

  THIS REVIEW WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS

  Story: 6

  The review is going to start with Aquatope’s arguably weakest point, the story. It’s a sad thing to see when a series that essentially has everything going for it, suddenly forgets its roots. Aquatope started fundamentally as a story about a failed idol, Fuuka, who was trying to find a distraction from her despair on being graduated from the show business and ending up at an aquarium by chance when she decided to fly to Okinawa instead of going home. The aquarium, Gama Gama, was in dire straits as it was crumbling apart and had declining revenue, there was also a threat of a new aquarium being built that would take away its remaining customers. Fuuka has a fated encounter with a girl named Kukuru and she gets a job at the failing aquarium, much of the early plot is about Fuuka halfheartedly performing her new aquarium attendant job and not really caring much beyond trying to escape from reality. Over time however, Fuuka totally falls in love with her job and the viewer gets to really understand how captivating aquariums are and how rewarding it can be to work at one. The tension comes into play when Fuuka realizes that Kukuru is going all out trying to save the aquarium, but no matter what they do it appears that there are no ways to actually salvage the business. There are also a number of supernatural elements as well including a sea god they offer food to, an ED that delivers a supernatural atmosphere and multiple scenes of people having visions at the aquarium that help them come to terms with their lives.

  The main problem with the story is that the show solves the plot about halfway through the episode count and then the anime doesn’t seem to know what to do anymore. The supernatural aspects of the plot are largely ignored and Kukuru becomes the main focus, and the show turns into a SOL about Kukuru complaining about her new job at Tingara, a new aquarium, as Gama Gama became a failed business. Now while the slice of life story was decent, the amount of build up through the first half of the series and the tension that was present felt like it was all thrown away for a very slow paced after story. It is like the directors got more episodes than they first anticipated and unlike most anime originals where the episode count limit results in rushing the story, Aquatope instead is forced to slow down the pace of the story with a lot of pointless material that is not in line with the tone set at the start. Overall, even though the SOL aspects were enjoyable enough, the complete change in pace and removal of the drama present first season compared to the second season greatly weakened the story, the series should have chosen a single main focus but instead we essentially got 2 different shows in one anime.

  Art: 9

  The single best thing in Aquatope is the art, the absolutely incredibly detailed backgrounds and lifelike animations for the marine animals serve as a top quality advertisement for Okinawa and aquariums in general. Everything in the backgrounds are lifelike and look detailed to ridiculous levels, from the beaches littered with shells to the orange sunsets and the star filled night skies, you could easily make dozens if not over a 100 high definition quality backgrounds out of them. The main attraction of the series, the aquatic life, is also depicted in a beautiful way, so many different species covered and all of them animated in fluid ways, swimming in groups and their physical movements captured in a completely natural way. The effort put into the art in this series is something to marvel at and even better is that this is one of the few anime original series where the production values did not fall apart near the final episodes. The show looks consistently amazing from start to finish, characters look attractive and distinct, they are well animated and move properly whenever they speak or show emotions, the food looks great like someone traced freshly made cooking at a nice seafood restaurant and even the cars don’t use noticeable CGI to cut corners. Overall, the art is definitely the strongest part of the show, and its more than enough to make a weaker story worth watching.

  Sound: 7

  The voice acting, first opening and both endings were all very good, the sound effects for the aquarium were immersive and there was great background music playing during the scenes where characters had visions at gama gama. However, the second opening wasn’t nearly as good as the first one, there wasn’t any particularly good background music outside of the visions and major dramatic events, and for the most part the show overused its few good soundtracks. In short, it’s an example of good enough sound design, there are definitely some very strong points, but enough issues that I couldn’t really say its solidly above average. As long as the viewer doesn’t set their expectations aren’t very high, they should be overall satisfied with the music, especially the first opening and the high quality voice acting.

  Characters: 8

  For the main cast, Kukuru and Fuuka both had dreams they were chasing and both of them struggle a lot with dealing with the fact that their dream’s may not entirely come true. Both characters were heavily developed with a strong focus on their goals and then focused on help finding new things that they wanted to do afterwards, the girls have very strong chemistry and they had lots of touching moments during the show. The comedy was also done fairly well, lots of entertaining bits of humor thrown in the right places so the show never got that heavy even when things were looking down and the girls always had fun moments together or by themselves that helped remind the audience that not everything goes wrong even if things are hard. If there is one aspect of the characterization between the 2 leading characters that I did not like, it was the soft girls love undertone that persisted throughout the show even though it was indicated that Kukuru already had a good male match, and no romance subplot was actually pursued. This sort of soft girls love can be annoying since its clearly thrown in to bait people into watching something for the cute girls acting sort of like they are in love, even though its clear that storyline wise they won’t ever be more than friends. While yes, people can have very close friendships, but the amount of touching and feeling along with lines that seemed like they were romantic in nature got a bit over the top, especially the number of times the girls stare into each other’s eyes and say they will support each other and such.

  The side cast is actually pretty rich and interesting on their own, the rest of the staff at gama gama each have their own unique traits and they are explored and explained thoroughly. The guy who is clearly working only to really get close to Kukuru ends up quite enjoying working at an aquarium, the guy who hates girls has his backstory explained and it is made clear that its more due to trauma over say something like entitlement, the adults are all written in a way that feels quite realistic as well. For example, the director of gama gama reminds me of how many experienced experts act in real life, they are very down to earth and never really show off their knowledge and you wouldn’t expect them to know as much as they do, but the moment when they are needed, they are able to explain things that clearly took many years of experience to understand in a clear and understandable way. I also really appreciate that both the family of Kukuru and Fuuka are both supportive, especially Fuuka’s mother. I had totally expected her to show up to the aquarium and slap her daughter and tell Fuuka off for not coming home, but she was reasonable and actually tried to understand why her daughter was struggling to handle the end of her idol career and why she was in Okinawa trying to move on from her past life. These sort of realistic portrayals of people are much more interesting than typical anime characters done 100s of times before, we have reasonable and understanding parents, we have a friend circle who have lives outside of interacting with the main characters, the side cast is thoroughly explored, and the adults are competent even if sometimes they are not very likable such as the marketing director at Tingara. Overall, the cast is very solid, and this show easily gets and 8 for its characters.

  Enjoyment: 8

  For Aquatope, your enjoyment depends heavily on whether or not you really got into the cast and enjoy slice of life series, the production is great but if you’re not into the characters then this show is going to be rather boring with its plot. However, if you happen to have gotten into the whole cast and wanted to see them grow up and live their lives like I did, then this show is quite enjoyable even with the weaker story after the first half.

  Overall: 8

  Despite the story largely forgetting its origins and the plot not really living up to the initial supernatural atmosphere or dramatic tension set during the gama gama aquarium focused first half, I quite enjoyed the slice of life moments and watching the cast grow into their adult lives during the second half. The Visuals throughout the show incredibly good, and the cast still had strong chemistry, the slice of life stories of each of the cast members struggling to make their careers work or making new friends or dealing with problems in their lives were still interesting as well. Music in the show wasn’t super strong outside of the first OP and the ending songs, but it was good enough and the aquariums were amazing to look at due to how much effort was put into them alongside the backgrounds. Overall, this show still provided a great viewing experience, and if you go in not expecting the second half of the show to be focused on actual plot or there to be any significant dramatic story, then you should have a decent time.

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• 

  ZNote

  73/100
  Its warm cast and tone was delightful, even if it starts to lose its sense of direction in the second half.

  SPOILER-FREE!
  My earliest memory of life comes from before I was a year old. I didn’t know it at the time, but my family took me and my older brother on a trip to the New England Aquarium in Boston. All I recall from that experience was a dark space with a giant blue light just slightly to the right-of-center. When I returned to that aquarium on my school’s special field trip for eighth graders, something hit my brain like a violent crash. I had to call my family later that night just to clarify that I wasn’t imagining things. But lo and behold, it was the same place and image from my memory. Depending on how you want to look at this story, an aquarium could be thought of as my “beginning.”

  The Aquatope on White Sand uses an aquarium for similar purposes, a place for beginnings. Especially given the show’s subtitle, “The Two Girls Met in the Ruins of [a] Damaged Dream,” the show appears to seek out what it means to supposedly make a new start amidst sadness or heartbreak of some sort. Goodness knows that we’ve all had our dreams be destroyed or given up in some way, so using a location which constantly sees new life involving baby fish and other creatures appears to be a perfect marriage between setting and content.

  ---

  Miyazawa Fuuka leaves her job as an idol behind, deciding to run away from the cheer up party that he mother wants to give her. Finding her way to Okinawa, sleeping on the beach, and fighting dehydration, she eventually comes across the Gama Gama Aquarium, headed by the young Misakino Kukuru. After spending some time examining a tank, Fuuka has a surreal experience in which the aquarium waters seem to envelop and calm her down. After a brief tour by Kukuru, Fuuka asks to be allowed to work at Gama Gama. Kukuru accepts after consulting her grandparents, as the aquarium is being threatened with closure.

  The major theme in The Aquatope on White Sand involves characters preoccupied with following their own dreams or path in life, some of which are more mundane than others. At the start of the series, Kukuru’s dream to keep Gama Gama open is more concrete and solidified. As such, she serves as the show’s main stabilizing anchor at first. Her determination is evident not only in her care and attention to the animals and fish, but also in her trying to come up with various ways to drum up attention or traffic for the aquarium. Contrary to that, Fuuka doesn’t even necessarily know what her dream is at the start. Her character is conceived as one who’s running away, unwilling to face the reality of what awaits her now that she has thrown her old ambition to the wayside. Fuuka’s initial dream was broken, and her getting a job at Gama Gama is less about a fresh start than it is about finding stability. The show juxtaposes Kukuru and Fuuka with concrete vs. abstract dreams, someone in a more-defined position vs. someone who is adrift, and so forth.

  It’s because Kukuru and Fuuka differ in this fundamental way that their chemistry together works well. Despite being the one with more “worldly experience” beyond her own little town, Fuuka, in essence, lives under Kukuru’s care. This is not only in regard to being given a roof over her head, but also in terms of the stability Fuuka sought. Working as an aquarium attendant, while perhaps not a job that she ever thought she would take up in her life, gives Fuuka at least some sort of steadiness to hold onto. But it is not solely through her work that she gets this sense of grounding; through her interactions with Kukuru, Fuuka gradually begins to see that new dreams, or ways of seeing and experiencing the world, can be forged from simply being among new people and new situations.

  Kukuru also learns to rely upon Fuuka in her own moments of struggle. Despite her position as the acting director of Gama Gama in her grandfather’s place, Kukuru is still just a high schooler. She’d much rather spend her time thinking about fish and the aquarium as opposed to putting in that effort for her schoolwork. It is because she is young that her obstinance makes her a powerful force, although it does occasionally lead into some rather short-sighted decisions. Fuuka and Kukuru are immature in their own ways, but through their time together, they provide the other with a shoulder to lean on, someone to laugh with, and someone to talk to when they don’t know what to do or where to go. The Aquatope on White Sand knows that Kukuru and Fuuka’s relationship is at the heart of the series, so its twenty-four-episode run spends much of its time showing both characters at their own highs and lows.

  The two girls are supported by the show’s large ensemble cast. Although some characters such as Kuuya long outlive their comedic or plot usefulness down the road, the sense of camaraderie and community among the characters always existed. They do come across as a fun group of friends, bound together by the same dreams, even if they do slightly differ in the finer details. An entire episode in the second half involves all the characters coming together for a day of fun at an apartment, showing that while they may all work at or be near an aquarium, they do have friendships beyond simply being co-workers. Especially as the show marches onward and their overall friendship circle increases, it was nice to see this group involve a good mix of both the old characters and the new characters and angles.

  Speaking of new angles, The Aquatope on White Sand opts for newer kinds of stories later on. The show divides cleanly between two halves, with one of the major stories ending and the last half involving a “what happened afterwards” take on the story. The change in direction was welcome, as the new episodes focus more on smaller iyashikei slice-of-life ventures involving low stakes, and it works decently well. In a sense, the show seems to be making a case for letting the small moments carry the show’s center. What does lapping your feet at a pool with penguins do? Nothing on the surface, aside from cuteness at first glance. Yet these moments feel right at home given the show’s overall tone. Though small moments that may not mean much in terms of a grand narrative, they can help convey simple acts of warmth and love. With Kukuru, Fuuka, and the Gama Gama family, saving the aquarium might be their main goal, but if the show’s main goal is for warmth, these smaller moments succeeded.

  Unfortunately, this change in approach to focus on iyashikei comes at the price of leaving the second half without much of a rudder. There did eventually reach a point where I had to ask myself what the show was building towards in the end. This was, in part, because though the episodes themselves are cute or delightful, one negative aspect is that certain plot threads were introduced either through actual events or heavy insinuation in the show’s first half. In focusing so much on the characters living their lives, the chance to see some of these threads develop never take off. At worst, the threads get completely dropped, leaving me unsatisfied at planted ideas that don’t bloom. The first half, generally speaking, has better luck incorporating its direction while still sprinkling in its own iyashikei stories. Thankfully, the directionless problem gets rectified down the line as the show’s final arc moves into focus, giving both the drama and the character dynamics new territories and obstacles to explore.

  And one element that helps that exploration is the show’s overall look. Even if the animation is not at the usual standard of flexing that one expects from PA Works, the overall use of shading, tinting, and lighting is pleasant on the eyes. It would have been easy for a series like this to make the color blue a bear to look at in the aquarium, but it always found small ways to balance it out with other colors and environments. I couldn’t help but love the moonlight glistening on the waterfront, and the soundtrack is appropriately soothing. We may not be able to experience the entirety of Okinawa, but the few locations it utilizes come across as fully realized as though one could actually walk through them.

  ---

  The Aquatope on White Sand is a calm series with good visuals that struggles finding direction in the second half. The lovable group of characters and iyashikei stories manage to make most episodes fun, even if they don’t progress anything plot-wise. Plus, its inability to close out certain lingering threads was more aggravating than I’d like to admit, However, with its two strong female lead characters, it has a solid emotional center that always manages to be delightful to witness, even on the occasions where it cannot stick the landing. The show was simply warm, and in this particular case, warm was good enough for me.

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• 

  MissAsakura

  90/100
  A beautiful journey of broken dreams and triumphant

  This is not a anime that will really stand out when you look at the whole year in perspective. It is a calm, beautiful and relaxing anime that deals with the struggle of building upon a broken dream, the reality of growing up and how harsh life can be. It captures that sense really beautifully that yes, a lot of our dreams will just be dreams. That all dreams must end when the dreamer wakes up. And we see that throughout the series as we see how Kukuru must face reality when what she holds most precious to her gets destroyed.

  Those who are older will understand that we have so many broken dreams, some things just remain dreams. But throughout it all, it is a beautiful journey regardless of all the dirt road or hard gravel we must walk on. Sometimes you face thorn and so many hardship to just reach your dreams. And even so, some of those dreams will crumble before our eyes. This doesn't mean that we cannot build upon them and start anew.

  What makes this anime so special is the bond between Kukuru and Fuuka who builds upon each other broken dream to find a new dream together. Sometimes we can only see so far but with someone else there we can see past what we couldn't before or notice things we would've otherwise missed.

  Visually this anime is pleasing, it is as expected of PA Works original. There's not much to say beside visual is absolutely gorgeous with their scenery being always gorgeous as always. The way they drew the animal really shine as they really cared about their visual and detail and how much they care to portray each individual creatures.

  Characters - each character shine in their own way. With a good supporting cast overall who really build onto the friendship. I mean could have this show survive without most of them or still be good? Yeah I can say so, since the real focus is really Kukuru and Fuuka and the others are just a nice treat to have there. Not saying they didn't add anything.

  Plot - it's really simple and close to real life as you can get. Seeing how a lot of us can relate to a lot of our dreams being crushed and broken. Needing others to help us get back on our feet. As Fuuka build her dream upon Kukuru dream and even though that fell apart, they continue to push each other to build upon a new dream in the new aquarium.

  Overall I really had a great time watching this. I don't think it'll be one of the anime people will be talking about for a long time but it does have it's moment in the spotlight as being one of the few bright spot of Summer. Since it's just me personally but I thought Summer was kind of lacking in good anime. So this was a beautiful treat to have.
  Kukuru and Fuuka friendship was a beautiful relationship that I really admire. Sure you can ship them or call it yuri or whatever but in the end it's not, it's really just a beautiful friendship of one another helping each other achieve their dreams and building upon each other dreams. Their dreams became one.
  Life can be rough, life can be full of twist and turns, we never know when we might lose everything and everyone close to us but we have to keep moving forward and find that someone who will help us along the way. We aren't meant to go alone into the world. And sometimes you may not know what to do or what your dream is, but you can always build it upon someone else and help them achieve their dreams. And is that a bad thing? Not at all, because you would share in their dreams and that will be your dream as well.
  So don't expect anything great out of this but a beautiful lesson and a message of it's up to us to take care of our world, our ocean and those creatures that lives in it. Because one day we might not see them again and though we don't see what they do but some of them do play a big role in the eco system.

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