Široi suna no Aquatope

I would have liked to have given this season a good rating because, musically and visually, it is just really nice, and if you want to see an underwater world and sea creatures, you are going to enjoy some of the scenes and shots in this show for sure. However, unfortunately, most of the humans’ problems did not appeal to me and I just could not care less about the fate of the male and female protagonists and was more interested in what was going on with the sea creatures rather than the fate of the aquariums, and especially their staff. If that was the purpose, and it was primarily to pique my interest in nature, then it would have worked quite well. However, if it was supposed to be about two girls growing up and their journey of self-discovery and interpersonal drama, it did not work for me at all. I do not know where the fault lies; perhaps the responsibility lies with me and my cynicism. Perhaps this anime series somehow failed to help me properly empathize with the gravity of both Kukuru and Fuka's concerns, especially given my age and current frame of mind. Perhaps even the anime series failed to portray them strongly and interestingly enough. I did not find the ending itself moving despite its attempt at being emotional, and I do not even have the feeling that something really good has finished. So, in the end, the sea creatures are good, there are some interesting facts about them, some nice pictures of the underwater world, and that is about it for me, even though that is not enough to say it was a strongly above-average experience. 6/10. (2021.12.16)