Nagi no Asukara - Episode 2

Manaka's firsh curse problem seems to have resolved itself the morning after a difficult day - but then again, maybe she didn't want it to go away after all, as we discover that Tsumugu was rather taken with it.

Of course, any kind of friendship Manaka might have with Tsumugu is incredibly problematic when it comes to the over-protective Hikari, who wastes no time in warning this surface-dwelling "friend" away from his own childhood sweetheart, and equally wastes no time in getting angry with Manaka over pretty much anything when it comes to her involving Tsumugu.

This dislike for Kihara, and indeed those who live on the surface in general, isn't helped when he spies his older sister returning from a date with a surface dweller - a moment upon which Isaki helpfully points out that anyone who wants to live with someone from the surface will be duly banished from the community forever.  As Hikari frets about this fact coupled with the behaviour of both his sister and his childhood friend, the complexities of the group's relationships also show themselves elsewhere, with Manaka looking to get back her fish curse while Chisaki finds herself both egging on and pleading Tsumugu to stay away from her friend on account of her own conflict between friendship and love.

Between these tangles relationships and the more deep-seated politics of the show's setting, there's plenty boiling underneath the surface (with every pun intended) to keep me interested in this show - its characters still need to be fleshed out a little more beyond what we're seeing now to really make any drama and emotional impact the show hopes to deliver work fully, but it certainly seems to be headed in the right direction and with the right blend of elements to make it work.  It could all fall apart further down the line, but overall I'm getting a good feeling from Nagi no Asukara for the time being.