Wow. What a waste of time. -.-
Where to start... Well, first off, ALL of the characters suck. All of them. Although I did start to like Yoji and Aoi later on, it was because they were so different from when they were introduced. Aoi was introduced beating people up (abusive boyfriend, much?), which, btw, had NOTHING TO DO WITH ANYTHING. It is not explained later, and there is no further hint of him being a violent guy later on (except when he SLAPS HER, ugh, I agree with soulgrrl that that was disgusting). Yoji... is just a complete dick.
Okay, on to the girl, Nagi. She's a dumbass. I tried to like her, I really did, but she's just so freaking stupid, naive, and.. upbeat. She's so confident that she can do all these things, but she really, really can't, and she just ends up humiliating herself. I wish she'd just take herself more seriously and get a real swim coach and learn on her own. She also tried to fill the pool with a small bag of salt so that she could float better. Way to go, dumbass!
And she can't swim? REALLY? That completely blows my mind. She's supposed to have swum a lot alone on the island. WHAT WAS SHE DOING EXACTLY IF SHE CAN'T ACTUALLY SWIM? Just standing in the water?! And if she really wanted to swim so badly because of her mother, you'd think she'd just, I don't know, TAKE SWIMMING LESSONS. Hire a freaking swim coach, you sorry excuse of a human being!! Jesus Christ! And if her not being able to swim had anything to do with some swimming accident, it could've been explained a little better than just showing her almost drowning in the beginning. (Still don't know what that's about.)
So she wants to swim now so she can meet her mother (don't see how these two connect, but whatever, willing suspension of disbelief), so she begs this jerk Aoi. Way to go. If she was really serious about swimming she'd just take some goddamn lessons, but instead she begs this violent dickwad of a guy who clearly doesn't give a crap about teaching her. Aoi changes for the better, I'll admit, but what was that at the end?
He actually leaves to train with Nagi's dick of a mother? What about his friends, and his *love* for Nagi? Christ, he's a dick.
Yoji is even worse. I wasn't expecting him to be an actual good guy, but I certainly wasn't expecting Nagi to actually tolerate him, must less fall for him.
He tells her outright that he doesn't care about her, and he was just using her. He "dumps" her, in Nagi's words (though they were never actually together). So why, WHY does Nagi go on a date with him later? And right after he USES her to piss of Aoi (he admits this, too)? Why does she still like him?!??! Why does she still invite him to the swim club, when no one clearly wants him there? WHY DOESN'T SHE HAVE ANY FREAKING BACKBONE?!
Okay, so Yoji changes for the better later on, too. Inconsistency with the characters, but if they become more likable, then I guess I don't mind. So if Aoi is away for a year off being a traitor to everyone around him, and Yoji is so graciously teaching Nagi how to swim, why didn't Yoji and Aoi just get together? Seemed only natural to me, especially since they apparently both like(d) each other. 8|
Nagi's mother is a jerk, too. I don't know what else to say, I just find it hard to believe a mother can disregard her child that much. Why did she have children in the first place? Being pregnant certainly wouldn't have helped her swimming, which she cares about oh so much. Her mother being a jerk was just completely unnecessary. It would've been better if she was just a normal mother who actually loved her child.
Plus, in the end Nagi has been taking swimming lessons for a year, and she's just learned how to breathe above water. REALLY?! So not only does Nagi not know how to swim in the beginning, but she actually COMPLETELY SUCKS AT IT. Nice one, Nagi!
I didn't give this a 1 because, I have to admit, there was some chemistry between Nagi and Aoi. The art was okay too, although the heads were too big. But the overall plot was boring, the characters were infuriating, and it's really just not worth it. Oh, and it doesn't really have an ending either.
She throws a small fit when he comes back, quickly forgives him for ditching her for a year, they kiss, and then he leaves again. They never really get together.
I guess that's it. It sucked, don't read it.
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