Holy crap… this series really seems to just get better and better over time. This episode not only was a major step up when compared to the first episodes of the first and second arc, but it was also much more solid, composed and the voice acting was also better than ever. I’m not sure exactly what happened, but I really hope that the creators can keep this up.

This episode featured a slightly new op with a bunch of new scenes here and there (nicely shaded, by the way), and it starts out again with a bit of background for the characters Beatrice and Eva. It tells something about the supposed nature of magic (very creative, I must say), and it shows how Eva seems to have created an imaginary friend in her attempts to stand out as a woman in the Ushinomiya family, especially discriminated upon by Krauss and Kinzou.

Speaking of Kinzou, this guy’s an asshole. He isn’t the least bit subtle about his wishes to marry off Eva for his own happiness, is he? Still, in this arc we should probably see a different version of Eva: in the first arc she didn’t have to struggle a lot, because everyone else entitled to her father’s inheritance was presumed dead, and in the second arc she was dead herself. My suspicion is that she, along with some other heir, is going to survive the first slaughter, which should give her character a different dimension.

This episode also destroys the theory that Beatrice herself was the culprit: she’s dead. Rosa killed her. I guess that that’s why she was so paranoid in the previous arc: someone she believed to be dead suddenly appeared. Of course she’d start doubting everyone and his dog. Still, we have no proof yet that there wasn’t a twentieth person on the island, because Beatrice also refused to red text that the minimum of people on the island is twenty. This final mystery person could prove the key to how the killer was able to move around and arrive at the right time to kill everyone. I’m beginning to suspect that the murders weren’t all committed by the same person; it’s either a bunch of accomplices, or two people are killing people on their own with different motives.

And the nature of that meta world indeed is starting to look like a world in which dead people gather. With this, Beatrice’s motive may actually be that she wishes to return to the realm of the living, and there’s this link between her and Rosa that seems hold a key clue to solving this mystery.

Oh and as usual, please try to refrain from mentioning what happens in the visual novel after this point, for the sake of those who haven’t read it.
Rating: ** (Excellent)

After watching Kaleido Star and Strange Dawn, you can pretty much consider me a fan of Sato Junichi, the guy who directed them. Umi Monogatari is his latest work; it’s nowhere near his best, however it still is a very solid series: focused, emotional and powerful. This series demonstrates that even with a simple story and clichéd setting you can do a lot of nice things.

What impressed me the most about this series is that it has so many ingredients that anime has become infamous for, and it makes them work. It has a big-boobed hot chick in a swimsuit as a main character, alongside her is her younger sister, also in swimsuit. We have this evil power that brainwashes everyone, there’s an angsty love triangle subplot, people getting into fights over the smallest misunderstanding and let’s not forget the animal sidekick.

There is really a LOT of angst and drama in this series. Usually in anime, this means a lot of cheese, but here the creators manage to make a very emotional series while avoiding getting ludicrous or melodramatic by keeping the characters genuine. Especially Marin and Kanon are a couple of very likable character. They’re well fleshed out and avoid being stereotypes. Especially Marin cries a lot, but for once you feel that it’s part of her character, rather than having her cry for the sake of melodrama.

While a cheesy mahou shoujo at first sight, Umi Monogatari at heart is a story about adolescence: a tale of growing up, expanding your horizons, getting into fights and trying to make up again, which never is easy. It’s also about discrimination and misunderstandings, and it has a lot of meaning put into the emotions of the different characters.

Granted though, the plot is very simple; if you’re not into the characters, or like a fast-paced plot in which a lot of stuff happens at the same time, you’re not going to like this series. Umi Monogatari is more like one of those series that takes its time in subtly developing its characters. Still, that final episode really has been the best ending I’ve seen so far in this season, and has a good chance of being among the best endings of the shows that ended during the Spring and Summer Season, even though I usually dislike those sorts of endings.