Forum - View topicREVIEW: Umibe no Étranger
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FireChick
 Subscriber Posts: 2495 Location: United States |
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Unfortunately, Mio's depiction is the same as in the manga, so he doesn't change much there as well. I read the manga and I thought it was fine. I ought to check out the movie when it comes out later on.
...But dear lord, please, I beg of you, DO NOT read the sequel manga, Harukaze no Etranger! No, seriously, don't! Not only does it absolutely shit on everything Umibe previously established, one character's actions are revealed, and they are absolutely awful and extremely unhealthy and manipulative...and the manga never calls her on it, along with actively glossing over important issues that absolutely NEED to be addressed!!! |
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rahzel rose
Subscriber Posts: 834 |
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I’m glad I’m not the only who hasn’t enjoyed the sequel. The first one was so good and then it went off the rails, which has honestly colored my impression of the series as a whole. Which also makes me hesitant to see this movie even though I know it’s the better part. Also I agree with Matsuoka being a miscast. I love him to bits, but even from the trailer and promos, I felt that he wasn’t a good fit. |
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wolf10
 Posts: 931 |
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Gay man here, and longtime fan of the source manga (Umibe and Harukaze). Glad to see ANN reviewing this finally, and it sounds about like what I expected. Someday I'll get to see it for myself.
Mio is 100% a manic-pixie-dream-girl after the timeskip. I can agree with that. I think there is a lot of stuff in Harukaze that recontextualizes him into a more believable person (though there are still some gaps you have to fill in yourself), so I was hoping the movie would flesh him out a bit more, but apparently not. Also, Sakurako is fine. Shun did a pretty terrible thing to her, but what he would have done to her was definitely worse, and both parties acknowledge that, so there's no real need for anyone to be "punished further." I'm probably one of the few western readers who appreciates the manga not devolving into needless vindictive melodrama. People act like sensible adults. It's a pretty cozy read. |
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FireChick
Subscriber Posts: 2495 Location: United States |
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Uhhh...aren't you forgetting some really important things? spoiler[Sakurako lied to Shun about his father being sick, tricked him into staying with his homophobic parents, who openly disowned him after he came out to them, and basically manipulated him into leaving the only support network he had out of spite. She also tried to go after him with a knife. And not ONCE does anyone call her on her actions! How is what she did to Shun any better than him leaving her at the altar?] I'm not trying to question your knowledge of the manga or anything. If you like it, more power to you. But I was very put off by the fact that the manga basically lets Sakurako get away with basically screwing over Shun and not making any effort at all to address it in any manner whatsoever. spoiler[Oh, and that's not even getting into the fact that Shun's parents magically forget they were homophobic and just let Shun and Mio live with them without any hard feelings whatsoever. "Oh hi, son we disowned for being gay! Sure, you can live with us even though we don't like that you're gay! We can totally just let bygones be bygones while completely ignoring all the mental anguish and trauma we put you through, and are still putting you through! Oh, and be sure to be nice to the little seven-year-old boy we adopted in your absence to replace you! Tralala everything's great, teeheehee!"] |
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#Patalliro!
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Shun wasn't disowned though? He ran away because he has depression and it can make it hard for him to deal with anything regarding his sexuality. His parents aren't any more homophobic than I would expect of an older straight couple living in a homophobic society. I completely understand how some of the things they say might make some people uncomfortable, though. It makes me slightly uncomfortable too, but ultimately doesn't bother me too much, since, sad as it is, they're all thing I would expect to hear from people in my life as well. Much like Shun's depression, it feels realistic and make it easy for me to relate to the characters and their struggles.
Personally, I quite like the sequels, it gives time to explore the characters' personalities a bit more and what they're like in their day to day lives. I like how the characters are flawed, and their interactions feel natural and realistic. I do think Mio's character in Umibe would've benefited from us seeing what he was like in his time away from Shun, his personality change does feel a bit abrupt, even if it makes sense. But we get to see more of him in Harukaze and expands beyond his naturally cheerful disposition, even if the story continues to focus more on Shun. Anyways, I really hope I'll get to see this movie at some point! I really love Kii Kanna's work, but the only thing of hers that was ever licensed was Umibe no Etranger, and it's no longer available. Besides just wanting to see this movie for myself, I'm kind of hoping that if it get licensed, we'll see some of her manga licensed, too. |
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Ming Yi
Posts: 217 |
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Only Shun's father reacted poorly to him, while his mother was very accepting. Even then the narrative sets it up as Shun's father being shocked but slowly learning to accept it. And I think you're missing the point of some of the narrative: Shun moves to Okinawa and spends time away from his family because he's literally running away from his problems, which is a big conflict in his character arc (which is why he is constantly rejecting Mio -- he doesn't want to deal with the guilt that comes from Mio actually returning his feelings because he believes he's depriving Mio from a "normal" life). Sakurako and Mio both help him come to terms with learning to accept himself better, even if Sakurako has an unorthodox way of doing it. Family is important in Asian cultures, after all. |
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KENZICHI
 Posts: 1118 |
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I’ve been dying to know what happened with Mio during his time in an orphanage, but right now I justify his change in characterization as that while being away for 3 years Mio put on rose colored glasses and constantly thought of the only person other than his mother who loved him. And like he said before, Shun was the only one that didn’t look at him with pity which appealed to him. Even though what he thought of Shun those 3 years may not have been reality Mio still returned to and accepted Shun and wanted to be with him. Though still not a reasonable reason to proclaim their love for somebody, that’s what Mio has done and that’s (one of the reasons) why Shun doesn’t like it and initially pushes away.
I really hope this gets licensed in the US. I really want to watch it because I love the prequel to bits. Harukaze I liked in the beginning, but honestly I have no idea where the author plans to take the story but it feels like it’s stuck in a rut. Plus it feels like Fumi is the main now while everyone else is in the background. Shun is just “existing” now and not living which I really didn’t want to happen to his character. |
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MagicPolly
 Posts: 1628 |
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Maybe I'm just blinded by the fact that I really love BL (and before anyone attacks me, I am a gay male) but I honestly didn't find that many issues with the movie. Maybe it was also because I was watching for fun and not thinking about it analytically, but the only problem I had was the disjointed two halves. Overall I found it an amazing movie and plan to read the manga asap.
Though it's also been about a month since I watched it, so maybe I'm forgetting things/a rewatch would help me see issues but at the same time I don't wanna be looking for things to dislike. I do plan to rewatch it tomorrow when the dub comes out though. |
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wolf10
Posts: 931 |
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Most of the issues I can find are by analysis, and pretty minor when graded on the curve of "crap BL authors think is okay." (Mio's "BTW I'm straight" moments kinda clash with his dumb virgin energy, but that's more of a preference thing, and there are certainly fewer in the movie version.)
I think it needed eyecatches or something to indicate chapter breaks, because this is essentially a compilation of a one-shot and the first three mostly-isolated chapters of Harukaze no Etranger (which officially started in the following issue). If it played up the artsy indie flick angle with title cards or something, it might have helped temper expectations for an overarching narrative, because there really isn't one. Mostly, though, it's just comfort food. Really pretty comfort food. |
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KitKat1721
 Posts: 976 |
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Ok, I summed up my thoughts before reading this review, and I don't think I've agreed with a review so strongly before haha
Overall, I thought it was really sweet, and there was a little more than I was expecting under the surface (especially with the flashbacks of Shun's past + experiences at school). I can also see its fragmented nature being divisive for some (personally worked fine for me aside from the rushed transition from the first act to the next), but there still felt like there was an overall conclusion that made sense. Whether or not it felt earned however might differ for people. spoiler[I think I would have appreciated more build up in the beginning - Mio especially didn't seem to have as much, if any, development compared to Shun. He just returned to the town years later, told Shun he loved him, and was there for Shun almost just as moral support. I think an extra few minutes building up their initial relationship before he left and the transition into present day + more time devoted to Mio and how he's changed since his time away would have done the movie wonders (the movie is only like 58 minutes long, so it wouldn't have dragged or anything).] Still, definitely worth the watch if you want something short, sweet without ever feeling saccharine, and with some beautiful art direction (albeit not super ambitious animation)! The dub was pretty great too, and at times I actually felt more chemistry between the ENG VAs than the JPN ones, particularly in the more low-key SoL moments. David Wald did fantastic work capturing the super intimate moments in Bloom Into You, and he repeated that feat with Stranger by the Shore in my opinion. |
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Jefcat
Posts: 107 Location: Palm Desert |
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I liked this movie. As a gay man, Shun was a recognizable gay character for me, not just a BL trope. And as far as Mio be “gay for Shun”, I don’t think that is so unusual. I had a bf at the end of high school and beginning of college who was essentially gay for me. We drifted apart when I went off to college, he got married and had kids. We’re still friends, still a connection between us even though we went in different directions. Sexuality can be fluid. So think Mio is well characterized to a point. The fact that Mio undergoes such a personality reversal is a gaping plot hole though. It’s like a big chuck of Mio’s journey is just not there.
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wolf10
Posts: 931 |
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I think it says something that that's really the worst quibble I have. I may sound critical, but I actually like him a lot, especially in the sequel. |
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musouka
Posts: 718 |
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I don’t think it’s particularly unusual for the protagonist of a BL series to be gay nowadays? I guess it could seem that way if you mostly watch anime, though…
(EDIT: Just double checked. While this is far from scientific, the “gay uke” tag on chil-chil.net has 4849 works listed. The “gay seme” has 3180 works listed. A decent amount of works on the first couple of pages overlap, which would mean romance where both of the MCs are gay.) |
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wolf10
Posts: 931 |
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The source manga started in 2013, and the tankobon came out in 2014, also the year I first read it. It was fair for it's day. You'll have to excuse me if some of my first impressions are back-dated about 7 years. |
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musouka
Posts: 718 |
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Yeah, I went back and took a look myself. You first start seeing it regularly in 1999, but it doesn't really start to "take off" until the early to mid-2000s, with 2011 as the tipping point (at a glance.) I'd be interested in cross referencing how many books were coming out per year, but that would take more time than I have at the moment.
No, I think that's perfectly fair and I'm sorry if I came across as combative. There's still a lot of BL being published where the sexuality of the leads is basically "no comment" and I didn't mean to imply otherwise. I just think there has also been an increase I noticed in gay protags. |
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