√ Nami yo Kiite Kure - Series Review

Alternative Title: Wave, Listen to Me!

↓ Spoilers Ahead ↓

「 A quote from this series 」

"I thought radio was on its way to extinction... But it's actually pretty great."

「 The Review 」

Synopsis

Minare Koda, a crew from a curry restaurant, was asked to be a part of a radio station after a man who works there discovered her natural talent.

Story

If you're someone who has thought of the idea that radio was less relevant in these recent times, watching this anime may make you think otherwise.

This show has made me realized that the radio was more than just about playing music. What made it different from other platforms (especially those that allow you to create playlists, eg: YouTube, Spotify, etc.) was their DJs.

These radio professionals were in some way similar to psychologists, they maybe can't give the best solutions, but for the sake of having someone listen to somebody else's problem, I'd say they are equally capable of that. And sometimes, you just need someone to hear you out, right?

Characters

I'll discuss our main character, Minare Koda, and I won't state the obvious. What I'm going to talk about was her connection to the comedian Sissel Komei, who's linked to both her director Kanetsugu Matou and father Makoto Koda. For me, this was a mystery that the author wanted us to solve.

Here were two questions that made me think thoroughly about them:

1) Why does Minare resembles Sissel's appearance and skills?

2) Why did they say the same dialogues?

After researching through different anime boards, some have stated Komei was Minare's biological mother.

But, I'm going to reprove that, as it was mentioned that her mother Yui became pregnant with her:

So what's my answer?: Minare is Sissel's reincarnation.

Before you laugh or try to think I'm crazy for thinking of something that you may consider a fantasy, first of all, remember that this was an anime. And the author can mix reality with it. Also, take note: It's not a fantasy, if some people, including the author, consider reincarnation as something real.

And here I've laid down some sources to prove my answer:

Here's Matou telling Minare she looks like Komei...

And here's him giving her a clue that she will hear more about her to someone else, and that someone was her father:

Here's her dad being shocked when he heard Minare saying some dialogues, identical to what Sissel has said in the past:

Here's a sign that Minare/Sissel's soul would have wanted to stay living in Japan if they were resurrected:

And lastly, Sissel died 30 years ago. Minare's age was 26. Given the few years gap between the two events, Minare being Sissel's new vessel doesn't sound impossible.

In conclusion, as a reincarnation, Minare continued Sissel's dream of becoming a radio personality.

Moving on, there were two female supporting characters who I thought needed more screen time:

First was Makie Tachibana, when she revealed she was the famous scriptwriter Joker Skonsky, I thought we could have an episode of her writing for Minare's show.

The second was Madoka Chishiro, she's a veteran DJ, but we didn't get much background info from her. And the only time she and Minare worked together was in episode 11 when she provided the voice for the reincarnation of Asama-no-Okami. We need an episode of them hanging out together.

Writing / Storyboarding

This is where the anime excels... Seriously every episode has an excessive amount of dialogues. Hence, your subtitle reading skills will be tested, unless of course you can understand Japanese or watch a locally dubbed version.

And just like the main character who likes to add adlibs, this show also likes to add something extra on some scenes. They like to show references from movies, series, and even some famous people.

Here's an example:

One thing that got me surprised was how they used the word 'gay.' I can't remember the last time I've seen an anime (non-BL) where they blatantly used that word.

Though, unfortunately, the gay character they're referring to was not a good representation for LGBTQ+.

I still hope for a series where there's a proper representation of LGBTQ+, a character that's not on the show just for comedy, or anything cliche.

On the other hand, I also applaud the writers for having the balls to criticize their country's politics:

talking about Japanese politics in anime

As for the funniest scene, the turtle pooping from episode 5 gave me the best laugh:

After watching the finale, I felt like they had more stories to tell, so I welcome a second season.

Artwork / Animation

The one thing you'll probably notice on the character designs were the eyes. I really tried hard not to notice it, but I just can't help it.

The animation for their facial expressions was smooth as well. As it was able to shift fast enough, to keep up with the characters' change of emotions.

Music / Sound

I never skipped the intro song, because it's like an uplifting rock song. For the ending theme, it was a great emotional ballad.

Episodes 10 and 11 were excellent examples to showcase multiple sound effects.

Episode Ratings

1 - I'll Never Forgive You - 5
2 - I Despise Them - 5
3 - You All Are Soft - 5
4 - You Don't Smile - 5
5 - You're Not Getting Out Alive - 5
6 - There's No Such Thing - 4.5
7 - I Want to Cry - 4.5
8 - I Can't Tell You Over the Phone - 5
9 - I Won't Believe You - 4
10 - I Have to Do This - 4
11 - I Don't Fear Anaerobic Creatures - 5
12 - I Want to Convey It to You - 5

PS: The Death Ship movie from episode one was a reference to the 2002 film Ghost Ship.

Gagarin came from the Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, who was the first human in space.

「 Series Rating 」

An otaku since the mid-90's. I consider Evangelion as the most influential anime. My favorite classic films are Laputa: Castle in the Sky and Spirited Away.