Mizu wa Umi ni Mukatte Nagareru

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Alternative Titles

Synonyms: Water Flows to the Sea, Water Flowing to the Sea

Japanese: 水は海に向かって流れる

Information

Type: Manga

Volumes: 3

Chapters: 24

Status: Finished

Published: Aug 9, 2018 to Jul 9, 2020

Genres: Romance, Slice of Life

Demographic: Shounen

Serialization: Bessatsu Shounen Magazine

Authors: Tajima, Rettou (Story & Art)

Statistics

Score: 7.45¹ (scored by 917 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #3353²

² based on the top manga page. Please note that 'R18+' titles are excluded.

Popularity: #7865

Members: 2,623

Favorites: 34

7.45

Ranked #3353Popularity #7865Members 2,623

MangaBessatsu Shounen MagazineTajima, Rettou (Story & Art)

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Volumes: /3

Chapters: /24

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Synopsis

The story of a family of five strangers living under one roof.

(Source: Nautiljon, translated)

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Background

Mizu wa Umi ni Mukatte Nagareru ranked fifth in the 2020 Kono Manga ga Sugoi! for the male readers category, and was nominated for the 2020 Manga Taisho Award.

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Characters

Sakaki, Chisa

Main

Kumazawa, Naotatsu

Main

Reviews

Jul 23, 2021

JohnTBrooke

Recommended

This was such a pleasant read that after I had finished reading it, a few weeks later I went ahead to read the whole series again (it's not that long after all). This is one of my very favorites. While certainly no roller-coaster-esque experiential masterpiece of the likes of Oyasumi Pun Pun (I would argue this is still a 'masterpiece' in its own right), Mizu wa Umi ni Mukatte Nagareru captured my heart with its riveting drama that explores awkward relationships and family situations without exploiting its story for melodrama. It portrays these matters in a grounded, yet somewhat mundane manner to reflect a sense ... of our real world, never succumbing to simplified black or white moral situations or overly transparent emotional cues.

Aside from the sensitive approach to its narrative, it is the fantastically way that the characters have been written that ultimately steal the show. Characters here feel lived-in with their believable personalities that shift and react consistently to the changes of the story - however slight, their amusing quirks that serve to develop and provide characters with a sense of history instead of for superficial comedy for readers to laugh at, the believability of the character's thoughts that provide depth, where even the 'innocent' main character has some 'bad' thoughts, and the incredibly written dialogue and conversations (which consists much of the manga) that finely walks the thin line between humor and drama, reminiscent of how actual people talk, where we try to obfuscate serious topics with slight comedy to lighten the mood. Not to mention the mundane and slower pace of the manga helps give a sense of routine and life to the characters.

The art style is whispy and light. Lines sometimes look like thin pencil strokes, and character designs are incredibly simple. It has a... sort of minimalist storybook aesthetic to it. It's the sort of thing that is up to preference, but for me, I think it fits the unconventional tone of the story, at once being able to express lightness and comedy, but also a minimalistic beauty in the serious, dramatic moments. I also just really like how refreshing it is compared to the conventional anime-esque aesthetic that mangas usually shoot for. We need more unconventional art styles. I also just love the sense of distance the drawings appropriately provide in some emotional story moments. With the 'wide shots' and by occasionally turning the characters' faces away from us. It suits the narrative tone, and it never gets the reader too close to the drama to make things sentimental, but not too much to reduce our emotional connection from the character and their situations. It's a good middle ground is what I'm saying. Also, I don't know what's up with the paneling, but though deceptively simple, they flow incredibly well - they pick up the nuances of the characters and their personal dramas so darn good.

While the comedy here is perhaps not laugh-out-loud funny like in a gag manga, I found it incredibly endearing nonetheless, and it has some genuinely funny moments. The romance is at the same time very well-paced and believable. It does not succumb to overly cliched romantic developments that one might find in romantic works and instead develops in a rather realistic manner. Not to mention, the story ends when it needs to and finds no need to stumble around for another story arc. This is great, great storytelling. It may not have the one million dollars, conceptually exciting story idea, but by sheer finesse, in the way, the story was told and the way the characters were developed and written, this is, in my humble opinion a 'masterpiece' in its own right. (It does have its flaws, though the pros outweigh them tremendously imo) Anyone who likes slice-of-life, or perhaps is a little sick of the overly saccharine romance that anime and manga like to push for should at the very least give this a shot.

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Oct 21, 2020

rotanrotan1

Recommended

Initial review:

The demographic tag says Shounen, but with the story's themes, I think it would be much more appreciated by an older demographic.

Short but sweet, humorous but mature. I expected that I would feel the same as I would in typical drama; especially with the premise sounding like a typical affair drama. No, as I read through the first stages of the story, I felt I had this toneless expression (much like Sakaki-san) when their baggage are being slowly hinted. This is not to say that it was a bad thing, I'm not sure if I am/will be making sense when I say that I ...

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Sep 28, 2020

apep23

Recommended

Proceed with care.

This review might have some mild spoiler to its content. So I hope you understand and still give it a try after reading this.

Mizu wa Umi ni Mukatte Nagareru, a mild drama-based story that takes place in a certain household that has many characters and people in there. The story starts when Naotatsu when entering a certain high school that demands him to commute a long distance from his house and decides to take his uncle's recommendation to live in his "house". Little did he know in the house that he boarded, there are a certain people there not just his uncle. The ...

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	Poll: Mizu wa Umi ni Mukatte Nagareru Chapter 24 Discussion Kuma - Dec 16, 2020	10 replies	by llorando »» Nov 13, 2021 3:57 PM
	Flows to the sea Avvenirista - Oct 19, 2020	0 replies	by Avvenirista »» Oct 19, 2020 2:31 AM

Mizu wa Umi ni Mukatte Nagareru
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