Umi no Hajimari (2024) Episode 12

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1. I loved it!
   “The beginning of Umi”. It’s also playing on Umi’s question to her mother of where does the sea begin? now we know where the title comes from as well 🥹 the scriptwriter is extremely brilliant for that and talented in general for this masterpiece. I wasn’t sure how happy of an ending it would be after episode 11 but they made it work.

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2. Long comment ahead I had to split it into three parts. Lol. I don’t care if anyone reads this. I just need to vent. XD

   Before elaborating on things I was frustrated with in this drama, I just want to say how beautiful this ending was. The way each character—Natsu, Umi, Yayoi, Mizuki’s parents, and even Tsuno, found their peace of mind was beautifully executed.

   I like that we got a little back and forth with the timelines. Love those flashbacks. I appreciate how Mizuki’s mother apologized to Natsu for criticizing him before. Besides Mizuki’s mother, I also think Tsuno owes Natsu an apology, but maybe that’s gonna take a long while for Tsuno to put his pride aside and eventually do that.

   Yayoi is probably my most favorite character in this series, with Natsu being the one I feel most frustrated and unfair for, and Umi being the one my heart breaks for the most. If anything, these three were the biggest victims in this whole situation. (Also wanna stress that I actually don’t quite like using the word ‘victim’ here, but I also can’t find a better word at the moment, so I’m just gonna use that for now.)

   It’s obvious with Yayoi so I don’t need to say much on that again. She wasn’t obligated to sacrifice her happiness and I’m just so glad she is happy now and can comfortably be herself, be friends with Umi, and still be on good terms with Natsu (my heart still breaks recalling ep9 though T^T, and how cute the flashback was with her suggesting to stay overnight).

   Natsu, he was basically thrown into this. However, his character was very consistent. He was always overly considerate. So every decision he made, he always put the other person first, like with Umi or Yayoi. Even at times when he seemed like he was making a decision for himself, it didn’t feel like it. He’s the type of character that just keeps giving, but hopefully he won’t be wrung dry one day. The dream he had, shown in the beginning, just makes me feel even more aggrieved for him. Then again, if it meant he never got to meet Yayoi, I wonder what would be his choice. But who knows, maybe if Natsu and Mizuki stayed together until she passed young, fate might still bring him and Yayoi together later on, and perhaps Yayoi would feel differently about being Umi’s stepmother then.

   Since the first episode, Natsu has been criticized left and right, when the fault really wasn’t his. Was he responsible for Umi? Yes, definitely. He got Mizuki pregnant, so that’s a responsibility he and Mizuki both shared. But everything after that was out of Natsu’s control, so even though the only mistake from him was getting Mizuki pregnant, the rest weren’t. But it’s also precisely because he’s the father, almost everyone criticized him and guilt-tripped him for not knowing about Umi, for being absent for 7 years, and for being an irresponsible and lacking father. Despite all that, I’m glad he found his own happiness with Umi in the end.

   Umi was such a lovely character. It will always break my heart to see how mature and considerate she is, when she was the only one who is probably entirely faultless in this whole situation, but she was forced to grow up. For a kid her age, I think she has been really well-behaved and understanding. Her friendship with Yayoi is just so cute. In some way, I like that she got to be friends with Yayoi instead of Yayoi being her mother, coz then she won’t have a friend to talk to. Even though Tsuno is also kind of her friend but nope. LOL

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