YMMV / Umi Monogatari

• Applicability: The show's themes about accepting yourself and your inner darkness, and the bonds of friendship, love and connection with others helping you through problems can make the latter half of the show read as an allegory for deep depression. Sedna convinces Urin to emotionally shut down, cast out people she doesn't like and even those she loves, and feel no one will ever love her, but Marin and Kanon refuse to give up and help her through it, with Marin's love and Kanon's acceptance helping both Urin and Sedna heal.
• Awesome Music: Throughout, starting with the hauntingly melancholic opening tune. The director also worked on ARIA and it shows.
  • The shrine maiden's song, as well as Sedna's theme.
• Designated Love Interest: Kojima, with whom Kanon doesn't even have a fraction of the chemistry she has with Marin.
• Fridge Brilliance: The way Sedna is dealt with in the end makes a lot of sense when looking from a Jungian perspective. To elaborate, in Jungian psychology, Shadows are not inherently evil. A big part of inner growth is accepting it and learning to grow by not running away from the parts of yourself you don’t want to see.
• Growing the Beard: The first half of the show is a Monster of the Week affair, while the second half takes a deep dive into mental health, the meaning of love, and accepting the darkness inside us as natural.
• Les Yay: Kanon and Marin become very close during the course of the series, to the point of Kanon repeating Marin's "I love you" catchphrase in the finale.
• Visual Effects of Awesome: The transformation sequences, Urin's butterfly wings, and the red sparkles that make up Sedna.

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