The Aquatope on White Sand Episode 15 Review: The Great Sea Slug Debate

Another day, another adventure at the sprawling Tingaara aquarium. The Aquatope on White Sand Episode 15 aims to finally get Kukuru a win at her newest position. Did she succeed? Find out in this review!

The Aquatope on White Sand Episode 15 Overview

The Aquatope on White Sand is the latest anime by the Anime Studio P.A. Works, previously known for producing critically and commercially acclaimed anime like Angel Beats and Another. Toshiya Shinohara directs the series, a director whose career so far has been intrinsically linked with P.A. works, having previously directed Irozuku Sekai no Ashita kara and Nagi no Asu kara for the studio before. It is an original series by P.A. works, which means it is not based on a previously existing property, such as a Manga or a Light Novel.

If you want to know how I felt about the fourteenth episode of the season, or if you want to catch up on it, check out my review of it here. This episode is also known in original Japanese as Shiroi Suna no Aquatope Episode 15.

– The Aquatope on White Sand Episode 15 Review does not contain spoilers –

The Aquatope on White Sand Episode 15 Review- Art and Music

Here’s something new about the animation in this show- all the characters look as anime as anything can look, multicoloured hair included. On the other hand, the show implies techniques to make all the environments and locations as close to real-life (in anime terms) as possible. This gives the show a unique vibe that not many other shows have. That particular attention to detail greatly enhances the viewing experience, even if one doesn’t notice it instantly.

The opening and ending themes of part two are fantastic and easily equal to if not better than the previous ones. They also changed the opening animation as soon as they revealed Fuuka to be in the show again, which was very cheeky of the creators. I still fail to see the purpose of the initial fake-out, however. The show has always had gorgeous opening and ending animations, and it is fun to see the attention to detail when you take a deeper look into things.

The Aquatope on White Sand Episode 15 Review- Plot and Characters

I was under the impression that the reason The Aquatope on White Sand moved on from Gama Gama to Tingaara was to freshen things up before the show was in any danger to go stale. While things did feel very different and refreshing for a while, the same melancholy has set into the show, as evident by The Aquatope on White Sand Episode 15. I have a reason for why that might be happening, and it is a little out of the box.

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I believe the show lost a lot of its momentum after Gama Gama closed because it lost the magic associated with the aquarium. Early Aquatope was a magical experience that spellbound viewers after having experienced it. While the animation quality and the story beats remain the same in part two of the series, the magic is nowhere to be seen, resulting in a straightforward slice of life show that has nothing special going on in its favour.

The Aquatope on White Sand Episode 15 was a standard episode where Kukuru was finally able to get something right in her job as she put on a sea-slug exhibition with a lot of effort. Her relationship with most of the original Tingaara members is still a little rocky, although she is coming along nicely. Kukuru is a spirited and extraordinarily kind individual, and thus I have no qualms with her trying to grow as a manager instead of an attendant. I’m sure she’ll get very far. However, I wish the young magical boy/ island spirit came back to inject some magic into the show.

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Verdict

The Aquatope on White Sand Episode 15 was a solid entry into the show’s rapidly blossoming collection. While Aquatope is losing the magic it once had, I’m confident in the show’s ability to bring it back.

If you liked this review of The Aquatope on White Sand Episode 15, you will also enjoy our review of the next episode in the series, available right here!