Originally posted here at Anime Radius.

If you have been reading Children of the Sea so far, you are familiar with the permanent hallmarks of the series: the deeply involving introspective moments; the gorgeous art that sometimes verges on the abstract; a colorful and developed cast of characters; a progressive and slowly blooming plot that develops at a pace that always leaves readers wanting more by chapter's end. If you haven't been reading it yet then - well - you should go on and read the previous three volumes, savoring them slowly, before reading volume three because this is not a manga you can jump in the middle with both feet and expect to enjoy it to the upmost levels possible. So fellow readers can understand when I say that the fourth volume is, for lack of better words, rather monumental.

What's so major about this volume of Children of the Sea? There is plot development - and tons of it. And with all of the development, we get insight into more and more mysteries. For one thing, we get to look deep into the pasts of both Kanako and Anglade, giving their characters some much needed expansion. Granted, Anglade is still a bit of a mystery - and very mysterious in nature - but I'm glad for the look at Kanako's youth and the circumstances that led to Ruka's birth. She's turned from a slightly developed character to one that is well-rounded and terribly interesting; I'm looking forward to more of the chapters with Kanako and Dehdeh. Their trip across the sea in search of Ruka and Umi is immensely fascinating, as is Ruka's descent into the ocean with the meteorite in her body - although who knows how long that odd relationship between human and stone will last, if the volume's cliffhanger ending is anything to go by.

Fish are disappearing, the ocean is becoming more active than ever, the creatures of the water are continuing to attract attention from not only the marine biologists but also the world at large - and in the middle of everything are Ruka and Umi and Sora, the children of the sea. There's drama and action and mystery and beautiful art and everything you could ever ask of a seinen manga. You want a deeply underappreciated series that deserves all the critical acclaim it garners from day one? You want Children of the Sea - and if the latest volume is anything to go by, Daisuke Igarashi is doing his best to make it a modern-day manga classic.
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Wow- I hope this isn't the last in this series- it doesn't seem like the end of the story, but I don't see any other books mentioned in this series. ( )

The mystery and story continued. This manga and the artwork and story within are still beautiful and wondrous to behold. The artwork in every panel is simply wonderful and the on going plot still leaves me wanting more. The mystery and story of the sea continues. ( )