Life Above and Below the Surface: The Land-Sea Dichotomy in the Little Mermaid and Nagi no Asukara, and Disability

Nagi no Asukara (NagiAsu for short) is P.A. Work’s shimmering foray into themes surrounding the sea. In particular, the show focuses on a group of middle school students who live in the sea village of Shioshishio; the closure of their school has forced them to trek to the school above the surface. This show explores themes of disabilities on account of how the characters interact with the relatively dry surface world. Disney’s The Little Mermaid tackles these same concepts through the character of Ariel, albeit in a more limited manner. Comparing these two works and drawing from the resulting conclusions allows for an understanding of disability as a whole, specifically how disability is socially constructed.

Pt. I: Fins as Disability
The Little Mermaid establishes a firm dichotomy between those who live on land and sea-dwellers, though both are shown as human-esque; the truly human (i.e. surface) culture is portrayed as much more powerful. Laura Sells writes, “The Little Mermaid establishes the world on land and the world under the sea as two contrasting spaces, one factual and one fictive, one real and the other imaginary. In this dualistic and hierarchical construction, the human world can be aligned with the white male system and the water world situated outside that system” (Sells 177). In this film, human culture is portrayed as superior to aquatic culture. One instance of this behavior is that of large ships sailing obliviously past aquatic wildlife and across the ocean; thus the human desire to subjugate the “fantasy land” is portrayed. Though Sells wrote about the human land as “white male”, a dimension of ability can be added, for clearly disability is excluded from this characterization of the world on land.

Fins replace legs for Ariel, resulting in a loss of an ability to walk, which is deemed crucial for this world. The human (land) world emphasizes walking or sitting but not swimming, which is an element of society: the culture in which a person belongs dictates one’s behavior. For example, large boats are used to supplant swimming, though they are capable of such a feat. Ariel’s fins are optimized for swimming, which is not vital to people of this society, creating a lack of ability. The difference in culture between land and sea transforms how a being with fins reacts with the surrounding society. In human culture, fins play no functional role but also play a “crippling role” by removing the socially important ability to walk. 

Therefore, The Little Mermaid can be seen in the realm of ability. Being stymied by her first time on land, Ariel wishes to lose her fins, which highlight social barriers in the world on land, and become part of their domain. So she is transformed into a human by Ursula – a sea being of great power - and is then able to maneuver terrestrially, at the cost of her voice. Though the ability to speak is socially critical, this transformation is difficult to comprehend in terms of disability because the condition is caused and resolved easily with magic, with no damage to her social identity. Fins, on the other hand, are a crucial part of her social identity, causing a dramatic change when she loses them. Her past difficulties are then, upon regaining her voice, seemingly forgotten completely. In the original version of the story, Ariel has an excruciating sensation when she loses her fins for legs, which can be seen as symbolic as her forceful change in social identity. The act was clear-cut whereas in the film Ariel is portrayed as simply a mermaid who transforms into a human without a true struggle.

Though the film ultimately glosses over themes of ability, The Little Mermaid reveals an interesting perspective on the social construction of disability. Ariel’s inability to cope with challenges presented by living among humans is resolved by replacing her fins, which creates disability in their society, with normed human legs which fit into society easily. Using this analogy of fins to normed human legs, one can understand how having different legs may impact one’s ability to thrive in a land society. For example, a person with cerebral palsy or Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy generally struggles to walk unassisted without an external device (such as walker or wheelchair) due to their legs which make walking difficult; such a person is therefore “unable” to perform the activity sufficiently in that society, which creates the disability. Lacking legs or even the remote ability to use one’s legs for walking creates a similar situation. 

Ariel’s transformation essentially ignores the difficult situation of limited (or lack of) mobility by placing Ariel into a fully normed and able body that can participate in that society without any serious repurcussions.. Thus the film clearly contains encoded messages that suggest disability can be resolved rather easily. Society appears to systematically exclude these non-normed people, which matches the social theory of disability. This theory postulates that disability is created by social exclusion through constructed barriers, rather than being a medical condition. One other possible interpretation of Ariel’s transformation is that human beings should be changed if they are unable to participate in a society due to their different ability – this must be rejected because 1) many people lack the economic means, 2) tissue/genetic engineering is not that sophisticated, 3) isolation of the causes of disabilities is quite difficult, and most importantly, 4) such an act is immoral because it sends a clear message that persons with disabilities do not deserve acceptance. 

NagiAsu and The Little Mermaid are separated by both culture (Japan and US, respectively) and release year (1991 and 2014, respectively) but they feature similar themes regarding disability. Both showcase characters that travel from the sea to the land and have difficulty with the new environment. NagiAsu, at 26 episodes, is long enough to add nuance far beyond that allowed by a 90 minute movie; furthermore, mainstream Disney films generally do not delve deeply into subjects surrounding ability, which is reflected by The Little Mermaid’s inattention to the consequences of Ariel’s transformation. Though themes intersect between these two works, Nagi no Asukara should be seen as building upon the concepts presented in The Little Mermaid. A very clear parallel can be drawn between the character of Manaka in NagiAsu, who is depicted as swimming as fluidly as a fish, and Ariel. In this show, fins are replaced by Ena, though both play similar roles in terms of ability. One can therefore gain insight into ability by comparing these two works.

 

Pt. II: The Protection of Ena
Nagi no Asukara takes place in the underwater village of Shioshishio, where fishes swim freely – aquatic pulchritude abound. As in The Little Mermaid, there is a clear delineation between the world on land and the world in the sea but here both worlds are posited as real. The main characters of the show – at least for the first few episodes, at which point the cast is increased – are Chisaki, Hikari, Kaname, and Manaka (and will be occasionally referred to as the Four); then there’s Akari and the Head Priest of the village, Hikari’s older sister (Nee-chan) and father respectively. Over them watches Lord Uroko, a scale of the sea god – though as a scale, he has residual memories and therefore acts as a viceroy of the sea god. 

Due to the shutdown of the Shioshishio middle school, the main characters are forced to attend a middle school on the land. The composition of their class involves four sea people amongst (around) twenty students total, which creates an obvious divide. A small conflict is catalyzed when Manaka runs off because she feels isolated by the surface girls who incessantly praised her glistening skin. Ena is a glimmering membrane that covers the skin of sea people and allows them to breathe in and interact with water; it is comparable to the amnion that coats humans when they are born. Though such comments are intended to be respectful, they act to objectify Manaka as other. Manaka, due to her sensitive nature, freaks out and runs out of the school, towards the surrounding tree-lined area; her Ena began to dry and she began struggling to breathe…and then collapsed, as shown below.

Figure 1. Manaka collapsing due to exhaustion stemming from her Ena drying out. This image depicts Manaka after running away from her classroom and suggests that she fainted. The show manipulates framing to depict the fading in and out of focus that accompanies a loss of consciousness following exhaustion.

Any notion of her not being fatigued can be defenestrated – she fainted from exhaustion in what is to her a hostile environment. Shioshishio villagers rely on Ena for protection but it can play a detrimental role when it dries out; breathing becomes quite difficult, which is problematic because it is vital to both being alive and participating in a society. Therefore, Ena in this relatively arid world on land is crippling because of the society’s cultural institutions and not due to an innately harmful medical condition. This conception of disability as arising from society that was demonstrated with The Little Mermaid can be thus resurrected. Though, Manaka is symbolically disabled, she is quite strong-willed at the same time, able to react decisively and quickly (albeit impulsively). In a display of respect, Tsumugu, a surface classmate, rescues the fallen Manaka and lets her hydrate in his bath before leading her to the sea – then she returns home. Tsumugu acts with an understanding of Shioshishio and its people that far exceeds that of his surface peers; he is someone who can see beyond such petty differences. To use a different description, he is mature and open-minded.

  

However, the social theory of disability should be seen in terms of practices that directly and systematically create these discrepancies, instead of simply the end result (that which is shown in Figure 1). The school lessons focus primarily on the surface people’s culture and history; any mention of sea people is only mentioned in context of an interaction with surface people. Other indications of a difference in culture are apparent: the Shioshishio students wear their white-and-blue uniform that highlights the sea whereas the other students don an earthy-colored uniform. Manaka and the others are also required to buy swimming suits for P.E. class, though they have no need for them, which further acts to create an emotional separation.  Another glaring example is the lack of places for the Shioshishio students to hydrate themselves; even a pond or some other small body of water near the school would be beneficial to this end. Thus, they are systematically separated on the basis of having Ena which, in this environment, reflects ability status. Furthermore, some of the surface students act very antagonistic by referring to the sea students with fish-oriented insults.
Therefore, Tsumugu’s actions clearly separate him from his other peers, reflecting his empathy for the sea people. One element of disability is the exclusion of these individuals from the mainstream society, which makes these considerations important.

When Manaka thanks Tsumugu, Hikari protests loudly – a key characteristic of his being – on the grounds that she was being too friendly. Clearly, the implicit message is that the Shioshishio people should be wary of all surface people, even if they may appear to car. Again, this notion of “cultural clash” ties in well with disability, for disability is held outside of mainstream society, which rarely feels the need to accommodate. Though NagiAsu is nuanced in its depictions of the land world and the sea world, surface culture appears to win, if not slightly. The land people, and not the main characters, match the viewers, which gives them an additional advantage. In such an environment, Manaka seeks emotional support from Chisaki, prompting Chisaki to say that Hikari had searched endlessly for her even though his Ena had begun to dry. Hikari, despite his limitations in the surface world, did not acquiesce and instead continued searching for one his friends.

The Shioshishio students and the surface students are differentiated again when the homeroom teacher asks if anyone wants to make a Wooden maiden, which represents folklore shared by sea and surface people. These wooden statues are used in the Boatdrift Ceremony, which fittingly represents cooperation between sea and surface people. Unsurprisingly, only the sea students (and Tsumugu) agree to work on a Wooden Maiden. Even though their cultures should be converging for this endeavor, they remain polarized. During their work on the Wooden Maiden together, Tsumugu reveals his extensive knowledge on Shioshishio, surprising the others. Tsumugu has this benevolent perspective because one of his family members is from the sea village. The mismatch of surface and sea culture serves to create disability, so attention must be drawn to how the Shioshishio students are treated in the classroom and by other surface people. 

This discussion of Ena as disabling is misleading thus far: though Ena is disadvantageous in surface culture, it is also quite wonderful due to its ability to allow breathing underwater. Ena is also beautiful, to paraphrase Tsumugu, so it has inherent worth that is obscured when it is viewed as disabling. Notions of ability cast disability, generally, as an illness to be cured and to be not-tolerated – different ability levels should be minimized in importance and cast disability as mostly invisible. The existence of Ena refutes these primitive notions. Disability is a result of the unaccommodating society and is not something inherently grotesque. When Hikari wishes he could protect Manaka like her Ena, he is uttering an admiration for it, even though he struggles to accept the surface world on account of Ena. 

Though this surface society creates disability through its actions that disfavor the Shioshishio people, it has the capacity to undo the social barriers it has created. It can alter cultural institutions to accommodate those who have Ena. This adaptation has been seen by some of the characters who switch to the surface world while still retaining Ena. To this end, Tsumugu dug and made a pond right by the school for the Shioshishio students to rehydrate, which reflects a smaller scale but still thoughtful gesture.

Pt. III: Medley of Earth and Sea, Miuna
Miuna, born to a woman from Shioshishio and a man from the surface, was born without Ena in the surface world. Joined by her best friend, Sayu, she resents Akari due to her dating Miuna’s father. Though she lacks Ena, Miuna plays a vital role in the story of Nagi no Asukara and still provides insight into ability. Miuna smashes Hikari on the knee, which one could argue he deserves, to assuage her frustration. With a name meaning “Beautiful Sea,” clearly Miuna is tied to the sea. A turning point in Miuna’s story occurs when she, despite distrusting Hikari due to his relationship with Akari, asks him for help. Her precarious situation has by this point made her life difficult – more difficult than it would be otherwise. A series of events lead Miuna to run away from home. Finding her at the port of town, Hikari points out that there are many people who love her. In refutation, Miuna jumps into the sea – to her surprise she cannot swim, unlike her mother. Here, in the water, Ena ceases being a disability – outside of the surface world, it is elegant and wonderful; it is only a weakness due to the society. Rather, Miuna is the one who is floundering. Hikari immediately dives in and saves her; to stop her from thrashing, he holds her close to him. Thus, Miuna is allowed to reconnect with the culture she had lost since her mom had passed away, as shown below.

Figure 2. Hikari holding Miuna closely to prevent her from drowning in the sea.

Miuna’s question to Hikari stems from her difficulty with truly moving on from her mom’s death. She is afraid of suffering a similar loss, so she has closed herself and decided that by avoiding love she can avoid pain. In response, Hikari says he loves many people, now including her. The framing of this scene is quite broad, managing to capture both the movement of waves and a brilliant starry sky; for a moment, his eyes reflect the stars, capturing his passion. This scene therefore captures both intimacy and strength, which makes Hikari’s words more powerful. And so, Miuna’s story is at least partially resolved.

Her backstory and feelings may seem like a distraction from disability but she does exist at the crossroads of sea and surface culture and is a complex and awesome person worthy of second thought. She loves the sea for which she is named. However, she has trouble interacting with it due to her inability to swim, creating disability in a similar sense to Ena in the surface world. As a character, she provides further insight into disability when she attains Ena towards the end of the show. Miuna had jumped into the sea to save her mom’s necklace, which had fallen in, and was bathed that bestowed Ena upon her. 

Now, why would the show create this role reversal with the character of Miuna? This scene appears to display Miuna’s love – for the sea, Hikari, and others – pouring out into the sea while showing that she can join the sea world. That even children of sea-surface couples can attain Ena, which shatters conventional thought. Through this transformation, Miuna, unlike Ariel, attains an identity that was always hers to keep but is at the same time fuzzy and new; her metamorphosis reflects an advancement of her personality and goals. The Little Mermaid transforms Ariel from “abled” to “disabled” in a sequence that is unbelievable because the only driving force is magic that supports her wishes to join the world on land. Nagi no Asukara’s changing Miuna in the opposite direction is therefore much more compelling because it draws from Miuna’s self-identity. The latter is far more empowering and preferable than the former.

Multiple interpretations of this transformation exist: Miuna could represent invisible disability, attaining disability later in life, or another entity. To me, her character represents an empowering representation of disability per the disability test I created. Furthermore, my definition of disability includes invisible disability and attaining a different ability level later in life, meaning that what kind of disability Miuna represents is not intrinsically important. Miuna can overcome obstacles and inspire others through her benevolent strength.

Later in the show, Manaka gives up her ability to love to the sea god and, by corollary, her Ena in exchange for the safety of her friends; she then plays the sacrifice for the Boatdrift Ceremony for the sake of appeasing the sea god. The stormy waves then knocked Manaka into the sea and she began to drown due to her lack of Ena. Miuna grabs a hold of Manaka, allowing her to regain her Ena, as shown below.

                    Figure 3. Miuna grabbing Manaka as she falls to the bottom of the sea, restoring her Ena. 

Figure 4. A brilliant glow enveloping Miuna and Manaka after Miuna had restored Manaka’s Ena. This image directly follows that shown in Figure 3.

Nagi no Asukara posits Ena in terms of human emotions very often, which casts Ena as benevolent and not simply helpful. Due to Miuna, Manaka felt feelings from herself and others pour into her heart, which ultimately restores her Ena. Miuna can be seen as a gracious savior who saves Manaka without fear for herself and acts to effect positive change. This restorative act by Miuna constitutes hospitality: that is, nonsentimental love that acts to restore the humanity of those who have faced systematic cruelty and break the cycle. Though the yellow glow that envelops Manaka provides a graphic representation of hospitality, Miuna’s efforts to save Manaka lead to the return of Manaka’s emotions and her ability to truly feel human. This particular scene, at least to me, brings the idea of hospitality fully to life: Manaka’s humanity is literally restored by love, counteracting adversity. This part of the show features similar acts of collaboration by the surface people and Kaname and Chisaki – who act on the surface – thus creating a cooperative atmosphere. Chisaki pulled Manaka out of the water and watched over her with Kaname, for example. Following Miuna’s heroic act, she is ensnared by a whirlpool that drags her down to the depths of the sea and becomes trapped inside of a web, as shown below.

Figure 5. Miuna trapped on a hand statue at the bottom of the sea. The web covering the hand statue is electric, making its destruction difficult. Hikari and Tsumugu are standing in front of the statue, unsure of what to do. A graveyard of Wooden Maidens surrounds them, implying the Sea God’s presence.

 

Hikari, furious and passionate as always, bows before the web then begs the sea god to save Miuna, driven by the fear that Miuna would perish.  Deciding he would not wait, Hikari leaps at the web, ignoring the shocks he received, and destroys it. He then carries Miuna to the surface away from harm. Though Ena in context of surface culture is “disabling,” the strength of the Shioshishio people is readily apparent (as is the efforts of the surface people in this finale). Both Hikari’s saving of Miuna and Miuna’s saving of Manaka clearly constitute hospitality. The former act should be clarified because otherwise Miuna appears as a “damsel in distress”; this notion can be resolved by pointing out that Miuna acts to protect Hikari throughout NagiAsu, so his saving her does not place her as unequal. Furthermore, Hikari learns both about Akari in a different light but also about love and family as a whole. After all, Miuna is the first character in the show to raise the question “is it better not to love?,” which proves to be a thought-provoking question to Hikari.  Therefore, Hikari’s act is still heroic, and furthermore compounds the compassion displayed by Miuna; though both characters overcome limitations imposed by their Ena, their combined efforts enhances the hospitality displayed by the show in its final act. Together, the actions of all the characters in the finale, both sea and surface, also resonate with each other, infusing the atmosphere with hospitality. Therefore, Nagi no Asukara can be seen as empowering in its entirety. 

Nagi no Asukara draws upon the themes of ability related to a land-sea dichotomy that stem from The Little Mermaid and manages to provide insightful and empowering representations of people with disabilities. In particular, Miuna’s transformation to the “worse” state is much more powerful than Ariel’s transformation to the “better” state because Miuna ponders deeply about her identity and is able to reconcile the change with her personality as a whole. The cast of Shioshishio villagers, especially Miuna, represents disability, humanizing it. Miuna is one of the most important characters in NagiAsu, whether through her insight or her benevolence. As a whole, the show has empowering representations of people with disabilities. 

Works Cited

Hallie, Phillip. “From Cruelty to Goodness.” 

The Little Mermaid. Dir. Ron Clements and John Musker. Walt Disney Pictures, 1989. Film.

Nagi no Asukara. P.A. Works, 2014. Dir. Toshiya Shinohara. Perf. Kanahana, Natsuki Hanae, Mikako Komatsu. Anime.

 Sells, Laura. "Where Do the Mermaids Stand?: Voice and Body in The Little Mermaid."

From Mouse to Mermaid: The Politics of Film, Gender, and Culture. Ed.  Elizabeth Bell, Lynda Haas, and Laura Sells. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press, 1995. 175-192. Print.