Film

Children of the Sea

Name: Children of the Sea
Genre: Animation, Fantasy, Adventure, Mystery
Released: 2019
Cast: Mana Ashida, Hiiro Ishibashi, Seishu Uragami, Win Morisaki, Goro Inagaki

Fantasy

A visually rapturous anime about a girl who discovers she shares a mystical connection to the ocean with two boys raised by sea creatures. Director Ayumu Watanabe crafts something that feels like a fever dream—gorgeous, elliptical, more interested in mood and mystery than plot clarity. For viewers who want animation to wash over them like water.

TMDb rating

3.6

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you love slow, wondering animated fantasies where the mystery is a mood as much as a plot, and you don't mind being left with questions about the sea and the people in it.

Skip it if you need clear answers by the reel or get restless when a story drifts; this one lingers on water, silence and ritual more than on explaining itself.

What it asks of you: Settle in for nearly two hours of unhurried attention, with long quiet stretches where the images do the talking before the story gathers speed.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

A Letter to Momo2012

Gentle, gorgeously animated story of a girl processing grief through encounters with Japanese folklore. Shares that same quality of quiet wonder and the supernatural emerging from everyday sadness.

But Deliberately paced and sparse; plot threads resolve ambiguously. Some find it too slight.

The Garden of Words2013

Makoto Shinkai's most intimate film: two strangers meeting in a rainy garden, dialogue-light, built on mood and visual beauty. Like Children of the Sea, it trusts you to feel rather than explain.

But Very short (46 minutes) and plot-minimal. If you need narrative momentum, this will feel like nothing happens.

Daria in 'Is It Fall Yet?'2000

A coming-of-age story wrapped around summer—less whimsical than Children of the Sea but similarly interested in the interior lives of isolated teens. Smart, funny, oddly melancholic.

But The animation is deliberately flat and unglamorous. Humor is understated and dialogue-heavy.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Children of the Sea

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

The Secret of Kells2009

Both films treat animation as a tool for accessing the numinous—the divine and mysterious. Plot is the excuse; atmosphere is the point. Both ask you to feel your way through rather than think.

Irish folklore and illuminated manuscripts animated in a style that's almost stained glass. A boy and the supernatural woven into history. Visually unlike anything else, pure tactile magic.

But 2D animation with no naturalism; some find it too stylized. The plot is secondary to the aesthetic.

Ponyo2008

Miyazaki's most lyrical film about the ocean and childhood wonder. A boy and a goldfish-girl, set against waves and magic. Pure visual storytelling that doesn't need to explain itself.

But The plot is genuinely slight—it's easier to admire than to love. Some find the pacing dreamlike to the point of torpor.

Your Name.2016

The anime phenomenon that caught mainstream attention. A mystery about two teenagers mysteriously swapping bodies, building toward something cosmic and sad. Gorgeous animation and a score that hits hard.

But The ending explanation is clunky and rationalist after all that dreamy mystery. Many find it overrated.

Night Is Short, Walk On Girl2017

Masaaki Yuasa's visually intoxicated love letter to Kyoto and a single night. Surreal, funny, packed with invention—animation as pure pleasure and character study wrapped together.

But It's bewilderingly busy and plot-thin. Some viewers find the frenetic style exhausting rather than exhilarating.

Made in Abyss2017

A sci-fi mystery about two kids descending into a vast pit. Starts whimsical, becomes genuinely haunting. Outstanding worldbuilding disguised as a simple adventure story.

But The cutesy character designs clash disturbingly with increasingly dark events. The tone shifts can feel jarring.

Carole & Tuesday2019

Two girls on Mars trying to become musicians. Gorgeous, melancholic, interested in how young people find meaning and connection. Watanabe's contemporary take on coming-of-age.

But The voice acting in English episodes is weak. Plot meanders significantly in the second half.

Ergo Proxy2006

Post-apocalyptic journey through a world of rain and philosophy. Slow-burn atmosphere, thoughtful science-fiction, gorgeous industrial aesthetic. For viewers who love mystery over answers.

But Genuinely difficult to parse; the narrative is deliberately obscure. Patient viewers may still find it impenetrable.

The Lighthouse2019

Both are about the ocean as a force that unravels identity and reason. Both use visual language (animation vs. monochrome) to make the impossible feel inevitable. Both are about connection that doesn't fit into normal categories.

Two men isolated by the sea, madness creeping in. Hypnotic black-and-white cinematography, fog and obsession and voices. A film that feels like being slowly submerged.

But Aggressively bleak, deliberately difficult, and the accents are hard to parse. Not a film that wants you comfortable.

Perfect Blue1998

Both films use the dreamlike properties of animation to suggest something beyond rational explanation. Both have young protagonists pulled into mysteries that dissolve the boundary between the real and the uncanny. Both are more interested in sensations than answers.

Satoshi Kon's debut: a pop idol's identity fractures. Animation used to collapse reality and unreliability. Nightmarish, brilliant, impossible to shake. A masterpiece about surveillance and the self.

But Genuinely disturbing (including violence against women). The narrative deliberately confuses you. Not escapism; it's an ordeal.