Review by Frank Plowright

Barring flashbacks, Umi, Sora or Ruka have been at the centre of everything that’s been seen in Children of the Sea, but that changes with this volume, not least because at the end of Children of the Sea 3 Ruka was swallowed by a whale. The occurrence of fish developing glowing spots and then disappearing is now a phenomenon around the world, and word of Ruka’s disappearance has reached the aquarium where her parents work, so with her gone the spotlight transfers to the remaining cast.

In his continuing interludes delivering folk stories about the sea, Daisuke Igarashi now reveals one about Ruka’s mother Kaisuke, who’s far more familiar with the topic of hearing voices from the sea than she’s let on. Her heritage is a coastal diving community and she was still a child when she first heard underwater voices. It’s also revealed that Anglade’s explorations into Earth’s origins has extended beyond our planet into the solar system. That forms a long chapter that again institutes a feeling of Igarashi not getting to the point quickly enough. He’s explaining why Earth’s ecology is unique, and then spends a long time leading up to wondering if all planets aren’t just part of a large organism. For all the explanation and the creation myths in earlier volumes, it’s one hell of a leap.

Moreso than in previous volumes Igarashi educates, spinning from planetary states to the genetics of animal reproduction and the combined mass of Antarctic krill and how essential that is to Earth’s ecosystem. It’s a lot to take in, and not all of it seems greatly relevant to the bigger picture. Still, it’s Igarashi’s individual storytelling quirks that make Children of the Sea so captivating, but not everything strikes a chord.

The unusual image on the sample art is from a sequence taking place when Igarashi returns attention to Ruka. In her case being swallowed by a whale isn’t fatal, and at this stage depending on how much of her experiences can be deemed to be ‘real’, then a big revelation is coming her way.

That’s a brief interlude among a now much separated cast. Previous volumes have noted the schism between Jim Cusack and Anglade, and we’re now shown what happened over three chapters prioritising the effects of whale song. The previously enigmatic Sora is seen as something older than his years would seem, and Igarashi floats the theory that in evolving humanity’s lost something instinctive and basic.

Everything is on course for a thrilling finale in Children of the Sea 5.