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For generations, deadly storms have ravaged Mina’s homeland. Floods have swept away entire villages, and bloody wars are being waged over the few remaining resources. Mina’s people believe the Sea God, once their protector, now curses them with death and despair. In an attempt to appease him, each year the people throw a beautiful maiden into the sea to serve as the Sea God’s bride, in the hopes that one day the “true bride” will be chosen and end the suffering.
Many believe that Shim Cheong, the most beautiful girl in the village, may be the legendary true bride. But she’s also the beloved of Mina’s older brother Joon, and on the night Cheong is to be sacrificed, Joon follows Cheong out to sea. Interfering with the sacrifice is a death sentence, so to save her brother, Mina throws herself into the water in Cheong’s stead.
Swept away to the Spirit Realm, a magical city filled with lesser gods and mythical beasts, Mina seeks out the Sea God, only to find him caught in an enchanted sleep. With the help of a motley crew of demons, gods, spirits, and a mysterious young man named Shin, Mina sets out to wake the Sea God and bring an end to the killer storms once and for all.
But she doesn’t have much time. A human cannot live long in the land of the spirits. And there are some who would do anything to keep the Sea God from waking.
The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea is loosely based on the Korean story “The Tale of Shim Ch’ong” and is bursting with Studio Ghibli (specifically Spirited Away) vibes. It’s not an unfamiliar concept to have characters pushed out of their comfortable homes and pasts in order to make new lives elsewhere, but there is certainly something a little nostalgic and whimsical about it all the same.
Overall, the story is full of the themes of spirit, loyalty, family and home. From the mythology, to the vibrant spirit world, to the slow-burn love story, it’s easy to enjoy The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea for its low content and lush fantasy realm.
Rated: Mild. There is one use of mild language. A character remembers a stillbirth and witnesses her sister-in-law’s grief over the lost baby. Violence includes some blood, death and injury. In the spirit realm, spirits tell tales of how they died or were sacrificed.
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