WARNING: The following contains spoilers for The Aquatope on White Sand Episode 23, "At the End of the Siege," now streaming on Crunchyroll.
Thus far in The Aquatope on White Sand, Kukuru, with help from Fuuka, has been doing all she possibly can to save Gama Gama Aquarium from shutting down. However, what she has failed to realize is that the aquarium closing for good would actually be a positive thing for just about everyone -- including her.
In the most recent episode of the series, Kukuru finally comes to accept that it’s time to let go. Gama Gama is closing and there’s nothing now that she or anyone else can do to stop it -- no amount of selling shaved ice or holding kid’s events will be enough to keep the already run-down aquarium going in the long term.
Nonetheless, given that slice-of-life anime are rarely tragedies and that there are still a scheduled 13 episodes to go, the likelihood of the aquarium closing and remaining closed for good appears slim. At least at this stage, it seems probable that someone will step up in the nick of time with a miracle, or that Gama Gama will close only temporarily and eventually come back better and stronger than ever. After all, the entire series up until now has revolved around Kukuru and Fuuka’s efforts to prevent the aquarium from going under; it would be strange for the anime to suddenly reverse course on its plot.
The girls’ efforts have been largely seen as a positive thing in Aquatope. Gama Gama is presented as part of the town’s history and very lifeblood -- it’s frequented by several generations of people, from the very old to the very young, and it even grants people spiritual-like visions, implying that it has some kind of divine importance. Moreover, Aquatope leans hard on themes such as environmentalism and sustainability, which the aquarium plays a part in by teaching its visitors about ocean life and providing a genuinely caring haven for the sea creatures it houses. Conversely, anyone attempting to give in to the inevitable or actively play a part in shutting down Gama Gama is depicted as either not quite caring enough or outright villainous.
However, an argument could easily be made that it would actually be a good thing if the aquarium closed and stayed that way. The owner is an old man clearly past retirement age, and his granddaughter, Kukuru herself, is only the interim director because he’s physically unable to take the helm on his own. Despite this hefty responsibility, Kukuru is still only a high school student; her love for her hometown, the ocean and all marine life is painfully obvious, but her skills and knowledge could be put to much loftier goals than running a small-town and not well-frequented aquarium for the rest of her life.
Meanwhile, Fuuka, inspired by Kukuru and her vision in Episode 1, may have discovered a keen appreciation for the aquarium as well, but this is clearly not her own life’s purpose. As she herself has previously pointed out, her dream is now dead and so, in lieu of anything better, she has adopted Kukuru’s dream as her own. Aside from her deep friendship with Kukuru, the only reason she’s continuing to work at the aquarium is that she doesn’t know what else to do, and she’s clearly still having problems facing her decision to quit Tokyo and return home to her family as a failed idol.
Last but not least, the town itself gains nothing from an aquarium that’s simply no longer financially viable. The dilapidated condition of Gama Gama is obvious -- all it will take is one more typhoon for the aquarium to be damaged beyond immediate repair, which would likely spell doom for at least some of its aquatic inhabitants. It also provides neither significant tourism nor money for the local economy; at this point, it’s become mostly a drain on the community, no matter how many old-timers and elementary school kids pay to use it as a glorified hangout spot.
The Aquatope on White Sand is a show that uses friendly environmentalism, small-town nostalgia, and the warmth of its close-knit community to its best advantage. Painted in this rosy light, viewers are meant to see the aquarium as the heart of the series -- a literally magical place that brings people together and grants supernatural visions. However, for the sake of Kukuru, Fuuka and the entire area, it would be better if Gama Gama was left to its natural fate and bid farewell with a smile.
