Akari: Wow, it’s high.
Alice: But the sea is below.
Akari: That’s right. Then let’s jump together!
I could talk metaphorically about throwing yourself at your ambition. Or say the unknown future is a sea of time. Or relate memories to hidden islands in your heart. But looking for deep meaning in
Aria can be put off for another day. Like all good beach episodes, this is just about having fun and showing off cute swimsuits.
Of course, this excursion is a chance for Akira to teach things that aren’t possible in the crowded canals of Neo-Venezia. It isn’t said, but I imagine the same thing was done for her, Alicia, and Athena when they were apprentices. The most important lesson is in the invitation to “Neverland.” It’s a reminder not to grow so old that you forget to take time off for play. Oh, and even though she claims it was for endurance building, the reason they were sent to the opposite end of the island is to give the seniors time to catch-up.
I remarked last week that Akari rowed out to Burano. This time she’s on the open sea. Are gondolas really meant for this kind of work? Then again, the gravity of Aqua is less than on Man-Home, even with the tinkering the gnomes do underground.
This was an unfair episode to watch when it’s just below freezing outside. Next week, Aria the Origination #3:
Those Feelings Within…
Hello,
ReplyDelete> I remarked last week that Akari rowed out to Burano. This time she’s on the open sea. Are gondolas really meant for this kind of work? <
In real earthlings Venezia, there is a yearly 30 kilometer rowing marathon called Vogalonga. (There is an unanimated ARIA manga chapter about it.) There, boats round Burano to head back to the city.
I was there to see it on 3 occasions so far, since 2009 and every time there were one or two full-sized gondolas, being rowed by a single oarsman, doing the marathon. Twice I was observing from Murano Island, which is much closer to the finish line, so there is little doubt they were able to complete the entire course.
It is considered a major effort to go on a single oar, but certainly doable for athletic types. (If 2/3/4 guys row the boat, they do not have to waste effort on doing J-shped strokes to keep the gondola going straight, which is mandatory for a solitary oarsman/woman.) Maybe Akari could do that if she is like John Carter to the martians...
As for braving the open seas in a gondola, I think a retired gondolier called Vittorio Orio rowed from Venezia to Rome a few years ago, to see the Pope. But I think he was keeping close to the shoreline. Modern day gondolas are asymmetric and lay lower on one side, not leaving much freeboard. But there was a 4-men in a gondola expedition down the Hudson River circa 2008 and that is one wild waterway.
All in all, those dolphins in ARIA S01E05 were likely sent there to rescue Akari if she gets foundered on her way to Disney-Island...