Aria the Animation #13 & #12: That White Morning…/That Soft Wish…

The year ends with a surprise visit from a friend. Ai is excited to meet the people she had read about in Akari’s letters. Her tour of Neo-Venezia even includes a visit to one of the mysterious alleys that’s hidden to most people where they meet a ghost from the past. The cat that appeared as a human had asked Akari to deliver a letter for her. She also had to receive the message, because it’s original had died long ago. But it still had meaning to her as someone living in the world they created. Each year that goes by is a page in a letter written for future generations to read.

Akari wrote her so Ai would understand how much she loved Neo-Venezia. Because Ai will become an apprentice undine herself one day, and follow in Akari’s footsteps, it’s as if she’s been reading her own future. Unlike the messages of history, Ai is able to meet the people who are preparing her place in the city. The people of the past are separated by time. But by the magic of Aqua, Akari is allowed to cross an unpassable bridge.

Alicia tells her that the bridge used to be a place people visit out of nostalgia. There are prettier landmarks in Neo-Venezia. Why would a visitor want to see a run-down bridge? A covered bridge doesn’t fit the image of Venice. What it provides is a reminder of the ambition of the people who built Neo-Venezia. The excitement Akiko feels is in seeing the young children who are watching the city be born. It also comes from the patience of the older settlers. They won’t live to see their creation fulfilled, but are happy knowing that the next generation will take what they started and carry it for a time before passing to their grand-children.

The story of Aqua is the story of Aria Company. What Grandma began was continued by Alicia who leaves it in Akari’s care. Even Ai, having learned from Akari’s letters, will think of the child Aqua as she takes her place in this continuing saga. And if we turn the pages backward to before there was an Aqua then it must have started when someone on planet Earth looked to the sky and thought, “What letter can I write for future generations to read?”

Or perhaps she just said, “Happy New Year.” It means the same thing.

This is the last week in my year of Aria. The experiment to watch the series out-of-order was not as successful as I thought it might be. I admit to forcing this week’s two episodes to be the last. But Aria is enjoyable no matter how you approach it. This way I could see contrast between the earlier and later episodes, and also the similarities or when an event had been set-up by something that happened earlier.

The staff and cast of Aria have reason to be proud. Although there will not be any more Aria, Kozue Amano continues to write the charming and uplifting manga Amanchu!. Satou Junichi has gone on to direct many other “healing” anime such as Tamayura. (A story I describe as being about Akari’s great-great-great-great grandmother.) It seems to me that everywhere I look I hear Chiwa Saitou’s voice. And who cannot help but think of Alicia whenever Sayaka Oohara laughs?

But most of all I remember Tomoko Kawakami and Eri Kawai. The time we’ve been given can be taken from us easier than we’d like. As you turn the calendar to a new year, do your best to treat every day as wonderful encounter.

Thank you for reading.

Aria the Natural #14: That Newest Memory…

When you wake earlier than you typically do, you see a slightly different world. The air is cooler, the light comes faintly from the east (or the last dim light of a setting moon). It’s a good time for Akari to practice how to navigate using the palinas. Although the oceans of Aqua also have modern electronic navigation bouys, the classic wooden poles are part of the city’s heritage. And they still work even when there’s no electricity.

The palinas help for travelling on the water. Akari’s idea to paint a palina sends her on a journey through the past of Aria Company. The photographs, writings, and stories passed on by word of mouth are guideposts as she explores the world. The palina she paints will act as a reminder of Akari’s role in their history.

A popular theory of Aria is that it is the story of Aria Company as told by Ai. Akari speaks directly to the audience when she says that future apprentices will be able to meet her and Alicia by looking at the palina.

A very late post because I spent most of the week on holiday. I’ll get back on schedule with Aria the Origination #12: Embraced by That Blue Sea and Wind…

Aria the Natural #9: Those Honest Stars…

 The gondola is an icon of Venice. Those in the 20th century are built to a uniform standard: 10.8m long, 700kg, made from 280 piece of 8 types of wood, and all painted black. There is a blade-like ferro on the prow and a curled risso on the stern. The undines of Neo-Venezia are allowed to have more elaborate gondolas. Primas helm full-size white boats while the apprentices practice on smaller black ones. The risso has evolved from floral ironwork to a tall double-spiral. Instead of just a blade, ferros have many shapes, such as Aika’s lantern.

The aesthetic of a gondola has a practical side to it. Their flat bottoms allow them to navigate the Venetian lagoon. The ferro and risso are made of metal to protect the boat in a collision. They are built asymmetrical so they can be steered with one oar. The forcola is shaped to allow eight different maneuvers. Each feature was added to the gondola by boat builders with the insight and imagination to do what was necessary. What we see today was the result of facing challenges with the attitude of what is possible, and not bemoaning the impossible.

 This is the lesson that Alicia teaches to Akari. There are infinite discoveries waiting to be made in the universe. There is always something new to learn, someone unfamiliar to meet, or paths untrodden that you can venture on. (Didn’t we learn this when Alicia was excited to be the first to walk into a snow-covered lane?) Even today, gondola builders continue to innovate: the size of the risso is having to be reduced to account for the rising sea level. What will the Venice of the future look like? Perhaps one day there will be robotic self-rowing gondolas.

After a few months without celebrating any notable birthdays, there are three this week. Last Monday the 18th was the birthday of Akeno Watanabe (Albert Pitt) and Chinami Nishimura (President Aria). Tomorrow, the 22nd, is Junko Minagawa (Akira E. Ferrari).

Next week is the Thanksgiving holiday so I’ll be visiting family on Thursday. But I’ll make time for Aria the Natural #14: That Newest Memory…

Aria the Origination #13: To That New Beginning…

Akari has a question about the account book for Aria Company, but when she turns around, Alicia isn’t there. She’s retired now, and Akari is alone. This time, it’s not a dream. The sadness of having to say goodbye is mixed with the joy of a hopeful future. Akari now feels that she is a person Alicia can rely on.

Then Alicia confesses that she is already relying on Akari. When a mentor teaches an apprentice, or a parent to a child, the student will necessarily take on some of her instructor’s personality. Akari was afraid to let go of Alicia because Alicia didn’t want to be alone.

Akari was never at risk of feeling lonely. Now that she’s a prima, her days are full of customers, talking with other undines and business owners, and the many friends she’s made in Neo-Venezia. Alicia, although newlywed and working full time in the Gondola Association, still goes out of her way to drop by Aria Company. In time, she’ll visit less often. But then Akari will be busy teaching her own apprentice. That young pair will grow up under the influence of Akari’s personality, as Akari had grown under Alicia’s.

That concludes three weeks all about Alicia. Next week is a lighter episode, Aria the Natural #11: That Precious Sparkle…

Aria the OVA: Arietta

Akari is again feeling anxious about her future. Not an uncertain future, but one that she knows what’s to come. She see’s it as a big change in her life and is worried that she isn’t ready. Alicia shares her own worries and shows that Akari is closer to her than she realizes.

Akari’s loneliness is easily cured by the many people she encounters during the day. Not only her close friends, but the other people who work and live in Neo-Venezia, and the customers who come to visit. One day Akari will have Aria Company to herself, but she won’t be alone. Just as Akira and Athena were there to support Alicia after Grandma left.

Alicia then, as Akari is now, felt the next stage of her life as a looming presence. She hesitated to move on because it seemed too big for her to handle. She needed to look at her life from a different perspective, one that made her problems appear smaller. Like the view from the top of the Campanile. Seeing the city from that height put her worries in perspective. For Akari, she didn’t need to see it but just hearing the quiet pulsing of Neo-Venezia at night was enough to put her at ease.

We’ll see just how at ease Akari is next week when I watch Aria the Origination #13: To That New Beginning… The very last episode of Aria.

Aria the Animation #9: That Starlike Fairy…

 Aika, feeling tired from the daily practice routine, asks Alicia for advice on how to rejuvenate herself. Alicia gives it some thought then replies, “Why don’t you take a break and go visit Grandma.” The girls take her advice believing that Grandma will teach them an important lessen about being an undine. What they don’t realize is that Alicia has already told them what they need to know.

 Because she missed the meaning of Alicia’s words, Aika is concerned that they seem to just be having fun and not learning anything. Having fun, of course, is the lesson. In the end, Grandma has to spell it out. Being concerned about the future does you no good if it makes you miss the things going on right now. Learn how to make the most of the present and time will take care of itself.

Alicia’s advise also contains what seems to be a paradox. In order for Aika to become a better gondolier, she needed to stop rowing. The stress of working was preventing her from relaxing. The time in the country gave her a chance to stop worrying about being an undine, and focus on just being herself. “Why don’t you take a break,” she said. That is the most important lesson there is.

The next episode I’ll watch will be Aria the Natural #10: That Heartwarming Town And Its People…

Aria the Natural #25: The Fruits Of That Encounter…

As a story that takes place in the future, Aria has a message of hope running throughout. This is brought to the forefront in this closing episode to the second TV broadcast. The apprentices have to host a party. It’s something they’ve never done on their own, but not something they aren’t ready for. The confidence and maturity of these young girls is not lost on their mentors. The older undines may be the “Three Fairies,” but watching Akari, Aika, and Alice row together, it’s apparent that they will one day take that title for themselves. Which is just what they’ve been training for as the successors to Alicia, Akira, and Athena. When they become primas, it’ll be the realization of the hopes that have been passed down from their seniors.

Wishing alone won’t make anything happen, though. It takes work to turn hope into reality. So the first half of this episode shows the girls preparing for the party. It’s a reflection of their life as apprentice undines. The preparation required to become a prima is a difficult ordeal. Aria tells the story of this time and how Akari remains cheerful because of her hope that she will be able to succeed.

The uncertainty of the future means that we sometimes have to hope for something when there is no assurance that it will happen. Akari invites Ai to the party even though she hasn’t been receiving her emails recently. It almost doesn’t happen, but Ai is able to arrive just in time. She and Akari are bound by destiny, it seems. Much like Akari’s ability to attract the supernatural forces of Aqua.

The Redentore festival ends with a display of fireworks. And on that note, we turn to Aria the Origination Picture Drama #5: Alice’s Ghost Story. This also occurs during a summer festival. Alice shows valiant patience as she tries to tell her story with so many interruptions by Aika and Akari. Or she was just that committed to finishing because she put a lot of effort into the story. Like how she made those Redentore invitations “during a lunch break.” (Or so she claimed.)

Seeing fireworks seems fitting for this time of year. Next Thursday is the 4th of July, after all. I’ll be watching Aria the Origination #5: That Keepsake Clover…

Aria the Origination #7: In That Gently Passing Time…

Four generations of undines

Did you remember that Grandma’s name was Akino? No, I didn’t either. Grandma is and will always be Grandma. This week’s episode reveals the founding of Aria Company via a family reunion of sorts.

The company owes it’s existence to a daydreaming cat. President Aria often goofs-off, but at times he’s shown remarkable insight. So it’s believable that he was waiting there specifically for Aria Company to be built. Or he may have just been staring at the birds for no particular reason.

Simplicity without a name
Is free from all external aim.
With no desire, at rest and still,
All things go right as of their will.

By the way, how old is President Aria anyway?

At the start of this episode, Alicia told the story of how houses on Burano were painted to guide fishermen back home. The paper on the sign warns of wet paint. She created Aria Company to be her home, and then the home of all the undines to come after her. And that is why she is Grandma.

What Alicia didn’t mention, however, is that the colors of the houses follow a set pattern. By law, only certain colors are allowed depending on the location. The island is also 7 kilometers from Venice and takes 40 minutes to reach by motorboat. Yet Akari rowed the whole way? Maybe it’s closer on Aqua.

Also, a little late (it was last Saturday), but happy birthday to Yui Makino.

The next episode will be Aria the Animation #5: To That Impossibly Existing Island… No birthdays this week, at least none that I’m aware of.