As Akari explores the back-roads of Neo Venezia, she remarks on how the city is changing. Some are large changes, like the renovation of
Caffè Florian. Other changes happen quickly and quietly, such as a street blossoming into a field of laundry on a sunny day. But while noticing these things about the city, she becomes aware of how much of it remains the same. The excitement of an evolving landscape is best seen against the backdrop of reassuring permanence.
Cities are not built for their own sake, but to house people and give them a place to reside, work, and enjoy their lives. Even if Akari notices how the scenery of Neo Venezia is the same as always, she can’t ignore a significant change in the city. What she sees may be the same as when she first arrived on Aqua, but Akari herself is not the same. The buildings and ocean may be the same, but the one doing the looking has grown over the years. It’s her unique experiences, along with everyone else’s, that are the heartbeat of this living city.
Akari asks the silent watcher on the balcony what it is that he sees. It’s not just at the unchanging vista of Piazza San Marco with the ocean beyond. He also sees the growing and thriving people who make up Neo Venezia. He’s looking at Akari.
The food featured in this episode is
chitarra pasta and
polenta, a cornmeal porridge. I can’t imagine what kind of sauce was used on that polenta. Myself, I enjoy a creamy spoonbread with lots of butter.
Birthday wishes this Saturday to Yuuji Ueda, the voice of Ayanokouji Udo the 51
st, better known as Woody. Next week, if I remember on time, I’ll watch Aria the Origination #10:
The Excitement on That Moon-Gazing Night…
