(Sorry for the bad pun. Also covering the predecessor Aqua.)
Since the latter half of 21st century, humanity had stepped into the era of advance technologies. Space traveling was no longer in fiction, and after 150 years of terraforming, life on Mars was then a dream-come-true. A new life in the futuristic world is indeed mysterious, yet also leaves many to explore, and as a matter of consequence, on the planet Aqua, formerly Mars, existed such unbeknownst existences, under the presentation of the local species Martian, or Aquan cats with the intelligence similar to that of a human child, or the unfamiliar occupations of the Gnome adjusting the gravitation, the Salamanders who operate climate adapters, the shippers Sylph on air bike,…
There was that destination Neo Venezia on Aqua, whose origin could be traced back to Venice, or Venezia in Italian, on Earth, which is famous for the canals and gondola as means of transport in the city. Maybe that was why the daily activities of Neo Venezia, which was a perfect imitation from the process of dismantling and relocating the original onto Aqua, were greatly attached to gondola, and as a result, the symbol of the location was the Undine, with the specialty in tourist guidance on water ways.
Being a professional Undine, or Prima Undine wasn’t an easy task. Firstly, you would have to offer the customers a nice and comfortable ride on board, which would require an expertised level of rowing maneuvers. Moreover, as a professional tourist guide in general, they had to be knowledgeable about the place. That knowledge also shouldn’t be something easily accessible with a travel pamphlet; instead, the capability of an expert in the business is not to play by the book, rather to offer ‘perspectives’, implying that there are still more than those that met the eyes, in order to leave a certain degree of impression to the foreign guests, to give them a chance of feeling attached to their destinations, and the thin consideration of returning someday, so as to experience the rest. That being said, it would require quite much of time and effort, which could be equivalent to years of practice and study. Then again, while “there is nothing particularly innovative or even endearing to a series showcasing daily life”, not to mention the term ‘Undine’ indicating the possibility of CGDCT, “there is in Aria’s ‘characters’ at least a sense of purpose, which means that there is room for them to work towards something and, hence, grow.”
In that town lived three girls at their coming-of-age, sharing the same dream of becoming Prima Undine, despite the differences in term of purpose: Akari Mizunashi, coming from Manhome, previously Earth, whose name literally translated into ‘The light where there’s no water’, and indeed, no kind of light could last, or even exist without a source of (renewable) energy. Aika S. Granzchesta, the only and ‘expected’ heiress of a traditional gondola operator, ever since her birth. Alice Carroll, the ‘prodigy’ in rowing. Acting as their instructors, the ‘independent, yet dependable and secretive’ duo of Alicia Florence and Akira E. Ferrari, as well as the ‘talented’ Athena Glory. With that assembling of cast, the story began…
>“The breeze tenderly grazes my cheeks. Gently lulled by the sound of waves, within me, something is unraveling. I close my eyes, and it becomes visible, the path along which the wind flows. Come, let us row towards the shimmering waves, our smiles will soon overflow. Hey, let us impart the feelings of our beating hearts. Riding the wind, I will return to you, as an Undine…”
As I already expressed myself, their path to a full-pledged promotion required a lot of practice and study, resulting in the rides along to places where their gondola and trips headed, though totally unsurprisingly, all in association with the name Neo Venezia. Seasons changed, temperature rose and declined, uniforms took turns and with them as part of the economy in a city of tourism, festivals and events came and went, people seen once before returned later in slightly different roles,… However, those were just days of occasion, and when the festive costume was undressed, Neo Venezia came back to its casual attire, with the weathered buildings and streets, and locals committing to their daily lifestyle. Hell, it sounds like the city was an organic creature, but after all, locations are just places, but what living there, are actually the people, whom Kozue Amano had meticulously portrayed engaging in daily activities. Though giving off the mundane feeling, such presence was still packed with liveliness and meaning. On the other hand, because they were so omnipresent, the switch to empty back streets had become very much in contrast. Though it seems as if every one of the chapters of the manga showed a different part of the city and its wider surroundings, in the end it still felt as if there were hundreds of nooks and crannies left to explore, possibly right behind the corner. Neo Venezia remained a rich, vibrant and very much living city, with 'wonderful encounters' at the end of each alleyway, which had left a message to the readers, that despite its ordinary look, it still has its own secrets, and those uncovering them would be rewarded with places for their own, at least on a spiritual level.
At this point, I would love to talk of the visualisation. On one note, whenever the point of view shifted into a corner of Neo Venezia, the panels focused on the characters, instead of the historic and scenery surrounding, portraying what they talked, what they thought, wondered, especially during their exploration of the city, which had gradually depicted the personal and inner world of respective character. On the other hand, also during such journeys, meandering along the narrow valleys of Neo Venezia in search of something, at its end, the panel’s lense was immediately relocated to a point from distance, capturing not only the whole building, commotion, but sometimes the entire city as well, in details, and very often pushed aside were their characters in much smaller scale, taking a look at what catching their attention, and silently holding admiration for what was in their eyes. What Kozue Amano offered with her brilliant artistry had further enhanced the attractiveness of the accustomed, well-known, yet still mysterious, pristine Neo Venezia, and what a place to be!
That turns back to the major theme of Aria. For example, the ‘town treasure’ hunt of the trio. Before reaching to the end of the way(day), in their mind were full of thoughts, doubtful, indifferent, wishful,…, but since standing before something much greater than themselves, they were all speechless. Maybe that was when they came into the realisation, that they were all parts of everything, and a whole is much greater than the sum of its parts. Similarly, some situations also came along with the characters diving deep into thoughts, wonders, or insecurities, as well as uncertainties, personally. The moment they took a break/were taken from those concerns, expanding over the eyes were views of their familiar settlement, often, and I repeat, often, following with familiar faces, some small talks, and then eventually appeared on their profile smiles, as if they had come in terms with something, as if they had known it was not only “one’s” world, but rather ‘theirs’, or when having seen beyond themselves, they might find peace of mind waiting there…
>"The rain lifts. Gazing at the distant sky, I look for a break in the clouds. Taking a slightly longer detour than usual on the path continuing towards the beach, don’t worry about the bangs were cut too short, let’s break into a run just like that. The colour of the wind grazing at my cheeks, informs me that summer will start someday. Let’s wave our hands widely, and take a deep breath, because I want to keep embracing this moment. 'I wonder if we’ll be able to meet tomorrow?'"
The existence of mysterious, yet-being-known entities, such as Aquan cats with intelligence, also their own community, truly helped the topic ‘coming-of-age’. At first, they were just accidental encounters, but such experiences often leaves much of a special impression in one’s heart, hence the increasing urge of taking a detour from the usual routes, as well as the tendency of seeing Neo Venezia under the light of children’s playground, with much room to grow and discover. Then at a certain point in the middle of the journey, those mystical beings casually bid their final farewell. It was not because they had received any ill wills, it was just that the spent time together might be just enough to witness what the protagonist(s) had learned from those encounters. Maybe they wanted to tell the protagonist(s) to go out there, into the great big ordinary world, to leave that wonderland, or Neverland, or whatever, because from what those existences saw within the character(s)’ (heart), there were more than enough room to carry such places along.
And so on, came the conclusion of this series:
>‘...Now the years are rolling by me, they are rocking evenly. I am older than I once was, and younger than I'll be, that's not unusual. No, it isn't strange, after changes upon changes, we are more or less the same. After changes, we are more or less the same…’
Maturity is not only physical, neither to completely fit into the perfect frame of one’s imagination, rather to perceive the ‘self’ existence, in order to recognise and fortify its strength and abilities, as well as to acknowledge and minimise the short-comings and incapabilities. That’s why after changes upon changes, it’s just more or less the same. Such cases were also in Aria. Aika Granzchesta learned how to answer expectations of being a traditional gondola operator’s heiress. Alice Carroll had tried her best to overcome the natural, as well as personal, disadvantages of possessing a talent beyond her mental, and physical age. As for Akari Mizunashi, the only initial outsider in that town, observing her immediate reflection on the respective season was enough to know ‘that summer’ had finally come. They were more or less the same, but their thoughts were firmer, their actions were more independent from the mentors. Therefore, at the turns of events, though there was discomfort at first, acceptance came easily, because they knew what they had accumulated together were then the lifting force taking them into the new chapter of life, and since there were more than enough space in their hearts, the bonds they had formed would never be broken…
>‘Yearning for the bank awash with waves of gold, I wake up in the morning… When you hold someone close to your heart, love finds a way through the palms of your upraised hands. The future shown by the wind and courses of water gazes upon the hope embracing this planet. Rays of light sway, beckoning through the distant clouds. Yearning for the bank awash with waves of gold, I wake up in the morning. And so it begins…’
Final Words
Aria has been the hardest so far, as existent reviews left very little to speak, as well as my incapability of finding something to write. At the intercourse of what happened and what is yet to start, it is safe to put these lines as a closure to the world of Aqua:
>‘There are places I remember, all my life, though some have changed. Some for ever, not for better, some have gone, and some remain. All these places have their moments, with lovers and friends I still can recall. Some are dead, and some are living. In my life, I love them all...’
