As I thought, Alicia started out with the same gondola as Akari now used. It’s nice to see Alica’s start with the gondola, having seen Akari’s, and this story really lead well into another episode around Alicia and the others in their youth. Watching both Alicia’s experiences and Akari’s same experiences with the gondola worked well together. I can picture Akari over-watching Ai with the new gondola, one Akari will have properly broken in as an experienced Undine.

Alicia was still fairly young when she became a Prima. I hadn’t noticed that she uses a white gondola rather than a brown one. It’s also answered what will become of Akari’s new gondola when Akari becomes a Prima, as it will wait for the next new Undine.

The man who places the umbrella over Akari likely is the person who made the gondola, considering how long it’s been with Aria company. It’s good for him to have seen the final moments of his work as a passenger gondola. As for Akari, she’ll still see the gondola from time to time.

I never really put any thought into the designs of the gondolas, and comparing them. There are so many little details put into this series, and it’s impossible to catch all of them. Even the opening themes alone give so many things to look at.

Akari’s gondola may have been her parter all this time Akari has worked as an Undine, but she’s only work with it during the end of its life. If anything, Alicia may have many more memories of it. Akari’s new gondola, however, will carry her through much of her career as an Undine.

Seeing Akari’s first moments on a gondola at Aria Company was nice, as well as her beginning as a “back-peddler”. Akatsuki’s first ride as Akari’s customer, and her return as her final customer, really helped pull things together, and gave a nice scene with Akatsuki bidding farewell to the gondola. From these, seeing all the people Akari’s met along the way made for a nice “final episode” for the gondola. The exam course and its water elevator, along with scenes of Hope Hill (a place seen previously with no information given prior), and then Akari becoming a Single, completed the setting, the mood. The gondola was by Akari’s side during many beginnings, many meetings, many events.

My first thought of the man in the gondola was trying to recall what the man in the cat’s café looked like. If he’s actually the “spirit” of the gondola, it simply adds to the number of unexplained things that Akari has seen in her time on Aqua. Such events find that girl much like cases find Conan in Detective Conan and paranormal would find Fi in Disney’s So Weird.

It’s nice to see an encounter between Akari and Akira, two often not seen together, even if only for a moment. Akatsuki and Akira’s interactions nice to see, as well. Likewise Akatsuri’s embarrassment after Akari offers him a part of her lunch. Add in Al (he always seems to sneak in unnoticed, doesn’t he?), and the group is definitely not a common one to the series.

I’d wondered previously if Al had lived most of his life underground, but it’s said now that he’s from Ukijima.

I actually expected a scene with Akari’s childhood from the episodes opening portion, but seeing the guys as children was quite nice. Al had a very nice sweater back then. Seeing the ladies in their youth was nice, too.

Akari, Akatsuki, Al, and Alicia. Athena, Aika, and Alice. The marionette man, the glass maker, Akatsuki’s brother, Woody. Part of it is her position as an Undine, and part of it is her personality. Akari brings people within that circle around her. She needn’t be alone, no matter where she goes, even if she is surrounded by people she’s never met before. That’s one of the things that makes ]]> http://thepinksylphide.com/2009/06/28/aria-the-natural-episode-15-commentary/feed http://thepinksylphide.com/2009/06/28/aria-the-natural-episode-15-commentary http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ThePinkSylphideCommentary/~3/Dq1dqDxQvq0/aria-the-natural-episode-14-commentary http://thepinksylphide.com/2009/06/21/aria-the-natural-episode-14-commentary#comments Sun, 21 Jun 2009 16:11:45 +0000 Chris http://thepinksylphide.com/?p=693 Sometimes, it’s nice to go out early, when the world is still asleep, and the sun has yet to appear. Traveling, perhaps with no location planned, then watching as the sun comes up from a location you’ve never seen the sunrise, it’s something everyone should enjoy from time to time, such a relaxing event.

Finding plans for a palina is more than coincidental. Add Grandma’s visit, and the coincidences are thick to set the episode up. Things might have flowed a little smoother had Grandma visited, heard from Akari about having trouble designing a palina, then took Akari up to help look for that old photo album where the old attempts at a palina design were kept. That would have removed all coincidences.

Another complaint is that after all that went into figuring a design and the meaning behind its colors, the palina is basically a copy of the design and colors of the Aria company uniform. Perhaps that’s a testament to the original uniform’s design and colors?

That said, this was a very nice episode. Alicia always says wonderful, insightful, thoughtful things to Akari at times like this. The episode as a whole is something you can just sit back, relax, and enjoy. Considering this show aired at roughly 1 or 2AM in Japan, I can definitely see people relaxing after a hard day of work, and then reminiscing with this episode before falling asleep. Well, except for the part where they probably have to be up by 6AM, not giving much time for sleep…

I’ll be watching for that palina in future episodes.

This is a good episode because it shows Alice’s determination — even if her rules are a bit silly. She’s trying to push herself to do things she hasn’t done before, to prove to herself what she’s capable of.

It’s nice to take a break from the world building and the magic for one episode. Athena’s offer of a shadow was foreseeable, but it’s good to see her manners of help backfired. There’s no reason for it to be so easy. In the end, however, Athena’s help is what gets Alice through, no matter how easy the course may be. It’s all right for her to depend on someone, and Athena is there for her.

No matter how much Athena spaces out and klutzes out because of it, she’s always there for Alice, watching Alice grow, watching Alice overcome limits, watching Alice try new things, watching Alice enjoy her time with her friends.

The letter at the end from Ai really seems to be setting up a future for her and Akari to be much like Alice and Athena. There’s something special about Akari where she’s able to speak with Ai on the same level without dumbing down her speech like is common with adults talking to children.

I figured first thing that Cait Sith was the one sitting inside the café when Akari entered, but isn’t it a bit much with all that she’s seeing? Does Cait Sith want to introduce Akari to the world of cats that much?

I get that there was an effort to show the time Akari spent with the chime before the light started to dim out, but wasn’t it a bit obsessive on her part?

This was another “two short episodes” episode. I found the mirage episode to be so-so (all the Cait Sith visits are starting to lose their magic and mystery with me due to their frequency). The chime episode was above so-so, but not by much (probably due to that obsession thing Akari had going on with the chime).

I did like the ending where everyone let the chimes fall into the water. Both the vanishing lights in the night and the idea of a festivity, a tradition upheld by so many people gives that good feeling that is common to Aria.

Looking at it as a matter of tradition and history, neither the glass from Neo-Venezia or Venice would match that of historic Venice, even of both used the same methods and process. Each individual will have their own take on it, their own personality, and that they will pass on those those who apprentice under them. The apprentice will put their own uniqueness into what they learn.

Likewise, the heart of soul of Neo-Venezia are not that of Venice. The city is its own place, with its own history, even if it is built upon what Venice used to be, in detail, in spirit. The city may be a replica, but it’s also its own place. It embraces what Venice once was, and it carries on a tradition in its own way.

During Festa Del Bòcolo, Akatsuki gave Akari a rose for her help. This was after Alicia mistook the roses as being a gift to Akari from Akatsuki. Now, Akatsuki’s brother suggests that Anton (I figure the name from the credits matches up with the apprentice) likes Akari, making him a rival for for Akatsuki. I can see what the writers are doing here, but that this leaves me with a question: Do Akatsuki never talk about Alicia when his brother is around?

I can see Akatsuki making an offhanded remark along the lines of, “You need to transport fragile cargo? Try Sideburns from Aria Company. She’s the slowest Undine I’ve ever known. It should have been an insult, even though Akatsuki likely meant no ill will by it.

Actually, I think I can see it. With the relationship the brothers have, why would Akatsuki talk about the wonderfulness that he sees in Alicia to his brother, of all people? Complaining about the trouble Akari gives him would be a much livelier conversation piece for Akatsuki, without the opportunity for his brother trying to embarrass him over it.

Looking at the world-building aspect, Venice is no more. It’s sunk. Is this a case of the city simply no longer being able to sustain itself, or did something happen causing the water level to rise? This goes back to my determination that something happened on Earth, something that has left the planet less habitable. Humans have a way of surviving, and they have made Earth–Manhome–a place where they are able to continue to live. At the same time, they used their technology to begin an effort to make Mars a place where they could live without all the mistakes made on Manhome.

This is a powerful episode for me. The way Akari goes around making friends so easily is really something to see. It’s a warm feeling to see everyone get along so well. No one’s in a rush. No one’s in a hurry. People have time to talk with one another. It’s not that, though. It’s Akari’s ability to start a conversation with anyone. It’s something I’m unable to do, and that’s one reason I like Akari so much as a character.

Even though she didn’t get her shopping done, Akari helped to make memories with the Cait Sith marionette. The puppeteer would have made memories with the one doll alone, as evidenced by Aika and Alice remember the one doll, but the girls who watched this show will have two dolls to recall.

It’s too soon to say for certain, but Akari may be one of my overall favorite characters, from any series. I typically have a favorite character from each series I watch, but if I took all of them and determined which are my top favorites, it’d be a difficult task, because so many would fall short. Actually, giving thought to favorite characters, the only one I can think of who comes out on top is Scrooge McDuck, based on the life he’s lived, and what he’s done with it. Akari Mizunashi and Scrooge McDuck. What an interesting pair to be top favorites.

Still, it’s too soon to say whether Akari will stand atop that pedestal.

As I final thought, I smiled ever time Alice said, “Aye-aye, Sir.” Somehow, it felt out of character and in character for her at he same time. She places herself in a rivalry with Aika, but when they’re interested in the same goal, she’ll follow along with enthusiasm. She’ll never be that favorite character material for me that I expected when I saw the first episode for her, but I like the direction she’s taken this series.

The flower garden Akari never noticed follows in line with a common theme of the series, which was brought up in episode 8: seeing things we never noticed. Another episode is when Akari noticed all the mailboxes after helping with the mail route. It’s seeing things that were there, but never noticed.

This time around, however, it goes a step further. Akari doesn’t see things she didn’t notice before; she sees things she knows in a new way. It’s just as Alicia’s story about the flowers, about how returning to that spot in a different condition (after a rainfall) presenting the same thing differently. It follows with the starry sky lighting up Akari’s bedroom, something that might not happen as much when there are lights on within the city.

Speaking of lights, did I miss an explanation as to why there was a pre-planned blackout? I’m going to guess it was planned maintenance, and leave it at that.

In a prior episode, I determined that Alicia might live outside of Aria company, but goes there in the morning for breakfast (well, that, and for work). I don’t recall what specifically made me think this (I could easily look it up, I’m sure), but this episode suggests otherwise. It does make more sense for her to live there, of course.

This was a very feel-good episode, and that makes it a good episode.

This season is leaving an even greater impression on me than the first.

The scene with Alice and her rose is another example of character building done right. Her believing that a rose from her to Athena would be just another rose, with Akari saying it would make Athena happy, is simply a minor progressions for Alice. It’s her path to learning more about people, the way they act and react. It’s Alice learning what she means to Athena, and what Akari and Aika mean to her, as friends. For such a small portion of the episode (including Alice giving Athena the rose), it carried a lot of weight in what it conveyed.

Beyond that, the slight story-building for Akatsuki and Woody, and Al, worked well. Things are going as smoothly as they have for Aika and Al, with nothing being certain about Al’s potential feelings for Aika.

This episode went far to expand upon Akatsuki. It’s already been known that he has trouble with money, but there’s more to it than that. There’s his conversation with Woody. There’s his decision to use the “no sappy lines allowed”. There’s his removing his boots the same as Akari decided to. (Akari should really get some taller boots, so they won’t be full of water when she’s walking in a deeper area.) He even had a scene to play with the viewers as he blushes when Akari says his rose to her is the first she’s ever received from a man. Hopefully he understands Akari’s view of his roses floating away, through town on the current. Although, I must say, I am surprised that he didn’t take Akari by the hair and demand that she explain things to Alicia.

As far as building characters and history, this was a good episode.

I like the focus on Akari putting on the summer uniform to help introduce the new season within the series to the viewer. It’s an emphasis that would be easy to not include, and one of the small things that’s nice about Aria.

Thankfully the Pair party wasn’t forgotten. This is another point for Aria. The short conversation about it pretty much summed up how Alice’s personality is able to stay the same while being changed at the same time. She’ll remain who she is, but with an improvement that doesn’t change her personality as far as Alice and Aika are concerned. It also nicely excludes Alice from the trip to see where the cats are going.

Ai suggests that maybe Cait Sith wants to know more about Akari. This would be understandable as this is his second appearance before Akari. Cait Sith could very well have continued to hide the cats from Akari’s view, but chose to let her–and her alone–see them, and Akari guided the two down the path that would take them home. I do wonder if Alicia hasn’t met Cait Sith, and perhaps Granny as well.

I’m left in confusion as to the purpose of the pinwheels. They look computer animated, and didn’t fit into the scene very well for me, but as a story prop, I don’t know their purpose. Was it to warn Akari that she and her friend would be “going in circles” if they continued down their current path?

I enjoy comparing characters with their animated counterparts. Min Jeong-Ho is a strong character in Jewel in the Palace. In Janggeum’s Dream, I felt his relationship with Janggeum didn’t feel right somehow. Setting age differences aside completely, there didn’t seem to be much to it other than Jeong-ho saving Janggeum’s life repeatedly. The character of Jeong-Ho the scholar-official, on the other hand, is filled with an outright righteous character who acts with honor, and will put his life on the line to save unjustly accused innocents. I’m sure his animated counterpart would do the same, but that’s never shown.

A lot of events were fairly predictable within the series. Lady Jung’s death was expected. Her selecting Jang-Geum’s whale meat dish was expected because it was time for Team Han to get the next upperhand. However, episode 27 caught me offguard with Lady Han’s final moment. I was not expecting her to die. Jang-Geum needs Lady Han by her side. Without Lady Han, Jang-Geum will be unable to do anything, unable to move forward. At least, initially. But without Lady Han, where will Jang-Geum find her strength? The only place I can foresee will be in Jeong-Ho. He did ask Jang-Geum to let him share in her pain, and I don’t doubt he’ll be there to lift her up and out of slavery.

Lady Choi speaks coldly about how she hates the position she’s in. She sounds as if she doesn’t want to get Lady Han and Jang-Geum out of the way, but she must. She hates that she has to do this. Just the same, Keum-Young is in the position of acting without wanting.

This actually brings up another unexpected turn. Keum-Young’s plan of the servant having the fever worked perfectly, and no one will ever find out. How can Jang-Geum ever get back into the palace after this? And what kind of threat can she be to the Choi family when she never read her mother’s letter? I’m expecting she’ll see the letter in the future, but that would raise the question as to why Lady Choi and Pan-Sul never destroyed the letter. Because of Jang-Geum’s interactions with Jeong-Ho, Keum-Young cannot be the one to reveal the contents of the letter to Jang-Geum, and I don’t foresee her revealing anything to Jeong-Ho.

Even though Keum-Young’s intentions are that of a true member of the Choi family, I do give her credit for standing up to her aunt and uncle when it came time for harm to befall Jeong-Ho.

Early on, Jang-Geum was being punished often, but kept doing the right things to help out everyone. Later, Jang-Geum and Lady Han were playing a continuous game of one-upmanship with the Choi family. Now Keum-Young’s actions have contributed to the death of Lady Han, and Jang-Geum must learn to get by on her own all over again. The writers behind Jewel in the Palace undoubtedly knew what they were doing, and they managed a wonderful balance and pace of change to keep the series from becoming stale.

Typically dramas are not my genre of choice. My genre of choice is Cute, something which tends to be at odds with drama. Jewel in the Palace, however, combines historic culture. Add in my having watched through Janggeum’s Dream, and Jewel in the Palace easily becomes a series I’ve enjoyed until now, and I know I’ll continue to enjoy.

This episode didn’t invent something for Alice to overcome, then have be forgotten for the rest of the series. It’s not like Nanacchi’s effort to learn to cook in Seven of Seven, where Nanacchi’s cooking skills aren’t really addressed otherwise. No, for Alice, this is a confrontation with everything the viewer has learned about her up to this point.

Actually, this episode of Aria the Natural is a lot more like Cocoloo’s self-exploratory episode in Petite Princess Yucie. Unfortunately, Cocoloo’s experience didn’t have too much of an impact on her as far as the rest of the series went. It was essentially a forgotten event.

Will this happen with Alice, as well? Will she return to the way she’s been, no questions asked? Or will she try to be more open, fail at it, and then return to her old ways? Or will she be a more open person, but mostly still reflect the personality she’s known for around Akari and Aika? Please, please, please, do not let this episode’s events be forgotten during the rest of the series, or there was no reason to have this episode!

However Alice acts in the next episode, it will be a reflection of how the company party went, and a reflection of how Alice allowed things to go. She can’t have Athena or Akari or Aika with her there, so she’s completely on her own.

Aside from the characters of the episode, some production-related things stood out to me.

First, Spring is almost over already? After all that time I kept asking, “Is winter over now?”, finally Alicia and Akari “find Spring”, and now Spring is almost over? Already? Wait, what just happened here? There must be a reason for it, but could they seriously not fit anything into Spring? Were they rushing to get to a Summer event, requiring they skip over six Manhome months? They girls can’t be Singles and a Pair forever. This simply cuts down on the amount of time they have available before their promotions take place.

The invitation Alice received uses both Japanese and Italian. Considering Alice has an English name, Akari has a Japanese name, and Akari uses a computer with desktop software in English, I’m still convinced that English is the world-language of Aqua, and potentially Manhome.

Using Italian in Neo-Venezia makes sense, even though Akari doesn’t seem to have a strong handle on the language (probably due to little exposure and no use). Orange Planet, on the other hand, might have knowing Italian as a requirement, and Alice might be taking an Italian-language course in school.

This leaves the Japanese on the letter. I’m going to place this one as a lack of thorough consideration on the part of whoever put the card together. There’s evidence of different languages meshing together (English lettering/words for signs, the Japanese 〒 on mailboxes), but I don’t imagine Neo-Venezia to be a place where English, Italian, and Japanese languages meet. It just makes no sense whatsoever for Orange Company to use Japanese for the RSVP. (Oops, I shouldn’t be introducing French while trying to sort out other languages.)

In my view, the letter did use Italian. The reason for Orange Company to use Italian is to get a fancy, “authentic” Venetian feel. However, it didn’t use Japanese. It used English, as that is what I’ve determined Neo-Venezia’s common language to be.

The choice for Japanese on the card thus becomes an animator’s method of letting the viewer know what’s written on the card. The Italian part is read out to the viewer (allowing it to keep that “special” feel of being Italian), and the RSVP part is written in a language the viewer can easily read and know.

Akari’s prior visit had her wear an Orange Planet uniform, but that’s not a problem this time because the girls have “permission” to be there. Something still seems off to me about having Akari wear that uniform in the previous episode.

Actually, a greater observation is that everyone keeps wearing their Undine uniform, even to dinner. Unless they have more practice ahead that night, or expect to take customers out, is there a reason not to change into their civilian clothes? Certainly it would be better to accidentally drop/spill some food or a drink on ones casual clothing than to allow it to happen to ones work uniform. The only times Alice and Athena are not seen in work uniform are related to taking a bath (yukata worn afterwards) and when sleeping (pajamas). Of course, Alice also wears her school uniform to school.

I realize it’s probably a minor thing to wonder why the girls wear their Undine outfit as much as they do, but seeing their choice of clothing really does add to the character, to who they are.

I’ve noticed from time to time that Alice’s hair has different styles, although I haven’t kept track of the number of styles. (For all I know, it could be only two styles.) None of the other characters are shown with differing hairstyles. I note it now because Alice looked strange to me most of the episode, and I thought maybe they had a less experienced animator on this episode, until I realized she simply looked different, due to her hairstyle.

Early on in Aria, I thought Alice might have potential as a favorite character, but I never connected with her in a favorite character manner. Akari has her Expert of Wonderful thing going, which earns her that spot for me. This episode did go far to help me connect with Alice, however, as she and I have a lot in common. I’m typically not one to make polite conversation for no reason. Because of this, it’s difficult to talk with someone I have nothing in common with. What’s there to talk about? Small talk doesn’t suit me, and it doesn’t suit Alice, either. Being surrounded by two people she can talk with thus is a far greater thing for Alice than being surrounded by two hundred people she has nothing to talk about with.

Of course, it helps if she gives them a chance a little.

Final thought: Was that ceiling fan done using a computer with 3D modelling? It looked to be, and stood out too much for my liking. It jarred me from enjoying a 2D episode with a 3D-style item taking center stage.

Even though they could be rivals for the position of Highest Kitchen Lady, Jang-Geum and Keum-Young have grown to be close friends. Keum-Young credits Jang-Geum for the charcoal idea, and waits for her until Lady Choi can wait no longer. This is the friendship Janggeum tried repeatedly to achieve in Janggeum’s Dream, and continued to fail at due to Geum-yeong’s arrogance and stubbornness.

Looking at Lady Choi, when she scolded Keum-Young at Pan-Sul’s house, she told Keum-Young that she should have alerted herself, Lady Han, or Lady Jung about it. There is no sense of “alert me and only me” that Lady Choi’s animated self gives off.

It’s been some time, but Jang-Geum has learned a lot, and is growing into the prophecy that would take the lives of her parents. She has saved someone who, if I’m correct, is one mighty warrior of a scholar. Jang-Geum dropping an item near him looks to relate with Janggeum losing a ring in Janggeum’s Dream. (By the way, what ever happened to the other man in that scene? He must have woken up, seen Jang-Geum tending to his wounded opponent, then simply left.)

This episode didn’t catch my interest as much as the prior episodes had. Until now, things started out epic, then put a focus on Jang-Geum’s difficulties to get into the palace and show her ability. Saving a warrior is nice and all, but the episode didn’t catch my attention so much.

Episode seven is an huge improvement. Jang-Geum finds herself in a position to bring hope to the hopeless, another way of saving lives. Who can’t enjoy watching as the manager of the herb group turns in the criminal only to find there’s a conspiracy to keep Jang-Geum’s herb from being grow, resulting in his risking his own job and well being to spread the information as wide and quickly as possible? It also doesn’t hurt that Yeun-seng’s note-taking reminds me of the same from episode four of Janggeum’s Dream.

I’m sure things will flow smoothly throughout the rest of the series, with some ups and some downs, but I don’t expect to write commentary on each episode. With such long episodes, it’s hard to remember enough details to write about anything (although that in itself might be a good reason to write, to help remember), and it’s hard enough trying to keep track of all the known characters and the new characters introduced in episode seven (although that in itself might be another a good reason to write, to get used to names).

The first half-episode felt overly forced to me. The fox-kid scouting out the inari to take for the wedding seemed a bit overdone. I can only excuse all those appearances as a means of showing that he’s following closely enough for Akari to notice someone there. Then as quickly as things went into motion, it was all over. The episode felt very “let’s let Akari see something mysterious and wonderful” to me, without giving it time to build up. Too rushed.

I also wonder if Alicia actually disappeared on purpose. Her vanishing act was very sudden, but I don’t imagine she’d act like it was unintentional after finding Akari again. Maybe they need to have a meet-up location in case they get separated. Something like, “Meet up at the fox statue wearing the red bib.”

I did like the reflections of Akari in the puddles. Those were nicely done.

The conversation with the old lady makes me think again about language. Considering Akari and the others likely speak English (as opposed to the Japanese used for ease of a Japanese audience), this suggests to me that the old lady speaks English as well. Each country with its own island, with its own culture, but with English as the common language of the planet, and perhaps of Manhome as well.

I felt better about the latter episode, and it’s good that they chose to have Akari choose the wrong path. Obviously the whole point to the episode was finding something greater than the intended location by mistaking the path taken. From there, cue the Aria take on bringing in Spring with a cherry tree in blossom.

I do have to ask, though: can snapping a power line really turn on the lights in a rail car? My guess is that losing power kicked on a battery back-up which turns on all the lights (regardless of whether they were on before). Not sure about the fallen petals floating up into the air, though…