

Aquatic Language
水のコトバ
Several people are spending their evening in a cafe. Two gossiping girls, two debating men, a bookworm and a boy, who just broke up with his girlfriend. The cafe's waitress starts a chat with him, persuading him to take a look at certain easel, while other customers begin to notice unusual things. (Source: ANN)
Several people are spending their evening in a cafe. Two gossiping girls, two debating men, a bookworm and a boy, who just broke up with his girlfriend. The cafe's waitress starts a chat with him, persuading him to take a look at certain easel, while other customers begin to notice unusual things. (Source: ANN)
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jbiscuits1
February 12, 2011
9 minutes. That was my initial thought when a friend told me about this piece of work. So obviously I had close to no expectations while watching it. Normally I would have thought it was a waste of time, but for 9 minutes? why not? So I watched all 9 min and 5 seconds it had to offer and I was amazed with what it produced. It gave some nice insight in to the way people think and the values people have. In 9 minutes they introduce 6 characters and develop them just enough to keep it interesting. The art was an interesting style that wasappealing and essential at some key points. There was a nice smooth soundtrack to match the setting of a small relaxed coffee shop. It was highly enjoyable and I would encourage everyone to watch it, and for 9 minutes why not right?
zirinbaku
November 12, 2008
It was clear to me after a few viewings that 'Aquatic Language' or 'Mizu no Kotoba' is a prototype for what would become 'Eve no Jikan' or 'Time of Eve.' Or, perhaps, more correctly, Eve is an expansion on the concepts put forth by Studio Rikaa in Aquatic. The animation style, scripting, 'camera work', layout of the coffee shop, the appearance of the cafe hostess (compare to Nagi), and even the ping at the end of Aquatic are all incorporated, albeit somewhat refined, into 'Eve no Jikan.' I don't know why Studio Rikka waited 6 years from one project to the other, but from whatI have seen of 'Eve no Jikan' I'm glad that they finally moved ahead. As a retrospective on the origins of 'Eve no Jikan' I would say that 'Mizu/Aquatic' is well worth watching. Aquatic seems to explore some things that haven't appeared in Eve yet, but since that series is in its infancy at this moment, it seems premature to assume that they won't appear. 'Aquatic Language' can stand on its own merits, but I think it has more value as a pre-history of the world of 'Eve no Jikan.'
Paraturtle
July 9, 2016
Story: There's a lot of content here bundled up in a short period that is incredibly underwhelming. Despite it being introspective, it gets some sort of point across, but it's really just bits and pieces of a bigger picture that is never fulfilled. It's decent enough to speak to the viewer but not good enough to leave any lasting or memorable experience. I've already forgotten half of what happens, or what was discussed, and I only watched it (with my full attention) nearly 5 minutes ago. Art: The art is fitting, but it's a bit of a clash. It's jarring at first but then settles down to atolerable degree. However, when characters are doing more than sitting idly, they look strange and disproportionate. Sound: Audio is fine for the most part, but the song used near the end is pretty lackluster and somewhat irritating to listen to. It has no lasting appeal, either, and will likely throw viewers off as unfitting or out of place. Character: There are decent characters in giving us specific differences between 6 individuals. However, it's all kind of left empty-handed and there's little to nothing to define these characters beyond idle chit-chat. Or, perhaps I should say, each character merely signifies some specific thing rather than signifying realistic people. Also, totally forgot there's a seventh character who is 100% only used as a 'plot' device. Enjoyment: I mean, it's 9 minutes. The first half is enjoyable, but the second half fails to really resolve or confirm anything. I didn't need it to tell me what was in the animation, but it doesn't complete the mystery of certain aspects, or show any connective tissue between certain things in the story beyond them existing in the same production. ((If you liked this review, check out my other reviews by going to my profile and clicking the 'reviews' tab. I review virtually all anime and manga I find!))
Slykain
April 18, 2008
Because I'm of those persons who likes the start and ending and don't care about the middle I can say, wow. It really makes your squirrel move. It has alot of references (or... the ones I noticed). That makes the cut a little dynamic. And think about whats happening. And, well... its just weird. Because a lot of things happened at random times. Also, they tell you some of every character, even if there are 5, the cut tells you the personality of everyone, just what I like, what type of personthey are... Thats why I liked it o.o
Lexcreek
January 11, 2020
Spoilers in bound. Watch the short first! At the time of writing this, it's available on youtube with english and spanish subtitles. Mizu no Kotoba, or Aquatic Language, it's the first short of Yoshiura Yasuhiro, in which he expunges his views on Kotodama, the belief that words are living things, with inherent power when they're spoken. This idea isn't just present in this short, not by a long-shot, but it's one of the few I've seen that name-drop the concept directly. Another one that comes to mind is the movie, Kimi no Koe wo Todoketai, that funnily enough it's about cute girls doing radio. But whatis Mizu no Kotoba about and what does it say about Kotodama? I'll talk a bit about the character models and the animation. Since it was done by one person(at least he's the only one credited) it's clear it was the best he could do, but it isn't a shame really, because in a way, I don't think he needed more assistance than that. The characters look stiff, but I think in an endearing way. The movements that need to be emphasized, are, and there's nothing stopping the camera from moving in interesting ways, or to have moments of dashing artistry were things get weird. Now, starting for real, lets talk about the setting. The story follows the conversation of people inside a coffee shop. It's one of those one-location shorts I, for one, really enjoy. One of the goals it achieves flawlessly is the portrayal of spatial relation inside the building. We know where every character is in relation to the others, and we also understand the layout of the shop, being a sort of mix of café and aquarium(though this isn't yet clear). Everything else is readily apparent and the movement of the camera makes it, like Kotodama, a living thing itself, with the light, fans and even the paintings, gently nudging the viewer and the characters around the shop. Everything inside seems relevant to the situation, working the cross purpose of acquainting the people with both a consistent verisimilitude reality and then betraying those expectations. Apart from that, there's something else that's special about this shop, and it's the sound design. If anyone has ever listened to those white noise channels like Guild of Ambience and others like it, which I'm a big fan of, you'll immediately picture what the atmosphere is like. It's like stepping aside from yourself and simply taking in the sounds and the talking. This coffee shop becomes like a small music box with a weirdly playful tone, that sees almost in jeopardy with itself. While watching there's some urgency that something is coming and the sound makes a point in making that come across. So now that I established that it "makes you feel" like you're in a coffee shop; that it's advocating for the eavesdropping culture, lets peel back the layers and throw you directly into the hotpot of conversations. First things first, the dialogue is very well done. From the (apparently) natural flow of speech, to the dynamics forming around the characters, to the different topics that seem to relate to each other in interesting ways. But first, lets talk about the least interesting of these conversations because there's very little of it; some would say none, if you don't consider talking directly to the audience to be a valid form of dialogue at least. So the most forgettable character is the boy reading the coffee shop books in the furthest table from the action. It's like he isn't even part of the story and his inclusion seems artificial, but unlike that of a omnipresent narrator with a pompous monologue, he just feels at first glance like an undeniable outlier, because he doesn't really "speak", reacts to what's happening, or interacts with the other characters. Whenever the camera pans out to him, it focuses, not much on him as a person with ideas, but on a quote from one of the books he's reading, which then covers the whole screen in one of those text-box screens. There's two of them. The first one is from I robot, by Isaac Asimov and the other one is from 20,000 leagues under the sea, by Julio Verne. It's important noting that they are from a science fiction book and a fantasy book respectively. Both of the quotes are plot relevant, since the first one suggests the robot/android "plottwist" later and the second one is about being in an aquarium, that relates to the fish we see on the paintings and later swimming in the air near the end. You could say that his only role in the story is to foreshadow these things, but I would put him a step above that. I do think this guy is the directors surrogate for suggesting what will happen, but I think the suggestion it's done in a clever way, using the mechanic of "Language has power". Before the quotes, none of the fantastic or science fiction events have happened. But when the author stamps them on the screen, they become reality. Before the quote about robots, we don't know the girl behind the counter is a robot. Before the quote about the aquarium, we haven't confirmed that the fish is indeed alive. He's the literal trigger of the story beats. The words he's reading have an impact, showcasing the power of fiction basically. The conversation most directly involved with him, is the one of the two guys that are next to him in the coffee shop. One of the guys is talking about an unnamed person who explained Kotodama to him, while the other doesn't really pay attention, because he's remembering that the fish in one of the paintings was moving. This kind of world-building it's fairly interesting, since in his flashback, we sort of get clued on the logic of this place, since whoever is sitting in that table, will notice when the "fish" is triggered through the Verne Quote, which is in itself a reaction to the "robot" part which is triggered by the Asimov quote. Those, I think, are the mechanics of this shop. Someone comes in, starts reading the books, and if someone needs help, the lady will then direct them to the easel and then, the aquarium. It's a mathematical calculation, with falls neatly into the artificial intelligence spill. Next, the topic of the conversation between both of the girls is about compatibility, with one arguing that after a certain point, it's impossible to date someone, while the other's being skeptical about the whole basis of that information. Then again, words are important, because the friend is just repeating words she heard from others, implying that the regurgitation of information without much substance loses power, specially because she's not getting it straight from the source like, for example, the guy reading the books. Anyways, leaving both of them behind, lets talk about the main conversation, that relate in some way to the other conversations. The guy who just got dumped by his girlfriend is being schooled about love by the girl behind the counter, which tells him superstitious nonsense like half of the people in the world are supposed to be women and he still has a chance to find another one. It's pretty telling when she then sends him out into the upper levels of the store for him to literally see that there are other "fish" in the sea. That's the type of nonsensical symbolism that I really love. (Furthermore, it's suggested that he got dumped because he "didn't listen to the other part". That could mean many number of things. His girlfriend, his own feelings, the right hemisphere of his brain that doesn't speak because it's mute. Who knows… It's interesting to note that if this coffee shop is a microcosm of the world, then there are 3 women and 4 men. If you don't want to consider the robot girl… well, a girl, then it's down to 2 when and 4 men. You might also have a theory that the guy reading the book's is also a robot, which… I wouldn't disagree to that being the case. The point being that in any case, it's less than half. So, then there's the ending. Clearly this world is both fantasy and science fiction inspired, and the way that was shown in little time was really interesting and inspiring. Him reaching the apex of the store, seeing all the words that were spoken, popping at different intervals. We don't hear what he says, but he exhales a bubble that then floats to the air without bursting and disappears through the rafters. It's interesting to note that when he comes down, everyone already left; moreover, all the chairs are hung upside down on the tables, like the coffee shop wasn't even opened. Either what he saw up there left him paralyzed for a while or maybe he was alone in the shop from the start, and it was all a simulation. It's down to interpretation from here. I think the fact that in this world(coffee shop), showing people a giant fish and a recollection of all the words they've spoken is how a robot thinks of helping a person get over a break up, are fairly interesting, if nonsensical, ways of approaching it. I, for one, ate it all up for sure. I just hope I was able to elucidate the ways why I think it worked so well for me, and why I consider it one of my favorite anime.
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