Ranked #1932

Mizu no Kotoba

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 was appealing 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? read more

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 what I 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.' read more