Aqua | Manga - MyAnimeList.net

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Synonyms: Othello Game, Ebony & Ivory

Japanese: AQUA

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Information

Type: Manga

Volumes: 2

Chapters: 10

Status: Finished

Published: Jan 27, 2001 to Sep 28, 2001

Genres: Sci-Fi, Slice of Life

Theme: Iyashikei

Demographic: Shoujo

Serialization: Stencil

Authors: Amano, Kozue (Story & Art)

Statistics

Score: 7.94¹ (scored by 8,628 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #901²

² based on the top manga page. Please note that 'R18+' titles are excluded.

Popularity: #1000

Members: 18,257

Favorites: 338

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7.94

Ranked #901Popularity #1000Members 18,257

MangaStencilAmano, Kozue (Story & Art)

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Volumes: /2

Chapters: /10

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Synopsis

The year is 2301, one hundred fifty years since terraforming operations began on the planet Aqua—formerly known as Mars—causing it to be almost entirely covered with water. Aqua's capital, Neo-Venezia, is a near-perfect copy of the wonderful, dreamy city of Venice back on Manhome—previously known as Earth. Citizens and tourists alike take their time exploring the city and admiring its rustic charm, especially by riding one of the many gondolas gliding along the waterways.

Highly skilled and knowledgeable women known as Undines navigate the gondolas and act as tour guides of Neo-Venezia. Originating from Manhome, several well-renowned Undine companies have made their home in the capital, with many young girls aspiring to join their ranks.

Chasing her dream of becoming an Undine, Manhome native Akari Mizunashi begins her training as an apprentice at the Aria Company. Soon after arriving in town, she becomes acquainted with her mentor Alicia Florence, a pudgy cat named Aria Pokoteng, and Aika S. Granzchesta, a fellow Undine apprentice from the Himeya Company. Together with her new friends, Akari strives to become a full-fledged Undine while taking in all the magical sights and sounds that Neo-Venezia generously offers.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Included one-shot:
Volume 2: Othello Game (Ebony & Ivory)

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Background

Aqua was released in English by Tokyopop from October 9, 2007 to February 5, 2008. The series has also been published in Chinese by Tong Li Publishing Co., Ltd. on July 22, 2004; in French by Kami from December 6, 2006 to March 7, 2007; in German by Tokyopop Germany from September 2006 to January 2007; in Italian by Star Comics; in Spanish by Editorial Ivrea from March 30, 2006 to May 27, 2006; and in Thai by Bongkoch Comics from October 19, 2006 to October 27, 2006.

A drama CD adapting the events of the manga was released by Frontier Works on September 22, 2005.

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Related Manga

Sequel:	Aria
Adaptation:	Aria the Animation

More characters
Characters

Mizunashi, Akari

Main

Florence, Alicia

Main

Granzchesta, Aika S.

Main

Pokoteng, Aria

Main

Izumo, Akatsuki

Supporting

Granzchesta, Hime

Supporting

Anno, Namihei

Supporting

Reviews

Oct 7, 2023

KrenZane

Recommended

The organic world of Aqua originated by Kozue Amano receives one and all to be raised in an environment calming for the hasty, cozy for the weary, and optimistically-molding and expansive for the tunnel-visioned, where we can learn to set our eyes of the heart on finding gems around our steps, thereupon each little treasure should be efforted to be crafted into self-sustaining sources of happiness.

To find sources of joy wherever we go and to cherish every fleeting moment in order to build up our kinship to the positive and resistance to sadness is clearly a prevailing wisdom guiding us as we step out of ...

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Aug 23, 2023

Kyragos

Recommended

Nostalgic. Soothing. Poetic.

How about becoming a gondolier on Mars? Even though this may seem absurd at first glance, this is the foundation of a classic of the iyashikei genre.

To give you a bit of context, I was pretty late reading Aqua, as I had already enjoyed its sequel Aria and Amano's newer work Amanchu, both as manga and anime. So I was definitely not a newcomer and knew what to expect.

Mizunashi Akari, the main character, is a young Japanese girl from the 24th century. She dreams of becoming an Undine. What is an Undine? A female gondolier working in New Venice on Aqua, a future ...

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Jan 23, 2019

WitchJacqueline

Recommended

Probably better known under the name of it’s sequel, Aria. Aqua is usually held as a pillar of Slice of Life and Iyashikei with some Utopia to boot. I have yet to break into Aria, but let’s look at how the two volumes known as Aqua fares. Let’s Rock.

PLOT: or lack thereof. Taking place in 2031, the planet Mars has become covered in water and renamed to Aqua. Our tale takes place in the city of Neo Venezia, a city of water and boats. Our protagonist Akari arrives from earth to seek a job as a gondolier tour guide known as an Undine. The series ... follows Akari training to be an Undine and coming to know the city and world she’s moved to. There’s not much of a plot. We see a sense of progress in Akari’s Undine training, but the series is largely a relaxing read. Luckily for a series centered on tour guides, the city is an interesting tour. Learning about the intricacies and lifestyles in Neo Venezia proves to be interesting. There’s a good amount of stuff going on in our main character’s lives to keep the series from getting dull. I’d usually rail a series for tottering around doing nothing, but it really works out in Aqua’s favor as an atmosphere piece.

7/10, plot might not be the right word but the events of the series are a joy to read.

CHARACTERS: The cast is rather small. Akari is a cheerful girl who doesn’t quite have it all together just yet. Her immaturity and not being an Aqua native allow us to learn with her. She’s writing e-mails to someone, so there’s more to learn in the sequel I’d assume. She’s endearing, but rather simple. That’s the real running thing with this series. Most of the characters are simple tropes but they work. Alicia is your stereotypical nicer, skilled older girl. Aika is the girl who’s obsessed with Alicia (and also the series’ weakest character). Akatsuki is the rude guy with a good heart. There’s also the cat, President Aria. He’s a gentle comic relief with no speaking lines. They have a dynamic you’ve probably seen before, but in a “if it’s not broke don’t fix it way.”

6/10, nothing interesting but it’s all functional.

VISUALS: Once again, when the point was to be a tour guide, you need to have nice things to look at, and this manga does. Setting design is wonderful here, Neo Venezia is just a joy to look at. We get many spreads of characters just looking about the city and they’re just gorgeous. Everything comes together, the architecture, the water, the technology, the fashion. It all builds something gorgeous to look at. The city being designed in mostly white makes it work with the black and white printing. It also goes well with the water, and speaking of the artist makes good use of water. It reminds me of the train scene from spirited away but up to 11. The water always has this gentle feel to it that just makes it work. The Undine outfits the main cast wear also meld with the city near perfectly. You can tell a lot of thought was put into the aesthetic design and it works wonders. The artistry in it is also pretty solid, while I was never blown away by the skill of the artist, he managed to convey his visions and they worked wonders. The character designs themselves are pretty standard minus the Undine uniforms, but like, who cares when everything else works so well.

9/10, it’s a tour worth taking.

FINAL SCORE: 7/10

While it ended up simply being the prologue to another series, the manga Aqua is a good time on it’s own. I’ve yet to read Aria but I’m interested after what I read here. If you’re looking for a relaxing atmosphere place and some great setting design, I recommend you give this a read.

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Poll: Aqua Chapter 5 Discussion HooHiraiBunny - Sep 2, 2009	8 replies	by playgamewithme14 »» Jan 13, 2023 11:44 AM
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