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?

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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.'

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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 person they are...
Thats why I liked it o.o

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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 a tolerable 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!))

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