Return to Aqua for the winter.
Here we have more slice-of-life tales of Akari the Undine in the city of Neo-Venezia. The story arch here is her first Autumn and Winter in her new home. There's a lot of world-building involved.
First, there's the contrast between Aqua and Manhome. This started in the first volume, with how much more rustic Aqua is than Manhome. Volume 2 builds on that. It sounds like Earth has become more like a single sprawling city with few if any natural areas. This would explain why Neo-Venice has so many tourists. In fact, natural areas from Manhome have been recreated on Aqua. There's an island nearby Neo-Venezia that is a Japanese forest temple. Supposedly, kitsune weddings take place there.
Second, there's holidays like Vogare Longa (alternatively "Vogalonga"), a gondola race that marks the change of seasons. It's a very big deal. It's also a real thing. The real-life Venice does this every year. Akari also celebrates New Years Eve with her new friends and reflects on how much has happened in her life over the past year.
Third, there is a nice mixture of grand and mundane. For the grand scale sci-fi flavor stuff, there's a chapter about Aqua's Gnomes. These are the professionals who maintain Aqua's artificial gravity. They live underground similar to how Akatsuki the salamander lives on a floating island. Then there's some more mundane and small-scale stuff, like gondola cleaning.
Fourth, the art is beautiful. From the forest temple, to the Bridge of Sighs in Neo-Venice, to the underground city of the Gnomes, it is all beautiful. This pairs well with the peaceful stories. Really relaxing reading.
Trickster Eric Novels gives "ARIA the Masterpiece volume 2" an A+
Click here for my next book review: Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle volume 5 (Read for fun)
Click here for my previous book review: Kikuchi's Sushi (read for fun)
Brian Wilkerson is an independent novelist, freelance book reviewer, and writing advice blogger. He studied at the University of Minnesota and came away with bachelor's degrees in English Literature and History (Classical Mediterranean Period concentration).
His fantasy series, Journey to Chaos, is currently available on Amazon as an ebook or paperback.
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