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In a quaint Japanese town, far from the footprints of tourists, an abandoned robot named Alpha lives a quiet life, while running a coffee shop left by her previous owner. With hardly a customer from day to day, she tends to focus on life's little pleasures, while sporadically wishing for her master's return. But one day, a delivery-robot brings Alpha a camera, and through the pictures inside, her eyes are opened for the first time to the world around her.
Neo Venezia, the pride of planet Aqua, is a quaint city filled with canals and easy-going people. Many companies operate their gondolas on the canals, giving tours to tourists and locals alike, but the most famous of them is the Aria Company. Follow the adventures of Aria's young apprentice, Akari, as she learns the tricks of the trade from her beautiful senior, Alicia. Together with her friends Aika and Alice, apprentices of rival companies, and their seniors Akira and Athena, they train their skills as gondoliers, meeting new people and learning new things about the city each day.
There is a certain Japanese quality of storytelling called mono no aware -- a consciousness of the world's transient nature. It pervades Japanese writing and films, but usually as a background theme. It is rare that it takes center stage, so to speak, in a book or film. Yet this is the case with both Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou (and its sequel, Quiet Country Cafe) and Aria the Animation (and its sequel, Aria the Natural).
Both sets of anime deal with people reacting to an environment of great beauty and complexity, as well as to each other. By making the landscape a character in its own right, the viewer gains an additional opportunity for empathy with the protagonists, as they move in, and are moved by, the extraordinary worlds that they inhabit.
All of these anime are must-see anime for the sensitive and mature anime viewer, and I can hardly recommend them highly enough.
Both Aria and Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou are perfect series iif you want something that isn't too action packed, or complicated - if you just want to relax. Their great characters, nice music, and beautiful animation make them worth watching, and if you liked one then you should like the other.
Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou and Aria the Animation are two shows about absolutely nothing. Both have pretty graphics and music. Warning both may cause drowsiness. If you liked one you'll probably like the other.
Both Aria and Yokohama focus on the daily life of young girls with a somewhat futuristic twist, one is based on another planet, the other is a robot. If you enjoyed the semi-futuristic twist in an otherwise traditional slice of life world of one then it is worth watching the other.
Liked the quiet, relaxing and warm feeling of YKK? Then you should defenitely try out Aria, which is the only series to provide you with equal or even greater sensations of those feelings.
Tranquil, slow paced and with the focus on the joy of small, insignificant emotions. If you enjoyed the type of storytelling YKK brought you, most definitely check out the much better anime in the same category: Aria. It also has a great scenic setting, nothing but kind characters and has the most amazingly fitting OST for a show like this.
The entire Aria series as well as the Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou series seem to be made out of quintessentially slice-of-life elements - mono no aware, and a certain slow beauty. Both, too, have sci-fi settings, adding on to their similarity -- certainly a must-watch for any slice-of-kife fan.
A young woman quietly falls to the earth, escorted by a solitary crow. This sort of dream, as many other before have dreamed, comes just before being reborn as a Haibane, a charcoal-winged angel. On the outskirts of the walled-in city lies Old Home, a haven for Haibane to study, live, and learn, while waiting for their chance to ascend to the heavens and escape the confines of their new world. Rakka is the newest inhabitant of Old Home who wants nothing more than to remember her past and discover the secrets of her kind. Together with Reki, Kuu and plenty of other new friends, Rakka will laugh, explore, and search for the meaning of their existence in the process.
Haibane Renmei has a definite story that takes you forward to a climactic conclusion. Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou, on the other hand, is all about quiet appreciation for day-to-day existence and the beauty of the surrounding world, with no real climax. So these two anime really aren't very similar at all, and one would think that they weren't suited to a recommendation. Even so, I feel absolutely confident in recommending to fans of each of them that they try the other. At some deep level, they touch a similar place in their fans' hearts.
Very tranquil, relaxed atmosphere with a slightly eerie setting for both series. YKK is almost all atmosphere with a few happenings here and there. Haibane has a strong, emotional plot and a bittersweet but fantastic ending. Both leave much to interpretation... which is a good thing in these 2 series.
Also being a slow-paced, peaceful show, Haibane Renmei is something I'd most definitely recommend to fans of YKK. It has the same sense of tranquility (although better executed), but also adds a subtle story of mystery seamlessly into the plot. Add more relatable characters and one of my favorite soundtracks into the mix, and you've got something I think fans of YKK will greatly enjoy.
Whisper of the Heart is a touching Ghibli slice-of-life story, about a young girl named Shizuku. While riding the train, she notices a fat cat riding alongside her. Following the cat, she finds a shop where she is told an enchanting story of a gold statue named "The Baron". WotH follows Shizuku in her struggles to grow, and her budding love with the shopkeeper's son.
The water-laden city of Neo-Venezia is a haven for tourists and dream chasers. While in the city, gondoliers known as Undines ferry the visitors from place to place, showing them the sights or simply lending a sympathetic ear. Akari Mizunashi is an apprentice at the Aria Company, one of three companies in the city, and wishes to be promoted someday to the title of Prima. With the help of her friends, Akari accomplishes many things including helping to shuttle frequent visitors to the unknown sights of the city, gazing at beautiful paintings, and pondering the existence of the planet before it was called Aqua.
YKK and Aria are two shows about absolutely nothing. While YKK is a bit more insightful, Aria is closer to a valium substitute. Regardless, if you like series where nothing happens, you'll enjoy both of these.
Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou and Aria the Origination are two shows about absolutely nothing. Both have pretty graphics and music. Warning both may cause drowsiness. If you liked one you'll probably like the other.
Deep in the mountains lies a library with the same name as one of its caretakers, Kokoro. With her sisters Inna and Aruto, she strives to uphold the best characteristic of a librarian -- to help users with all her heart. Join young Kokoro as she starts the journey to become a full-fledged librarian, while learning about life, and being the best she can be.
The only thing these 2 anime have that is different is that YKK has robots in it and Kokoro Toshokan has girls that are constantly dressed as maids even though they are learning to be librarians. LOL! Slow paced as slow can be. Nothing much happens in every ep. If for some reason you like to watch not much happen in a show check out these 2 for sure.
