Customer Reviews

Aria the Animation Season 1

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This Solomon Amazon reviewer is an idiot. First off, Aria is not a shoujo series. I can't say exactly what it is... it's not exactly seinen, but it is most definitely not shoujo. (I've read/watched hundreds of shoujo manga/anime... I know shoujo when I see it) This guy name-throws in Azumanga Daioh (is it the one other anime he's seen?) even though it has absolutely nothing in common with Aria. Azumanga isn't even slice-of-life. Yes, there is a genre name for this kind of show. It's "slice-of-life." There is no overarching plot or intense drama. It's a subtler form of escapism, and it's only boring for "older viewers" with zero attention span and no appreciation for this kind of anime. This isn't really a kids anime, either. I'd think most kids would be bored to death by Aria. Like Kokoro Toshokan (another slice-of-life anime--not as good as Aria, but worth a look nonetheless), it takes you to a very romanticized version of the world, and eases you into its pace for a while.

That said, I was not so -very- impressed when watching the first season for the first time. I thought it merely a fairly good show. It was during the second season that I really fell in love with Neo-Venezia and its characters. By the third season it was one of my favorite anime of all time.

ARIA is a beautifully crafted piece of anime, brought to life by Junichi Sato (Sailor Moon, Kaliedo Star and others). His optimistic characters shine through and this "slice of life" series about gondoliers on a foreign idyllic water planet called Aqua has life and substance. The stories are as light as air, and deal with three girls and their mentors as they train their hardest and most earnestly to become Prima Undines, gondaliers who scull boats through the water canals of a Neo-Venice.

The color and art design are breathtaking, water lapping, gorgeous blues and golds washing the screen to give a cool, soft feel. There are the typical episodes, such as the one where the girls go on a mission to train, but the training turns out to be different than they expect. A cat goes missing. There's a trip back into time to see the past in the present's eyes. There is the hot springs episode, the holiday episode... but its all well done and has a calm, uplifting feel to it all.

Those who enjoyed series such as Haibane Remnei, Somedays Dreamers and other slow moving, slice of life series will find themselves right at home here. It's calming, beautiful to watch and has a charming sense to it too.

All 13 episodes are represented from the first season/series. Japanese language with English subtitles (there is NO dub). An array of bonus features populate the four discs, including one that shows clips of the director in Venice (with commentary) by Sato, which is quite entertaining.

The Amazon reviewer is completely out of it, as other reviewers have rightly said.

In fairness, it's not easy to describe this series in a way which conveys just how good it is, and why it creates that "just one more" feeling which makes you watch half the episodes at a sitting ...

There's no plot worth mentioning, the setting is about as close to paradise as you will ever see, and all the characters are just so ... nice. By rights it ought to be terminally dull and horribly twee. It isn't, but it's not so easy to explain why not.

I think what makes this special is that, strangely, there is always, somewhere in the background, a deep melancholy. The planet Aqua is a paradise, sure, but it wasn't always so; people suffered and died to make it the way it is, and in some way, the planet remembers. The Undines' life is blissful, but they know they will grow up and leave this life one day. The effect is a bit like remembering a very happy childhood, from a perspective of maturity; a happy time that it's delightful to remember, but which will never come again.

The reviewer has it quite wrong for this reason. The series is much more likely to appeal to older viewers than to small girls, who won't pick up on the sadness, or will just be mystified or bored.

"Aria" certainly isn't for everybody. It's just about the polar opposite of a Giant Mecha anime. But people on its wavelength will want to buy all three of the series, believe me.

As a big fan of anime, Sci-Fi, and political fiction: If 1984 and the Lathe of Heaven describe the worse possible, ARIA describes what is the best possible - the anti-Orwellian per say ("anti" is such a negative word to describe something beautiful like ARIA - ha!). As some reviewers pointed out - ARIA stands out itself as different what "anime" and its typical genres are. In fact, I think the best enjoyment that one can get out from ARIA is to stop considering ARIA as a stereotypical anime of big robots and exciting action, but as an animated poetry of beauty.

Regardless, the underline is - ARIA is the manga/anime I reach for after tough day of in the real world - an escape from the non-stop reporting of terrible news on TV, and office/work stress and politics. Highly recommended for anyone who want something to relax to, something to dream for what perfect life will be. While ARIA is Sci-Fi (and anime), but it is great title to who are traditionally not anime and Sci-Fi fans. I do think "older" people will enjoy ARIA better - to who have seen the harsh realities, are the ones who long more for the utopia.

Cheerful but not too sappy. In fact one character yells at another one for sappy lines. The guidebook they provide gives background information for people who did not read the manga and is a fun read also.

It is nice to watch an anime without attacking aliens or evil syndicates [Haruhi]; this anime ponders those quiet "wonderful" moments in life. This can easily be mistaken as 'escapism' but maybe the more "sensational" anime are the ones that should carry that label. Breath ...relax ...enjoy.

"Aria" is one of those series that drifts along without much of a plotline, but it's so beautiful that it doesn't need one.

The main story focuses on Akari Mizunashi, who is training to become an Undine, a professional gondolier and tour guide for Aqua. She works for the Aria gondola company in Neo-Venezia. However, she spends most of her time chatting and relaxing with her friends, the hard-working Aika and the shy, reserved high school student Alice.

However, Aqua itself is one of the most scenic planets, due to the wide expanse of water surrounding the entire planet. Believe or not, the planet actually becomes a character in this series, with plenty of mysterious spirits.

Because of the gorgeous backgrounds, the detailed character designs and the incredible voice actors, "Aria" is a masterpiece of art--it's the most wonderful oceanic utopia in an anime.

And Akari, her friends and her mentors make for excellent characters. One especially touching episode centers on the three gondolier mentors telling Akari, Aika and Alice how they became close friends when they were young. It's a nostalgic and impressive character analysis of the laid back gondolier Alicia, the perfectionist Alicia and the clumsy diva Athena.

With a lovable cast of characters and one of the most relaxing landscapes, it's no surprise that "Aria" is one of the best anime of 2008. I look forward to watching season two of "Aria" as well.

The season set is packed with great special features as well, such as interviews with the Japanese voice actors, clean opening and ending sequences and a special set of episodes called "Venice, I'm sorry!" These episodes document director Sato's trip to Venice, and how he integrated these shots into the anime. Also keep in mind that there are no dubs--the entire series is in Japanese.

I downloaded Aria the Animation (and it's next seasons) because there wasn't a box set or DVDs available.

Now Right Stuf brings us a box set for the first season of the Aria story.

You receive a rough cardboard box. This isn't flimsy cardboard, nor is it double corrugated. Feels more like a hardcover book's material. It houses 4 slim DVD cases and the "Guide to Neo Venezia", which is a nice addition that features character art and some fun facts that are presented though the series, but in a more informative setup. We miss out on 2 DVD covers, since the Japanese release was in a 6 volume set. Akira and Athena are left out of the box art.

The episodes themselves (13) are split 4-3-3-3 on the DVDs. The quality is great, the series has more color and warmth than the TV rips that I have. Though the TV rips look sharper, I believe this to be from a lack of color. Though the trade off is not having intro credits and TV sponsor delays.

Now here's why I didn't give this fantastic bundle a 5. Years ago the anime companies decided to make their subtitles this awful yellow with karaoke text in white. I'm sad to say this hasn't changed.

Please, PLEASE use at least white thin type. The TV rips have this nice white font type with a blue outline that looks GORGEOUS! And the karaoke fades as the song progresses through the lyrics. I will not believe that it takes a great deal of time to make the font prettier and more appealing without increasing the costs of the package.

Also, this set DOES NOT include English dubs. I can't tell whether this is a good thing or bad thing. By not making a dub it decreases production values, makes the set cheaper, and allows for better quality video to be on the DVD. But on the other hand a series like this begs for a great cast to be assembled. Maybe they'll make a dub set in the future.

I'm not going to complain much though. I have a GREAT anime series in a quality box with nice bonuses packed on the DVDs, not to mention the free guide and the fact that it's finally available.

One of my all time favorites, along with Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu and Shoushitsu. And it's even in a boxset version!

Most Recommended!

I agree wholeheartedly with Nat. The Amazon reviewer seems very confused and inept. This is clearly one of the most beautifully plotted and executed anime series ever to come out of Japan. The American dubbing also does it full service. Apparently the reviewer is looking for another gundam or tenchi derivative, which this is most certainly not. Instead it is a gorgeous attempt to portray an idyllic lifestyle. One can argue, as the Amazon reviewer (Solomon) does at least implicitly, that Aria the Anime is not somehow not "real". Hello! What anime is?? Where has this reviewer been the past several years. (Hence, Nat's comment -- 'is it the one other anime he's seen?' now appears very appropriate.) Given that the Amazon reviewer is looking for "reality" in Japanese Anime, one has to, like Nat, wonder how much anime this fellow has actually really watched.
I actually am an older, and fairly sophisticated, viewer; and, contrary to the reviewers (unsupported) claims, I was anything but bored. Instead, I found myself increasingly entranced with the complex 'slice-of-life' (as Nat aptly puts it) Aria draws one into. In regard to classification, the reviewer again gets it wrong. The proof of the pudding so to speak is in how outlets classify anime. I went to several shoujo listings, like that at Anime-planet, and none of them appear list Aria as a shoujo release. Therefore, one inescapably concludes that the reviewer is both inept and mistaken in this also. I think the bottom line is that this Amazon reviewer came into the review process with preconceived notions of what this anime release was, or should be. But, because was not at all what he had envisioned, it led to some fairly miscued attempts to somehow pigeon-hole it with unrelated anime sub-classes. I am not sure how Amazon selects its reviewers, but this is definitely a case of a square peg in a round hole.