Spotlight Manga: Aria MAL Manga Information Page: Aria MAL Score - 8.52 (by 1058 users) Ranked - #78 Popularity - #308 Old spotlight: Aria For the next two weeks I would like to have a discussion about the manga that focuses on the key elements that we here on MAL use to critically rate a manga: Art, Characters, Story, and Enjoyment. I would like everyone to approach this thread as if you were going to write a review and structure your initial post like this: Art - insert rating Characters - insert rating Story - insert rating Enjoyment - insert rating Art - discuss any pros and cons of the art styling used in the series, try to include some specifics. Character - describe any of the things you liked or didn't care for in regards to specific characters in the series etc... If you are having trouble writing up a review or coming up with specific pros and cons, please don't worry. Just do the best you can with it and if you can only write two or three sentences about any of the 4 elements then that's OK. Not everyone here is currently at a level which will allow them to articulate their thoughts and opinions. After your initial post is made you can feel free to civilly discuss issues of contention. I am sure there will be many opinions expressed here that some of us will disagree upon and criticise and it is for that reason that this entire club exists. So I hope everyone has fun and I am really looking forward to seeing how this discussion will develop. RESULTS OF THE YOU DECIDE POLL Aria was PERMANENYLY inducted into the club Manga list: 23 Yes - 95.8% 1 No - 4.1% 43 Don't know this manga - 61.4% of the total number polled 3 Abstained - 4.2% of the total number polled -------------------------------------------------------------------- RESULTS OF THE YOU DECIDE POLL Aria was NOT inducted into the club Manga list, but is eligible for nomination once more: 14 Yes - 93.3% 1 No - 6.6% 40 Don't know this manga - 71.4% of the total number polled 1 Abstained - 1.7% of the total number polled -------------------------------------------------------------- *Since this manga has made the cut-off percentage-wise but has failed to gather enough votes, it is now once more available for nomination due to rule changes. (August 2011) RESULTS OF THE RESURRECTION POLL Aria passed but failed to meet the minimum voting requirements: 9 Yes - 90.0% 1 No - 10.0% 60 Don't know this manga - 85.7% of the total number polled 0 Abstained - 0.0% of the total number polled On 8/20/2010 Aria will be voted on for a second time ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- RESULTS OF THE "YOU DECIDE" POLL 8-11-2008 Aria did NOT get inducted into the club Manga list: 13 Yes - 15.12% 13 No - 15.12% |
santetjanDec 23, 2011 7:37 AM
| You do not beg the sun for mercy. |
| Given that it seems unlikely that the last volumes of the manga will be released here within the coming week, I fear that my post and vote will have to be based on the first 10 volumes. As has been remarked often enough about Aria, within the manga (and the resulting anime) 'story' as such is replaced by a series of individual episodes more or less depicting the life of the main characters in their surroundings. This means that I can probably safely vote on the basis of these first 10 volumes; it also means that any appreciation of the series should, then, mostly be based thereon. Much of this post will consist of liberal amounts of text copied directly from the Aria: the Origination spotlight, as much of what applies to the anime applies to the manga as well. As far as the characters go, the reader is presented with a small group of three young girls and their wider world, who have come together in the manga's setting for the sake of working towards learning a profession. There is no greater goal, no deed that needs to be done, so that the manga can focus simply on their everyday lives as they strive towards graduating from their apprenticeship. While there is nothing particularly innovative or even endearing to a series showcasing daily life, there is in Aria's characters at least a sense of purpose (many thanks, noteDhero, for phrasing it this way), which means that there is room for them to work towards something and, hence, grow. At first, what is presented is little beyond the wonders and tribulations of everyday life. Blessedly untroubled and unhurried as their lives are, the characters all tend to be shown in just about any chapter in more or less the same way, displaying how generic most of them actually are. The main character, Akari, is sweet, a bit of an airhead and someone who delights in just about anything; her friend Aika remains a bit boisterous while hiding a tinge of uncertainty; the third of the group, Alice, juggles a still somewhat childish mentality with a more mature work ethic and intellect; etc. In all, their thoughts, actions and emotions are far less extreme than is common in anime and manga, and while this tranquility is certainly a major selling point of Aria that should be taken as an example of how to portray characters correctly, the uniformity of actions and reactions can be a bit predictable and, eventually, uninteresting. That does not take into account, however, the slow, slight but very sure development of the characters over the series. Over the course of multiple years the three main protagonists are seen to slowly but certainly mature, becoming more steadfast and certain in their thoughts and behaviour, without them loosing their personality or undergoing major changes - in short, their development reflects the actual maturisation process. In the same time, their mentors slowly fade out of their guiding role, slowly coming to stand on a more equal footing with their protégés. As a whole, this development is highly satisfying and convincingly portrayed without having to resort to sudden influxes of disaster and trauma. Still, most of the time the characters as such remain somewhat flat, not so much acting out of themselves as reacting to their environment. That's to be expected, as Aria as a whole makes very clear where it's focus lies: to depict the life in a fictional world. It's really no exaggeration to say that the world of Aqua, and more in particular the city of Neo Venezia, is the real star of the manga. And what a world it is! Though it seems as if every one of the chapters of the manga show a different part of the city and its wider surroundings, at the end it still feels as if there are hundreds of nooks and crannies left to explore, some right behind the corner. It's a rich, vibrant and very much living city, with a new 'wonderful encounter' at the end of each alleyway. Many tools are employed to attain this sense. The simplest, and most powerful, is the very simple fact of temporal change. Seasons change and with them part of the economy of a city to quite an extent dependent on tourism; festivals come and go; people seen once before return later in a slightly different role; and slowly the characters themselves grow up, reflecting on the passing of the seasons as they continue their business. Another tool is the amount of people passing by, many of them nothing but background actors but all engaged in meaningful activity. Because they are so omnipresent the switch to empty back streets become very much pronounced and enhances the fairytale feeling of some of the chapters. This fairytale aspect, in turn, helps make Aqua so nice to explore. With no visible crime or squalor, Neo Venezia becomes a little kid's adventure site, filled with delightful moments of discovery and mystery - every chapter containing the Aquan cats and Cait Sith in particular enhances the feeling of mysterious yet benign otherworldliness. The manga renders of all of this in gorgeous panoramas, capturing the glory of the city in black and white and many, many shades of gray, in such a manner depicting the very human and living alongside the hazy and mysterious. Not only, though, is the drawing style often simply gorgeous and is splendid use made of the effects of different grays, but Aria just might be one of the best manga out there in terms of its graphical style representing the focus of its story. Most effectively, it does so by employing differences in scale between chapters and even panels. Though most panels, as with almost every other manga, are focused on the characters, showing only their immediate surroundings, ever so often the view widens to show whole buildings, streets, even entire city-scapes. At the same time, angles shift, and one looks up from below, passing the weathered stone of walls to see the sky visible above alleyways, or watches from above or far away the quays of the city. The difference in scale in such scenes is even more pronounced in the manga than the anime, for the simple fact that a page of small panels is suddenly followed by a two-page panoramic spread. There is always at least one human figure present, but it's a rarity that the figure is placed in the centre of the shot: all too often, the small human person is present only at the sides, looking at something bigger than himself, forming only a small part of the bustling city, the brilliant sunrise or the pristine, newly discovered grounds that commands the attention of both the eye and the story filling the chapter's pages. Equally consistent is the use of backgrounds to emphasise the present focus. Whenever the story is more strongly focused on the characters, the presentation of the background takes a backseat. Colouring becomes more monotone, the environments are more generic (such chapters also more often take place indoors) and there is little differentiation between the buildings, squares and canals. Whenever the story becomes more strongly focused on Aqua and Neo Venezia themselves, though, suddenly there is added detail to all environments and, in particular, a far more pronounced contrast between light and shadow, displaying every little nook and cranny of the setting. Some of the stronger chapters, such as Akari's little poem on the change of seasons, or the chapter in which she got lost in the maze of the kingdom of the cats, strongly favour this playing with saturation of grays, giving every set of panels its own distinct mood. Of course, beyond such tricks, the design of the setting itself contributes to its appeal. As a whole, Neo Venezia appears as a sun-drenched city, filled with buildings that are just weathered down enough to become scenic, quaint little alleyways and stairs leading up to yet another bright new spot. Fog rises up from unspoilt fields to enhance mystery, to clear whenever it is called for. Tools, modes of transport, accoutrements, everything is deliberately outdated, to evoke a setting of a more leisurely age. It has all the charm of a tourist brochure, but none of the downsides of the actual place. Perhaps deliberately, perhaps less so, the presentation of Aqua as a world of exciting new vistas and people to meet, almost wholly devoid of any threat that should hamper exploration, is mirrored in the graphical design and presentation of the characters. It's relatively uncommon to see anyone appear more than mildly annoyed, while in the view instances that it does happen use is made of a deliberately deformed style that takes off the edge. Moreover, more so than in most manga, the design of the characters' bodies is devoid of extremes, and of angles: there is a very 'soft', curvaceous look to most of them. Yet, while a certain basic feminine attractiveness is present, it remains well shy of any implication of sensuality or sexuality. When comparing the manga to the anime, it seems at first to be, perhaps, somewhat strange that I'd rate the manga to be the better of the two. Certainly the anime should be better able to use colour and movement to better portray the splendour of Aqua? Well, no. For much of the first two seasons of the anime, the palette was somewhat garish, lines weren't as strong as they should be and the animation itself resulted in some distortions of perspective, something that is highly detrimental to the depiction of the city. Moreover, as a result of infusing colour, much of the play with light and shadow was lost, resulting in a Neo Venezia that was more strongly relegated to the background. Worse, exactly at the point where the quality of the animation went up, the focus of the anime shifted drastically, as more and more episodes were devoted to the characters only, with less attention given to the setting. Quite apart from my love for city-scapes in unmoving black and white, what makes the manga superior is the better integration of the characters with the setting. Much of this is the result of pacing. A few of the very best chapters in the manga, most notably 49, are just a bit too dependent on single shots, meaning that any adaptation in anime format would have very little to work with: the chapter just cannot fit within an episode. Yet it is exactly chapters such as that one, showing Akari's reflection on her life on Aqua and her moving through the streets and the seasons, that most clearly show how much the characters form a part of their world, how all the 'wonderful encounters' are the result of both giving and taking and not solely the result of one-sided searching. Aria as a whole is peaceful, charming and a tremendous joy to read, a clear example to the industry of how a show can be made without relying on the usual overblown nonsense. At this point in time, Aria is set to become one of my favourite manga, to be thought of with contentedness and satisfaction. It matches a very simple premise and a lovely setting with a presentation that can be called mostly flawless in its integration of world and character, and for that alone I feel this manga should be inducted. A clear 'Yes', without even needing the exclamation mark. |
| You do not beg the sun for mercy. |
| Aria is to my biggest surprise, one of the most enjoyable manga I've read to date. I have tried to watch the anime, but I was overly bored by it. I actually thought the same would have been with the manga, but oh boy I was wrong. Aria wonderfully uses its panel to present the world of Aqua and the fact that it is static rather than animated, makes it even better to appreciate it. One of the few manga that uses its art at a full capacity. I have finished Aria - Art – My opinion will pretty much be the same as Santetjan. Aria works better at being static and even better in black and white. The arts is quite simplistics, but when it goes into small details it work marvelously, and this what amazes me the most about Aria. Some characters may look alike, I even messed it up some time, but the sceneries make up for this error as they are excellent. -Story- What the anime couldn`t deal with is the slow pacing, however the manga is a whole diffrent story.The problem I have with the story is that even though Aria is a slice of life, the development of the characters are pretty much limited to one chapter with the exception of the few last ones. However, having an episodic nature is also a strong point for Aria, as there are some chapters that stand to be near perfect by themselves (Chapter 49). -Characters- I don’t know what to say, they’re rather dull. -Enjoyment- Aria is pretty much a “YKK for newbies”. That being said, it’s one of the most enjoyable manga I have read. |
WilioAug 15, 2010 7:12 PM
| -Fixing- |
| Quickly reminder : the manga is up for spotlight to whoever didn't read it. |
| -Fixing- |
Wilio said: The question is whether a manga like Aria should really be read in a single week. I'm pretty sure it's the sort of series you should take you time with, isn't it? Trying to rush people through it will probably just make more no votes.Quickly reminder : the manga is up for spotlight to whoever didn't read it. |
Current FAL Ranking + Previous best::  [ |
FOEbulous-max said: Wilio said: The question is whether a manga like Aria should really be read in a single week. I'm pretty sure it's the sort of series you should take you time with, isn't it? Trying to rush people through it will probably just make more no votes.Quickly reminder : the manga is up for spotlight to whoever didn't read it. They can't vote no if they didn't read it. + 1 week is more than enough to read the minimum requirement and a bit over. There's no need to rush to the finish. |
| -Fixing- |
| I could blast ARIA all day long for its excessively saccharine romantism and its shortcomings in characterization. Yes, I'm bitter against the author since her style kept the series from achieving what I believe to be its maximum potential (i.e. possibly on par with YKK). Despite that, I'll be voting "yes" because I couldn't think of a better manga to recommend to younger readers (ages 8-16). All this spoonfed concentrated sugary sweetness would kill us jaded diabetics, but I imagine it would go well with the enthusiasm and simplicity of youth. Pretty drawings, uncomplicated characters, and enough optimism to keep the citizens of North Korea happy. |
FOEbulous-max said: Wilio said: The question is whether a manga like Aria should really be read in a single week. I'm pretty sure it's the sort of series you should take you time with, isn't it? Trying to rush people through it will probably just make more no votes.Quickly reminder : the manga is up for spotlight to whoever didn't read it. I really wouldn't be so sure. I just came out of blitzing through the latter 40 chapters of this series, expecting to love it, and I did in fact end up loving it. I will admit that slice-of-life is one of my favorite genres. In short, don't be afraid of reading more than a few chapters a day if those chapters were enjoyable. Do stop if it starts to get even a little boring. That is when you need a breather. Yuunagi said: I could blast ARIA all day long for its excessively saccharine romantism and its shortcomings in characterization. Yes, I'm bitter against the author since her style kept the series from achieving what I believe to be its maximum potential (i.e. possibly on par with YKK). Despite that, I'll be voting "yes" because I couldn't think of a better manga to recommend to younger readers (ages 8-16). All this spoonfed concentrated sugary sweetness would kill us jaded diabetics, but I imagine it would go well with the enthusiasm and simplicity of youth. Pretty drawings, uncomplicated characters, and enough optimism to keep the citizens of North Korea happy. Honestly, I found overly idyllic, idealistic, and optimistic storytelling to be this series' strongest point. As a person with an excessively negative outlook on life, I felt like each chapter was taking a deep, invigorating breath of warm, fresh air. It was cold in my room when I was reading this manga, yet I did not bother putting on extra layers because each chapter would fill my body with fuzzy feeling that would warm it from the inside. It is true that the characters in Aria do not share the same amount of depth as characters from other acclaimed works. But would Aria benefit from additional character depth? I think not. An important trait in Aria is the minimal amount of conflict in the series; giving the characters unnecessary back stories could lead to cumbersome drama and fights uncharacteristic of a soothing manga. Also, the characters don't really fall short on growth; each life lesson a character learns in could be considered a small amount of growth. Now I haven't read YKK, so I can't make direct comparisons, but I have seen many slice-of-life anime and manga and can confidently state that Aria does an exceptional job constructing a world that completely entrances and engages the reader and fills it with simple but enjoyable characters. The characters are not complex because they are not defined by their internal struggles, but by their external interactions with the fantastic world that surrounds them. Finally, saying this manga can be enjoyed by enthusiastic and simplistic youths honestly befuddles me endlessly. Sure people who can easily relate to and sympathize with the characters may find Aria enjoyable, but they wouldn't be the only ones. Really any person of any age group and any mentality could enjoy any manga for any reason. Of course there are trends and tendencies in the data, but they are just generalizations, not strict categorizations. That said, a large number of people may enjoy this series because it provides solace to them from the fast-paced and cruel onset of reality. The completely fictionalized setting and the presence of characters of all ages helps make Aria appealing to a wider range of ages and demographics. @Yuunagi Addressing your attitude towards the series, it would be quite presumptuous of me to assign you a mental outlook based merely on reading your passage. Therefore, I will ask instead: what mental outlooks/paradigms do you believe you possess that causes you to consider yourself a jaded diabetic in the face of saccharine romanticism? |
ExkalamityDec 10, 2011 3:21 PM
 |
Exkalamity said: That's possibly its best and its worst aspect. Through the characters, the author encourages people to savor the little joys of life. That's fine and dandy. The problem is that she constructed an idealized utopian setting that resembles Disneyland rather than real life. There's a level of disparity between my world and Aqua which prevents me from taking the characters' views seriously enough. Exacerbating this is a lead protagonist who seems to be incapable of being pessimistic and an entire cast which seems incapable of regret.Aria does an exceptional job constructing a world that completely entrances and engages the reader and fills it with simple but enjoyable characters. Simply put, it feels too goody two-shoes to the point that it challenges my willingness to suspend disbelief. Contrast this with the works of Amano Kozue's contemporaries. Mangaka Azuma Kiyohiko implies a similar message, but he utilizes a less predictable cast in a far more believable setting in Yotsuba&!. Ashinano Hitoshi also presents an idyllic world in Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou, but he's careful to temper it with subtle and occasionally bittersweet insights. ARIA is indeed a "wonderful" series, but it's uniformity, redundancy, and lack of contrast keep me from enjoying it as much as I do the previously mentioned examples. |
YuunagiDec 14, 2011 9:29 AM
| Differences with anime apart. It was a good read as well when I read the manga I could understand better the background of the series. Possibly one of the most enjoyable sleeves. But I think it was a good anime adaptation, and the soundtrack that is unforgettable. I feel a little sorry that the first season has a very low score. In the 3 seasons, the first is the weakest, but what you expect, if it was the introduction to everything. This series is one of those where the design can be deceiving. A series, a slice of life, full of female characters with a design "Moe". But is the background of the series, what makes it special. Moe design of female characters should not always be a bias for all series. I do not like the comparison, almost always made between Aria and YKK. They are somewhat similar, and a good recommendation if you want to continue a show like one. But, Arias is Aria. And YKK is YKK. But well, that exaggerated sugary environment in Aria, I suppose was the reason I enjoy it a bit more than YKK. |
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