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| Haha Akatsuki seems like amazing guy. Enjoying the series so far! And OST is sooo good. These guitar songs are so relaxing. |
| "Even when our eyes are closed, there's a whole world out there, that lives outside of ourselves and our dreams." |
Hazuk4shii said: Seriously why every character's name starts with 'A' ? .. It's confusing. Indeed it is. I suppose they simply decided that everyone's name should start with the same letter as the title. |
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RUN-GFB said: To those annoyed by Akari's statements: Don't expect it to end anytime soon. That's just a part of her character. At least we have Aika to keep her in check, lol. Annoyed, seriously? :D She is great. And this world is amazing. |
| Dub = fake crap. Always. |
| Great episode again. I love how chill this anime is lol. Alice was cute. Lol at ever characters names starting with A. |
| Smiling Alice is so cute.. and lovely xD I can already imagine the conversation of Alice & Aika Alice said something sweet & embarrassing "Embarrassing remarks aren't allowed!" xD |
"Signature removed"   |
| Another kawaii girl appears. |
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| It's time for some more gratuitous "analysis" no one asked for! |
LeeTailorMar 27, 2017 7:46 AM
| What an entrance for a character. The fact that a character has just been introduced then instantly got development in the second half of an episode doesn't work out well all the time, since it may cause some confusion and feel rushed, and of course, a bit of pretense. However, this episode doesn't fall into such case, in fact, it far more surpassed my expectation for the show ever since the beginning. At first glance, Alice appeared to us viewers and the 2 other girls to be adept at rowing Gondola, despite her status as being a pair. Still, one of the most common rules of introducing a genius character is "with great power talent comes great responsibility arrogance", and Alice is no exception. While, objectively, she seems to be disrespecting her senior through her attitude, I personally think there's no problem with that. You can't force your opinion on someone, she has the right to do what she wants and she has always been ready to pay the price: being a loner, isolated. She doesn't want to make friend and earn respect for being humble, as it feels forced and fake. Furthermore, she is fully aware of her situation, yet decided to stay true to herself. That said, she does possess some intriguing trait like being skeptical of many things around her, like how she didn't fully fall for Akari's smile. And just as I thought she's going to be like this for the rest of the show (well it's a slice of life show so development is little to non-existence, at least that is what I thought), she immediately surprises me in the mid and final part of this episode. After her first encounter with Akari, Alice must have been suspicious of her carefree and cheerful nature, I meant, even I feel like Akari is just faking her smile all the time, but it turns out to be something completely on the opposite and perhaps, a wonderful "gift" for Alice. As the episode progresses, Alice begins to doubt her own opinion on Akari a moment ago, thus developing a curiosity towards Akari's smile. She thought Akari was just being polite to Akatsuki after being teased, but the truth is far simpler than she thought. since Alice is the type who stands up and voice back her opinion, disregarding the cost it might cause to other, she can't understand Akari that easily. Step by step, she gradually unravels the secret behind the female protagonist of the show, what makes her so cheerful all the time, why isn't she ever feel irritated, and so the young girl discovered a new lesson in life: that is to follow the current, become one with the wind and you can practically enjoy everything in the world (and this is perhaps one of the main themes of Aria as well). I really love the moment when the bell from the church rang as Alice realized the secret behind Akari's smile. It's just simply magnificent: a wake-up call, indirectly from Akari and probably from Neo-Venezia as well, telling her to stop being dubious of life and start being optimistic. And the conclude the episode, Hal Film Maker gave us a very splendid view of Neo-Venzila from above, through the view of the 2 girls. This just can't get any better. Not only do we get a new character and her development, but we also get a new and extended look of the world setting, thus enhancing the show. To sum up, this episode is a great introduction to a new character but not without some "exploration". The pacing is awesome as usual, slow but effectively taken care of by the breathtaking landscape and enriched dialogue. Sound and music used are well-timed and fitting as ever. If there's anything to complain is perhaps it ended too soon, I just want more of it XD. 5/5 |
 Piazza San Marco, beautiful as I remember from architectural books and photographs. Also, this episode had moments of very well animated scenes. They were interesting moments that seemed to break away from the reliance on picturesque stills. There's not many opportunities to use swift or jerky movement in Aria, at least outside of the short comedic skits. As a result, when, for example, the show had a chance to visually express Alice's expert rowing techniques, it took full advantage of it. Aria is a slow moving anime that takes its time to emphasize the smaller moments in its world, but during faster movement scenes where the world begins to pass by in a blur, the focus then turns to the characters. I find this a facinating way to switch up the episodic narrative, if just by a little as to avoid creating some jarring alteration to the show's formula. Also, I really love how Aria romanticizes technology and how the city of Neo-Venezia is fully fabricated as a fake version of Venice. It might as well be a glorified theme park, but by this careful balance of recreating the historic city with an overlay of the convenience of technology, the city is able to maintain its facade without being ashamed of not being fully authentic. In other words, they did not feel the need to directly copy and paste the city as it once was, nor did they feel the need to appear as a parody; a caricature that attempts to overemphasize quirks of the city to turn over a profit. The city is very honest, having its technologies in full view, but aesthetisized in a manner which they blend into the city. Or, rather, the city of Neo-Venezia happened to take on its own aesthetic, where it no longer leverages weight or meaning from the original city. Instead, Neo-Venezia had become its own city, possessing its own unique culture borne from a combination of classical architectural styles and new technologies. Here, it's possible to have flying spaceships, floating islands and computers along with the archaic stone paths, brick walls and clay tile roofs. There was no need to overcompensate by having robots, holograms and all manner of spacy machines around, ensuring that the viewers know that this is, in fact, the future. It makes sense actually: tourists from Earth, or Man-Home in this case, would probably be used to how technologically advanced their world is. As such, Neo-Venezia exists as a Utopian retreat, where they are able to return to a nostalgic period far removed from their contextual setting. In fact, since Aria is set in the future, it's possible for the real Venice to have experienced some drastic change to where its idealized image only existed in historic recollections. Because of this, Neo-Venezia becomes a way to experience Venice in a controlled, choreographed, idealized way where a tourist would have all the benefits of futuristic technology while having their fill of nostalgia. The nostalgia itself isn't even for Venice, as the image of Venice portrayed would probably be hundreds, if not thousands of years old. Instead, it becomes nostalgic in a sense where the slow moving atmosphere, the little inconveniences of daily living, and this sense of pristine, magical tranquility straight out of a fairy tale help people forget their troubles and live just for the moment. As a slice of life, Aria truly excels in emphasizing the smaller moments in life, and much like a tourist's visit, our watching time of a single episode is enough to get that fill of iyashikei to last for a while. |
| The old trope of one who thinks everyone else is faking their happiness and has eventually to face the truth regarding said subject. Not bad, but simply uninteresting and the major struggle in this episode is to assimilate the obvious. 3/5 |
LumsiNov 9, 2017 11:09 PM
| "How can you be amused by things that don't matter like that?" A question for all Slice of Life fans. |
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| My favourite episode so far. So soothing. Loving Akari more with every episode, and Alice is cute! |
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| I ship Akatsuki and Akari <3 |
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| Alice looks cute, I like her So we have Akari Alice Alicia and Aika interesting |
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| Dafuq is with this naming system all of the names start with an A... I had to check the page for Akira's names to not confuse it with Alice or someone else. Akira smile can make any heart mellow after a few moments with her. |
| For some reason, I expected Alice to be introduced much later, but it's actually great to meet her so early ! She's a very nice addition to the cast. For now I'm really liking this show. I was afraid to get bored, but each episode has been entertaining in its own soothing way. The Venice setting, the soundtrack, the characters... Everything is there to make you have a good and relaxing time. |
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| Comfy as always. Alice is so adorable and her blushing face melts your heart. <3 |
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| Alice is so damn adorable!!! I already like her! |
| I wonder, if other cities on the planet also function like this.. Having someone in the sky to "guard" their climate.. Well, by some scientific manipulations or something, I don't know.. Technology will probably have something, if they could terraform Mars, out of all planets, into the water planet.. |
| Pretty cool going up into a sky island like that. Solid episode. |
| This anime is so relaxing and healing. I literally couldn't stop smiling throughout the whole episode. |
| I really like Akatsuki, and I think the nickname he gave Akari is so cute! |
| "The me today will not ever make the future me to regret!" (Emily Adachi from Air Gear: Kuro no Hane to Nemuri no Mori - Break on the Sky)  |
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