Hidan no Aria AA

When they first announced a new Aria anime I assumed we might be getting a sequel to the original Hidan no Aria, Granted the original was by no means a great show but it was at least half decent. However instead of a sequel we got something called Hidan no Aria AA a spin off series that takes place around the same time.

Spin off's are normally an outcome of a surge in popularity for the main or parent show, From my viewpoint I don't really think the original Hidan no Aria was popular or even good enough to adapt a spin off but nevertheless we ... got one. Rarely do spin off's tend to surpass the original and Hidan no Aria AA is no exception to it.

Story-3

For starters Hidan no Aria AA can pretty much be watched even without seeing the original as it has no ties with it(As far as the anime is concerned), Previous knowledge of the series just gives you a little more insight into Aria's character and you'll recognize some of the older characters who make cameo appearances and of course knowledge of the Hidan no Aria world which they do explain in the beginning of AA as well.

The story is literally meh and is almost non existent for three quarters of the show, Most of the episodes are nothing but episodic Yuri fan service with most of the characters fawning over each other, When the story does get serious however it's not really anything special and to be honest it just feels like some forced plot so that the spin off can try to capture a little of the serious overtone of the original. So as far as plot goes it's nothing great honestly and it just so happens to be there for the sake of it and thus makes it very predictable as to what will happen.
Finally the fight scenes that do occur are very mediocre and some are just downright bad, By bad I mean honestly really bad.

Characters

There is a small cast of relevant characters, Akari is your main protagonist who idolizes and dreams of becoming Aria's (Original series protagonist ) apprentice shall I say, We then have her group of friends which include two girls who fawn over Akari and is the show's main yuri fan service element and a more onee-sama type character. We then have Akari's sister, Aria of course and last but not least the characters from the original that make cameo appearances.

Character Development- Weak/Stagnant

Due to Episodic/Yuri of nature of possibly the first 9 episodes none of the characters have any real development and even the little that does occur towards the end of the show is weak and dosen't really change anything or make any major difference, Predictable.

Art/Animation -10

The art is excellent and may be a major point to watch this show, The characters look really cute and the animation and backgrounds look good as well. Aria especially looks way cuter than in the original series.

Sound-7

The OP is awesome, The OST suits the series but nothing really stood out as exceptional.

Enjoyment-4

My enjoyment of the show was very limited, You could say I just dragged myself to watch it just for the sake of seeing the characters from the original series The Yuri fan service gets tedious at one point and the supposedly serious stuff that finally came I couldn't take seriously at all. None of the chracters(AA exclusive) appealed to me. The fight scenes were a joke(literally). It's funny occasionally and that's about it.

So should you watch Hidan no Aria AA?

Perhaps, If you like yuri fan service then by all means this show is for you but don't expect anything extreme. If you don't mind a weak plot/characters and just wanna watch something for boredom then you could give this try, You might enjoy it more than me but I would still recommend something else.
If you're expecting cool action/plot please look elsewhere as none of that is present here. If you're interested in seeing the Aria world/characters again then this could be worth it for you. Apart from that I don't see any other reason to recommend this to you.

Overall - 4

Hidan no Aria AA is to be honest is not worth your time and you're better off watching something else.

This title made my autumn anime season colorful. When ongoing was about to end, I realized that I waited the episodes from this anime more than from any other title. So what is Hidan no Aria AA about? Let`s make a short review.

This is alternative version of the original story. Former main character Toyama Kinji was succesfully replaced by a cute girl Akari Mamiya. This is a good example for harem anime creators: cut the male characters from the plot, add kawaii little girls and yuri atmosphere — and it`ll be much better! It was such a brave decision ... and I definately approved it.

Plot
Akari wants to become Aria`s amica (some kind of partner and trainee at the same time). Aria is not easy to talk in, so she makes Akari to clear some goals to become her amica. Clearing it and dealing with some "bad" girls, Akari goes to her dream.
Plot is pretty simple, but I think it is not important here.

Art
Average. In the first season it was better (there was J.C. Staff after all).

Sound
Seiyuu did they work well. Especially I liked Ayano Sakura, who voiced Akari. Kugimiya as Aria was good too.
Music is good, but nothing special.

Characters

They are pretty cute. Anime with only girls in the main characters are the best, everyone should take it as given. Akari is so emotional lively cute girl, and she has her own yuri harem with yuri-yandere and oujo-sama. Raika is nice character too, as well as crowding around her lolis and Kirin Shima, cute ojou-sama~rashii loli.
Riko is nice as always. Kyochikuto and her rapefacing little sister are enjoying too.

Enjoyment
Despite everything, I liked this anime so much. It was so enjoying and pleasant to see, so relaxing and warm.

To sum up
I definately recommend this title for moe and shoujo ai fanciers. It was the best title of autumn 2015 for me.

10/10

Enjoy moe and yuri. Be the real person.

Story: 5/10
The story wasn't exactly bad, but it was just leaps and bounds behind the original Hidan no Aria series with Aria as the actual heroine. The story was pretty standard for the Hidan no Aria series with our heroines fighting with the mysterious organization I-U with the cliche turn around points. The spin-off takes place in the same time period as when Aria first met Kinji, which was awfully confusing because I'm pretty sure at the time, Aria was living with Kinji and not in some fancy shmancy apartment building. I know the main focus of the series isn't on Aria, but the lack ... of Kinji in the series makes it difficult to exactly place the series time period wise.

Art & Sound: 7/10
I usually don't have very many complaints about the animation and soundtrack of anime, unless it's like painfully obviously bad. I liked the opening since it was more rock then cutsy, which is what you would expect for an anime with only girls. The animation is smooth and flows well with little impediment to the action sequences. Although when Akari does her secret move thingy, it's kind of ridiculous.

Character: 1/10
Main blow to the series, the cast of characters isn't as good as the original. Aria is way more pathetic in this series as opposed to the tsundere badass heroine that we know in the original series. She may be the "sempai" of the series, but she's too nice and too understanding. She's the heir to the Holmes family for god's sake. You have to make her more badass instead of the pansy that she is in the series. And Akari as a heroine is just too pathetic. She was suppose to be the "clumsy and useless but actually skilled" character mold, but this is just pathetic. There was zero character development and all of a sudden she just goes "Oh lol, I was actually hiding my true potential because I'm actually a trained assassin teehee" and all of a sudden her skills increase in leaps and bounds. The other cast are just plain stupid as well since we have the routine shoujo ai thing going on in an all girls anime. None of the characters really have any character development. They're all just super flat. Like SUPER flat. Plus the lack of Kinji is just painful (or just the lack of major male characters).

Enjoyment: 3/10
Kind of those "turn on and do something else" animes. I really didn't have very much motivation in watching this. Heck, the only reason I started watching this was because I thought it was the second season to Hidan no Aria and not some weird spin-off it actually was. Doesn't get me very pumped at all (unless you like little girls fighting each other with guns while looking beautiful and cute). It tried, but didn't really do the series justice.

Overall: 2/10
Definitely wouldn't recommend this to someone to watch. I'd just tell them to watch the original Hidan no Aria. Really uneventful storyline with pathetic and stupid (lack of a better word) characters that can't seem to keep their minds off sleeping with each other. I came here looking for action packed fighting scenes and left with shoujo ai lolicons getting all ichaicha together. A shame to the Hidan no Aria series.

There’s this anime I watched on Tuesdays, namely, Hidan no Aria AA. It’s literally a show about a bunch of lesbians... and they “fight.” Yet the fight scenes are seriously embarrassing! I seriously have never experienced an anime fight that made me cringe this hard until now. Actually, I probably have. This isn’t the worst thing ever, but seriously, with every passing episode, I think to myself: this is so cringey. And yet I sit there, watching the anime. Heck, I even want to watch more; I’m addicted to the cringe! Okay, not really, but I don’t mind watching another episode. Then people get pissed ... at me because I can’t sit through another episode of Shigatsu or FMA. Well, they’re pissed for good reason. The anime industry produces stuff like Hidan no Aria AA often. Why the hell am I wasting even more time on it? You could say I have bad taste... but I think HNAA is terrible. I still watched it though.

Why should you watch Hidan no Aria AA? Or rather, why did I watch it? The only thing I can reasonably defend about Hidan no Aria is its sick opening and its art style. Everything else is objectively bad. The majority of the show is the fanservice and shoujo ai aspect, and I’m not going to criticize people who enjoy the fanservice in Hidan no Aria. It’s there for a reason; I don’t necessarily mind it, but I’m not watching HNA to fap vigorously with sweat dripping down my forehead for these little kiddos. I dunno. Anyway, if people wanted to fap then there’s hentai for that. Then what is Hidan no Aria AA for? is it just there to tease the mind? Are you being blue balled? haha. That’s a joke if I’ve ever heard one.

I watched Hidan no Aria because it’s a drug. This is especially true for those who seem to be lonely, which applies to a lot of anime fans (not all, of course... I also understand that last sentence was very contentious). It supplies relationshipping very bluntly to its audience, which in its own right is very satisfying. Every character is psycho-bonkers crazy over each other. It’s downright silly. “Love” in this anime is so unrealistically forced and actually pretty random, too. It’s basically a parody on serious romantic relationships in anime. Of course, I know that’s not true; it’s not intended to be a parody. I feel like whoever made this anime/light novel was being serious with the relationships in this series. But seriously, I feel nothing! Maybe because nothing was built! And yet, I feel like I can support these relationships and feel good when they succeed. Why does this work? Think of generic harems like To-Love Ru and Nisekoi. There’s always a "best" girl, and damn when best girl gets her "moment" my heart can’t take it. Well, not really, but I get really excited. HNAA has a bunch of different relationships between moe-blobs. Literally all the characters are moe-blobs, and I think it’s adorable when they have their psychopathic tendencies. There really is no “lose” relationship happening. Think of it like a pseudo best-girl moment over and over.

But wait! what about the plot? After all, isn’t that what makes an anime good? Not necessarily. However, if you wanted to watch this anime for the action or substance of plot, all you’re going to get is a different kind of “plot.” Enjoy the moe, enjoy the moe, enjoy the moe… enjoy.

Godspeed.

**WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS**
*ALSO, PLEASE DON'T TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY EXCEPT FOR THE PARTS THAT STATE I DO MEAN TO BE SERIOUS*

I don't know how to express it, but this anime was amazing!!! A great plot that unveiled at the end of the show, the typical tsundere/yandere/ecchi involved as with the first Hidan no Aria, except with one big twist. It's about a GIRL this time!!! Hooray! Now onto the critiques!

Story - 9
As aforementioned, this story has a great "plot" which was unveiled towards the end of the anime, as per typical 1-seasons. And then you have that amazing random "final boss" in the last episode, and ... a duet between our favorite two characters: the pair of A's. Holy crap did I watch something like this before or what??

Art - 9
In all seriousness, I actually liked the art here; it seemed old-fashioned and I like reminiscing about the past art like Clannad, Detective Conan, FMA, and so on.

Sound - 9
Again, in all seriousness, I'd have to say that the sound wasn't bad at all. If I hardly noticed it, then I think it's good, because I like it subtle. And the opening... why is such a good opening used for this anime?

Character - 10
OHH YES. SHINO-CHAN!! I thought she was Shirayuki from Hidan no Aria... oh wait she IS, in a way; same yandere archetype that has an extreme desire to be with our lovely protagonist. And then the competition between her and Urara and their failed plan when they first worked together... beautiful. Also, the great "character development" for our protagonist and her sister... what kind of people are brought up happy and sane knowing how to kill again? Only in anime!

Enjoyment - 9
Seriously, I'd have to say that... parts of the show made me cringe to hell and back, just like with the first season. But it was still funny as hell so I actually liked it.

Overall - 9
In all seriousness, and again, the cringe-worthy parts made me like the anime. I also have to note that this season is very similar to the first and it seems purposeful. Here's the 2 differences between them: 1st season is a normal harem, this season is a YURI harem. Just an fyi, this is a vital fact to it, and I can't help but say so. So if you like horrible plot, horrible character development, a YURI harem, and a barrage of cringe-worthy moments, then this is the right anime for you!

10 sentence review:
This is Hidan no Aria AA's spin-off manga adaptation with completely new female lead and new characters. If you enjoyed and are a great fan of the original Aria of the Scarlet Ammo anime you would definitely enjoy this because it's made for you. Even though it's a spin-off with new, unknown characters it managed to entice me. Old jokes are recycled including all those sundries that made the first season amusing to watch (Bulletproof uniforms, parachutes out of nowhere, Reki's monologue). Old characters make cameo appearance and act as comic reliefs (I had a blast with Kinji's recurring appearance and his exchanges ... with the new lead). Aria takes the spotlight as usual and there's a visible character development in the new girl by the end. Story is episodic slice of life/action with yuri/fanservice undertones. The backgrounds look detailed, the characters well animated for a spin-off and they sound moe. The opening and ending sequences are simply amazing. Basically, I think this is what a good spin-off should look like and function: amusing, action-packed but funny and light and not-plot-less.

I don't know why many people are complaining about the AA version. I see people crying a lot about this only because it's not a sequel of the first anime.
Why would you want a sequel of the first version of this? I see people saying this is kinda 'cringe' because they're lesbians (i don't see anything wrong with it, but idk, just otakus averages being that) and ironically the first version was even more 'cringe'.

An Aria who gets shy about childish things, having a virgin protagonist and a basic trama that is even less interesting and more predectible than AA.... that's what is the ... first version of the anime.

AA not just has better characters, it improved the personality of Aria, she is much better, mature and individual in this ainme, and it's the same for the ex protagonist even if he is a secondary character here.

I defend this anime, I will give you an advice: Don't let comments from silly kids with average tastes affect your view of an anime / game.
First look at it, then justify it for yourself

So yes, Hidan no aria AA is better than the original.

Yo! i want you guys to know this is my first review so please excuse me if my review isn't good enough^^
May contain spoiler read on your own risks

Ok!, First off, When i start watching this anime. i feel kinda disappointed because the story revolves on another MC, i was expecting an Aria and kinji season T•T..soo i was thinking dropping this anime after i watched episode 1. But i also thought.. Hey why not give it a chance?,..

Soo i continued watching this anime up to the end, the main character akari mamiya has full of suprises she isn't all that bad..^^ She's like ... aria but with a different skills & ability (I won't tell her skills just watch it ok? =3). The anime is also kinda funny but still revolves on action like season 1 so u won't have trouble dozing off, Oh, and if you'll notice the events on S1 and the events in this season is like happening at the same time but with different MC soo If you already forgot the events on S1 try re-watching it to understand the story on this season a little, ok?

The main plot revolves on akari an E class butei Forcing aria an S class butei to be her amica (Amica is where an upperclass students teaching the lowerclass students) its like a mentorship, soo akari must pass aria's test.

And also... you don't have to force yourself to understand the events happening in S1 to S2 just enjoy the story on this one. U won't regret it ^^

Oh and don't worry The Chracters on the last season will still make an appearance in a few episodes but less screen time like kinji,shirayuki and also reki =3 so i hoped my review helped

So Hidan no Aria AA is bad. Let's just get that right out of the way. It just keeps getting worse, too, introducing more bad characters and concepts every episode. It's actually impressive, in a way, how it outdoes its own record for terribleness later on. The last few episodes become much darker and the transition is really jarring and poorly handled, mostly accomplished by an exposition dump. And it pulls villains out of nowhere with very little setup, making the final conflict extremely difficult to care about.

Probably the worst thing about it is that none of the characters behave like actual peeople. They're all ... ridiculous and one note. Almost everyone is obsessed with someone else and that's it. There's a bit where someone traps another girl in her house and attacks her, and then they stay friends and never really mention it again.

It's ludicrous, but it never becomes entertainingly so. It doesn't help that the premise is so cliche on top of the terrible characters. It's just kind of tedious and alienating. I don't know that there's really anything else to say about it. It's nothing new and not even well executed for what it is.

I have watched and enjoyed the first season greatly. So this spin off, it starts off as a massive lesbian humbo jumbo, because you know we take Kinji out of the picture all together with a spin off, then the plot progresses and you get a real plot in one of the late episodes. This anime is just downright awful it so awful its remarkable and I mean its making me write this review kind of bad.

Characters? freakishly obsessive girls and main girl afraid of herself.... then aria who's well aria minus the reason we liked to watch her previously.

Story? well you see with ... bad characters comes a bad story. the story bounces around idiotically never introducing a real plot and when it does introduce said plot it sucks.

Whoever created the new characters and story board should be fired and never staff another show ever again. I had great hopes after watching the first season of this anime and everything is gone.... not to mention that they never even finished the plot from season 1, episode 13.

Ok, so I recently finished Hidan No Aria the first season, and I really like it, one of my personal favorites in terms of story, action, character development, and Seeing Kinjis and Arias relationship develop. When I finished the first season I was hyped to see a second one, but all my hopes were shattered in the blink of an eye. Hidan No Aria AA is really bad in my opinion. I feel it would've been better to just start a new story altogether with new characters and a whole new action-filled story, instead they ditched continuing the plot from season 1, and gave ... us this Yuri Garbage. The story itself is plain and dry, the action scenes are very poor and the characters are quite annoying. The worst part is seeing the Old characters like Kinji and Aria, who never exchange a single word throughout the series because you want them to talk and advance their relationship. Very poor anime.

The first season of Hidan no Aria is quite under-appreciated among anime fans. Some bemoan the original series of being unoriginal and boring; mostly obtaining its sparse popularity from troll-subs resulting in people treating the original run as a joke. On the other hand, I thoroughly enjoyed the first season of Hidan no Aria for what it was. The one thing I really hated about the original run was how it ended, and an ending that felt empty and incomplete. As such, I was excited for a second season continuing what I enjoyed. This was not that. Not at all.

Despite the title of "Hidan no ... Aria", Aria is not the main protagonist. It is essentially a parallel story to the original focusing on a clumsy, underachiever named Mamiya Akari. The role Aria has is limited to a mentor role for Akari who strives to be just like Aria and is determined to become her apprentice. The show mostly revolves around the tenable relationship of Aria and Akari, Akari's circle of friends, and the mystery of Akari herself. (4)

The art style has somewhat carried over to the second season, but seems to have devalued a bit. Aria's character design remains constant from the parent season, but the animation is just not as crisp as Hidan no Aria had been. However, I am a big fan of the Tokyo Butei High School uniforms, so that gets above average marks from me. Akari's design is rather bland and has a "Kaname Madoka" vibe to it. My god did I hate her sneakers. They just looked so frumpy with the uniform. (7)

For sound, I typically break the category up between two categories: the voice acting and the music. The voice cast for this show is solid -- with recurring characters from Hidan no Aria retaining their original voices. Kugimiya Rie is so perfect for Aria, so I am glad she reprised the role. Some new characters have elite-level voice acting to provide a sense of familiarity while others have some newcomers; resulting in a nice blend of voice acting. There is also is an established familiarity with Sakura Ayane and Minase Inori playing siblings. While their characters are completely different, the sibling dynamic hearkens back to Kokoa and Chino in Gochuumon wa Usagi desu ka? However, while I love Sakura Ayane -- I really do -- I really cannot stand when she plays these perceived pathetic, "under-achiever" type characters. She has a immense talent and good range, but these characters coupled with her voice always comes off as annoying to me, which is difficult for me as I really enjoy her work most of the time. Transversely, the music for this show is average. The opening, "Bull's Eye" is a terrific track and one that is playing on my iPod quite frequently. The ending, "Pulse," performed by Kugimiya Rie and Sakura Ayane is cute and fluffy, but admittedly I wound up skipping the ED once I got to about episode 5. (7)

Character is an area where I felt the show struggled. I try to remove myself from the disappointment of this being a spin-off series from the original run and be impartial, but what made me enjoy the original run so much was the dynamics between Kinji and Aria, Kinji and Riko, the rivalry between Aria, Riko, and Hitogi; it all seemed to work for me. This season has none of that and those characters are reduced to, at best, cameo roles. Even Aria herself feels like an afterthought in this series -- her name is in the title for Pete's sake. Even Aria's combat abilities seem watered down (aside from the opening scene). Despite that, Hidan no Aria AA did very little to develop the new characters it introduced. My biggest complaint is that none of them seemed to distinguish themselves or fit in the show's setting, except besides Akari's friend Raiko. Remember, this is a show set in a school that trains students to be de facto police. Raiko was the only who seemed combat capable, while the others just seemed to be "cute-ish girls with guns." For a large portion of the show, at least. (4)

All of which leads me to my enjoyment of the show. Taking this show for what it is, it was very poor for the vast majority of the series run. I try once again to distance the original Hidan no Aria series from this series as they are two completely different shows, but by giving the show the title of Hidan no Aria AA it lends itself to comparisons and criticisms of the original. This show took everything fun, likable, and enjoyable about the original series and threw it out the window. After episode 1, where the show actually drew me in for having similar qualities to the original series, it divulged into hot garbage. The early and middle episodes came off as yuri-goggled pandering and it feels like there was at least 3 episodes revolving around one of Aria's friends trying to "get with her" -- possibly more as they are all just one large blur at this point. Even Raiko's positive character was diminished by a relationship with her apprentice and the apprentice's friends for that matter (aka the loli swarm, ugh...). The show got admittedly much better by the end of the series with the actual plot coming to fruition, an actual villain being introduced, characters receiving the MUCH needed development they needed, and feeling like a Hidan no Aria series. Doing what Butei do if you will. However, with all that awful filler in the interim, the ending came too little, too late for me to even care. (3)

Overall, while I harshly criticized the show, I still found it average. It wasn't bad enough to make me drop it, but it wasn't good enough for me to watch it faithfully every week. I'd fall weeks behind and catch up when I felt like it. A second season of Hidan no Aria just could have been so much more if it only had stuck with what made the first season enjoyable, or even continue the story and provide some much needed closure since the OVA didn't either. Instead, this show diminished whatever credibility the original had and that saddens me. The ending of the show raises its marks a bit, but it honestly felt like a slog to get there. All I will say is that if you a fan of the original, stick with that. This season only perpetuates the joke.

I didn't really consider Hidan no Aria to be a massive hit so I found myself quite off guard when I saw this on the calendar. To start, AA is not a sequel to the original Aria, but rather anther story that shares characters with the original. And let me cut to the chase on this one, unless yuri girl-girl interactions are your thing, this retelling falls short of even the original Aria, which itself isn't a particularly good show.

AA follows a group of girls one year younger than Aria's group in the first season. In particular, it follows a seemingly failure of a Butei ... named Akari who happens to have an inexplicable draw to Aria. The story revolves around her attempts to serve as Aria's apprentice as well as the various antics that her friends bring her into. Overall, I found this to be an even larger flop than the previous season four years ago. If you've watched that, you'll be disappointed with the direction that they took here. If you haven't watched that, you'll be missing so much context and otherwise meaningful cameos that you might as well skip this entirely.

Animation:
The animation in general feels lighter in mood than the original Aria; the darkest animation is probably in the OP, which I felt was inconsistent with the actual show. Otherwise, there's just a lot of lighthearted scenes of girls feeling and smelling each other in ways that... yeah. The animation is fair overall with decent lighting and coloring, but nothing particularly special. The original cast is recognizable, even if their screen time sometimes doesn't even merit them really showing up. Akari and her gang follow pretty established patterns and many of them take after someone in the original show (Kirin after Riko, Shino after Shirayuki, etc). It isn't a particularly deep show so I wouldn't expect much depth in expressions, the antagonists in particular are incredibly lacking in this regard.

There are a fair number of battle sequences in the show, but a lot of the early ones are rather pointless; the intensity is reduced when everyone is using rubber bullets and antagonists purposely miss their targets. Really, things don't get serious until the latter episodes. Even then, the battles are mostly particle spamming with Gatling guns and subpar choreography. There is also a pretty blatant inconsistency as they show a bullet go through a character and then, moments later, have another character declare that the bullet-proof school uniforms (lol) stopped all the bullets. Overall, the action is neither as intense nor as well executed as the original. As for ecchi, it's different in ways already mentioned; obsessed is an understatement in describing half the girls here.

Sound:
The show opens with a fairly forgettable light rock piece and ends with a slower but equally forgettable piece sung by the VAs. The BGM is supportive but mostly forgettable as well, I didn't recognize anything familiar from the first season.

The VA cast is undoubtedly pretty strong; they even brought in additional big names such as Yui Horie and Ai Kayano to the franchise. It's been quite awhile since I've heard Rie Kugimiya in her signature tsundere role but if you're expecting a fair number of lines from the other characters in the previous season, you'll be disappointed; Akari and her group take up the vast majority of the screen time. Aoi
Yuuki probably gets the most memorable role out of that group, as unfortunately Ai Kayano's character, Shino, is just plain creepy.

Story:
As stated above, the show mostly follows Akari and her friends hanging out and occasionally doing Butei-like things. The fact that this isn't a harem should have freed up the plot in various ways, but instead they just turned it into a yuri harem with a lot of girls going after Akari. The dark, mysterious nature of the antagonists in the previous show is all but gone and the new antagonists are rather boring and shallow.

The show follows so many established patterns that a seasoned viewer can easily guess most of the plot twists. A group of people going to battle, with each of the non-hero characters shouting "go on without me" in succession? Check. Foreshadows to a protagonist's dark past? Check. The only real contributions to the franchise here for me were the discovery that the school's restrooms are really nice (granite/marble everywhere!) and that girls have weird dreams- each episode starts with a random dream.

This show just disappointed at so many levels from execution to flow and from lack of established setting to lack of meaningful contribution to the franchise. If you can, please just skip the season.

Character:
If you liked characters from the previous season (like Riko perhaps?), forget it as none of them get any development whatsoever here. The focus is squarely on Akari's group, and to be honest each of them is inferior to their counterpart in the last season. Akari is a strong-willed but clumsy female chick-magnet, Raika is your tomboy with inner-princess dreams, Shino is a creepy but rich best friend, and Kirin is a weak and immature mini-Riko. Many of them have semblances of personality but very limited exposition. As mentioned above, the antagonists are even worse with little or no exposition and cookie-cutter personalities.

Value:
The main value of the franchise for me were twofold, the ridiculous nature of the setting and the intriguing character of Riko. In this season, they tone down the emphasis on the special nature of the setting and mostly kill off Riko's intriguing nature, almost turning her into a rather ordinary "nice" person. Thus, the show's only redeeming chance of value is through bringing up a new cast of interesting characters. Unfortunately, I didn't mesh well with the girl-girl nature of the new cast and so am left with little value to report. I guess there's a slight residual entertainment value but honestly given the amount of actually decent stuff out there, why even bother.

I watched the original series , which i gave an 8/10
it was a very enjoyable series to watch and i was sad that it ended, back then i always immediately tried to find if it would have a sequel , i didn't get the information at all so i gave up on trying to find a sequel and instead watched other animes. then years later out of nowhere this series comes out and i was like WAIT WHAT, then the opening started and i heard NaNo , which is one of my favorite singers. and the art looked better then it did before, ... so i got my hopes up. only to realize that this is a spin-off. and a horrible one at that. all the main characters are annoying in this series. i am honestly dissapointed
i am 3 episodes in as i write this review.

i rate this anime 3/10

(I was not allowed to write a first impression so i watched more episodes to adjust my review. Well life is hard)

This is my second time reviewing, and probably nobody won't see this (so ironic), but i had so much thoughts that it's such a waste to put them away.
First there are several things about Hidan no Aria AA. 1: It's just a side story, maybe even before the happenings of 1st season. 2: the studio is changed from J.C.Staff to Dogakobo. 3: many many more changes.
-Story: 6
What would you feel if the second season you're hyping turned out to be a side story? Yeah. ... Yeah.... But that means we should view this as a separate story. AA centers around Akari, a first-year who idolizes Aria. She wants to become an elite butei despite being a noob. In short, zero to hero concept.
All the familiar characters except for Aria are kicked out, or worse, become cameos (but to me it's fine). And we are introduced to a whole new cast instead. Having to accept a unwanted new story would drive anybody away, so i understand why people hate this.
-Comparison:
Fuck the rating criteria. This needs comparison.
First, the studios. DOGAKOBO SERIOUSLY? We all know Doga is a moe-studio rather than an actionpack. I don't watch enough action anime but i know this won't end well. And an anime that already have season 1 as the root? This is a disaster waiting to happen.
But, eventually, Doga did everything they could. As a half-comedy-half-action anime, investing in the action would be downright stupid for Doga. From the first episode we already see they're heading at what they're best at. Moreover, while Aria is the moe chick in season 1, this duty seems to have been moved to Akari - a new character that Doga can build however they want. If you like the comedy side of season 1, you may still be able to watch this. (And btw, yuri. Yuri everywhere)
Then, the art. The different artstyles are easily spotted even with short cameos. I wouldn't choose which is better, it's hard to choose lol. But i think the background scenery of Dogakobo is better.

So if you don't like the new story settings nor the non-action side of HnA, you should probably stop watching.

And the anime goes just as i expected.

-So in short, HnA AA is a disappointment with too many undesired changes. Objectively the highest score it could deserve is 7. But to me personally it is still enjoyable. I'll leave an 8.

Story: (6) Just like every other girl battle anime, except in a school setting where students are butei (detectives that carry a weapon). Amica are teacher-senpais to their kouhai's to give them special training and perform operations.

Art: (9)
I loved the art. It was simple but it looked beautiful. The colors were vibrant and there was much detail. Some might say its kind of old fashioned compared to the art style today, but their big eyes are the attractive point. However, I did get confused through some parts of the series since some characters had the same colored eyes and hairs.

Sound: (8)
Just like every ... other anime the sound was fine. The opening song wasn't bad, but it wasn't very memorable. Some characters do have annoying voices and others have very similar voices.

Character: (6)
Characters were not bad. Though the anime went very deep into the stories of the friends in the beginning, it did not focus on the main character's story until the very end. It got me agitated since I want to know more about the MC, rather than the relationship between the main character's friends. As well as the plot point, the character did develop, but it was very slow. She hid her abilities, but had no way to use them properly till the very end. Also I think the story has too many girls and too little boys. I'd only seen one boy interact with the MC and it was only for a short comedic scene.

Enjoyment/ Overall: (6/7)
It was quite enjoyable to see the main protagonist grow throughout the episodes, but it was very sad to see that the MC and her Amica (kind of like a teacher senpai) did not interact very much to help the MC improve. Only till the very end did they enter an operation mission together. Just one. There was also a few episodes of unnecessary relationship squabbles between girls. I would prefer if there was more action, like the anime suggested and more progress on the MC's end.

Hidan no Aria AA (2015)

Akari a girl who comes across a bit useless in the Butei academy. She has a few secrets which explain the reason behind her. She wants to be the partner of Aria so much she is willing to do whatever is needed to achieve this. She has a nice group of friends who are pushing forwards with their roles and we see some old faces and new in various funny scenarios.

The show itself was a bit of a shock from watching the main series and the OVA because Aria has been a very difficult girl who has a very up ... tight personality. I mean she took ages to fully open up and be kind with Kinji. In this one however she has a completely different personality and is like a Tsundere older sister type. It didn't feel right to begin with in the first few episodes. It nearly made me drop the set but I held on. After a few episodes when you get used to the pace of the change it turns into a show as good as the original if not better.

The art is exactly the same as the main series and is a good standard with plenty of scenes to keep you satisfied that are done nicely.

The OP and ED are great. The action scenes and voices are also very well done. Gun shots are great for example and play nicely.

Characters are developed very well. You almost have to re learn some of the Aria facts due to her personality flip in this one. Of the old characters that we saw we get so much more of Hina Fuuma. For me she is the best character personally but that is because of her personality and how she is. She is a great example of someone that was barely mentioned before but gets a whole development more than I expected. Especially when you consider her relationship to Kinji.

We get nice new crossovers of characters with similar personalities as for example Shirayuki Hotogi (Himiko (real name) who is crazy for Kinji to a full on Yandere style is featured being very close to Shino Sasaki who is her reflection but for Akari. Both of them when they interact especially around the water park episode make for a fun pair.

The show as stated originally was a bit of a difficult one to enjoy initially. But if I am honest the Aria personality in this version is actually better overall. Akari is a character you can love very easily with her personality.
Even the villians have a nice development and they are likable. If Hidan no Aria AA had another season it would have been great to see yet more villians forced into being students like we saw in the first series. Letting them be normal people away from their evil intention. Momoko Suzuki (Kyouchikutou) is actually a nice girl who is just ruined by her family and their traditions. It would have been great to see her come as a love interest and/or a more normal character like Jeanne d'Arc who had a full 180 on her way. Her sister too would have been great to see. Can see her being pretty chilled out most of the time with potato chips.

This makes for the show to be good. It could have been great but it is so different from the main series that it is slightly tarnished. If it had continued it would be a solid 9 because it would have felt as a better story to play out with. Definitely worth a watch.

This anime well the second season of hidan no aria was alright, i rlly love the art style it was nice and it rlly kept to the original.

But what i really didnt like is that the story literally drifts from what hidan no aria also i havent read the manga so idk what happens there but like some of the characters the new ones who were o find it was abjt stupid, im ok with havung akari in the story n all gives the new season a new path but most of the anime was filler, and it was moslty about how much all the ... other characters loved akari this isnt hidan no aria this more like my love triangle with akari mamiya thats what the tittle should be.

Like where are the murders the bus hijaking, solving cases thats what hidan no aira primarely is about this more slice of life than anything as much as yes i did like the love triangle wid akari and the rest it was pretty funny it drifting off of what hidan no aria is about when i saw the second season at first i asdumed hey were gonna habe a continuity of last season sure the 1st season was ok but it got better was p good to watch i loved the cases dint love the ecchi scenes as much but hey it was p cool also i rlly thought wed get to see aria and kinji togrther fighting, and orobably would have akari learning from them, and learning whst id butei why are student being targeted like that u know who is the supposed I-U.

But instead we get a bunch of lolis rlly the other loli support characters is just they shouldnt even be there, also sure akari was e rank and became d tank but kinji was as well and they did say it didnt mean anything kinji chose to have a low ranking cuz he dint rlly care for the systeam that doesnt mean he was bad at all so overall sure the show was enjoyable but to me that wasnt what the show was about we dint have many episodes where we got pure action so im rather disapointed it was enjoyable overall but like it dissapoints me what happened to season 2 after season 1

Alright Here's how it is the first season absolute masterpiece but then you come to this season and its totally different there's hardly a real story that keeps you engaged and it feels as though instead of having a show of students that catch criminals this season is all about Gay love and Women empowerment not saying it bad of course but when going from the first season that actiony and has actual good romance you come to this and it's just a meh so honestly if your reading reviews first before watching I'd recommend skipping this season if you want to hold the good ... memories

I watched Hidan no Aria and its spinoff series Hidan no Aria AA. Thoughts on both series provided below.

Hidan no Aria:
I remember some of the action scenes were kind of cool. Art style was bland but the animation was okay. The OP and ED songs were both great.

Otherwise it was complete trash. I mean literally textbook garbage as far as the medium goes. All the things that people say they hate about anime? This series exemplifies most of them. It's an action harem series where the main character gets power ups by becoming sexually aroused. I can enjoy/tolerate a ton of otaku pandering, but this ... show was trash even by my very low standards. The plot was also completely ridiculous and involved one of the female characters being the descendant of Sherlock Holmes or something. The characters were 'elite' crime-fighting highschool students (of course) with bulletproof school uniforms. I have nothing against ridiculous stories/premises either, don't get the wrong idea; this anime was just simply terrible.

Anyway, I somehow watched every episode. When I was finished I rated it 2/10.

It should be noted that I watched the original series sometime around 4 years ago, so it's possible that, unbeknownst to me, I'm forgetting important details or that my tastes have changed over time (this is why I write my thoughts down now). That said though, I distinctly remember this particular anime as being one of the most ridiculously bad shows I ever actually watched to completion.


Hidan no Aria AA:
This is basically a yuri spinoff with a girl replacing the self-insert male MC of the original series. I will watch pretty much anything with yuri in it and this is no exception. This spinoff is made by Doga Kobo instead of J.C. Staff who made the original series.

This spinoff is just as cheesy as the original, albeit in a more endearing way due to the all-female cast and softer tone. Again, the art style is bland but the animation is okay. I like both the OP and ED songs, although the actual OST is totally forgettable. Both this and the original series have a yandere character whose antics are kind of funny. There are plenty of cute girl-girl moments. This spinoff is cuter than the comparatively more-ecchi original series.

Despite the negativity expressed thus far, this spinoff wasn't completely awful. The plot is totally (endearingly?) corny, and at least it is coherent and not rushed. The characters aren't great, but they're not unlikable either. Actually, I would say character interaction is a (relatively) strong aspect of this anime. The senpai-kouhai relations are super cute. Additionally, the yuri elements combined with the combat action theme is at least somewhat unique and at times enjoyable.

For me, the spinoff is within the threshold of 'so bad it's good' territory, whereas the original series is beyond any kind of redemption.

Actually, this spinoff is pretty funny as well. There are a lot of comedic scenes, mostly revolving around yuri fanservice.

I like Aria's hairstyle. Twintails are pretty! I liked Aria's personality a lot more in the spinoff too. Wow Aria is such a cool senpai!!

Rating for the spinoff Hidan no Aria AA: 5/10
It was adequate shut-my-brain-off-and-drool-at-the-screen material.