Straight off the trail of re-watching (for the third time) the classic Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood series; an anime with a brilliantly told story and perfect ending to boot, I was left in nothing short of a dilemma.
I had hit the 'Anime Void' where I finish an anime so great that I needed a few days to let it soak in.
During this time, a friend recommended to me that I watch a 'calming', 'relaxing' and 'masterfully crafted' slice-of-life anime that goes simply by the name 'ARIA'.
What was so special about it? Why this heavily unacknowledged show out of all of the anime in its genre? Well, that's what I'm about to share with you guys; and as a personal apology for not writing any reviews in what feels like two years, I will be reviewing not only one season, but the entire story; comprised of three seasons (Animation, Natural and Origination respectively) as well as the Arietta OVA.
Story:
Roughly 160 years from the present humans have emigrated and colonised the now entirely aquatic Mars (known simply as 'Aqua' in the series). Here, a small, tranquil town called Neo-Venezia - a 1:1 replica of Earth's 'Venice' - snugly embraces the daily lives of people who want to make the world a better place simply by playing their small part.
Within Neo-Venezia are three Gondola companies; Orange Planet, Himeya, and the presumably smallest, newest company - Aria.
Each story is completely episodic, following the lives of Undines-in-training Akari Mizunashi, Alice Carroll and Aiko Granzchesta as they begin to understand what it takes to become a full-fledged Undine like their three mentors - whilst also learning just how beautiful the world around them is if they look at things in a different light.
Whilst episodic in nature, I feel that each occurrence in every episode stands to grow the characters that little bit more, and help you get attached to them piece by piece. We all know how annoying it is when a character feels shoe-horned in, or when something sad happens to a character that wasn't developed well enough. I'm delighted to announce that, that isn't the case for Aria. Every episode succeeded in it's job of healing me after a long day, making me relaxed and whatnot, whilst also VERY slowly immersing me deeper and deeper into the world they were trying to create.
Even though any semblance of an overarching story doesn't become apparent until the third season, the stand-alone stories (and occasionally, minor arcs of 2-4 episodes) are just as impactful as arcs that take 12-50 episodes to tell in other anime.
Art:
I believe there was a 3 year time period between the beginning and 'finale' of the show's run; and it certainly shows just how companies don't necessarily get it right but build on the positives and fix the negatives.
With the first season airing in 2005, it had the similar art style to many shows coming out in that pre-07 era, and let me tell you, the early-mid 2000's wasn't a good time for character designs.
The design isn't an issue to some, but for some reason the way Alice's eyes were drawn reminded me of the shaded, faux-realistic faces from Bible Black, and that is NOT a comparison I will ever want to make again *eats soap*.
As time progressed though, it fixed itself, either they changed the character designs or improved the backgrounds to the point where I just stopped caring. The scenery is permanently tranquil, filled with thick yellows, shimmering blues and vibrant reds during Autumn, Spring and Summer, but solely capitalized on the simplicity of white during Winter. At no point was I ever not at peace looking at the visuals. I'm no animator, either, but I really like how they animated the water. In this anime, the water is something they flat-out needed to get right; a nice thin CG wave texture covering the foreground to add shimmer and glow to each scene.
Sound:
Though not fluent in Japanese, I was impressed with how the VAs managed to keep a relaxing vibe even during the semi-dramatic scenes.
The music, however, is what made this show what it is. A combination of Yui Makino's soft voice for most-if-not-all of the opening songs, partnered with the studio's thematic choice of European-inspired instruments and melodies served to really immerse you in this peaceful world.
If one thing in the sound department deserves any kind of special praise, though, its Eri Kawai's composition of the song 'Barcarolle'. This song serves as the music sung by the character 'Athena Glory' - a character praised for her singing ability - so they needed to get it right, and they did. I'm not sure if it was sung by Kawai-san or Kawakami-san (Athena's VA), but either way, they did an outstanding job.
Character:
This is a section that I really could go on forever, but i'll try to keep it neat for you guys' sake. Each of the 9 main characters that are explored in the show - barring one - are given the perfect amount of screen time to develop their character. Now obviously the main focus goes to Akari, Aiko and Alice, as they are the characters who still need to develop in their journey to become a 'Prima' - essentially the top 'rank' most people can accomplish in the Gondola business. Though that's not to say that there isn't a rich cast of, I guess 'side' characters that this show has to offer. The mentors Alicia Florence, Akira E. Ferrari and Athena Glory are seen as the best of the best in the industry, critically acclaimed and universally dubbed as 'The Three Great Water Fairies', so naturally they also need to not only be shown to be special at what they do, but they also need to be shown as human. They need to be shown as characters that might have had a rough time growing up, or becoming a Prima. Akira's back story in particular is especially heart-wrenching but equally beautiful as we find out her emotional struggle to accept the fact she doesn't have Alicia's grace or Athena's iconic singing talent, and how much extra hard work she put in to still stand side-by-side with them.
Unfortunately, Athena never gets much screen time until the third season, which is a shame, because I think that her clumsiness, as well as how she tutors Alice could have been explored in place of some one-off, less interesting episodes.
Believe it or not, though, there ARE male characters in the show, but only two of note; Akatsuki, the self-proclaimed 'Protector' of Aqua, and Al, the love-interest of one of the Undines and a Gnome; the name given to people who work underground to make sure the gravity is stable (it never really goes into detail).
Finally there is the character 'Grandma', the founder of Aria Company and sweetest woman known to man - both in fiction and reality. She is seen as the pinnacle of what an Undine is, and respected by damn near everyone in the town; her story is delved into I believe in the third season, and it ties in nicely to the inevitable conclusion.
Enjoyment:
10 out of 10, no qualms, no buts. It's the closest to perfect I think an anime can get. After finishing the first season, I was hooked, but I was never even considering it to come anywhere near my Top 10, never mind my Top 5. As soon as the second season finished, it was toe-to-toe with my then favourite anime of all time, Maison Ikkoku. And when I finally said goodbye to them at the end of the third season, tears fell, but it's place in my hear risen.
Never before have I been so attached to a fictional world, never have I actually not wanted a show to end, never have I cried at an anime. It was a first for me in a lot of departments.
As cheesy as some of Akari's lines may be at times, it really is as beautiful as she says it is, it taught me a lot of morals, but if any moral was to be delivered to me harder than the others, it's the final one of the show; people may leave you, they may not come back, but as soon as your eyes open of a morning, the day needs to be welcomed with a warm smile.
If I had ANY problem with the show AT. ALL. it's the ending.
Don't get me wrong, 99.9% of the ending was perfection, the last two tear-jerking episodes were as beautiful emotionally as they were visually and the song 'Yokogao' placed in JUST the right moment saw enough tears to fall from my eyes to replicate Neo-Venezia ten times over.
I just can't shrug off that 0.1% though. Without giving spoilers (and people who have already seen the show may know what I'm talking about) but towards the end, Alicia announces two things to Akari at the end of the episode. One of these things is adapted on and makes for a beautiful finale, but the other feels shoe-horned in to create more 'drama' I guess. There was no resolution, and to be honest, if it wasn't there at all it wouldn't have changed a thing, if it was explained I would be okay, but it wasn't, so I'm mad! (I'm not).
Overall:
Just watch it.
Aria is a tough sell to almost any anime fan nowadays;
"Hey you should watch Aria."
"Well, what's it about?"
"Like... Boats n' stuff..."
"I'll pass."
Is normally the gist of how it goes, but if you can find the time to give this underappreciated masterpiece a chance, I'm positive that, even if you find it 'slow' or 'boring', it can at least make you feel better for the period of time you watch it.
I'd also like to give a special mention to Athena's VA, Tomoko Kawakami, you did a beautiful job and I wouldn't have chosen anyone else for the role. May you rest in peace.
