So, how is it different? Well, there's a definite potential for them to do things with romance that never really existed in Aria at all. Fans were happy to ship Akari with Akatsuki, and some attraction crept in between Al and Aika near the end, but really, the three central characters were girls, and the story was very much focused on them. On the other hand, the two central characters of Ikoku Meiro no Croisee are very clearly a single guy and a single girl, with all the potential angst that comes with that. Frankly, I'm rather hoping they don't do anything along those lines. As I get older, I find the usual pattern of a guy and a girl who get together at the end of the series increasingly frustrating; I always find the relationship itself more interesting than the lead-up. In any case, the angst that comes with romance inevitably detracts from the relaxing atmosphere that a healing series is trying to create. But I'll reserve judgement on that for now; it isn't clear where they're going with the two central characters yet.
What has it done well so far? Well, the best thing about it is the amount of scope they've given themselves for character growth. Aria had character growth, but only very slow, gradual growth. With the possible exception of Alice, all the Aria characters mostly finished the way they started: perfect. On the other hand, the two (three? I imagine Alice will become a major character pretty soon) central characters of Ikoku Meiro no Croisee are clearly well-meaning but imperfect, and still find it pretty difficult to relate to each other. Changing the characters as the series goes on could add a really interesting extra dimension.
And could it be better than Aria? Well, call me premature, but I'm going to go ahead and say probably not. Aria was the best because Aria was the first. Both the characters and the setting were incredibly original, and this gave the author unlimited scope for what they could do with it. You could tell that Aria had ideas absolutely spilling out of it, and every single one is fresh and new and unexpected. Ikoku Meiro no Croisee is going to have to work very hard to both improve on it and be original, and I don't think it's going to manage it. It's possible I'll be eating my words. The first time I watched Aria the Animation, it didn't make it into my top ten series of all time - it was only by the time that I had finished The Natural that it reached that level, and only by the end of The Origination that I considered it my second favourite series of all time.
So, I'll give Ikoku Meiro no Croisee time, and I'm pretty sure I'll continue to enjoy it (because I definitely did enjoy the first three episodes). I don't think it will top Aria, but I will watch with interest. It's the first time I've seen a really concerted effort to copy what Aria did so directly, and it does a pretty good job of that, but what will be even more interesting is if it finds any ways to improve on Aria (even if it can't be better as a whole). I can certainly recommend what I've seen so far to other fans of Aria, but probably not to anyone else.
(Original: http://james-neve.com/post/Ikoku+Meiro+no+Croisee+Another+Aria/39/ )
