ARIA

[Kraco]

Alreydy watched up to 12...

Uhhumh. You say you disagree with me completely, but I don't disagree with what you wrote there. Nor do I see how it conflicts with what I wrote. I said it was a smart move to make Alice so young a Prima, in the younger company. Alice pretty much is a young genius. If she had taken much younger, much of what makes her special would have been lost. While there's no question of her skills, she's still a bit immature. However, experience and age will sort that out and nothing else so it would be no basis for not promoting her already; further training wouldn't really do much difference.

Aika is already older than Alice, and for all we know she might be old enough to be a Prima anyway, normally. I said she needed to be really ready before becoming one, and not like Alice who obviously is meant to still learn a lot while doing it (she's so young). And obviously we saw exactly why: Aika was moved to administration right away. That's a place where you need to know the stuff already and not just learn anymore along the way.

And last but not least, I said Akari was the one that could have become a Prima arbitrarily at any point. She might be a genius after a fashion by her own right, but otherwise she had no burden on her shoulders. She's not a publicly rumoured prodigy like Alice, she's not a heiress (well, she is but not literally like Aika), and furthermore she's in a company that's not really trying to compete in the big business. So, her promotion was only up to her skills and attitude and whenever Alicia decided to have her exam, with no external pressure of any kind as such.

All in all I think this whole promotion issue was a complicated thing. Basically there was no real reason for them to compete who gets rid of the gloves first. They worked for different companies. However, they are humans and so "losing" surely can frustrate. And furthermore, their instructors had been in a similar situation and very well knew what was going on. I think it wasn't easy for them, either. I haven't yet seen the last ep, but I think the three Fairies must have considered not only the technical formalities of the promotion and the situation of their own companies but also the situation of those three friends and what it would mean if one of them suddenly got promoted, the other two left behind. In that sense I was a little surprised it took months for Aika and Akari to graduate after Alice. That being said the fact the last two were promoted so close to each other made perfect sense.

[Ryllharu]

Given that you've caught up to eps 12, I guess there's not a lot I have to elaborate upon. Now that I look at it, my, "completely disagree" was too strong. I was countering your assessment of Aria Company and my perceived view that you didn't think Aika was ready at the time Alice was promoted.

But there really was no competition (even a friendly one), no envy, and by this time, no frustration. Now that you've seen up to 12, I can elaborate a bit more in regards to Aika. As we saw in both the flashback earlier this season and again in episode 11, Akira thought Aika would feel really bad about not being able to be promoted before Alice. As if she was somehow not ready. That's all because Akira felt inadequate when not only Alicia, but Athena were both promoted over her, despite her having joined an Undine company the earliest. Very similar to what we saw with Anzu and Atora, but those two had actually failed.

But Aika didn't really care at all. As 11 showed, it only fired her up more, and Akira realized how wrong she was about her apprentice. Aika may have been a little whiny, but she was already the Queen of Himeya. Her demeanor was set to run the company whenever.

I was a little surprised that Aika's exam was brushed off so simply.

But the part I really enjoyed was Alice's little lonely moment. The three had spent nearly every hour of every day with each other, and as they get promoted, there would be less time to spend with each other. Alice really doesn't have any friends her age, she only has Aika and Akari. So she got loneliest the fastest. Sort of an accelerated maturity.

However, this is where we can finally see why ARIA is such a great series. All these previously isolated moments and events in episodes begin to converge. All the way back to the end of season 1, Akari cried when she imagined that she, Alice and Aika wouldn't see much of each other when they were Primas, after hearing about Alicia, Athena and Akira's past. The three Water Fairies did not get a great deal of time to see each other.

Jump back to episode 11, and just as Alice is about to break down and not take it anymore, Akari has grabbed Aika and some bananas and headed over just to see her. Akari already felt that loneliness hearing the story two years ago, so when the time came, she was completely prepared to ensure that that didn't happen.


Once you watch episode 13, I can elaborate a little bit more on my words about Akari, and what I felt when I watched it that seemed to justify everything I had thought about episode 4, 10, and the flashback from Grandma in regards to Akari. What was nice is that ARIA actually brought everything together.

[Kraco]

Once you watch episode 13, I can elaborate a little bit more on my words about Akari, and what I felt when I watched it that seemed to justify everything I had thought about episode 4, 10, and the flashback from Grandma in regards to Akari. What was nice is that ARIA actually brought everything together.

I don't know what you are going to say, but I didn't buy Alicia's confession that she didn't promote Akari a long time ago simply because of selfishness. I think the prime reason was that she was also alone, in a company with not that much mechanised traditions of promotions, and not so clear company goals. Of course she had her own plans and executed them finally very swiftly, but before that I think she was just as unsure as Akari of what she should be doing, and ended up doing nothing. However, even if she chose to do nothing, she still did a huge favour to Akari by not leaving her alone even sooner.

It was a very good series, from the beginning till the end. Strong last eps, for sure. The last scene of course didn't surprise me in the slightest, it was so given, but it was good to have there nonetheless.

Fortunately the last eps also had some Akatsuki. I was missing that crazy bastard already. And it looks like he shifted his fanboyism from Alicia to Akari now that he lost the former for good.

As an added bonus we learned where Akari lived on Manhome before moving to Aqua...

[Ryllharu]

Reverse Finland?

Tectonic plate shift? Heh. While it's a nice thought, I always had the impression she was from...Japan. Given her name, her occasional remarks about how high-tech everything was in her part of Manhome, that's all that ever made sense to me.

Frankly, I don't buy the Alicia's reasoning either. I think she was afraid. The same way Akari was running and opening the business without her. Alicia was afraid of leaving Akari alone, and afraid of leaving the life she was obviously fond of for a new life of relative uncertainty. Marriage, more responsibilities, a very important person in the industry she would leave behind, etc. Was it completely about spending more time with Akari? No, but that was at least a little part of it.

As for the epilogue, I think it established that Akari became very prominent in the world of Undines. I liked the new, extremely complicated hair cut. I would have liked to see how Alice and Aika looked too.

All in all though, the series ended in a very predictable, but utterly relaxing way. ARIA will undoubtedly go down as one of my favorite series, if not the one.

Now to wait for the dvd box sets and the manga...

[Kraco]

Just when we thought it's over, there's always one more time!

Episode 5.5 - DnD

It's a DVD extra episode.


- - - - - - -



Edit: A jolly good ep! Just as good as the actual aired episodes. It centered around Akari but also had lots of Akatsuki, which suits me fine since I considered the dude a funny character and quite essential in the otherwise so female filled cast. Also, the end very nicely foreshadows what I said in my previous post about Akatsuki shifting his attention from Alicia to Akari.

[Kraco]

A few of Picture Dramas to alleviate withdrawal symptoms:

Picture Drama 1 - BSS
Picture Drama 2 - BSS
Picture Drama 3 - BSS

Edit: Third picture drama added.

[shinta|hikari]

I've been watching Aria, and I am up to the 2nd season. Does this have any romance at all? Like with the salamander dude? I am enjoying it without romance so far, but I want to know if I should expect anything, as Kraco's sig might suggest. (Winks at Kraco and Ryll to get some decent feedback)

[Kraco]

If you want to spoil yourself, go right ahead.

It has a strong premise for a romance between two characters (Aika & Al), but it's not like that much happened, even if it's clear enough those two like each other.

My sig, while it's based on screenshots, is more wishful than concrete, unfortunately. They would have made such a jolly good pair. If they actually do in the future, it was never shown in the anime.

[Ryllharu]

NECRO POST!

ARIA- The Avvenire has concluded, and with it, ARIA as a whole.

ARIA - The Avvenire 01 [Vivid]
ARIA - The Avvenire 02 [Doremi]
ARIA - The Avvenire 03 [Doremi]


This third episode was especially bittersweet. I will openly admit that I cried a bit when the Kawai Eri (Athena's singing vocalist, who died in 2008) started that final song...and again when they had the Athena flashback where she turned Alice from a Pair to a Prima (as Kawakami Tomoko her regular VA, who died in 2011). It was a touching moment...but of course Athena looked fabulous in her opera garb.

Full to the brim of embarrassing lines and warm moments, this is truly one of my favorite series of all time. It will be missed dearly, but I will surely buy the bluray box sets when they are all available in the US.

Avvenire: 8 out of 10

Franchise: 10 out of 10. Masterpiece.

[shinta|hikari]

There's an episode 3! Watching and will comment.

[Kraco]

Full to the brim of embarrassing lines and warm moments, this is truly one of my favorite series of all time.

The third Avvenire episode really was full of embarrassing lines. Fortunately Aika was there to forbid them, otherwise it would have been too much.

I'd have liked to see something suggesting Salamander was with Akari, but I guess it can't be helped. This story was never even 1% about romance, after all, even if it did have romanticism.