"Aria: The Animation" to Me = "Portal" to "Zero Punctuation"

Thursday February 2, 2012 at 08:12 am by AgeTyree

Ok, I NEED to get this off my chess and post it here before I forget, and since I can discuss Non-Funimation titles here, this would be the perfect place for me to talk about my favorite anime title "Aria: The Animation"

Recently, I order from Barnes & Noble three anime Titles: Aria: The Origination (or Aria: The Animation Season 3), Comic Party Revolution, and Shattered Angels because of their "Buy 2 get 1 Free" deal on DVD's, Blu-Ray's, & CD's. As soon as I got the box in the mail I immediately popped in Aria cause I've been waiting to get my hands on the third and final season for awhile. I really enjoyed Season 1 and 2, Now I got to end it all with a bang with season 3. Now with my review and thoughts on the series:

Now I've watched so many anime series, but THIS? This is HONESTLY the FIRST anime series I've ever watched where I wasn't able to find a flaw, or even one red flag (or Completely unnecessary moment or part) in the series. It was Completely consistent from the beginning from Season 1 all the way to the end of Season 3. (Not saying that every other series has not.) The only time when there was "changes" was toward the end of the series (and I mean THE END or Grand Finale) (which is where it is most appropriate), showing that the series will end on a good or a bad note. I'll admit that I thought is was boring for the first couple episodes, but after awhile, I started to enjoy the humor and simplicity of what this series was. Another thing is that there isn't very many characters and that is actually a good thing because in this case, in Season 1, you get introduced to a good number of characters and that's about all you'll see till the end. Sure, you'll see new faces in Season 2 and 3, but at least those characters don't overstay their welcome unlike most anime series that have seasons. Also, the way Season 1 and 2 ended and the way Season 2 and 3 began didn't make it feel like I had to be reintroduced to the characters or made me feel that I missed something and that's a problem that I have with most anime series with seasons. It feels like a completely different series when they have to reintroduce the characters and maybe introduce a few new ones. On the flip side, if this were aired on Television and you started on any episode that was NOT in the first few episodes of the first season, then you would be lost and confused; So on THAT note, this is one of those anime series where "Jumping the gun" is NOT ok cause you'll be lost out of your mind trying to figure [crap] out. Also, the soundtrack is awesome. [HECK] I introduced this series to a friend who was also an anime fan and he is a guitarist and we were watch the series and it soon got to the point where he and I tried learning how to play the music so I guess that's a big plus for the series (musically inspiring).

For those of you who have never heard of "Aria: The Animation", I'll give you a quick summary of it without any spoilers. The story takes play in about 2300 A.D. on the Planet "Aqua"-- Formerly Mars due to (by unknown and never explained reasons as to how) the planet was capable of maintaining life as did Earth (or "Man Home" is Aria) and the story focuses around a girl name "Akari" who (was from Earth) wants to become a gondolier tour-guide with the Aria Company. There are three gondolier companies that work as tour guides, and Akari befriends trainees, mentors, etc. from competing companies. Every episode is a "Slice of Life" story about Akari and her friends as gondoliers.

I know that we all have different tastes in anime and to ALL anime fans out there, this is a series that you should defiantly consider AT LEAST previewing the first few episode. If you an anime person who is all about ACTION, then this series would probably make you bored real quickly.

Another thing, Remember when I said that I could not find a fault in Aria? Well...That was a lie, there were two faults, but they don't affect how I feel about the series as a whole. 1. The series is a bit expensive, so for those who like buying anime on a budget, this will be out of reach for some of you (especially if your going for all three seasons), and 2. There is no English Dub but I'm not completely bothered by that, but for those who are, your gonna have to live with that or miss out on the fun that this series has to offer.

If I had to give a rating out of Ten, I'll give it an Eleven out of Ten [11/10]. (I use Eleven cause of the guitarist terms.) This is what I would call a "Jewel" of anime and this series is one of three series that I've thought of as a "Jewel" of anime. "Aria: The Animation", "Sound of the Sky", and more recently "Maria Watching Over Us" (although I've seen only the first of four seasons, but it's so far I'm giving it very similar criticism as Aria).

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