Aria the Animation Series Impressions
Aria is a cat who is the president of a company that employs water goddesses on a dystopian planet flooded by the sea. Cities are in tatters and buildings are crumbling as the sea envelopes what remains of human civilization. What the foolish humans do not realize is that it was this cat's master plan to consume their cities in the flood and extort them for all the money they're worth to ferry them around the city. With the control of human transportation in the dilapidated city, this weird cat thing has become the ruling body. With his new found power he has taken to the simple pleasures of eating ice cream and pizza.
Okay, enough silliness. Aria is anime about girls who work as gondoliers (also known as Undines) to provide boat rides to tourists in Neo-Venice. This is a slice-of-life anime with a science fiction setting on a colonized Mars. This is the first slice-of-life anime I have seen that didn't involve school girls in Japan. The ambient sounds of the sea and call of the gulls as the boats drift silently against the city river ways makes for a peaceful viewing experience. The city has an old European ascetic from the architecture of the buildings. There is very little technology for a science fiction anime but that just lends to the charm of the ambience.
All of the characters have names that start with A. (Aria, Akari, Aika, Alice, Alicia, Akira, Athena). There are three younger journeyman undines and three senior undines that are considered the best of the business. All of the characters have unique personalities and are all very likeable. Akari is the protagonist and main character of Aria. Her voice actor is so calm and her voice so soothing. She does a great job giving a peaceful vibe and never overacts during the silly moments. Aika is the upbeat hardass that takes things a little too seriously. However, she is playful and has some great chemistry and contrast with Akari. Alice is the middle ground of the two and sometimes acts as the mediator. She is probably the most fun of the three of them and she makes some great faces.
Each episode has a self contained story that usually has the basis of training to become better undines. The story may seem simple at first but by the end of each episode there was always some type of message being conveyed which had me philosophizing after I finished each episode. This is what elevates Aria above the other slice-of-life anime I have seen. Sure the premise may appear to be "cute girls doing cute things" but there is far more depth to this anime than what can be seen from the surface.
However it is not without some missteps. There was the silly episode about the cat thing Aria where he ran around town doing silly things which felt out of place and unneeded. There was also some time traveling nonsense that was supposed to lay the foundation for nostalgia and longing but I felt it could be done in some other way that would make sense within the context of the world. Some episodes can get overbearingly sappy (No sappy lines allowed!) but it never detracted from the overall experience and happens very rarely.
The animation for this anime was fantastic. The characters' outfits aren't loud screaming scifi but have a basic design that lends to the overall tone of the setting and tranquil vibe. We get to see beautiful vistas and great city architecture with the water flowing peacefully through the city. The weather had a real impact on the tone of each episode and was beautiful to look at from the setting sun, the dark oppressive clouds and the winter wonderlands.
The soundtrack uses a mixture of piano and acoustic instruments to set the tone of the anime beautifully. It was a treat to listen to and I would probably listen to it on it's own. The
OP is fantastic.
Aria is probably one of the best slice-of-life anime I've seen. The characters, music, animation, everything about it was fantastic. I give it a 4/5 and would easily recommend it to others looking for a calm and tranquil experience.
The conclusion definitely wasn't bland though. Great way to end it off since I believe there are many individuals with so much salt right now.
