Aria | |
Genre | Fantasy, [1] iyashikei , [2] [3] science fiction [4] |
---|---|
Manga | |
Aqua | |
Written by | Kozue Amano |
Published by |
|
English publisher | |
Magazine | Monthly Stencil |
Demographic | Shōnen / Shōjo |
Original run | 27 January 2001 – 28 September 2001 |
Volumes | 2 |
Manga | |
Written by | Kozue Amano |
Published by | Mag Garden |
English publisher | |
Magazine | Monthly Comic Blade |
Demographic | Shōnen |
Original run | 28 February 2002 –29 February 2008 |
Volumes | 12 |
Anime television series | |
Aria the Animation | |
Directed by | Junichi Sato Kazuyoshi Fuseki (Assistant) |
Produced by | Tetsuo Uchida Shigeru Tateishi Yasutaka Hiuga |
Written by | Junichi Sato |
Music by | Choro Club Takeshi Senoo |
Studio | Hal Film Maker |
Licensed by | |
Original network | TXN (TV Tokyo) |
Original run | 5 October 2005 – 28 December 2005 |
Episodes | 13 |
Anime television series | |
Aria the Natural | |
Directed by | Junichi Sato Kenichi Takeshita (Assistant) |
Produced by | Hisao Iizuka Tetsuo Uchida Shinsaku Hatta Shinya Tagashira |
Written by | Junichi Sato |
Music by | Choro Club Takeshi Senoo |
Studio | Hal Film Maker |
Licensed by |
|
Original network | TXN (TV Tokyo) |
Original run | 2 April 2006 – 26 September 2006 |
Episodes | 26 |
Original video animation | |
Aria the OVA:Arietta | |
Directed by | Junichi Sato |
Produced by | Hisao Iizuka Tetsuo Uchida Shinsaku Hatta Yasuhiro Mikami Toshiaki Asaka |
Written by | Junichi Sato |
Music by | Choro Club Takeshi Senoo |
Studio | Hal Film Maker |
Licensed by |
|
Released | 21 September 2007 |
Runtime | 30 minutes |
Anime television series | |
Aria the Origination | |
Directed by | Junichi Sato Kenichi Takeshita (Assistant) |
Produced by | Hisao Iizuka Tetsuo Uchida Shinya Tagashira Yoshikazu Beniya Toshiaki Asaka |
Written by | Junichi Sato |
Music by | Choro Club Takeshi Senoo |
Studio | Hal Film Maker |
Licensed by |
|
Original network | TXN (TV Tokyo) |
Original run | 8 January 2008 – 31 March 2008 |
Episodes | 13 + 1 (DVD bonus) |
Original video animation | |
Aria the Avvenire | |
Directed by | Junichi Sato Takahiro Natori (Assistant) |
Produced by | Hisao Iizuka |
Written by | Junichi Sato |
Music by | Choro Club Takeshi Senoo |
Studio | TYO Animations |
Licensed by |
|
Released | 26 September 2015 – 24 June 2016 |
Episodes | 3 |
Anime film | |
Aria the Crepuscolo | |
Directed by | Junichi Sato (Chief) Takahiro Natori |
Written by | Junichi Sato |
Music by | Choro Club Takeshi Senoo |
Studio | J.C.Staff |
Licensed by | |
Released | 5 March 2021 |
Runtime | 60 minutes |
Anime film | |
Aria the Benedizione | |
Directed by | Junichi Sato (Chief) Takahiro Natori |
Written by | Junichi Sato |
Music by | Choro Club Takeshi Senoo |
Studio | J.C.Staff |
Licensed by | |
Released | 3 December 2021 |
Runtime | 60 minutes |
Aria (stylized as ARIA) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kozue Amano. The series was originally titled Aqua (stylized as AQUA) when it was published in Enix's Monthly Stencil magazine in 2001,and retitled when it was transferred to Mag Garden's Comic Blade ,where it continued serialization from 2002 to 2008. Aqua was collected in two tankōbon volumes,and Aria was collected in twelve volumes.
Hal Film Maker has adapted the manga into several anime television series. A first season was broadcast in 2005,a second season in 2006,an OVA released September 2007,and a third season in 2008 that ended around the same time as the manga serialization. An OVA,titled Aria the Avvenire,was released in the anime series' 10th anniversary Blu-ray box sets between December 2015 and June 2016. A film to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the anime series titled Aria the Crepuscolo premiered on 5 March 2021. A second anime film titled Aria the Benedizione premiered on 3 December 2021.
ADV Manga released English translations of the first three volumes of Aria in 2004 before dropping the license. Tokyopop then acquired the English-language rights to Aqua as well as Aria. Tokyopop released the two volumes of Aqua in October 2007 and February 2008 and six volumes of Aria between January 2008 and December 2010. The anime is licensed in North America by The Right Stuf International,which released all three seasons in box sets under its Nozomi Entertainment imprint between 30 September 2008 and 2 March 2010.
The series is set in the 24th century on a terraformed Mars,now named Aqua,and follows a young woman named Akari Mizunashi as she trains as an apprentice gondolier (known as Undines). The series has been praised for its calm pacing,optimistic worldview,beautiful art,and for the anime,the quality of the soundtrack.
Aqua and Aria take place in the early 24th century, starting in 2301 AD, in the city of Neo-Venezia (ネオ・ヴェネツィア Neo Venetsia, literally "New Venice") on the planet Aqua (アクア Akua, formerly Mars, sometimes stylized as 火星 in the manga with the base text for "Mars" serving as a gloss), which was renamed after being terraformed into a habitable planet covered in oceans around 150 years beforehand. [5] Neo-Venezia, based on Venice in both architecture and atmosphere, [6] is a harbor city of narrow canals instead of streets, traveled by unmotorized gondolas. [7]
At the start of Aqua, a young woman named Akari arrives from Manhome [ sic ] (マンホーム Manhōmu, formerly Earth, sometimes stylized as 地球 with the base text for "Earth" serving as a gloss) to become a trainee gondolier with Aria Company, one of the three most prestigious water-guide companies in the city. Her dream is to become an Undine, a gondolier who acts as a tour guide (see Terms below). As she trains, Akari befriends her mentor Alicia, trainees and seniors from rival companies—Aika, Alice, Akira, and Athena—and others in Neo-Venezia. Aqua covers Akari's arrival on Aqua and her early training as a Pair or apprentice. Aria continues her training as a Single, or journeyman, culminating in the graduation of Akari, Aika, and Alice as full Prima Undines.
Each chapter is a slice of life episode of Akari's exploration of the worlds of gondoliers, Neo-Venezia, and Aqua itself. [6] Amano frequently uses several pages of lush art to depict an environment, showing the wonder of both everyday activities as well as one-of-a-kind events. It has been described by reviewers as very similar in tone and effect to Yokohama Kaidashi Kikō . [6] [8] [9] [10]
Aria Company is a small water-guide company that starts with only two employees. Its uniforms are lined with blue, and its president (and namesake) is Aria Pokoteng.
Himeya Company is the oldest and currently second-ranking water-guide company in Neo-Venezia. It employs 80 Undines, with a uniform lined with red. Its president is Hime Granzchesta.
Orange Planet is the largest water-guide company in Neo-Venezia, employing 81 Undines (including 20 Primas). Its uniforms are lined with yellow, and its president is Maa.
Because blue-eyed cats are considered lucky on Aqua, all Undine companies have a blue-eyed cat as a mascot, who is given the title President. [45] Cats on Aqua have been bred to be as intelligent as humans, though they cannot speak. [46]
Several terms of the world of Aqua are derived from elemental mythology: [63]
According to her original afterword to Aqua volume 2, Kozue Amano's goal in writing the series was to have readers find happiness in small things and to not focus on their failures. [67] In another afterword, she stated that writing Aria has forced her to pay attention to the four seasons and that she hopes the series shows her appreciation for them. [68] Amano developed a 24-month calendar system for Aqua, [69] based on Mars's real orbital period of 668.6 local days (see Timekeeping on Mars ), making every season 6 months long. Amano marked the passage of time and the seasons throughout the series through such means as Akari explicitly telling her correspondent the time of year [70] and depicting seasonal observances such as fireworks at the end of summer (Aqua volume 2, Navigation 9 and Aria volume 4, Navigation 20), New Year's Eve (Aria volume 2, Navigation 9), or birthdays of characters (Aria volume 10, Navigation 46).
In the universe of Aqua and Aria, Neo-Venezia's builders modeled it after the city of Venice before its demise in the 21st century, [71] including counterparts to such public landmarks as the Piazza San Marco and the Bridge of Sighs. In creating Neo-Venezia, Amano also based some of the fictional locations of the series on real Venetian locations. [72] Examples include:
Other locations on Aqua that Amano based on real places include the Japanese shrine visited in Aria volume 1, based on Fushimi Inari-taisha near Kyoto. [74]
As part of the preparations for the first season of the anime adaptation, the production crew led by director Jun'ichi Satō made a trip to Venice for location research. As a result of filming the movements of gondoliers sculling, they had to redraw the animation of Undines rowing in the first episodes to make it realistic. [75] Satō said that seeing a gondolier use his paddle to toss a bottle out of the water inspired the scene in episode 11 of Aria the Animation where Alicia does the same with a ball, which was not in the manga. [76] As part of the production company's commitment to adapting the manga faithfully and gesture of consideration toward the voice actors, they provided the collected volumes of Aqua and Aria to date, rather than requiring them to purchase their own or giving stacks of photocopies. [77] [78]
According to Jun'ichi Satō, it was a struggle to fit the available material into the 13 episodes of the first season, which focused closely on Akari. [79] The title of the second season, Aria the Natural, came about because he had 26 episodes to work with, letting him treat the story in a more "natural" manner, [80] allowing the series to develop other characters more. [81]
Choro Club and Takeshi Senoo composed 30 works of music for the first season of the anime and 15 for the second. [82] Jun'ichi Satō and sound designer Yasuno Satō assigned Choro Club and Takeshi Senoo abstract themes instead of plot points, [83] [84] which was an unfamiliar method for the composers who did not have much experience working for anime shows. Takeshi Senoo and the three members of Choro Club make a cameo appearance as musicians in episode 23 of Aria the Natural. [85] Jun'ichi Satō has commented that the lyrics for the songs "Barracole" and "Coccolo", sung by Eri Kawai as the voice of Athena Glory, were gibberish. The lyrics for the first two seasons' theme songs were also initially meant to be gibberish, [86] but after reading the manga Eri Kawai decided to write Japanese lyrics: "I read the original manga and wrote the lyrics, using my image of Neo-Venezia as a starting point. Then did my best to match words that flowed with the melody." [87] Kawai made demo recordings for Yui Makino as a guide for her performance of the theme songs. [88] Takeshi Senoo has described "Smile Again", the second ending theme song of Aria the Natural, as a song about the end of summer, and envisioned it being sung by Erino Hazuki as Akari. [89]
The manga was written and illustrated by Kozue Amano and has a complicated publishing history. Aqua was originally published by Enix in Monthly Stencil magazine from January to September 2001 and collected in two tankōbon volumes. When the series moved to Mag Garden's Comic Blade magazine in February 2002, the title changed to Aria. Mag Garden later re-released the two volumes of Aqua with additional material and new covers. [90] Serialization completed in February 2008. In all, the 70 serialized chapters of Aqua and Aria were collected in 14 tankōbon volumes, each volume containing five chapters covering a season of the year. Each volume is called a "voyage," and each chapter a "navigation."
In English, Aria (but not Aqua) was originally licensed by ADV Manga, who dropped the license after publishing three volumes. [6] The North American license for Aqua and Aria was picked up by Tokyopop, [91] [92] which began releasing the series starting with the first volume of Aqua. [93] The series has been licensed in France by Kami, [94] [95] in Germany by Tokyopop Germany, [96] [97] in Italy by Star Comics, [98] [99] in Indonesia by M&C Comics, [100] [101] in South Korea by Bookbox, [102] in Spain by Editorial Ivrea, [103] in Taiwan by Tong Li Comics, [104] and in Thailand by Bongkoch Comics. [105] [106]
Aqua and Aria were adapted by Hal Film Maker as a 54-episode anime television series comprising two seasons titled Aria the Animation and Aria the Natural, an original video animation (OVA) titled Aria the OVA: Arietta, and a third season titled Aria the Origination. [107] The series was directed by Junichi Sato with character designs by Makoto Koga, and broadcast on the TV Tokyo Network between 2005 and 2008. [108] [109] All three seasons have been released on DVD in Japan. [110] A special OVA series, Aria the Avvenire, received an event screening on 26 September 2015. It was animated by TYO Animations. [111] [112]
The series is licensed in North America by The Right Stuf International. A DVD box set of the English subtitled first season was released on 30 September 2008 under its Nozomi Entertainment imprint. [113] The second season was released in two box sets on 29 January and 24 March 2009. [114] [115] The third season box set, including the Arietta OVA and the bonus episode numbered 5.5, was released on 2 March 2010. [116] On 12 August 2017, Right Stuf launched a Kickstarter campaign to produce an English dub and a Blu-ray release for the first season of the series, which ended on 11 September 2017 with a total of $595,676 raised, which is $230,000 over the final stretch goal of dubbing the entire franchise, including the 10th Anniversary special OVA series, Avvenire. [117] [118] The series is licensed in Australia by Siren Visual. [119] The series has been licensed in the United Kingdom by MVM Entertainment, and was released on Blu-ray on 25 October 2021. [120]
The series is licensed in Korea by Animax Asia, [121] [122] in Taiwan by Muse Communications, [123] in France by Kaze, [124] and in Italy by Yamato Video. [125] The series was also broadcast in Italy on the Rai 4. [126]
It was announced on 14 April 2020 that the franchise would debut a new work scheduled for winter 2020 in celebration of the series' 15th anniversary. [127] On 22 July 2020, it was announced that the new work would be an anime film titled Aria the Crepuscolo, which premiered on 5 March 2021. The film was produced by J.C.Staff and directed by Takahiro Natori, with the main staff members reprising their roles. [128] [129]
After the film Aria the Crepuscolo's release, a new anime project titled Aria the Benedizione was announced, which would serve as the third and final installment of the "Blue Curtain Call" trilogy. [130] On 21 March 2021, it was announced that the anime project is a film that will premiere in winter 2021. The cast and staff from the previous film reprised their roles. [131] On 10 August 2021, two new cast members were revealed and the release date of 3 December 2021 was announced. [132]
Several soundtrack albums were released for Aria, including an album for each of the three seasons of the anime, two piano music collections, a song collection, and a tribute album. Singles were released for the opening and closing themes for all three anime seasons, the OVA, and the two visual novel adaptations. Most of the releases charted on the Oricon charts, with the highest ranking album being Aria the Natural Vocal Song Collection at 30th, [133] and the highest ranking single being "Euforia", the opening theme for Aria the Natural, at 18th. [134]
Four series of drama CDs have been released. The first series was produced before the anime began and uses different voice actors; the other three were produced in conjunction with the three seasons of the anime, using the anime voice actors.
Additional drama CDs were included as bonus materials for each volume of Aria Perfect Guide. [157] [158]
An Aria radio show called Aria the Station was broadcast on the internet through onsen.ag and Animate throughout November 2006 in conjunction with the three seasons of the anime. [159] [160] The 115 episodes were later compiled on "radio CDs" released in three seasons. Each volume contains a CD-ROM with the radio episodes in MP3 format plus an audio CD containing additional material. The radio show starred Erino Hazuki as Akari Mizunashi and Chinami Nishimura as President Aria Pokoteng, with other voice actors from the anime as guests reprising their respective roles. [161]
The Alchemist company produced two visual novel video games for the PS2 based on Aria. Both were released in regular and special editions on the same day.
Four art books were published by Mag Garden containing drawings and sketches for Aqua and Aria by Kozue Amano:
Mag Garden published a fifth art book containing additional artwork used in the anime, video games, drama CDs, and merchandising:
In addition, three poster books have been published, each containing ten A2-format posters:
Four guide books to Aria have been released by Mag Garden:
Additionally, Shinkigesha published guide books for each of Alchemist's two Aria video games, containing background materials, character profiles, and plot summaries covering all outcomes of the game:
Aria has also been adapted as series of light novels published by Mag Garden, with two released as of January 2025:
Monthly Undine is a spin-off facsimile of the Undine-focused magazine mentioned in the Aria universe. Six issues of Monthly Undine have been released as of January 2025 with a different character on each cover, each containing a collectible item. The first three magazines contain toy house parts with Himeya Company's Akira and Aika, toy house parts with Aria Company's Alicia and Akari, and toy house parts with Orange Planet's Athena and Alice respectively. When the three magazines' collectible items (toy house parts) are combined, they form a miniature "ARIA Company" building. [198]
Issue | Cover character | ISBN | Release date |
---|---|---|---|
No. 1 | Akira E. Ferrari | ISBN 978-4-86127-268-4 | 10 July 2006 [199] |
No. 2 | Alicia Florence [200] | ISBN 978-4-86127-269-1 | 18 July 2006 [201] |
No. 3 | Athena Glory [200] | ISBN 978-4-86127-270-7 | 24 July 2006 [202] |
No. 4 | Alice Carroll [203] | ISBN 978-4-86127-449-7 | 10 March 2008 [204] |
No. 5 | Aika S. Granzchesta [203] | ISBN 978-4-86127-450-3 | 21 March 2008 [205] |
No. 6 | Akari Mizunashi [203] | ISBN 978-4-86127-451-0 | 31 March 2008 [206] |
In March 2007, Mag Garden published a series of three Aria picture books. Each hardcover book contains a full-color short manga story focused on a cat president, and includes an additional collectible item written and illustrated by Amano Kozue. [207]
Shinko Music published a selection of sheet music called Aria the Best Selection ( ISBN 978-4-401-02030-0) in July 2008. It contained the themes from the three anime seasons of Aria. [211]
In Japan, new volumes of Aria routinely reached the best-seller list for manga, [6] and had sold over 3 million copies as of July 2007, representing 11% of all manga volumes ever sold by its publisher to date. [212] In 2009, this number increased to 4 million. [213]
The English translation of the Aria manga was described by a reviewer at The Comics Journal as "quite conceivably the best comics series ever created for elementary-school girls," calling it "a masterpiece of storytelling and illustration, gorgeous to look at and a feast for the young imagination in its ability to present an inviting, fully realized world." [6] Aqua and Aria together have been praised for their joyful calm, [214] [215] [216] vividly depicted futuristic world, [217] moments of magic, [216] [218] and sense of whimsy. [217] [218] [219] Amano's artwork is praised for her crisp lines and details, especially in the backgrounds and landscapes. [219] [220] Amano has also been criticized for confusingly giving every character a name that begins with A, [216] [218] [221] for letting some slice-of-life stories "drift too far out," [215] and for making Akari's character too sweet and effusive. [222]
In 2006, the anime of Aria was ranked in the top 100 animated television series of all time in a poll by TV Asahi. [223] As of June 2007, the first two seasons of the anime adaptation had sold more than 300,000 DVDs. [212]
The anime has been praised for its quiet atmosphere, [224] [225] [226] beautiful visuals [227] —especially the backgrounds and character designs [228] —and exceptional soundtrack. [229] [230] Anime News Network described the first season as "a gorgeous future fantasy populated with loveable characters", where "each episode is a finely fashioned tone poem steeped in a love of the slow rhythms of everyday life and told with an elegant self-possession that places it light-years beyond the vulgar moralizing of most "uplifting" stories." [224] IGN contrasted Aria with Maria-sama ga Miteru as another series where not much happens, noting that "Maria-sama ratchets up the tension level whenever possible, though, and never mind that all the drama revolves around something completely inconsequential. Aria, on the other hand, is calm and relaxed. It freely admits that the plot is not the point." [231] Several reviewers cited the characters as key to the appeal of the series, [226] [232] [233] though some criticized the characters as unrealistic; [234] the voice acting of Erino Hazuki (Akari) and Junko Minagawa (Akira) were particularly praised. [235] [236] Several reviewers point out that the series does not fit all tastes, being a slow-paced drama with an optimistic outlook. [237] [238] [239]
Love Hina is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Ken Akamatsu. It was serialized in Kodansha's Weekly Shōnen Magazine from October 1998 to October 2001, with the chapters collected into 14 tankōbon volumes by Kodansha. The series tells the story of Keitarō Urashima and his attempts to find the girl with whom he made a childhood promise to enter the University of Tokyo. The manga was licensed for an English-language release in North America and the United Kingdom by Tokyopop, in Australia by Madman Entertainment, and in Singapore by Chuang Yi. Two novelizations of Love Hina, written by two anime series screenwriters, were also released in Japan by Kodansha. Both novels were later released in North America and the United Kingdom by Tokyopop.
Kare Kano is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masami Tsuda. It was serialized in LaLa from 1995 to 2005 and collected in 21 tankōbon volumes by Hakusensha. It depicts the romance between "perfect" student Yukino Miyazawa and her academic rival Soichiro Arima, and the relationships of several of their friends.
Gravitation is a yaoi manga series written and illustrated by Maki Murakami. The story follows the attempts of Shuichi Shindo and his band, Bad Luck, to become Japan's next musical sensation, and his struggles to capture Eiri Yuki's heart.
Peace Maker Kurogane is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Nanae Chrono. It is unrelated to the Peace Maker manga by Ryōji Minagawa. The story begins in 19th century Japan before the Meiji Restoration, a chain of events that led to enormous changes in Japan's political and social structure while the seeds of the revolution are being planted. The story follows the boy protagonist, Tetsunosuke Ichimura, who joins the Shinsengumi while seeking strength to avenge his parents' death at the hands of a Chōshū rebel.
Night on the Galactic Railroad, sometimes translated as Milky Way Railroad, Night Train to the Stars or Fantasy Railroad in the Stars, is a classic Japanese fantasy novel by Kenji Miyazawa written around 1927. The nine-chapter novel was posthumously published by Bunpodō (文圃堂) in 1934 as part of Complete Works of Kenji Miyazawa Vol. 3 (『宮沢賢治全集』第三巻). Four versions are known to be in existence, with the last one being the most famous among Japanese readers.
Chibi Vampire, originally released in Japan as Karin, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yuna Kagesaki. The story is about an unusual vampiress girl, who instead of drinking blood must inject it into others because she produces too much. Chibi Vampire first premiered in the shōnen magazine Monthly Dragon Age in the October 2003 issue, and ran until February 2008. The individual chapters were published by Kadokawa Shoten into fourteen collected volumes. Later an anime series for "Chibi Vampire" was also produced in 2005. This anime series has a somewhat similar but different story and ending.
Chobits is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by the Japanese manga collective Clamp. It was serialized in Kodansha's seinen manga magazine Weekly Young Magazine from September 2000 to October 2002, with its chapters collected in eight bound volumes. Chobits was adapted as a 26-episode-long anime television series broadcast on TBS from April to September 2002. In addition, it has spawned two video games as well as various merchandise such as model figures, collectible cards, calendars, and artbooks.
Le Portrait de Petit Cossette is a Japanese original video animation anime series produced by Aniplex and animated by Daume. It spanned 3 episode OVA series and ran in 2004. It was licensed for North American distribution by Geneon Entertainment and released as Le Portrait de Petite Cossette. The OVAs were broadcast in the United States on Fuse on December 15, 2007, and in Canada on G4techTV's Anime Current programming block from January 19, 2008 to February 2, 2008. It is currently licensed by Sentai Filmworks and available for streaming and video-on-demand via The Anime Network.
Tactics is a Japanese manga series written as a collaboration between Sakura Kinoshita and Kazuko Higashiyama. It was serialized in Comic Blade Masamune. Kinoshita supplied the character "Kantarou", and Higashiyama supplied the character "Haruka". While the manga was previously licensed for released in English in paperback by both ADV Manga and Tokyopop, the manga was only available in English in digital format on JManga for two years before it was no longer accessible.
Sakura Kinoshita is a Japanese manga artist. She's most famous for two of her works: Matantei Loki Ragnarok and Tactics.
5 Centimeters per Second is a 2007 Japanese romantic drama animated film written and directed by Makoto Shinkai. It theatrically premiered on 3 March 2007. The film consists of three segments, each following a period in the life of the protagonist Takaki Tōno and his relationships with the girls around him.
Mayumi Azuma is a Japanese manga artist, who is the creator of the now completed manga Elemental Gelade, which finished with eighteen volumes and was adapted into a 26-episode anime television series, and its ongoing spinoff manga Elemental Gelade: Flag of Blue Sky. She is also recognized for creating the manga adaptation of the video game Star Ocean: The Second Story, which was later adapted into an anime entitled Star Ocean EX.
Kozue Amano is a Japanese manga artist. She is widely known as the creator of Aria, which proved to be a best-selling hit, and was adapted into an anime television series consisting of 3 seasons, 2 movies and 2 OVAs.
Seitokai Yakuindomo is a Japanese four-panel manga series written and illustrated by Tozen Ujiie. It ran in Kodansha's Magazine Special from May 2007 to June 2008. It was then transferred to Kodansha's Weekly Shōnen Magazine, where it ran from July 2008 to November 2021. Its chapters are collected and published into individual tankōbon volumes, with twenty-two volumes released as of January 2022.
You're Being Summoned, Azazel is a Japanese comedy manga series written and illustrated by Yasuhisa Kubo. It was serialized in Kodansha's seinen manga magazine Evening from October 2007 to December 2018, with its chapters collected in sixteen tankōbon volumes.
Amanchu! (あまんちゅ!) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kozue Amano. It was serialized in Mag Garden's Monthly Comic Blade magazine from November 2008 to May 2021, with its chapters collected in 17 tankōbon volumes. An anime television series adaptation by J.C.Staff aired between July and September 2016. The second season of the anime series aired between April and June 2018.
Konohana Kitan (このはな綺譚) is a Japanese manga series by Sakuya Amano. Originally published in Ichijinsha's yuri manga magazine Comic Yuri Hime S under the name Konohana-tei Kitan (此花亭奇譚) between 2009 and 2010 before going on hiatus, the series relaunched in Gentosha's seinen manga magazine Comic Birz in December 2014. The manga is licensed in English by Tokyopop. A 12-episode anime television series adaptation by Lerche aired in Japan between October and December 2017.
It's a fantasy of course—no where in the real world does as idyllic a city as Neo-Venezia or as indefatigably positive a person as Akari exist—but it's a gorgeous, seductive fantasy.
The people who came to live here took Venice as its model and have carved out a very ancient looking city but one that is brimming with life and character. People who live here from birth are obviously quite adjusted to it, with its lack of roads and mainland transportation, and find moving about its small streets and using gondolas as something that is extremely nature.
Much like when I finished the Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou manga, the ending of Aria fills me with a certain sense of melancholia as much as happiness over having been given the chance to view it in its entirety.
Ici, pas de méchant, pas de combats, même les actions évoluent au rythme de la ville: flottantes et imprécises ... À classer quelque part entre Yotsuba & et Yokohama Kaidashi Kikô. (Here, there is no meanness, no combats, just stories evolving with the rhythm of the city: floating and timeless ... To be classed as somewhere between Yotsuba&! and Yokohama Kaidashi Kikō .)
Akari is.... well, still being Akari; cheerful and optimistic to a fault, eagerly taking in everything her environment has to offer.
Ai is the simple cute character that's designed to be our introductory eyes into the world. When she returns to Manhome Akari keeps writing her in email about her exploits and those that she meets, just like writing in a diary. These pieces are done as narration here and there, not always at the end, where Akari talks about what she's experienced and Ai even has some dialogue in return about how she can't wait to visit again.
Aika, Akari's best friend and fellow Undine-in-training, has to tell her to stop being such a wide-eyed grinning sap maybe two or three times each episode.
The initial focus is spent on getting us used to Aika and her instructor Akira. The two are alike, and Aika is absorbing a lot of Akira's traits. However, some of them seem to come by quite naturally. Akira is rather feisty by nature, and that pushes against Aika. However, Aika is almost much the same way which is why it subconsciously irritates her.
[w]e also have another quiet and, at the beginning, out of touch with herself girl in Alice
Alice does occasionally get her own episode. Being the youngest of the Undines, her episodes usually touch on the topics of her fights against loneliness and her relationship with the other Undines in Orange Planet, but mainly against herself.
I'm Kaori Mizuhashi, the voice of President Hime.
I'm Akeno Watanabe the voice of President Maa.
I'm being interviewed right now as President Maa, but my main part is Al, actually.
For some reason, bad memories remain longer than good ones. You start to think how unlucky you are. It could be that because you neglect to recognize your happiness, you end up focused on your failures. I wrote this Aqua to let you all find that small "happiness" and to make you think. After you've read my work, if there are people who were able to find that "happiness", it would make me the happiest person out there. (反対に幸せなことって 見落としがちだし すぐに馴れて幸せとも 感じなくなっちゃうんだなぁ そんな小さな「幸せ」が 少しでも見つけられたら いいな---なんて思って AQUAを描かせて いただきました この作品を読んだ後で ほんのちょっぴりでも 「幸せ」を感じてくれた人が いてくれたなら...私は 最高の幸せ者です)This afterward was not included in the Mag Garden reprint or the Tokyopop translation.
Ever since I began drawing Aria I became more aware of the seasons. I'm so glad to be living in Japan experiencing all four seasons. It would make me extremely happy if I'm successfully showing my appreciation for the seasons in this manga.
When we actually saw the real thing it was completely different. We were totally off the mark. [...] We took back the shots where they're sculling and fixed it.
We were just sailing along and a bottle came floating our way. All the sudden, there's this loud noise behind us. When we looked back, the bottle was flying through the air and landed on the ground.
Instead of sending copies, they're usually like, "X volumes are out from X publisher so please buy it and study it on your own." [...] I felt like they were treating me like a lady.
They send stacks of photocopies sometimes too.[...]They were taking good care of us.
In the previous series, the story revolved around the character of Akari.
Well, I wanted things to progress naturally, so that's kind of reason why.
I'd like to incorporate some of those stories about the other characters.
I had thirty songs composed for "The Animation." For "The Natural" How many songs were there? [...] They composed fifteen songs, so they've composed forty-five songs in total
It was very abstract. For example she'd say, "Make the blue sky into a song." She gave us a lot of abstract themes to work with.
They'd say, "Make the mountains and oceans into songs."
Yes, it was episode 36. So, episode 23 in "The Natural" series.
The lyrics to the songs Kawai sings are all giberish. [...] In the beginning, we were planning the theme songs to have gibberish lyrics too.
This version is a sample track that Kawai made for Makino
The song is about the end of summer. [...] She's not just any singer. She performed it as the voice actress from the anime. I envisioned the song being sung by the character in the picture.
Aria reads much like a treasured old journal, recounting life events – some big, some little – with the warm personal touch only true joy can bring.
Aria's first volume is 180 pages of pure, serene happiness.
This entry in the series has it all: the quiet wonder that's the bedrock appeal of the books; exploration of the world's mythology; fantasy, action, humor, astounding art. The only thing I'm left wondering is why every character's name begins with an A.
Whimsical, smooth, the measured pace of the chapters follows a "slice-of-life" rhythm, but in a magical, imaginative frontier.
What really makes Aria work, though, is the sense of whimsy that fills the pages ... very chapter is filled with some moment of life that was totally worth having been there for.
The stories are just brimming with this delightful innocence and whimsy that captivates the readers, and sticks with you after you read it. Its artwork is wonderous [sic], and sometimes captivating in its wide visuals of the beautiful city of Neo Venezia (both above and below ground).
Yet this precise style still manages to capture the sense of wonder on planet Aqua: the airborne confetti at the gondola race, the falling autumn leaves in the first chapter, and especially the Japanese architecture and landscape on the shrine island. It's really the backgrounds and landscapes that are the main character in this series.
If there's anything that annoys me about the series, it's the names being used. Obviously done on purpose, but on planet Aqua, we're dealing with lead characters named Akari, Alice, Aika, Akira, Alice, Athena, Aria and Ai among others. Way too many A's and way too many very close sounding names.
The character of Akari is a little too much the overly sweet, wide-eyed gawking girl. She is often too enthusiastic about learning new things, meeting new people, about life in general. Too often Amano shows us Akari's effusive reaction to something but does not let us linger on that same discovery.
Aria is unquestionably the nicest anime Junichi Sato has made in his long and storied career as a director of nice anime. It's a nearly perfect pairing of source material and animator.
It's one of those shows that really does a solid job of creating an atmosphere and design sensibility that sets it apart from other shows. It's not a show about nothing, but a show about the lives of these women as they go about their jobs and relationships with each other in a little piece of heaven.
But then, character interaction and quiet, serene atmosphere has always been Aria's greatest boon, along with the optimistic and curiously non-pretentious outlook on life.
Although Aria might not have any exciting conflict to speak of, it's unquestionably lovely to look at. The setting is very pretty, designed as a deliberately idealized version of Venice, and the girls are prettier still.
Some of the background works are just breathtaking, especially near the end of the show.
delicate score (featuring the crystalline arias of the late, great Eri Kawai)
Aurally, on the other hand, Aria is just fantastic.
The sweet simplicity of the characters complements that of the stories woven around them, the warmth of their interplay a mirror of that inspired by the series' quiet celebration of the magic of normalcy.
Ultimately, though, your enjoyment of this show will – much as with the first season – depend on how you feel about the characters, as they are the main focus of the show.
Most of the characters are so inhumanly pleasant and cheerful that one starts to wonder what they put in the water on Aqua.
a sweetly convincing performance from Erino Hazuki
The Japanese actors really do a good job on this show, in particular the VAs for Akari and Akira. Akira's stern and strong voice carries all the warmth of the character she carries underneath the tough exterior without losing any of her personality no matter what mood she's in. And Akari's actually managing to play a somewhat ditzy character without it becoming majorly annoying, which is a pretty hard task to succeed in.
I'll have to admit that Aria is a show made for a certain audience. Hardened cynics will probably hate it for what it is, while the restless ones out there might find it a bit slow and boring for their tastes. And those who like to give their minds something heavy to chew on might want to look elsewhere as well. Aria is a show about life, about friends, about everyday situations and challenges and about all the small things we sometimes take for granted. And for that, I love this show.
This isn't a show for everyone. Aria is not without its strong points, though. Visually, it's something special, and the tone is very pleasant if you happen to be in the mood for it.
Slow, deliberate, and anti-dramatic, Aria isn't a traditionally entertaining series. It dabbles in humor and pathos, but more than anything it is a soft but magnetic invitation to submerge oneself in a world where kindness reigns supreme and life is overflowing with subtle beauty.