Aria – アリア
We finally get the season that brings all of the Aria series together. And oh boy, what a pleasant ride it has been. The characterization for the main casts continues to be superb in many ways, with some great character development by the end of the Origination. It’s probably all of the slow but steady fleshing out of the characters in the first two seasons of this series that contributed the most here. The Origination, because of the development in the first two seasons, could cut out all the excess (such as setting development, etc) and focus in on the characters much more. The Origination takes all the buildup from the past two season, and pulls it all together in a wondrous conclusion. As you may have noticed, watching the Origination without watching the first two will really have a huge impact on what you get out of the series. In other words, just don’t do it.
Admittingly, the first half to this series isn’t really any different from the first two seasons of the anime. I could honestly just call the first half of the Origination as the “second season, part two” because of the inherent similarities.
However, it’s really the latter half of this season that really hits it home and brings everything together. The character development in the second half is the culmination of everything this series has come to represent, with the final moments we have with Akari, Alice, and Aika all the more endearing. Yet, at the same time, these endearing moments are saddening because you realize that the series is finally drawing to a close. In the end, though, the closure this season brings to the characters is just plain satisfying, and you truly do get the feeling that “life goes on” in the world of Aqua. The setting of Aqua has always felt very alive and vibrant, but this series also goes further to emphasize how this wondrous world lives on, no matter who may be the ones living there.
A great aspect to the character development here is that it isn’t limited to just the main trio of heroines. Almost every single significant side character, from Alicia to Akatsuki, from Akira to Athena, from Al to Grandma Akino, gets some rather well done proper closure. For a thirteen episode series, getting proper closure for a somewhat large cast of characters is a bit surprising, but I’m nevertheless glad it worked out so well.
Of course, it doesn’t hurt that the production values have improved here. The music remains a great complement to this series, with it’s rather vibrant, sometimes subtle, sometimes tainted in melancholy, musical pieces that adds a lot more feeling to the story. The animation really improved here as well, with quite a bit more detail added to the drawings and backdrops here. On a slightly unrelated side note, the added 16:9 widescreen aspect is a much welcomed change in my eyes.
Looking back, Aria as a franchise is a rather wonderful little slice of life series. Admittingly, the slow pacing is definitely not for everybody, but at the same time Aria is a great series to just sit down and relax to. I can easily see why people call Aria an “iyashiki-kei” (healing) anime. The atmospheric calmness to the setting, and the charms to the characters, all add together in a charming package that certainly took me by surprise. And finally, as a conclusion, I couldn’t have asked for the franchise to be closed off in any other way.
Animation/Art: 8.5/10
Music: 8.5/10
Characters: 9.0/10
Story/setting: 9.0/10
Overall Enjoyment: 8.7/10
Screenshots are later in the post.
Distant Paradise 
I’ll always hold Origination with a sort of fondness because of one particular episode that I think resulted in quite possibly the best single episode of anime that I’ve ever seen. I’m, of course, referring to Alice’s graduation. Everything about it, from the atmosphere, to the singing, was just done so wonderfully and if it’s possible to cherish an anime moment, that scene would be evidence of that.
Hehe, that would actually be my favorite episode from the Origination as well. The other endings for the characters were done well, but Alice’s was probably the best out of them all. The way in which it all unfolded, and that sudden little twist at the very end (you know what I mean ^_^), was a pleasant surprise. That episode was one where the music did exceptional well as well, which just cemented it’s status as my favorite Aria episode out of all three seasons.
This is the moe series that all moe series have trouble living up to. From Akari’s inability to grow up, to Alicia’s inability to let her grow up, it all comes together full circle, and rather beautifully. There was something satisfying about seeing a bunch of kids actually pick up a trade and master it, growing up a bit in the process, and having their mentors pass on the torch. You just don’t see that in anime without it being overshadowed by world-ending threats or childish feuding.
I could certainly agree with everything you’ve said there.
Aria certainly is different from a lot of the other moe series around, especially some of the more popular ones. The biggest difference between Aria and, let’s go with K-ON for now, is that K-on feels like it’s just pure completely random silliness.
Aria feels more structured in terms of character development, setting, and story progression. The world building is done in a relaxed, yet well done progression, and as you mentioned, the characters have their own little shortcomings that they eventually work to overcome. The episodic nature of the story arcs manage to build upon each other quite well here, culminating in one of the best slice of life series I’ve seen. Admittingly, I don’t have a ton of experience with slice of life series, but Aria has turned out to be one of the best I’ve seen so far.
True, it’s precisely the portrayal of Akari’s subtle inner conflict that makes the series. I know a few people who felt the Cait Sith stuff was out of place, but I read those scenes were nice little allegories of her mind struggling with growing up. Few anime take that kind of chance or pull it off.
And of course, the big moments at the end of the series really tied it all together very nicely and emotionally, especially that last scene that recalled the first episode. It more than made up for all of that excessive moemoe and random stuff with President Aria.
I do wish more shows would try to portray a person’s own conflicts as tastefully and realistically. If “slice of life” shows like K-On had a point to their slice of life, I would probably find them as awesome as they are supposed to be. Shows like Mushishi are great because they explore a fascinating world. Shows like Aria are great because they tell the story of a character growth. Most anime slice of life feels like it’s just .. there. I might well live my own life at that point 🙂
i love this series. the character’s skill level growth throughout the series was paced excellently. from the start of the series where akari could barely row a gondola to the end where she was one of the best, it never seemed like i had to “forget” that they never practiced unlike k-on where they never practiced and yet were able to perform.