Aria the Benedizione

The successor and branch manager of the Himeya Company—one of the many Undine associations housing female gondoliers—Aika S. Granzchesta surprises everyone when she rejects tradition and refuses to inherit the company's legendary gondola. Aika's apprentice Azusa B. McLaren, unable to wrap her mind around her mentor's unexpected decision, confronts her directly but to little effect. To better understand her reasoning, Azusa and her fellow Undines secretly plan to arrange a meeting with Aika.

With the much-awaited winter days in sight, accompanied by the tranquility and sublimity of Neo-Venezia, Aika reminisces about her journey as an Undine that forged her into the person she is today. As she vividly remembers all those invaluable experiences of the past, she trusts they will continue to guide her into the unknown yet boundless future.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Granzchesta, Aika S. Main

Saitou, Chiwa Japanese

Ferrari, Akira E. Main

Minagawa, Junko Japanese

Mizunashi, Akari Supporting

Hazuki, Erino Japanese

Carroll, Alice Supporting

Hirohashi, Ryou Japanese

Florence, Alicia Supporting

Ohara, Sayaka Japanese

Pokoteng, Aria Supporting

Nishimura, Chinami Japanese

Glory, Athena Supporting

Satou, Rina Japanese

Aino, Ai Supporting

Mizuhashi, Kaori Japanese

Izumo, Akatsuki Supporting

Nojima, Hirofumi Japanese

Dostoyevskaya, Anya Supporting

Kayano, Ai Japanese

Matsuo, Kousuke Producer

Satou, Junichi Director, Screenplay

Natori, Takahiro Director, Episode Director, Storyboard

Makino, Yui Theme Song Performance

Reviews

Dec 5, 2021

TCTriangle

Recommended

A very fitting conclusion to send-off the series with, and I was at emotional peace at the end of the movie. Unlike the previous movie and (what I remember of) the original series, this movie only focuses on the development of 2 characters and has a good bit of a story going on, so it is not exactly like the usual casual slice-of-life in previous entries. Animation was crisp and the background scenery in the city was gorgeous as always. Soundtrack fit the animation perfectly and was very relaxing, while the ending was a nostalgic new version of the original series' opening. Overall, I very ... satisfied with the movie overall, and I felt the hour went by really quickly. Some very minor criticisms: This movie focuses mainly on 2 Himeya girls, Akira and Aika, and their relationship over the years. The other undine girls make their appearances in the movie, but don't get much screentime at all. If you have a favorite who's not Akira or Aika, you might be disappointed that the series ends with this story arc. Also, there was a TON OF YURI in this movie, so if you are turned off by that, you might not like it. Finally, I personally still have trouble getting into the new Shoujo manga-like art style of these new ones and much prefer the original 2005-style animation, but this is entirely just personal preference. All these were very minor issues for me and barely affected my enjoyment, so overall, a solid 8/10.

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Aug 21, 2022

Hedgie

Recommended

“If one feels it is fun now, one will be able to enjoy life the most. Everything will change over time, so we must treasure the happy moments before us.” – Akari Mizunashi

All's well that ends well. When I watch Aria it's for that compassion of sitting back and enjoying the scenery, not having to think too profoundly of things. That's what it's always been about taking in the moment and enjoying the small moments that life has to offer. So being this the final installment of the series, we begin our journey with the next generation of undies. Ai, Anya and Azusa uncover the ... secret as to why Aika won't inherit Akira's Gandola. Only to go on the journey and discover the depths of Akira's and Aika's relationship two very ordinary undies that had to strive and work harder than the rest. Since they never had any special talent to call their own. A wonderful tale of hard work and persistence can sometimes be more than enough to make worth a title or task that you wish to accomplish.

Much like the rest of the series, its calming and slice-of-life aspects do wonders for the show. Ever since the release of these trilogy installments of movies the animation has taken a turn, not for the worst I'd say. Although different and vibrant it still has that heart and care of the world Neo-Venezia and brings our cast in a different light we hadn't seen before. As much as I'd prefer the series to go full circle and end with an Akari story we got this one. However, this ending is just as pleasant and more than fitting enough. As we finally say our last goodbye to the world of Neo-Veniza with all its wonders and most importantly its cast of characters.

“Lots of things change with the flow of time. But there are things that never change. Things that are precious because they change, and things that are precious because they don’t change… Both are precious. Don’t you feel the same?” – Akari Mizunashi

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Jan 1, 2023

Yururu

Mixed Feelings

I refuse to score this but want to write my thoughts, but why do reviews do the counterintuitive thing and make you score it…

The story boarding/layout/storytelling doesn’t even hold a candle to the originals and even a simple ova (arietta) was so much better than this 1 hour movie we got. Aria was known for its subtlety, epitomizing eloquent show not tell storytelling that was not highbrow and easily understood by all(accessible). These 3 installments were the opposite: all about telling through exposition dumps and explaining rather than showing their feelings. The setup was waayy to long, this could’ve been chopped down to 30-40 mins ... and nothing would’ve been lost.

There were some continuity issues, the biggest being middle school Aika having short hair in middle school while she stated in series that growing her hair out to be long like Alicia’s was her goal since meeting her. Which is why middle school aika should’ve had long hair. Her whole arc in animation>natural was realizing she could never be a prima like Alicia and would begin carving out her own path as an undine which was metaphorically shown by the length of her hair. Also, it was so unlikely that she didn’t know Alicia and didn’t visit her until akira introduced her. Being a daughter of a gondola conglomerate she must’ve known about Aria company and should’ve recognized Alicia by the uniform.

What made up for these minor gripes was showing how aika’s prima exam went. Ngl, I teared up watching that part lol. Brought back so many memories of the tv series and being able to see how Aika passed and that last scene of Akira taking off her glove was so emotional. Reliving memories of Aika growing up lol. Makes me want to rewatch the original all over again except I have no time to cries.

To be honest, what I wish these 3 installments were about was seeing the 3 girls growth as primas and mentoring the newbs. And seeing from their perspective how hard it was for their mentors to mentor them. That would’ve completed the cycle of mentor-mentee and would’ve been a much more satisfying end to the series imo. Oh wells, it is what it is, just sad that this is an actual end to aria as they’re prob not going continue making spin offs anymore. This is not Eva after all and won’t attract new anime fans to watch it as it is a pretty underrated hidden gem of an anime.

Sadly they don’t make iyashikei like this anymore and doubt anything that comes up in the next 25 years will be able to top this. Should prob buy the blue rays if they still exist lol, prob the better move in the long run. A treasure like this must be preserved for decades to come.

Sincerely,
Your average Aria enjoyer who rewatched the original 4+ times.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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	Poll: Aria the Benedizione Episode 1 Discussion xxxATiON - Aug 22, 2022	21 replies	by ZER0PT »» Aug 25, 12:24 PM
	A 3rd movie EJ_99 - Mar 27, 2022	4 replies	by Quintessence »» Apr 28, 2023 11:48 AM
	So when is this movie available? AoiroBlueColor - Dec 2, 2021	16 replies	by ooReiko »» Aug 2, 2022 6:50 AM
	Opens in Japan on December 3; New Key Visual & Trailer; OP & ED MegamiRem - Aug 10, 2021	10 replies	by KiliianSleipnir »» Dec 2, 2021 11:09 PM
	Benedizione PV, new key visual, release date Junchi - Mar 21, 2021	5 replies	by Kvozart »» Nov 6, 2021 1:27 PM