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Aria is set far in the future. Mars has been terraformed, which melted the polar ice caps and covered much of the red planet in water. The capital of this world is Neo-Venezia, built exactly like the city of Venice back on Earth. Aria centers around three trainee gondoliers (undines), Akari, Aika and Alice.
Each episode focuses on something that the characters do which probably seems very ordinary. In the second episode, for instance, the rising of the water (Acqua Alta) forces Akari to wear boots while she goes to buy cat food. She gets caught in the rain, and stays over at her friend's ... house. That's it.

This is precisely why Aria is not for everyone.

Because both the manga and anime fit perfectly into the slice-of-life genre...not much happens throughout the course of the entire series.

And that's the beauty of it.

Aria gently forces you to slow down and appreciate everyday things that most people consider to be mundane or ordinary. Going to get cat food is more fun when you get caught in the rain. Life looks a little different when you view it through the window of an ancient café populated by cats.

It's these little unplanned incidents which prove the people who say that "nothing" happens in the anime/manga wrong. In fact, quite a bit happens; you just have to stop and notice it.

The art of Aria is lush and natural, like the namesake of the anime's second season. Kozue Amano draws the backgrounds of the manga with such reality that still manages to present the ethereal, otherworldly quality of Neo-Venezia so much so that you want to reach through the page and touch it. The anime is beautifully drawn as well, with the water especially being gorgeous - you can almost feel the sea spraying your face as Akari and her gondola guide you serenely down a narrow canal in New Venice.

Aria, for me, taught me to appreciate even the tiny things in life that make it so wonderful.
And that's why I love it.

So, recommended? Yes. Even if you don't like slice-of-life, watch one episode, read one chapter, whatever - because we all need to relax for a little while. And that's why we have Aria!

Simply put, it's a sugar-encrusted dessert of a manga.

More elaborately put...well, let's start simply with the characters. Our protagonist Najika has a tragic history, but is an excellent cook and seems to be a very kind, caring and generally nice person. A little bit of a Mary-Sue, but not horrible.

Our two male leads don't have much background when we first meet them, and though this does change later, we still aren't very sympathetic with their love for Najika. The supporting cast is mediocre at best, most of the characters fitting easily into stereotypes without much pushing and shoving.

The tragedy of Najika's past is continually put ... into the spotlight, so that, I can only assume, readers feel more sympathy for her than they would otherwise. It was fine in the first five or six volumes, but by #9 it was just ridiculous.

The art is okay, it's nothing super-special. The food is drawn well with enough detail so you can tell exactly what it's supposed to be, but it's no mouthwatering gourmet meal leaping off the page.

This story is perfect if you're a younger reader looking to start out with a nice simple manga that's easy to read and enjoy, but if you've been reading for a while and are past the stages where you gape over the huge eyes and flip confusedly through the pages reading the wrong way, Kitchen Princess won't satisfy you.

Pros:
-Good for younger readers.
Cons:
-Plotline is overused.
-Characters come off as stereotypical.
-For $10.95 USD a volume, I would say it isn't worth the money.

Recommended? No.

First review time...

Pixie Pop centers around Mayu Kousaka. She's down in the dumps after being rejected by her crush, Amamiya-kun, especially when she finds out he's in the same class as her on her first day of middle school. Embarrassed and crushed at her rejection, Mayu returns home to drink some pop and forget about Amamiya...but after drinking a strange concoction left out on the bar of her mother's café, Mayu discovers the drink fairy Pucho!

Pucho says that what Mayu drank was her "Seven-Color Drink", which Pucho needed to turn into an adult...and now whenever Mayu drinks something, with the exception of water, her body ... will transform!

At first Mayu doesn't believe it...but when she drinks cold milk and grows almost too big for her house, it starts seeming real.

This manga is very short, only three volumes - but each one is wonderful to read. The art is pretty, especially the characters' extraordinarily oversized eyes, and the sugary-sweet shoujo colors on the front of each manga volume.
The story doesn't particularly draw you in, but it reads lightly and easily, like a refreshing sip of soda after a hot day. In every chapter, our poor heroine Mayu transforms into all kinds of wacky characters - melon makes her popular, green tea turns her into an old lady, and pork soup...well, that one was a disaster.

The main love story is also not particularly engaging - a long game of will-they-won't-they and he-loves-me,-he-loves-me-not ensues between Mayu and Amamiya - but Mayu is refreshingly sweet and supporting characters like Mayu's best friend Nazuna and Amamiya's friend Ryouta make for an entertaining side story, aptly titled "Desserts".

All in all, definitely recommended for those who want a short, light and sweet read. Probably won't satiate you if your desire is for a long-running series, but good to grab and read on the go. It won't take you long to finish, and you'll be sad when you do.

Pros:
-Cute art.
-Well-developed characters.
-Interesting plot idea.
-Quick and easy to read.
Cons:
-Not a very deep plot
-Could be too short for some

Recommended? Yes!