“Neo-Venezia is filled with many inconspicuous yet wonderful things which soothe the spirit.”- Akira episode 7
Aria is a rather niche anime. It caters to those who want melancholy, to those who want cuteness, and to those who want to see an optimistic depiction of life. It's due to this that some people find Aria to be rather "boring" or "too slow" or "does not enough adversity", while others find Aria to be an inspiration, a masterpiece, a way to live life. This causes a huge divide in the people who find Aria to be an absolute masterpiece, and those who regard Aria as just your
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average "Cute Girls Doing Cute Things" show. To this I say, that's fine if you don't find Aria to your taste, but you would be dumb to think that what Aria stands for, and tries so hard to establish each and every episode, is not something that is desperately needed in our current world.
Art & Animation: 8/10
For a 2005 anime, Aria's art and animation is extremely fluid and somewhat ahead of its time. The art is simple, and although does has its jank moments, for the most part is very pretty and has aged quite well. The animation is very smooth, and it never gave off the impression that it was cheep whatsoever. What separates Aria from it's contemporaries from its time is its absolutely beautiful landscapes during the episode's most critical moments; the moments that just leaves you with awe at how beautiful the scene is, and how meaningful it is to our characters, and what we can take away from it.
Music: 9/10
The vast majority of Aria's soundtrack is extremely melancholy and jolly. Some people will not like this type of music, which is completely understandable, but to those who are fans of this type of music, which I am, it is a soundtrack that will stay with you for a very long time. It evokes this overwhelming feeling of calm and awe, which supports the art and animation into building this extremely melancholy mood.
Story & Themes: 9/10
As it is with most slice of life animes, the story of Aria is very simple, at least on the surface, being an episodic anime and all. However when you peel back those layers, focusing your attention on the fine details, you'll see that there is a lot of complexity that goes into each and every episode. This applies to the themes and messages of Aria as well. Although the ideas and themes that Aria presents is rather obvious, digging deeper and analyzing all of the symbols and quotes, you'll be surprised at how much depth there actually is within these seemingly simple and obvious ideas. I would know, as I have been annotating each and every episode of this season in great depth. One example would be the long running symbolism of water in Aria, be sure to look out for this one and how it plays a role in adding depth to many of these episodes. In short, although on the surface Aria may seem rather shallow, there is still a lot of depth that goes into it.
Characters: 9/10
What I just said about the story of Aria also applies to its characters. The characters are rather simple, but are charming and has a great level of depth to them. One example of this comes from the character's catch phrases. Some people find annoyance in some of these catch phrases, which is very understandable. However unlike some other slice of life animes, these catch phrases, when dissected a little more closely, does a fantastic job at representing the core nature of these characters, and why they are so beloved. Let's take Aika for example
*MINOR SPOILERS FOR AIKA'S CHARACTER*. Aika's famous catch phrase is "No sappy lines aloud" which she says whenever someone else, usually Akari, says something that is very cheesy. This is symbolic of Aika's more serious and impatient nature compared to everyone else, as she is someone who wants to see quick and immediate results for her training, and has a business-like attitude towards being a Prima Undine and life as a whole, at least at first. With this, it's fair to assume that she doesn't like dawdling on any deep meaning about life or anything else, which is what her line of "no sappy lines aloud" expresses about her. There's more to this analysis as well, but I would like to end it here as this is a review, not an analysis. *SPOILERS END HERE* This is one of several examples if how these character's famous catchphrases actually has a lot of depth to them, and just goes to show that the characters of Aria aren't at all paper thin.
All in all, Aria is a very interesting anime. On the surface, it seems like your average "Cute Girls Doing Cute Things" type of show. However when you actually dive into it, you'll see that there is actually an amazing amount of depth to everything. The lessons that are presented in Aria are very simple, but the WAY they are presented makes them memorable and meaningful. Aria The Animation certainly isn't perfect by any means. After all, it's slow pacing and character development, as well as its abundant use of catch-phrases, does not sit well with some people. However if you are someone who likes slow burning stories, Aria is one anime that you should not sleep on. After all, living in this world with our extremely busy lives that makes years blow by before we even know it, learning how to slow everything down and taking in all of the little things around us is a very, very valuable thing; just like what Akari does.
“You (Akari) once said that Neo-Venezia was made of miracles. But maybe all of Aqua itself was made from a gentle miracle.”- Ai episode 4
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Dec 29, 2020
Aria the Animation
(Anime)
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“Neo-Venezia is filled with many inconspicuous yet wonderful things which soothe the spirit.”- Akira episode 7
Aria is a rather niche anime. It caters to those who want melancholy, to those who want cuteness, and to those who want to see an optimistic depiction of life. It's due to this that some people find Aria to be rather "boring" or "too slow" or "does not enough adversity", while others find Aria to be an inspiration, a masterpiece, a way to live life. This causes a huge divide in the people who find Aria to be an absolute masterpiece, and those who regard Aria as just your ... 
Feb 2, 2019
Violet Evergarden
(Anime)
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Quick disclaimer, Violet Evergarden is my favourite anime as of right now. So as hard as I try to stay unbiased, some bias will definitely come through.
Violet Evergarden is a big breath of fresh air for anime. It may not be that original, but not everything needs to be original to be good, and for everything Violet Evergarden does, it does spectacularly. Story: 10/10 The story is simple, nothing too out of the ordinary, but the way the story is executed makes it so endearing. Every single episode, we are introduced to a new character that goes their own troubles, and they are solved by Violets ... |
