Audience reviews
20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
literaturenerd
Aria is often seen as the essential anime within the iyashikei sub-genre, which falls under Slice of Life umbrella. Before we talk about iyashikei or "healing" anime, we have to define Slice of Life.
Firstly, the genre tag Slice of Life gets used way too often here on MAL. Both School Rumble and Kino's Journey are tagged this way, despite being fundamentally different shows on nearly every level. On MAL, Slice of Life is used to refer to virtually any series that's not heavily plot oriented and doesn't feature tons of blood and boobs. School Rumble is a slapstick romantic comedy whereas Kino is a psychological/philosophical series. A slightly more concrete definition would be "A naturalistic depiction of people going through a mundane period of real, everyday life". While half the anime c…
Read at the sourceNervin
Slice of life anime are difficult to represent to audiences in an entertaining manner without being a boring spectacle; that's why most of these have dramatic or romantic elements, or a lot of fanservice in them in order to be appealing to the viewer. But then there is Aria: The Animation, a slice of life in its purest form, that proves that such type of anime doesn't need any of the above to be succesful. Having dived in without any expectations whatsoever, I was pleasantly surprised: it was proven how wonderful and relaxing such a simple anime can be.
~Story~
The premise of Aria: The Animation is of simple nature: Akari Mizunashi, a teenager who moved from Manhome to the planet Aqua (formerly known as Mars), joins the Aria Company to become a professional Undine - or a professional tou…
Read at the sourcePyraXadon
We all live in a very fast paced world. To us humans, time is everything, and every second used is a second that can be used to be more "productive" or "better". Because of this, we become creatures of habit, living cogs that let life fly by us without a moment's thought. We don't really take time to enjoy the smaller things in life, to just sit down, relax, and take in the finer things that can go unnoticed. It is here where we have Aria the Animation, a gem from 2005, and the beginning of the whole Aria series. Author's note: If I write down any sappy lines, I'm sorry. It's just hard not to do that for this series.
Story (8.00/10): Aria the Animation takes place in the world known as Aqua, an alien planet settled and created by humans as a sort of "second planet" in order to satisfy the…
Read at the sourceDHKany
For starters, this anime has quite literally changed my outlook on life. Having gone through a fair amount of distress this past year, I was looking for something that could bring some tranquility to past few hectic months. Watching Aria brought me this, and so much more, and I'll explain later on.
The story takes place in the 24th century on a terraformed Mars (now called Aqua), where Akari (our MC) strives to be a top class Undine in Neo Venezia. Truly sticking to the nature of SoL, past the first 3-4 episodes Aria the Animation is almost entirely episodic, yet it never feels boring or pointless despite the direction of the plot. Each episodes digs into each of the characters and their relationships with one another, and how they grow as people. It feels real, and it feels natural. Even…
Read at the sourceBanjoTheBear
(This has been adapted from my reddit thread)
There's a lot that goes on in a day-to-day basis that can easily elevate stress levels. Rushing to work due to oversleeping or caring for a crying child bring about more trouble than was initially had. Eventually, these separate events can pile together to the point of breaking. It's at this time that a reprieve is needed. A much-earned break, that brings simple serenity and peace of mind. And it's during this mellow moment that one discovers that the simple things in life are truly precious. Aria the Animation takes this to heart, marking the start of a rather laid-back journey.
STORY
Aria the Animation essentially follows Akari, a young woman working for the Aria Company, a tour-by-gondola establishment. Alongside her best friends Aika and…
Read at the sourcedying_starlight
More than a masterpiece.
Seriously, to make this you need to be much more than a genius. Slice of life? I would not say so. It does not look like life at all. "Aria" series is a different world, which drags you into like a tornado. And once you are there, you don't want to go back.
Objectively, nothing happens for the whole 53 episodes + OVA. There is, literally, no action or plot. At all. What we see is a girl's everyday life in Neo Venezia, an imaginary city in the future at Mars. She works as a tour guide, hangs out with friends, etc etc. Why is the show so facinating?
The answer is atmosphere. I don't know what should you do to create such an atmosphere of love, innocence and peace. Artwork, pretty simple but stunning in its simplyness, along with soundtrack create something impossible…
Read at the sourceShrabster
Aria has garnered one of the most interesting reputations I have seen. Put on such an impossibly high pedestal yet still as polarizing as any other slice of life series if not more so makes it an oddity that one can't help but be curious about. And, if nothing else, Aria is a very unique challenge and experience for just about anyone.
Aria is about a group of girls who want to become the best professional boat rowers possible. There is a lot of food and tea in between.
Aria, for better or worse, doesn't change much throughout the course of the series. For me this caused an already episodic and formulaic series to wear thin even faster. Most of the episodes end with a message about appreciating the beauty of life, or something similar, accompanied by scenery porn and calming music. While…
Read at the source-fefo-
Story: it looks like an episodic slice of life on a somewhat fantasy world, but if you rewatch this show or you are a bit smart you may notice the true: this is about a girl who arrives in a fantasy world from a couch, this is a metaphor of the "Drug's world".
Sadly, Aria follows our main character, Akari, who is a 15 years old girl inserted in the drug's world (probably powerful narcotics, or LSD) by a woman called "Alicia". It evens gets more dark when Aria wants you to think Akari doesn't know she is affected by these narcotics " When i came to Aqua ( Alice's house) i wanted to be ......( i dont want to make any spoiler) ....... but then i started to see everything of this world was awesome (probably because of the narcotics)", every time i see it that chapter i have to pause, cry and…
Read at the sourcedrearyrain
Aria the Animation is not an anime for everybody. It's perceived as boring to many people, which is understandable. There is little action here and the plot is somewhat slow and aimless. There's also little moe compared to other slice-of-life anime. I should also mention as this IS set in a utopian society, there won’t be nearly as many sad emotions as happy ones, so those looking for a realistic anime should also not expect to find it here; Aria is blissful if nothing else. However, if you are in the mood to watch something relaxing and heartwarming, Aria the Animation would be a perfect choice.
The setting takes place in the Utopian society of Neo Venezia, in the planet of Aqua, a terraformed planet filled with water. Though it does take place in the future and is classified as “sci-fi,…
Read at the sourceOdysseusUlysses
The past has always been a concept of fascination and longing, sometimes even to the point of obsession. One only has to read Scot Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby" or J.D. Salinger's "The catcher in the Rye" to see wonderful examples of stories and characters obsessed with time and living in the ostensibly golden world of the past. Humans are very guilty of this crime, we constantly refer to the good old days, we flock to ruins and ancient cities as we believe them to have an almost magical quality, we invariably ignore the words of George Orwell who once said "contrary to popular belief the past was not more eventful than the present". It would seem to me that this love of the past is as ubiquitous as love itself, and so it should come as no surprise to find it alive and well in the anime…
Read at the sourcexbobx
"May this town's kindness reach the hearts of many people..."
From what I saw, I'm sure it will.
The first idea I wanted to share in this review is that Aria is a series that speaks for itself. What I'm doing here is merely trying to explain a complex story within a few lines. I would never be able to summarize all the pros/cons of Aria, first because each person will see it in a deferent way, and second because you would need to watch it in order to understand all the comparisons, metaphores and symbolism I would mention.
That said, I'm reviewing it with the sole purpose of bringing more viewers for this amazing chronicle and hopefully introduce more and more people to Aqua and its habitants.
Aria is an anime that everybody should watch, still, it's not an anime that will work for eve…
Read at the sourceValkqt
Aria the Animation is the first of three anime series adapted from the Aria manga and focuses mainly on introducing the main characters - Akari, Aika and Alice - and the world of Aqua and Neo-Venezia, without going into much depth and while keeping an extremely relaxing and soothing atmosphere.
For that reason the pacing of the first series can be a little off-putting to some viewers, as the new elements each episode adds are developed only to a limited scope (the introduction) and it might feel as though the whole series is nothing more than cute characters, chilly backgrounds, and relaxing BGM, especially to those viewers who aren't used to the slice of life genre - The Animation is more about taking it easy than actually developing the characters.
Technically, the animation is quite g…
Read at the sourceSmileeyface
This is NOT a review. This is a spoiler-free guide to enjoying ARIA. It is only fitting that a guide is written for a story about Aqua's guides.
First off, let me state that this is a guide to the -entire- ARIA collection, i.e. Aria the Animation, the Natural, the OVA and the Origination. I feel that it is necessary for the entire collection to be presented together since a potential viewer should watch the entire collection instead of just any one part.
I won’t be describing what ARIA is about; it is well-described in the synopsis and other reviews. You too, would want to be the one discovering and understanding what ARIA is about to you.
Let me first give you a rundown on what you can expect from ARIA:
1. You want to take a break from the usual action-packed and angst-filled anime.…
Read at the sourcemakoa69
I have been told from many different internet sites that Aria is the greatest of all slice of life animes. While slice of life animes usually don't attract me, I decided to give Aria a try. I just finished the first season over about a week and still have the buzz of the last episode all over. It definitely was a unique watch.
Aria takes place far in the future. Mankind has successfully given Mars a habitable environment, complete with the same force of gravity as Earth's, an atmosphere that is equally capable of absorbing blue light, massive oceans rivaling Earth's, and a very diverse biolife, all imported from Earth and successfully multiplied. They have also created an extremely fast and efficient method of travel between Earth and Mars and now people come to Mars for vacations. Despit…
Read at the sourceInushinde
Sometimes, the mundane and ordinary can be the wellspring of life's greatest stories. Aria takes this idea, bludgeons it mercilessly, and runs with it. Strangely enough, it works. Actually, bludgeoning likely isn't the best verb. Sedating is more suitable, since Aria is probably the most relaxing show in recent memory.
Aesthetically, Aria the Animation is a gorgeous series. From the pristine water that the gondolas so gracefully glide over to the well kept stone buildings, the city of Neo Venezia is brought to life by its splendid colors and vibrant tone. There's a feeling of life and soul breathed into it, yet it's calming in its tranquil beauty. History is exuded from every structure, almost as if Neo Venezia has existed for well over a thousand years, like its Earth-born counterpart.…
Read at the sourceMoonlith
I stumbled upon Aria years ago when reading a review about the manga and made a mental note to check it out later. Positively drawn in by Kozue Amano's original work, I soon picked up the anime as well. For a reason I still can't recall I dropped the show nearly three years ago, and it wasn't until just recently that I finished what I started back then. And though not much had changed for either better or worse from what I remembered, I'm glad I did so.
Aria the Animation is not for you, who prefers a clear cut and classically constructed storyline that moves from point A to point B with some key events in between. Aria the Animation is not for you, who requires relentless action and constant fast-paced happenings from their anime. And most certainly Aria the Animation is not for you, who…
Read at the sourcekekekeKaj
If I were to describe this anime with a single word, the word would probably be "boring". Surprising perhaps, given that it lies in the "Good" region of my rating scales, but that's what this anime is. In this case, "boring" isn't used so much to label "Aria" as an unwatchably dull anime (though to some it probably is) as to describe what actually happens in it, which is absolutely nothing. For "Aria", in many ways, represents the very essence of a slice-of-life anime.
In "Aria", there are no evil villains to fight, no complicated plots to untangle, no philosophical conundrums to contemplate... just about the only interesting detail in "Aria" is that it's set on Mars, a Mars of the future that resembles Venice with its abundance of water and gondolas. But don't let this exotic location fo…
Read at the sourceGrimaH
This is pure therapeutic bliss. Literally.
STORY
The story is simple and in execution turns out great. Taking into account the fact that this is a slice-of-life, the pacing is so wonderfully planned out, and the episodic stories so well-rounded in themselves, that one should never find oneself bored out of his wits from exploring the wonderful place that is Neo-Venezia.
And that is a real feat.
ART
Oh god the background is beautiful. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful.
And accurate (mostly) too, as some guy from Lonely Planet frequenting Animesuki and going on a (mostly business) trip to Venice found out.
Decent effort was also made for the characters. Only 1 obvious QUALITY image ever jumped out at me after the third rewatch and for the most part there were no flaws. Though it'd have been…
Read at the sourcemartusf
Story
The story is unique, in my book. I mean, who thinks of making a slice of life on Mars. That's just really original and awesome. The episodes are slowpaced and deal with the daily lives of the undines, small discoveries, new friends and so on, all of it executed in a fine manner. Still, it was a little too slow sometimes.
Animation
Overall I thought it was good. Nice colours, and good character designs. And the many shots of Aqua were nice. But I still got a feeling it wasn't perfect. I guess it could have been more detailed, specially the people and their faces. But it was pleasant still.
Sound
This is just great, there is some soothing background music nearly all the time, and it gets you really relaxed. The opening and ending themes are also nice songs, that I never skipped. Ther…
Read at the sourceArchaeon
I'm quite surprised that no one's actually written a review for this yet.
I have to admit that I wasn't sure what to expect from this show. The synopsis didn't really give any clues as to what I should expect, and that is probably the best thing about it - it isn't quite what you expect.
The story takes place on what used to be Mars (the first thing I didn't expect), in a place called Neo-Venzia (New Venice), and is about a girl training to be an Undine (the story uses the term to refer to a female gondolier rather than a water spirit). The story itself isn't linear in any way, as each episode is a story in it's own right. Normally this is a recipe for disaster in the anime world, but it works in this show - I'll explain why in a bit.
The art and animation are of a very high standard,…
Read at the source