DISCLAIMER: This review was written after watching Aria: The Natural as well. This same review - with edits to pertain to Natural specifically is located on its respective page.

If you were to ask me a year ago if I had an favorite Iyashikei anime I would of been confused to what you actually mean. Little did I know at the time but I had actually watched a fair number of them and they were some of my more highly rated shows. K-ON!, Non Non Biyori, A Channel, How To Keep A Mummy, New Game and Tanaka-kun Is Always Listless just to new a few.

The Aria series was another one of those anime on my radar that I subconsciously had added to my watch list many months ago. So when the opportunity arose to watch it with the /r/anime community during a rewatch came up I took my chance - especially since its length would cause me to skip out to watch something shorter.

The premise of Aria is simple; Mars has been terraformed and is now covered in water and everyone there decided to model it after Venice (dubbing it Neo-Venezia - how original). Akari moves to the planet from Man-Home (aka Earth) and is an apprentice to become a Prima Undine at the Aria Company. It is from this simple premise that the series springboards and shines.

From the many people she meets, and various activities of our three main characters (each from different companies) we get to live in a world that looks from the Renaissance era (the golden age of real life Venice) but feels like the present and more often than not the future. In a medium filled with wanna-be-heroes, conflict and drama Aria: The Animation stands out as a show with none of that. Its refreshing as whatever conflict there is in Aria is believable, relatable and not overblown for the sake of entertainment. This incidents also are encompassed in each episode - with no higher level plot to speak of (perhaps other than the girls desires to become Undines).

The cast is well thought out and doesn't ever feel bloated. The main girls (Akari, Alice and Aika) are all fantastic - each fitting a typical role. Akari is an airhead and dreamer (a pink haired deredere), Alice is stoic and shy (our green hair dandere/kuudere), and Aika is energetic and headstrong (a blue haired tsundere). Their mentors (Alicia, Athena and Akira respectively) are a neat glimpse into their students possible future. While similar in many ways they have changed in subtle ways to be different from their students (over their lives) making them perfect mentors for them. The supporting male cast of Akatasuki, Al and Woody are windows into the other main professions on Aqua and serve as comedic entertainment more than anything when on screen (other than Al).

Throughout The Natural we get some much need character development for our three main girls. While The Animation mainly focused on Akari and began her deep supernatural connection with Aqua in various ways we to see the other girls off on their own just as much.

For Alice we get to understand her various traits that gives context to her stoic nature. For Aika we get to see her overcome her insecurities and develop her interest for Al. Even the mentors and male supporting case get some love in The Natural. We get to see glimpses of their childhood on Aqua and how they all formed a friendship together that still is strong - even with their diverging path choices.

One thing The Natural does that The Animation started (which I don't cover in my The Animation review) is the world building - something that anime today tend to forget early on and then rush to make. Strong connections are made to relate back to Venice on man-home all through-out the season. This is done through various different means but its the history of Aqua and its story that is greatly expanded upon. The Salamanders, and The Gnomes (two of the other specialized professions apart from Undines) are explained in more detail and how their contribute to society on Aqua on a day to day basis.

Akari's story is developed further as she grows more and more fond of Aqua and in return Aqua seems to let her into itself. The supernatural elements are much stronger here in The Natural than in The Animation and does it make a difference. It's these encounters that move Akari forward - turning her from a static trope into an actual human that by the end of The Natural has changed. This show really captures everyday life and that while overall you may have changed it was done subconsciously with small improvements over this time.

Being from 2006 this show still stands up to me. I personally was amazed at the beauty in the artwork of the show - even over 10 years later. The animation is smooth and the art style really fits well allowing you to relax and immerse yourself in the world. Voice acting was very well done, each character has their own unique "voice" to them that is recognizable even when they are off screen. A typical gag throughout the show is Akari saying some sort of dreamy line with Aika snapping back at her "No sappy lines allowed" followed by Akari's now signature "Ehhh?" or "Huh?". Music is another thing in this show that is soothing to the soul - it blends perfectly into the setting.

In an unusual twist Aria's OP animation is different for every episode - with Neo-Venezia being panned over with various day to day activities of its residents. Make sure never to skip the OP cause first you will miss some great scenic shots (with some a fantastic OP) but also sometimes their is a conversation happening that pertains to the episodes events. Another quirk of Aria is its narration style. The beginning of the episode always starts with Akari having some sort of conversation with Alice and Aika, thinking out loud to herself, or reading out an email she is sending to her friend Ai back on Man-Home detailing events of the day. Every episode also ends, before the ED, with either Ai or Akari reading out their reply email to each other from the beginning of the episode. Its such a subtle thing, but it perfectly bookends each episode into its own little story - with its own little lesson or discovery.

Discovery and lessons are a big part of Aria - teaching the viewer that you can always learn in life and it will always be unexpected. Akari is a boundless source of optimism throughout Aria and her eagerness to experience new an exciting things drives the shows narratives along. While she may be clumsy and air-headed Akari is thoughtful and perceptive seeing things in such a different light from those around her; teaching even her elders a thing or two from time to time.

At the time of writing the /r/anime rewatch has completed up to Aria: The Natural and already Aria has firmly placed itself as a must recommend to anyone from me who enjoys a more laid-back anime that they can unwind to after a long or stressful day. It also may be one of the oldest anime I have ever watched (excluding Neon Genesis Evangelion), but is still is relevant even in 2019 and most definitely beyond.

Recently a Kickstarter was backed to remaster (bring it up to HD quality) the entire Aria collection and also dub it (if you are into that thing). So I would highly recommend checking it out to see if it is available anywhere (at the time of writing this review it is not). I know I will be buying it and rewatching this show again.