Aria - Final Thoughts
Plot: Aria takes place in the early 24th century, starting in 2301 AD, in the city of Neo-Venezia on the planet Aqua—formerly Mars, which was renamed after being terraformed into a habitable planet covered in oceans around 150 years ago. Neo-Venezia, based on Venice in both architecture and atmosphere, is a harbor city of narrow canals instead of streets, traveled by unmotorized gondolas. A young woman named Akari arrives from Manhome (formerly Earth) to become a trainee gondolier with Aria Company, one of the three most prestigious water-guide companies in the city. Her dream is to become an undine, a gondolier who acts as tour guide. As she trains, Akari befriends her mentor Alicia, trainees and seniors from rival companies - Aika, Alice, Akira and Athena and others characters in the Neo-Venezia city. -Wikipedia
Thoughts: The reason why I picked up on this on this series was mostly due to the beautiful artwork that Kozue Amano, the author, has created in the original manga. I mean, each scenery and backgrounds of the Neo-Venezia world are very detailed. Especially the venetian buildings are all drawn with precision that looks exactly like the real ones in Venice city.
This animation doesn't have a heavy plot story. In addition, it has a slow paced style so, it requires a lot of patience with this series. However, this anime is mostly to be enjoyed through a sit back and relax kind of atmosphere. Even the music/soundtrack for this series is very soothing and calm which sets up the mood for this type setting.
The characters in this anime are very likable and I did not find any characters that I didn't like. Each of the characters has different personalities which makes them charming and lovable in their own way. Even the side characters had some bittersweet and memorable moments as well. This shows that all of the characters has an important role in this story.
Overall, I did enjoy this series. It's simple story line, and you get to meet various characters through out the entire series. Watching this show is like riding on one of their gondolas which you can just sit back and enjoy the wonderful scenery of Neo-Venezia. This anime shows a slice of life of each characters' journey onto becoming a professional gondolier. And, it takes you into the world of Neo-Venezia's history, culture, and its' eye-catching environment.
