Summary:
Mizunashi Akari wakes up for another day working as an apprentice for the tiny Aria Company. It’s tough work dealing with stalkers like Izumo Akatski and having to practice rowing alone, but Florence Alicia is off being a legend and bringing home the bacon. One day, a loli named Ai calls up the company hoping to get a ride on Alicia’s gondola. However, since Akari is the only one at the shop, Ai has to settle for a crappy free ride (since Akari cannot take paying customers yet).
While out rowing, Akari runs into her friend Granzchesta Aika of the Himeya Company. Since the ride with Akari sucked, Ai wants to try Aika’s gondola next. They also stop off for some buttered potato, which is surprisingly delicious because they use tons of MSG on Aqua (aka Mars). Unfortunately, while the girls are loading up on fat and carbs, the cat President Aria falls off a pole into the water. Akari shows how she learned to row backwards on her college crew team, and it’s way faster but apparently still not fast enough to catch a cat sitting in a metal bowl. Fortunately, Alicia glides in to save President Aria, and Ai learns to stop hating on Aqua and Neo Venzia (aka Venice).
Reaction:
Ender told me I would be bored with this slow slice-of-life show, but this first episode was kinda exciting. I’m glad Akari got Ai to stop sipping the hateorade, just because Ai’s sister kept bragging about how Aqua was so good that it was baby-making good. On the other hand, the special ougi rowing that Akari demonstrated was not really that impressive. Akari has to have someone else sitting in the boat to navigate, and the weight increase probably negates much of the speed increase (especially after eating buttered potatoes). The other thing that bothered me is how small Aria Company is. One Undine and one apprentice? Is this a Sith company or something?
Meanwhile, I don’t know who that Akatsuki guy thinks he’s fooling, but he is obviously calling constantly to hear the voice of his little “momiko” (pigtails). If he really just wanted to hear Alicia’s voice, he could have recorded the message. Plus, no one gets a crush on a side-character in the first episode. Anyway, I enjoyed the great characters (so far Aika has my early vote), and the mood and music were nice. I’m looking forward to some great Undine training montages and speeches about guts and miracles.
22 Comments
I thought you hated slice-of-life? Someone must have slipped some Ritalin into your lunch!
It wasn’t nearly as boring as say an episode of Minami-ke Okawari. I thought the chase was pretty exciting, and it helps when the characters are likable.
I want to see what all the hype is about with Aria, so I guess I’m doing this series for me. I’ve found that retro-blogging tends to be a lonely experience, but maybe with the announcement of the license some new viewers will watch along with me and make the experience more enjoyable.
Wow, someone who’s further behind on ARIA than I am. XD On episode 5 of season 1 myself, so I’m happy to see others experiencing this show for the first time as well.
To be honest, Aria was a bit too mellow of a show for me, but I have the feeling that’s the way it’s supposed to be. It seems like it’d be a great show to unwind or to relax with, just that I haven’t had those circumstances yet.
Great choice of a series to pick up, despite being two years or so late.
ARIA is probably the best example of modern ‘iyashikei’ shows, the type you’d watch to relieve stress after a trying time at work. Time will, I dunno, pass when you watch ARIA. It’s entrancing, but also indescribable. You’ll get why people call it the franchise that everyone likes, but no one talks about. ^.^
The Sith metaphor has been joked about for quite some time now in the ARIA community. ^^; The full extent of the “Always two there are, no more, no less, a master and an apprentice.” will be revealed as the series goes on. ^^;
Enjoy your stay in AQUA!
Now I kinda want to know what you wanted to watch it for in the first place. :P
Kabitzin, glad you see that the first episode was enjoyable for you. :#
CCY: I’m going in assuming that this series will be slow, but I can’t wait to get to know the characters better so I can understand all the inside jokes.
Myssa Rei: This is precisely why I wanted to check this show out and blog it. It seems that very few (if any) bloggers covered the first few seasons, and since I have not watched any Aria yet, I figured it would be perfect. It’s a bit of a long commitment, but I didn’t end up finding a fourth show that I really wanted to cover, so I pulled the trigger on Aria.
Skane: What?! You mean they never hire more than one person at a time? Are they not charging enough on gondola rides??? I was just kidding about the Sith thing, but I am surprised that it really is a factor.
The BigN: The nice thing is that these types of shows tend to get better as you get familiar with the cast. So if this episode was good…
>Are they not charging enough on gondola rides???
I suspect Alicia’s fare was why Aika’s sister/bro-in-law quarrelled XD
Personally, it’s Akari who makes the show for me. She’s the source of some of the most profound lines ever uttered in animedom. All embarrassing of course.
What I never liked about Aria is its SD mode because it looks poorly executed, unfitting and destroys the mood for me. The ugly cats are also a minus in my book, especially when they get focus. Other than that it’s nice and relaxing but not as good as Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou (Quiet Country Cafe).
By the way, can’t you cut those black bars on the side from the screenshots?
Wow, just starting on the first season? I’ll read the blog, though, cause Sea Slugs is hilarious.
Alpha (whoops, Akari), is a great character in a character driven show. Aria is all about characters and setting. Great stuff!
I agree that the CG can look out of place, but the only place it really bothered me was the boats, especially the empty ones. They only bob up and down on the water never along an axis of pitch, roll, or yaw. (Yeah, I’m anal that way) Boats with gondoliers or undines in them almost invariably glide straight and level, but that’s part of what being an undine is all about.
I love all of Aria, really, but sometimes I watch it late for the nod off factor. You’ve seen all the action footage in the 3 year run already.
Seriously, enjoy the show. I’ll enjoy the reviews.
*sniff*
I thought I’d never see the day Kabitzin would watch AND blog Aria! AND AN EARLY AIKA FANBOY?!?!?! Its good ta have ya in da Family BOSS! (I’ll have to thank TheBigN
)
intendofor putting the last nail in your coffin! hyuk hyuk hyuk@ Chris: Whoa! Maybe its just me but you haven’t been around here for a while! Good to have you back! *huggles*
I got to admit that I also didn’t like the SD mode and cats early on, but I’ve grown attached to them as time passed. If you want a great slice of life show that
hazhas awesome cats that are definitely more kawaii than Aria’s, watch Sketchbook ~full color’S~ (I’m pretty sure the Aria team was behind that too)May I suggest the manga as well? You can start with Aqua, then pick up the Aria manga, which finished around a month before the anime did.
Chris: Good to see you again! The ugly cats kinda dissuaded me from watching this series at first, but Aria didn’t bother as much as I thought he/she would. As for the black bars, they surprised me since I haven’t seen anything full screen in a while. I leave them as is because I am too lazy to mess with the HTML template I use to post caps.
Jesus159: I have to get through Aria first, but I have heard a lot about Sketchbook, so maybe I will check it out afterwards.
Haesslich: I’ll definitely check out the manga once I finish the anime!
The SD faces were a charmpoint for me, because it was often accompanied with some pretty good humor IMO. And Chris, does it really have to be as good as YKK? I think it’s just fine being itself.
And it’s Akira for me all the way, Kabitzin. Though Alice comes in a very close second. You’ll understand when you meet both of them. :P
You have succumbed to peer pressure!
I thought I’d be bored with Aria too but, yuri implications aside, but it effortlessly made me go ‘A~ni~aaa~’ like the way Sakura reacts to Yukito and Mizuki-sensei. So embarrassing!
Jesus, it’s just you.
Kabitzin, your laziness leaves me in despair.
TheBigN, yes.
*pain in stomach* ohhh…. why!!! Ok, I can handle people only including one set of “159″ after my name, BUT NOT INCLUDING IT AT ALL IS BLASPHEMY!!! HOW DARE YOU COMPARE ME TO THIS MAN!!! Don’t think I’ve forgotten our Counter Post Battles my friend! I tried to comply by giving you a jar of cookies, but looks like you want to start where we left off huh?! You’re pushing all the wrong buttons pal!
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J, thanks for the link. I only knew Jesus from Southpark. I didn’t know about this other Jesus. I appreciated you jar of cookies until I noticed the sticky white stuff, threw it away without eating any of it. I’m sure you put all your love into it. It sure smelled that way.
*in Harley Quinn voice*
Ah, so now its like that huh? Well, I guess I don’t mind! =3 I mean, I usually don a purple suit anyways! HARR HARR HARR!!!
White sticky stuff sure does have a distinct smell… just sayin’
In space, nobody can smell your sticky white stuff.
J159: I noticed you like to use the strikethrough tag, so I added a button in the comments over
therehere.Ah Kabitzin! You spoil me too much! ^_^ *in Harley Quinn voice* You’re such a CHARMA!!!
To tell you the truth, I like typing “strike” so I probably won’t be using that tag button, but I think it will benefit most users who want to express their feelings but are just a tad bit shy to do so! Lets all share embarrassing moments together!!!
*uses strike tag button* oh who am I kiddin’? I’m a lazy bastard! OF COURSE I’M GONNA CLICK THE BUTTON!!! *gets rid of keyboard*User friendliness BANZAI!!!
Edit: I just noticed that “Close Tags” tag… was that always
herethere? O_O???