Aria ep.1

October 6, 2005 | 14 Comments

Opening Theme: Undine by Makino Yui
Ending Theme: Rainbow by Roundtable feat.Nino (9.3MB, for PSP/Quicktime)

This is a relaxed, laid-back slice of life series about the little things in life like eating, cooking, and other seemingly mundane everyday activities. The animation, which is produced by HAL animation, is quite smooth and detailed. Having said that, the character design is a bit of a let-down. It's definitely not as good as Amano Kozue's manga design. Thankfully this is pretty much compensated by beautiful-looking background illustration. In general, I like the way the series invokes a calm and easy take on life. If real life is like this, I think it'll be far more enjoyable. Anyway, judging from the first episode, it seems the series will retain its episodic nature just like the manga version of the story.

The episode itself begins with a shot of a cat-look-alike creature poking its head through a window. A few minutes later, the cool breeze ends up awakening Akari, causing her to wonder when she actually opened the window. It doesn't take long, however, before she realises that the cat was the one who opened the window. After breakfast, another girl called Alicia bids goodbye to Akari and begins to ride a Gondola. Once Alicia has left, Akari decides to pick up an incoming call. She, however, becomes disappointed when she realises that the caller is a guy called Akatsuki. Akatsuki is equally unhappy because he made the call to listen to Alicia's voice on the answering machine but he can't do that now since Akari picked up the phone.

Because of this Akatsuki asks 'Momiko' why she interfered with his plan. Akari immediately objects being called 'Momiko' by Akatsuki but Akatsuki claims that she's 'Momiko' to him because of her pigtails. Before Akari can force Akatsuki to use her real name, however, Akatsuki claims that he doesn't have the time to chat with her and hangs up the phone. The scene then cuts to a shot of Alicia rowing her Gondola while Akari tells a little bit about herself. Apparently spring is almost over here in Neo-Venezia and it's been 20 months ever since Akari first moved to this Planet called Aqua to become an Undine. The episode then shows a nice depiction of how Akari first came to Aqua using some kind of futuristic transport mode.

Back in the present, Akari gets another phone call and this time from a little girl who wants to ride Alicia's Gondola. Akari apologises to the girl but informs her that today is impossible because they are fully booked. The girl, however, still wants to ride the Gondola and insists that any guide will do. Arika tells her that the only other guide around is her but since she's only an apprentice, she can't take a customer all on her own. Upon hearing this, the girl sounds upset and decides to hang up the phone. When Akari goes to practice her Gondola rowing skill, however, she finds the girl already sitting on her Gondola, insisting that Akari takes her as well. If Akari refuses to take her, the girl will scream that Akari has kidnapped her.

In the end, Akari has no choice but to take the girl along with her. So she gets to see the city of Neo-Venezia in all of its glory. Eventually Akari gets to find some information about the little girl. The girl finds Neo-Venezia to be a rather difficult place to live in since one practically has to do everything manually. Akari, however, thinks that is the reason why she likes so much. It's because she gets to cook, row the Gondola, and do other things manually. The two then exchange name and the girl introduces herself as 'Ai'. Their conversation, however, comes to a halt when Akari asks the girl why she wanted to ride on her Gondola. The girl immediately asks if this is some kind of interrogation. After a while, the two eventually runs into Akari's friend, another Undine called Aika.

Unlike Akari, however, Aika is not as accommodating when Ai wants to ride on her Gondola. She, however, quickly changes her mind when Akari mentions that they are on their way to see Alicia. As the three rides on Aika's Gondola, Akari casually mentions that Aika loves Alicia a lot, which Aika immediately confirms. As the three go through the canals, Akari begins to give a background on how 150 years ago, Neo-Venezia was constructed based on the actual Venezia city. Upon hearing this, Aika wonders why Akari acts like a tour guide. Akari sheepishly admits that she just wants their guest to like the city like she does. Akari thinks that Neo-Venezia is like a miracle. Upon hearing this, Aika immediately tells Akari that embarrassing words are not allowed.

Since Ai is hungry, Akari decides to get everyone some baked potatoes. Much to her and Aika's surprise, however, Ai really does end up liking the baked potatoes despite her initial protest. After they finished the dish, however, the three realise that President Aria has fallen into the river. Because of this, Akari has no choice but to row her Gondola against the tide. Akari, however, has her work cut down for her when Alicia passes by and manages to save President Aria quite easily. Ai is impressed by Alicia's Undine skill and tells Akari and Aika that that when she first came to Aqua, she hates the planet. However, thanks to Akari and the others, she now likes the planet. The episode then ends with Ai being reunited again with her parents and the Undines finding out that Ai's sister used to be a customer on Alicia's Gondola.

Impression:

Well, it looks like the anime manages to introduce many of the principal characters within the span of the first episode. I was surprised to see not only Aika but also Akatsuki being introduced right away in this version. I supposed the manga's storylines are too short to be converted into anime. So what we have here is an amalgamation of a few chapters with some characters being shuffled around and placed in different situations. For example, in the original, the little girl is supposed to be an old man who is looking for his daughter and son-in-law. The basic storyline and character personalities, however, remind the same. To be honest though, there's not much story to tell here and I'd advise anyone not to expect any in future episodes either.

This is because the series is basically one of those slice-of-life story where the plot is quite non-existent. You simply have to turn off your brain and enjoy the series for what it is: a nice looking anime which looks a bit like a holiday destination program. At least the animation boasts beautiful animation and background design. The series really makes me wish that I can go on a holiday or live my life like the characters. The series also has a rather nice selection of soundtrack ranging from its opening and ending theme to the various BGM that are scattered throughout this episode. Anyway, I'm still not sure if I'm going to follow through with this, especially since there will be 2 season of this. Maybe if I can write shorter sentences, I'll consider of adding it to my list of anime to follow.

© memento 2003