Anime: Aria the Origination

This is my first review; and what better series to review than the glorious Aria the Origination.

Intro: This is what I've been looking for all along. This is the reason why I have been spending countless hours experiencing many different stories, encompassing so many different themes while simultaneously being sucked into an abundance of worlds. There is a saying that goes as such: "A good life is a collection of happy moments". This is exactly what this anime was to me. It taught me, along with many others, to appreciate life, and how incredible it truly is.

Story: The third and final season of Aria didn't try to impress its audience from the get-go. Instead it allowed the viewers to try and envision what the outcome might be, however obvious it was from early on in the franchise. I even found myself in the first couple of episodes of this season scratching my head, wondering why people were giving the show as much praise as it frequently gets; as the opening episodes were not as flashy as I expected them to be. I almost got the impression that I was re-watching the first season: Aria the Animation. I felt as if this season was a bit of a back-step; lowering itself in terms of storytelling from the brilliant Aria the Natural. Don't be afraid, however, if you find yourself feeling the same way after watching the first couple episodes. It is certainly not like that the whole through. I can assure you. Don't get me wrong, the first two or three episodes were still pretty good, just not as 'special' as I thought they would be.
Origination focuses much more purely in being a undine in Aqua. Unlike Natural, which focuses more in the city of Neo Venezia, and all the supernatural beings which inhabit it, the final season shines its spotlight on the act of being a gondolier. We see more prospect in how our three young undines go by their day-to-day life, rowing their gondola, and their struggles and efforts to finally becoming a prima. Earlier on I mentioned that it is quite evident what will happen by the end of the series, and by that I meant that it will end with Akari, Alice, and Aika being prima undines. If this was to end otherwise, it would be unsatisfactory, and almost a dreadful 'read the manga' ending, that would ultimately be a massive spit in the face to the viewer. Heck there are even pictures of the show, which illustrate our three undines, without their signature gloves: this obviously meaning that they have become primas. Regardless, I assure you that the show ends almost perfectly, as it left a wide, almost creepy smile across my face, for the entirety of the final several episodes. Aria the origination was brilliantly directed, as we dive into the fantastical world that is Aqua, in all its glory.
The pacing of the show is as well truly extraordinary. There is a very correct balance between comical moments, and more heart-tugging moments, with each individual episode ending with Ai-chan's unbearably cute voice. Of course the setting is still on-point, as Neo Venezia is almost as if its an exact replica of Venice. Each building feels real, the sea and the chilling breeze when a character stares into the ocean, reaches the viewer, as I often felt chills down my spine.Thus the city is given life, just like how Akari explains almost every episode.

[Score: 9.4/10]

Animation/Art: I have not once been left disappointed by the fluidity, background depth and detail, character designs and color palette, but instead I am left in awe by how brilliantly done they all are. The final season of Aria, as expected, does not disappoint. In matter of fact, it is even more spectacular. There were times that I felt as if I as watching a movie by the sheer magnificence of the show visually. One aspect of the art that really surprised my how by the use of 3D in this season. You can tell just how much effort was put into this anime! Another example of how much the animation/art quality improved in this season, was the detail of each character's faces, or more specifically their eyes. Any scene which took place on the Hope Hill (the green hill with all the wind turbines), looked almost godly. The only minor irritation I had with this aspect was that there were a few too many (albeit hilarious) chibi scenes. Although these helped tone down the show, I feel as if it would have been better without as many as there were. The reason why I included that comment in this section, is since such scenes tended to be more lackluster in animation (as one would expect). Overall, however, I am utterly pleased with this aspect of the show.

[Score: 8.9/10]

Sound: If you go ask anyone who has watched the entirety of Aria, what their favorite aspect of the show was, 9/10 times it would be the soundtrack.Why, do you ask? Well it was through this show that I found out that one could orgasm through longitudinal waves! (nerdy joke) But on a more serious note; the mixture between orchestra, piano, and violin was masterful, and each track was played at the perfect moment! If this aspect was not how it was, the ending result would be no where near as impactful as it is. This might be an obvious statement, but Aria the Origination heavily relied on its soundtrack to guide the tone of the show. And without guidance, you have a badly paced series. Something I should truly praise the show for is its seiyuu performances. Each and every seiyuu was perfect: especially Akari's voice actress: she reflected Akari's character flawlessly, as being a constantly happy and optimistic girl; a role which I believe to be exceedingly difficult to master. The ending song was one of the greatest things I have ever experienced: both visually, and sound-wise. It fat the tone of the show quintessentially! The opening was as well great, although not as memorable.There's not much I can say to bash this section, as the show did almost everything right, in my opinion.

[Score: 9.8/10]

Characters: A problem that I tend to have with shows that have a very limited cast, is that there is not enough variety through their emotions, in order to truly satisfy my needs as a viewer. However, Aria is a show that turns this speculation upside down. Each and every character is fully developed, three-dimensional, and human. They are realistic, and although they are happy most of the times, there is more behind that smile than one would think. Akari Mizunashi is a great example of this. She is described as a quote on quote "Eternal optimist" or "Miss expect of happiness" and there is a valid reason for this. It is rare to see this character feeling down or depressed. At first I found this trope pretty unrealistic, but especially with Origination I was proven very wrong. She expresses so much emotion just by her intelligent analogies and 'speeches' about how important life is to those who respect their lives. She is very important to the story, as her character makes the entire city feel happy and content. She helps her friends when they feel down, and she even tries her utmost when she herself feels as if she cannot mirror her title. Alicia Florence is another fantastic character: she does not go about explaining her reasoning like any other human. Instead, she will go about her explanation in a very peculiar way. She might start rolling a snowball out of nowhere just to prove a point! I realise that this sounds silly, but I was utterly amused by how accurate those actions were to help explain her points. She, like Akari, is more often than not, always wearing a smile. This helps Akari keep her own smile, so that she could be able to illustrate her talent as an undine.
Alice Carroll is my personal favorite character ( plus my new waifu but that's besides the point). The reason why this is so, is since she is probably the most logical, intelligent, and talented undine out of all the cast, at such a young age. She is almost inspiring as a character: not only to those in the anime, but to the viewer him/herself. I particularly love how she has an O.C.D, as she has to, for example, kick a stone all the way home one day, or another she will have to walk backwards, or walk only in shadows. This makes her character more realistic, as it demonstrates her more childish side, since shes only 14. *Small Spoiler* She also has an impeccable singing voice which came to my surprise.
The rest if the cast, which I could talk about for eternities, is all fully fledged out, and as i mentioned before, realistic. The only issue I had is that I wanted a bit more backstory for other characters, but that's only a small problem, which wouldn't really affect the show too much. An honorable mention is Grandma, who had a brilliant backstory, and was a fantastic addition to the cast, even though it was seldom that she appeared in the show. But I digress, since the characters were all pretty much perfect; even the secondary characters such as the Patissiere and Akatsuki.

[Score: 9.3/10]

Enjoyment: I don't think there is any other slice of life series that could provide as much enjoyment as this one did. Almost every single episode left me teary-eyed. Episode 9 was one of the greatest episodes I have seen in a LONG time. It was surprising, beautiful and incredibly well animated. That is not to say that it was miles ahead of any other episode, as they were all important to the story, which ultimately lead to the magnificent and conclusive ending, which could not have satisfied me more than it did. All I can say is Bravo! What an accomplishment this show truly was.

[Score: 10/10] PERFECT

Conclusion: If only this series gained more mainstream recognition. It truly, truly deserves a wider audience, even though it is not, of course, perfect. But then again, no show ever is. Sayonara Akari, Alice, Alicia, Aika, Athena, Akira, and Aria. It was a fantastic run. Cheers!

[Final Score: 9.4/10 =94%]

Final Comment: A legendary slice of life series, that should be enjoyed by many, if not all anime fans.

Have you ever had an anime you like trashed by some Weaboo? They would criticize some action show like freaking literary analysis. So, you look at their profile. They have watched 100 plus anime shows and one of their highest rated shows is a show called Aria. Let me give you a review of Aria from an intermediate anime fan.

If you are adverse to reading books, listening to public radio, or going outside ( which is a phase I am in right now), Aria is good substitute to see the world. It is not in high school, depicts work, and takes place in a sci-fi city. For everyone else, it's boring and a complete time suck.

There are 4 characters: pink hair is the new employee with dreams, blonde hair is the kind boss, blue hair is friend of pink hair who works for another company. Green hair girl is the prodigy introduced later on. The cat is like Pikachu.

Story: Despite what fans and non fans say, there is plot and conflict. It takes place in different form. It could be getting lost, exploring the city, a distasteful conversation, meeting people, seeing a new part of town, remembering the past, cooking. Episodes revolve around exploring stuff and believe it or not, every episode is different. But, they aren't doing their fucking jobs which objectively constitutes as a show about doing nothing. And, the fact this is all in cartoon form makes it very hard for the most open minded people to relate to these character's problems. You could call this, Aria: the procrastinators and retards.

Characters: For a character centric show, the characters are not deep. Pink hair girl comes off as a bag in the wind. Blue hair girl is slightly neurotic saying like 1 or 2 selfish things, but that's it. Blonde hair girl is constantly kind and mother like. So, you could identify with these characters if you had a lobotomy or are borderline retarded. But wait, they have dreams and stuff to be primas! Well, go the fuck to work then and stop screwing around.

Art : There is sort of an anime haze around each scene. Although it takes place in anime Venice, it is really hard to get a sense of scale or direction. It confuses the audience of exactly where they are on the map. There is not enough details in the costumes or buildings to actually feel like Venice or have a certain culture to it. You need more colors, cracks, random flourishes of patterns, asymmetry, and craftsmanship. The setting seems more manufactured than actually absorbing you into the story. To express emotion, faces puff up which just looks weird.

Sound: There is a lot of classical guitar so if you like classical guitar this is for you. It gives a soothing feel. The girls and cat thing squeal and go ehhh which is annoying. It's also hard to distinguish who is talking because all the girls have high pitched voices.

Overall: I kind of liked Aria. I wasn't really bored cause I wanted to explore the "slice of life" genre. But, for newcomers and other anime fans, don't watch Aria. The characters are not deep. You don't learn anything. If you want to relax and see the world, visit a park, go actually cook stuff, do something else because Aria will just piss you off. If you want a refreshing anime break, don't watch anime. Do something else for Christ sake instead of living in delusion watching Aria and subject yourself to sub-par story telling. It's a fantasy of fucking around at work and getting paid which is equal to any harem or battle fantasy out there. Aria is trash and escapism equal to any other anime out there.

All good things come to an end, how sad and true this is. ARIA the ORIGINATION is the third and final season of the series adapted from Kozue Amano's ARIA manga series. And I must say, this season is just something else...its the end of the journey around Neo-Venezia and what an end this is.

Story: It is impossible to understand what an amazing story the series has had unless you have finished watching all the seasons, this season truly makes you appreciate the other seasons more. ARIA the ORIGINATION shows the conclusion of the journey for Akari and her friends in their goal to become full fledged undines. The beginning of the show retains the usual standard of storytelling and qualities that we can expect from the series. Presenting us once again with the daily lives of out undines and the events happening around them. But it is a bit past the halfway mark of this season that ARIA shifts gears and presents us with pure greatness. After being with these great characters for 39 episodes + 1 OVA ,the final set of episodes for ARIA the ORIGINATION presents us with such emotionally powerful scenes time and time again it is almost impossible not to get emotional while watching them. There isn't enough words to describe how incredible the ending for this anime was delivered. This series is just magnificent.

Art: Despite already being very pretty to look at, this final season looks even better, not only in terms of background graphics but there is also significant improvement in the character animations as well. It also helps that this season is presented in 16:9 resolution >_> Overall this is the best looking season hands down.

Sound: Although this season is IMO the weakest of the 3 in terms of soundtracks, it is still one of the best you can hear...the many different songs mixed with the great moments this anime delivers combine perfectly to deliver very powerful scenes. However this season is prob the best one of the 3 in terms of how well the voice actors played their parts. My hat goes off to all the seiyuus for doing such an amazing job (especially Hazuki Erino, marvelous).

Character: This is without a doubt where the anime shines the most. Over the course of series we are introduced and grouped with Akari and her friends Aika and Alice as they train to become professional undines. It is hard to not grow some kind of emotional attachment to these characters after two entire seasons of watching them train and have fun together. We are shown how the characters mature and grow up in order to adapt to the inevitable changes that happens in life. It is using this emotional attachment that ORIGINATION manages to reach into our heart by showing us the end of their journeys and the beginning of new ones to come in spectacular fashion.

Enjoyment: Words cannot describe how incredible this experience was, looking back at when I first started watching season 1 and now, it still feels weird that I have finished this series. You are left with a feeling of satisfaction yet at the same time you dont want it to end. Such is the greatness that I experienced watching this anime and this is the first time I have ever given a full set of 10s for an anime without hesitation.

Overall: ARIA the ORIGINATION is without a doubt one of the few masterpieces out there. It is a beautiful anime in every sense and even if my scores make me look like some kind of fanboy I don't care because this anime and this series as a whole IS THAT GOOD! To those out there who are looking for a relaxing anime that can make you smile at the end of each episode, it can make you laugh and cry as well...look no further, this anime will be a godsend for you.

Aria has been one of my favorites since the first installment.
This of course makes my votes biased, but as a critic i have tried to not let my love for this series get the best of me. Here, on the contrary, i've tried to review Aria from an outsider's standpoint.

Animation: Aria's animation style has been maintained since the first season. It combines beautifully painted backgrounds with relatively simple yet charming characters capable of giving very emotional facial expressions. Although the animation's style is not really up to todays HD standards, the background paintings in Aria are really detailed(detailed as in a painting) and best suited for creating "Neo-Venezia". That deserves an extra point for authenticity 7 --> 8

Zound: Every Aria series hosts lots of very nice ambient songs ranging from mystical to relaxing.
Choro Club Feat. Senoo's famous OPs are really nice and set the mood extremely well everytime i start watching an episode. I guess it's kind of Aria's secret that you keep watching the OP because its animation is part of each episode(storyline) and not a seperate "video clip".
In contrast i have to say that i enjoyed the OPs from the previous series more( not that Spirale is a bad song).
The "coinesseur" might also realize that some songs got recycled from previous seasons, but there's nothing wrong with that.

Story: We all know that it's a pretty slow-paced series.
To be honest i quite had my problems with some of those slow-paced slice of life series in the past but Aria is none of those.One might not expect a surprising turn of events but the story always was interesting and made me "dive into the world of Neo-Venezia".
I won't go too much into the storyline. Let me just mention that it's a nice closure to the whole Aria series.

Characters: Well, well; nothing much to say here but that Aria created a bunch of the most likeable characters in anime history. Not because they have awesome features or are good-looking/well drawn...they are just likable because they have so much (good) character to them.
It can't get much better (Ninja-Aria sachou, anybody???)

Value: This is a tough one in regards to all the people who come to anidb in order to check out which anime are good and which are craptastic. To make it short: You have to feel the world of Aqua to truely "value" it and fall in love with it ("Embarassing remarks are prohibited", anybody?? :P)
If you can't, then you probably won't make it to Aria: The Origination thus rendering your attempt to find out more about this "9.01 rating" series useless. Apologies^^

Enjoyment: Since it's almost the same as "Value" (unless youre a fan of crappy shows) let's take a look at the whole package:

-nice (and fitting) Animation --- CHECK
-outstanding (and atmosperic) sound --- CHECK
-interesting (and concluding) story --- CHECK
-likeable (and loveable) characters --- CHECK
-feeling the spirit of Aqua --- CHECK

Aria is definately one of the best slow-paced anime series and manages to totally grasp the viewers attention with its relaxing atmosphere if the he/she opens himself/herself up to the world of Aqua. -->10
Aika would seriously beat me up for this :D

Any votes and suggestions for improvement are appreciated from the bottom of my heart......no Aika, dont pummel me

I havn't seen the rest of the serie Aria and it's possible that i didn't get into it because of this but i strongly have to agree with the previous review that giving a perfect score to something doesn't consist of a strong critic.

Again, just has the previous review, I was very surprised by the reviews and the notes that this anime was given and it seems like alot of people loved it (not only from the reviews here but on other websites also). I must say that I was very disappointed has the score and the reviews which was given did not reflect at all what i was looking at.

Animation: This is a very relaxing anime. There is not much or no action at all and in terms of animation, Aria the Origination brings nothing new so this is why its very hard to give a perfect note. The animation lacked of details but was pleasant for the eyes

Sound: There is no music 'per say' troughout the whole serie except for the opening theme. Throughout the episodes, there is ambiant sound which is very soothing and fits really well with the concept of the anime. Nothing very complex.

Story: This is a slow-paced anime where there is no action at all in all the episodes. I would have given a lower score but everyone has their own tastes in term of what they like and i didn't want to seem too prejudiced about it. Nevertheless, the story is very very weak and even though it's meant to be 'slow-paced' they could have gone farther within the story.

Characters: Very cute characters, although i must say the they lack alot in depth which is probably why you don't grow attached to them by the end of the serie.

Enjoyment: I must say that to like the anime, you must like this 'genre'. I think that at the end of the serie, i was relieved that it was over and couldnt think of a way that they could have extended it. But again, all tastes differs. Although the anime lacks alot from a story, the serie is very soothing, makes you feel good and makes you forget all the bad things that might happen around you.

To say a word before ending this review, before downloading this anime, read ALL the comments about it even if you have to go to other websites. I think that the rating is over what it should be. It is not the typical anime you might have seen and altough it might be very original, if you don't like stories which are slow-paced and episodic, you might regret downloading it.

All 10's... really?

Hmm... This can't possibly be that good to warrant all 10's from 3 different reviewers now can it? Hmm, they might be biased, but this is a very easy show to become biased about. I am very picky with my anime, yet very easy to please. While I will try not to be as biased as the previous reviewers, I will tell you right now, I am going to be a little biased.

Animation: 7/10
The animation is good, but not quite enough to warrant a 10 on it. There was some pleasant attention to detail, but the characters didn't seem to JUMP out at me. Unlike Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu, there was just something about the way the characters in there moved and blinked, they seemed to leap off the screen. However, that isn't the case here. While it is nice and there are subtleties to the animation, some of the backgrounds can be a little bland. So for me, the animation is pretty average.

Sound: 8/10
Now, sound I can easily give an 8. It is very calming and relaxing and it fits really well with the theme and momentum of the anime. This anime is nice and slow paced and something that you can watch after a stressful day at school or work and just enjoy. There isn't much story wise, so there isn't really anything to try and keep track of and potentially get confused about. Yet, in all of that the sound compliments everything nicely. Which is actually quite a pleasant experience. I haven't experienced such a joy from listenting to an OST since Asatte no Houkou.

Story: 8/10
Really, since it is so episodic and there is no exciting climax, or evil villian that the heroines must overcome, there really isn't a story. So in a strict sense, this should be a 0. However, I can't do that. That lack of a story and the telling of their daily lives is a story enough. While it isn't anything dark, twisted and yet some how comical like NHK ni Youkoso!, or mind bogglingly deep, serious and asking some difficult questions like Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu, it is still such a nice story told in such a relaxing, care free way that makes it so great.

Characters: 10/10
OK, the characters is where the meat of this anime lies, and where to begin? Each character has their own ups and downs, their own faults that you dislike, but you like them so much that you overlook them. But there really isn't any character development in Origination because it is expected that you have seen the previous seasons or tellings. Whatever you want to call it... Anyway, the great thing about Origination is that it builds upon the previous stories and takes those wonderfull characters and gives an ending to them. Yes, this is the end. Sad isn't it? Yes it is, but it ends in such a way that you are happy, and you can rewatch and rewatch and rewatch... But take note, Origination relies heavily on you, yes you liking the characters. So if you can't connect with the characters or like them for any reason, as dc101 said, "there's simply no reason to watch it. End of story."

Value and Enjoyment: 9/10
Value: 9 - Enjoyment: 10
So why am I giving Value a 9?
Even the the characters and sound are so great, the lack of an overall story and the pretty average animation bring it down just a little. However, Enjoyment gets the full 10, because the story and the animation can be overlooked on the latter part and just enjoy everything together. There really isn't a reason not to like this series, unless you are cold hearted and uncaring and fail to connect with the characters, in that case, my recommendation is to stay away from Slice of Life series, because that is pretty much all they build on is the characters.

So anyway, a little biased, but not that much. I think I did a fairly accurate representation of my opinion of Origination, so if you think differently, good for you. I am happy that you don't follow the masses like a lemming and can think for youself. In that case, post a review...