Anime: Aria the Natural 4f1b1r

• I already made a review for Aria the Animation, and for the most part, Aria the Natural isn’t very different, so both reviews will be very similar and some paragraphs will be the same, but I will also talk about what changed, what improved and what got worse.
  The show being a slice-of-life, it doesn’t have an actual plot. It is episodic and the story of each individual episode is an excuse to show the characters doing things in a more tranquil version of Venice (IRL Venice is full of tourists and much more noisy) with a few SF and fantasy elements here and there. The planet Aqua is a Utopian world. There are no antagonists, no conflicts or anything of the sort, only good emotions and happy people. The universe is not really developed either. But this isn’t that much of a problem, as the point of the series isn’t the story or the relationships between the characters but the peaceful and relaxing atmosphere.
  Aria is a pure slice-of-life: no drama, no psychological or physical violence, just the peaceful and slow-paced daily lives of young women training to become Undines (aka female gondoliers – there doesn’t seem to be any male ones) in the beautiful scenery of an animated Venice. Everything in this anime is purposely made as relaxing and comfy as possible: the slow movement of the gondolas on water, the satisfying dialogues delivered by a very nice voice acting, the sound of the water, the seagulls cry, the relaxing background music, the simple and innocent comedy… In short, this anime is ASMR.
  The animation is slow but there are very few to no static images. The character designs and the clothing are pretty original. The face designs, particularly the eyes, are very detailed. The backgrounds and the landscapes are very detailed, and Venice is beautifully recreated. In this second season there were a few episodes where the faces where inconsistent, but overall, the animation was of the same quality as the first season.
  At first, this show seems like the usual “girls doing things” type of anime – well, it mostly is, but it manages to avoid most of the cliches and irritating tropes associated with the medium. Contrary to the vast majority of anime, there is no sexualization of the characters, and the show doesn’t shove naked minors with huge anime breasts into your face with the only objective of appealing to the horny teenage males and the pedophiles in denial that constitutes a big chunk of the modern anime community.
  All gondola companies have a cat as their company “president” – they’re more like mascots. The show introduces us to three of them, as the 3 main girls all work in different companies. The cat that appears the most on the screen is Aria (hence the name of the series), “president” of the Aria company. This cat with a disproportionate head and unusually big eyes follows the main girls in most of their whereabouts, and he is constantly doing things in the background while the characters are talking, or paddling the Venetian Canals in their gondolas. His presence adds to the comfy atmosphere, particularly when he does funny uncharacteristic cat noises.
  However, this show can also be seen as boring. It is slow-paced, has no plot and focuses on mundane stuff like sleepovers, taking care of a cat in secret, a day off at a grandma’s house, new years celebration… People expecting plot progression will get tired of the episodic format very quickly. The dialogues can be very sappy, which doesn’t really help. The thing is, you’re not supposed to focus on the dialogues or the story, but on the atmosphere.
  So, what changed in this second season?
  While all the episodes of the first season had Akari as the main character, in this new season secondary characters got a lot more screen time. Some episodes’ stories focus entirely on one particular character, such as Aika or Alice, whereas some others consist in flashbacks with characters that were pretty much useless in the first season, like Akatsuki for example. These episodes were pretty pleasant to watch and they made the secondary cast more likable.
  One of the good sides of Aria the Animation was that it had no romance. Unfortunately, this new season made the mistake of putting boring romance stories in some episodes.
  Al? The completely useless background character that Aika seemingly had no interest in? Well now she’s so madly in love with him she can’t help blushing and stuttering every time she sees him. That’s alright, you’d think, after all the first season did the same with Akatsuki and Alicia. However, this is not the same. In this season there are entire scenes, sometimes even entire episodes, about Aika not being able to confess her feelings. That’s just plain repetitive and predictable and I doubt anyone would enjoy watching a romance between a cute anime girl and a gnome that makes cringey puns.
  Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think that all romance is bad. But in a series like this it feels out of place, as it breaks the relaxing atmosphere, which is supposed to be Aria’s strong point. That’s not enough to make the show bad, but this still means that there are some episodes that are just plain boring.
  Coming back to the cats, in this second season there’s a whole army of them. A kingdom, even. Well, it’s not an actual kingdom, but a set of secret places found all across Neo-Venezia. In several episodes, Akari encounters its leading figure Caith Sith, a giant cat with a gentle look that stands on his feet like a human, and is allowed to catch a glimpse of this mysterious and hidden other world. There are also a lot of episodes about other mysterious places, sometimes even ghosts, which aren’t scary at all but are interesting to watch. Those were easily the best episodes of this second season.
  To conclude, this second season of Aria is on par with the first. Some aspects of the series, such as the secondary characters, improved, while some others got worse. If you enjoyed the first season, you will most likely enjoy this one as well.

Sub-score explanation:

The second season of ARIA the Animation brings it all back, the blue planet, the scenery, the music, the ambience..
But actually, it is a little bit different. Assuming that people who plan on watching this have already seen the first season(which you should),viewers will gradually feel slight difference of these two.

An interesting fact is that, the second season has more episodes loyal to the manga. To me, ARIA the Natural felt a lot more straightforward, it had a crisper and lighter delivery of the old theme. Take the overall feel of ARIA the Natural and compare it to the first, it is best described as 'cleared fog'. To sum it up, ARIA the Natural brings everything back, but it is more lively than ever. Because of this I find it even more enjoyable than the first season.

Animation
One of the first things people will notice coming into this series is that that art style has changed. Honestly, it starts out pretty awfully, at times characters would look pretty distorted. The intention of the change, is actually to make it look more like the manga art. Even though it wasn't very good at first, it gradually became refined, making it look more like the original works.
Viewers would most likely prefer the first season style, but what's in ARIA the Natural definitely grows on you. As a fan of the manga, I really appreciate how the art became more refined.
But to put it bluntly, the art is just inconsistent. This is the one obvious flaw.
There isn't any other difference between the two seasons other than what I had noted. The same scenery, huge dosage of blue, is still here to bring that same atmosphere back. The good thing is that you will be able to see more of Neo-Venezia, the backdrop of this series, which will surely be appealing to witness.
Overall it is still very visually pleasing.

Sound
Aside from some new tracks added into the season, old ones are still largely used in many scenes. The most commonly heard one is called AQUA, I think most people who have seen the series would have an idea of what track it is, as it appears so often.
What I think of this soundtrack is that, there cannot be a soundtrack that is more fitting. As I had pointed out in my first season review, the OST is truly a fine work, the new tracks introduced this season are not disappointing either.
While retaining the usual Choro Club's bandolim/guitar/contrabass arrangements, they tried to use different instrumentations for the new tracks this season. You get to hear ones that are orchestrated, cello/piano, and some vocals as well. Though they also had a good mix last season, this time they bring more sensations. Sound has always been an appealing part of ARIA, and it still is.

Viewers of the first can come watching this expecting the same aural sensation.

A notable thing is that, there is no OP sequence. As the episode begins, usually following a scene, we hear the song cued in the background as the scenes keep on going. This proved to be a good way to set in the mood, as it would flow smoothly, from the intro scene, then right into the episode.

As for the new OP, Euphoria, is sung by the same artist Yui Makino. She still sounds about the same, but the songs are quite different. Fine song overall, but the major focus of sound is beyond just the OP/ED.

Story
No center story, but episodic stories. Done nicely, they often leave me with a smile.
In this criteria, ARIA the Natural strays apart from the first season. Stories here are more charming. You don't see supernatural meetings as often before, which to me was actually not something enjoyable compared the the other episodes involving all the cast.

An interesting fact, is that the 'supernatural' stories were actually supposed to be linked, later shown in the manga. However the first season ARIA the Animation added some 'supernatural' stories that were not originally intended by the artist of the manga, such as the last episode of the first season. That is perhaps why it felt quite out of place compared to the other episodes. The events involving the big cat Cait Sith were the ones derived from the manga works.
This season they dropped those type of episodes, which is a good improvement from the old season.

In ARIA the Natural be prepared to witness the 6 character goodness, as they will often appear together on screen. This just made this show better, as that highlights of this series was always on the character episodes, rather than the Akari-solo supernatural ones.

Characters
No new major characters introduced here. In fact, not many minor roles are introduced. Ones who appear would only remain for one episode, then never to be seen again.
Personalities are pleasing as usual, something notable is that we get to see Akira's other side. She was introduced as a very harsh sempai who is supposedly 'loving'. We finally get to see some of that here.
There is good individuality, the distinctive characteristics of each person makes them all stand out, and their interactions are often humorous and enjoyable.

Value & Enjoyment
Simply put, I cannot find another series that serves its role. That makes the value very high, at least to me. If I want to see something relaxing, then I would look no further.
And not is it only relaxing, it is fun, often joyful, which invokes life within all the characters, and the planet of AQUA.
I can't say that I enjoyed all the episodes, same thing goes for the first season, but the ones that I liked were truly remarkable. Those alone makes this series worth watching. I hope viewers can at least try to watch this series.

And on a topic brought up in many reviews for both seasons. Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou and ARIA.
YKK finally released its 14th volume, marking an end to the long running series since 1993 I believe, and I was able to finish it. Many say ARIA is a similar work, and it is trying to bring the exact same feel.
Having read the mangas of YKK, I must say that the similarity between these two are misunderstood. This issue could be opinionated, but here is what I think.
On the surface these two series are similar, relaxing, with the subtle delivery in atmosphere and relaxation, but the mood in these works are of different kinds. ARIA would often be vivacious, due the the nature of our female protagonist Akari, as well as the others. YKK, on the other hand, never tries to keep an constant emotion, rather the author tries to leave that for the viewer. It is constantly subtle, in fact at times you can feel that there is a sad underlying tone. The female protagonist in YKK would often feel nostalgic, following the Japanese tradition of mono no aware, which is 'awareness of the transience of things, and a gentle sadness at their ing'. Sad undertone, and it is intentional.
This is not the only difference, but it is enough to set it apart.
I note this in this review as well my other for ARIA the Animation, is that I hope people don't come watching this series expecting some YKK, because you won't get it. YKK it is a fine work it its own regard, but I wish to set these difference apart. What I believe is that the authors of the manga have totally different goals in mind.

Anyway, to sum up ARIA the Natural, fans of the first season will not be disappointed, that is definite. As for people who haven't seen it, I recommend seeing ARIA the Animation first. Anyone willing to put up with some embarrassing remarks will be able to enjoy this one of a kind series.

Again, I'll present one of my no-good early previews, simply bacause I couldn't wait for the series to finish. Guessing from the nature of the show however, I don't think the final review will need much editing.

Sometime in the future mankind has inhabited a new planet and started living there. This planet is called Aqua and it's a peaceful place where people are living out their happy lives. This is also the case for Akari Mizunashi, who together with her 2 friends is working hard to become a full-fledged undine at a gondola-company in the town of Neo-Venezia.[/b]

The story continues shortly after where season 1 finished off. This bears little significance though since more or less the entire series is episodical. That is an important fact to understand early on, or perhaps even before you start watching the show, since Aria never presents itself as a plot-driven anime. So it's not anywhere near those typical filler animes that contains a plot in the 2 first episodes, then 22 filler episodes for then to return to the plot near the end. No, a peaceful, character-driven, slice-of-life anime is what it is.

I'm also a long-time fan of Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou, a long-running manga that was sadly discontinued after 12 years in the spring of 2006. There have also been 2 2-episode OVAs so far. YKK is probably the ultimate (at least to my knowledge) manga/anime where nothing happens, all you see are the characters going on with their daily lives and you experience the thoughts they are having. There is no plot whatsoever. The reason I mention YKK is that it's, atleast to me, obvious that Aria is trying to follow that exact kind of atmosphere and storytelling.

There are however a few scratches in the paint. Just when you think Aria might be enjoyable for a more mature audience, along comes (to no surprise for the first-season watchers) the mandatory mascot! It is presented in the form of a pretty damn intelligent fat cat. It's not exactly a Garfield though because it runs around doing silly things and says boi-boi-boi most of the time, it's ohhhhh so cute (get the sarcasm?) In fact this cat can sing and talk, but always in the boi-boi language. I ask myself what the heck is that thing doing in the anime, it singlehandedly changes the target-audience.

Another thing that keeps Aria from being thoroughbred like YKK is that to me the episodes are split into 2 categories. The character-driven ones and the mysterious ones.

The character-driven episodes are by far my favourites. Those are eg. when our little group of 3 friends do an activity together or simply interact with each other. It doesn't matter if they are having a sleep-over, training together in a gondola or simply walking about in the town having a conversation. During these episodes, precious and heartwarming things are bound to happen. But the main character bunch doesn't necessarily have to be together, one of them can also be doing things or tackling a problem on her own. Noteworthy are a few episodes with the young prodigy Alice Carroll. One time she deals with the problem of being isolated from the other girls at her school or company and another time we see her struggle with the harsh rules she makes for herself. Those episodes are so good, so peaceful, so calming, so mind-soothing that it feels almost therapeutic, I cannot stress this enough. If you had a busy day at work or a fight with someone, this will prove to be an efficient medicine.

As a strong contrast are however the "mysterious" encounters, often referred to as "precious momories" by the protagonist Akari. It's mainly her who experiences these, at most together with another girl, never in a group. It can be a meeting with people from the past, she can encounter fabled creatures or simply walz into another dimension. Beware of the cat fetish, oftentimes these eps involve cats and lots of them! Well the main problem is that the characters are not the main focus, it's the encounter or the happening that is the center of attention, and mind you they are not very interesting. I didn't get much enjoyment from watching a fox creature from ancient tales appear on "that special day". And by the way however special that encounter or day is to Akari, it's never worth mentioning to anyone apart from sometimes her long-distance pen-pal Ai from "Man-home". That's by the way a very creative name for Earth isn't it? ;-)

Something less creative are however the names. Commonly referred to as the A-team, everyone's name starts with an A. Akira, Akari, Alice, Alicia, Ai, Aika, Athena. Yep, that's immensely confusing. I think the only named character in the entire series, whose name doesn't start with an A, is the package-delivery guy, Woody.

The animation is pretty good, the whole Venice theme is done very well with an attention to small details such as the placement of post-boxes. The town, the water, the characters are all painted in light and soothing colors. Not many dark colors here unless the characters of course enter a dark place. Mostly the girls all look absolutely gorgeous and you can actually tell them apart, even if you don't take the hair and eyes into . Note that I said mostly, because there are also the weird-faces. You know, many animes often use some kind of distored facial expression like O_O when something crazy is going on, mostly with humorous content. However Aria shamelessly uses these crazy-faces, often for no apparent reason. Suddenly it's just weird-face mode and the girls can walk around for entire sequences with these faces. I don't know why, maybe the director sometimes wants to take the attention away from the fact that nothing's going on. And well, the lack of story and action is the very reason for me to watch the anime in the first place.

Aria never uses the same 1:30 minute long opening video, instead it uses an opening song and shows a variety of shots from around the Neo-venezian town. It also shows the girls getting up in the morning, making themselves ready for the day. This is sort of an intro to the episode and it works very well for setting the mood of the show.

The sound is overall a nice package. All seiyuus are talented, or more importantly they act their roles very well. The girls have a wide variety of personalities and the voices fit them like a glove! The best performance goes to the totally sweet-sounding Ryou Hirohashi, who played Sora in Kaleido Star. She takes on the role of Alice and that makes her my favorite character in the anime. As i said before, the music helps well setting the mood for the anime, not only the OP and ED but also the background music. Sadly it suffers from a slight overuse.

The characters are a mixed bunch of girls who generally just have a great time together. Sadly there is no Yuri (tee-hee), but that's all right, it's more of a close friendship kind of thing. Again, the strongest part in Aria is the way the girls behave and interact with each other. They all have their little quirks, Alice with her strict rules, Akari with her embarassing remarks and Aika for mentioning them. Alicia has her distinctive my-oh-my tee-hee answer for just about anything, it's cute but sometimes too cute. Akira is very strict but can also show a gentle and kind side to much surprise for the other girls, namely her junior Aika. Athena is constantly dazed off in some kind of sleep-walking mode unless she's out on her gondola. The reason I cannot give a 10 in character is that, her singing is just plain annoying and weird at times. She can sing out her window long after sunset and noone is bothered by it, just like she can row around in town with customers bursting her vocals for the entirety of the trip. I know I would want a quiet trip and watch the beautiful scenery, not have someone screaming in the back of my head drawing attention from everyone else. Also the annoying and fat boi-boi cat is sometimes accompanied by the very small maa-maa cat, it just loves to attach itself to boi-boi's chubby tummy. Again something that is totally misplaced in this show.

All in all is Aria the Natural a mixed bag of candy, but I will still warmly recommend it to lovers of slow-paced slice-of-life type anime. It's like the new CD with your favourite band. Not all tracks are equally amazing, but it's still overall a pretty good record.