Aria the Natural

knoxyal Oct 24, 2018

7

Note that this series is Iyashikei which is typically characterized by slow (or even lack of) plot progression. The focus of each episode in this series is in creating a relaxing atmosphere with the specific purpose of providing viewers with temporary relief from stress. Thus this series appeals to those who are seeking for stress relief, and not to viewers seeking for entertainment in the general plot progression of the story.  Story: Is not significant in this series. MC and her friends strive to become a professional 'Undine'. There is a tinsy bit of character development in the process. Edited - The central theme of Aria the Animation and Natural appears to be on “the happiness of the unchanging and idle life”, a stark contrast to the final season which is more about finding happiness in changing life situations. Animation:  Not much attention is paid to the animation quality. Quirky in a number of scenes, but this did not bother me at all. Sound: Gold. The soundtrack for this series incorporates jazz and bossa nova. It's the type of music that effectively puts you in a calm and relaxing mood. You rarely come across a series that doesn't bother you even if it's streaming as a BGM (without watching the screen).  Characters: Alicia incessantly saying 'ara ara' and Alice 'hazukashii serifu kinshi' (=no embarassing lines!) in every episode could get on the nerves of some people. On the contrary, it stops being annoying once you get used to it.  The interaction between the characters is heartwarming and sets you in a positive mindset. The lines aren't forced (without overt intention to impress), and falls in naturally with the flow of the conversation, rendering the interaction naturally and unpatronizingly heartwarming. Overall: There is a je ne sais quoi element to Aria the Natural, the crux of which I believe is in the character interaction and the general peaceful atmosphere of the show. This is a type of show that you want to watch at the end of a stressful day. Notes: Somehow I enjoyed this season more than its prequel, even though there is no major difference (in plot progression, pacing or character interaction) between the two seasons. Perhaps the experience that you gain from this series improves with time; the more you get used to the atmosphere of the show, the more you become addicted to the relaxing experience this show offers. Now, off to the sequel :D

Dionkeykong Jan 17, 2018

4.5

So....Aria the Natural..Is it me or does it sound like a cheesy title taken straight outta Pornhub?Like Pink haired natural titties etc etc? But unlike the porn movie this has...Not so many things going for it i'm afraid.In fact after i saw the 1st season i was so bored out of my mind and pissed off at myself for watching something as lifeless as Kim Kardashian that i stopped watching anime off all kinds for 1 month or so.But i have a finishing fetish so i was bound to come back and see the rest of the series..And sure enough here i am trying to decipher that phenomenon called Aria. If you're too bored to check by yourself here's my 1st season review..I really couldn't understand the appeal of this anime.I was dumpfounded by the fact that this was such a big hit that it continued on and on for 2 more fucking seasons.It wasn't anything special,the story wasn't something written by the goddess of poetry..So what in the name of all that's holy possesed Japan to make this a success..Wwwwweeeeeellllll it's the moe disease.If any anime has moe in it that's it as far as some fellow anime fans are concerned.Has it got moe girls making cute noises and stupid as fuck things?It's a great anime..Has it got moe animals that make stupid noises and act like someone fed them 2 bags of LSD?It's a great anime and deserves a religion of its' own. Cause other than the fact that it's moe i cannot possibly find a reason for this being such a big hit.Sure many people say that it's a slice of life so what did i expect?SOME SIGNS OF LIFE DAMN IT.Something to make me go wow this is the shit.Moe isn't the be all end all. So what did they do with this 2nd installment?Did they improve it?Yes and no.You see the first one was some kind of intro for us to learn about Neo-Venezia and who the characters are.I want this to sink in before i go on..13 eps of intro..So they made a 2nd one to explore the rest of this world...So let me get this right..They couldn't do that in,say,the 1st one?Was it so jammed packed with many many things that exploring a fraction of this world was out of the question?No...Not even slightly..Anime is a bussiness after all they saw the hordes of moe lovers coming and wanted to rob them of their money and dignity.If i were them i'd do the same thing.It's easy money after all. Anywho,like i said this season is more..26 eps more to be exact.But as far as i can tell this could easily be half the bulk because half the eps are spent making you watch the same things again and again.Many things that you saw in the 1st season or even things that you see in this season are being recycled.But at least some of the eps have some good things going on as well.We get some development from the characters and some nice-ish moments.Then again we have some supernatural shit going on which make no sense at all and aren't being explained..Nobody is even bothered by the fact that a huge cat is capable of using magic to exclude humans from their cat meetings..And sure enough Alicia is still going "My my my" all the time which makes me want to punch a hole through my pc's screen and Aika going "no sappy lines allowed" all the time..Recycling is a good thing..If we're talking garbage but when talking anime..No sorry i won't have that.That there is a prime example of how shitty this anime is.Recycled ideas,characters that know how to say one line only and the same "comedic" moments they show us for the entirety of this show. Sticking with the characters..Once again there are 4 of them.1 pinked hair gal who is is the new employee with dreams,the blonde hair who is the kind boss and says mymymy like ALOT,the blue haired gal who is the friend of the pinked haired who works for another company and last but least the green haired girl is some kind of wonder gal.The cat is like Pikachu but fatter.  Animation was the same as the 1st season's.Very nice depiction of the world of Neo-Venezia and still some weird CG moments that clash with the rest of the traditional animation. Soundwise it's pink and fluffy and VAs are good and deliver their parts. So aside from some new and fresh ideas that were very good indeed the rest of the show is more or less the same stagnant crap we got from the 1st season.And i'm sorry but 7 good eps from the 26 in total is not floating my goat.When i watch an anime i want it to amaze me.This made me bored and sleepy which kind of defeats the purpose of entertainment.Unless you count sleep as entertaining.