Ah, how I love this show. Certainly, the
Aria series are full of flaws, contain almost zero plot twists, have very slow
character development and have nearly nothing going on for most of the time,
which is also why there are only very few people I’d immediately recommend this
to, but it absolutely excelled at what it was trying to do: creating a slow
paced slice-of-life show in a gorgeously idyllic setting.
Story
Just like the previous two seasons, Aria
the Origination starts off with a hand full of episodes about the training days
of Akari, Aika and Alice and the small adventures they go on. Seeing this is
the third season, I’m going to assume that you, the reader, enjoyed these kinds
of episodes during the previous 39 episodes (and 1 OVA), so I won’t ramble on
too long about how this format definitely won’t appeal to most people.
This third season has more of a central
theme though. While the first and especially the second season were almost
completely episodic, most episodes in this show are centered on the worries and
dreams of the characters about becoming Prima’s. While it retains its calm and
peaceful atmosphere, there are also plenty of more serious episodes this time.
For the final five-or-so episodes it drops
the episodic nature the rest of the Aria franchise has and goes for a very
satisfying ending. Although it’s definitely a predictable conclusion for most
parts, they did throw in a few pleasant surprises that will without a doubt
bring a smile on the faces of Aria-fans.
Animation
There is no noticeable difference between this
and the other seasons in the animation used. While the quality of the static
animation is average at best and the dynamics are severely lacking in fluency,
the designs are gorgeous as ever. From the elegant undine dresses with the
company-patterns, to the alleys and buildings of Neo-Venezia, to the beautiful
landscapes, everything is as Akari would describe as “wonderful”. So even
though the animation left a lot to be desired, because the idyllic design of
everything made for such a great ambiance, this season gets a very acceptable
mark on animation from me.
Sound
I’ll be frank: this season’s soundtrack
isn’t as good as it was in the previous ones. Although the opening is still
very fitting, it isn’t as strong as the previous ones and especially slow in
the beginning of the song (yes, even slower than the others). The ending
however leaves the most to be desired. It isn’t even bad on its own, but it
doesn’t blend in well with the rest of the soundtrack.
That said, apart from the opening and
ending, the rest of the music used is as good as ever. Much of the soundtrack
from the previous seasons is reused here and much to my joy, they used the
opening theme from Aria the Animation, still my favorite song of Aria, to tastefully
close the final episode.
Characters
This is where the show really shines. No
matter how beautiful and idyllic everything is, an almost 20 hour long episodic
story falls flat on its face if it isn’t accompanied by an incredibly likable
cast. Because of the nature of the characters, I realize this is a hate or love
matter. Every single person in the show is kind and good natured and even
though most of the personalities are very straight forward and lack depth,
almost the entire cast was likable to me. As is stated before, character
development only happens very slowly in the Aria series and most of the views
into the pasts of characters only reinforce their bland nature. It is however
this unconditional love and almost simplistic points of view the characters
have that gives the series this “back to basic” feel.
Overall
If you’ve seen the previous seasons, you’ll
pretty much know what to expect from Aria the Origination. The first half
consists of the same episodicness the other seasons have, but all while
building up towards a very satisfying conclusion. The show has great closure,
but also opens the way for a potential fourth season or OVA. A must watch for
fans, and if you somehow managed to watch the first two seasons while disliking
the nothing-really-happens tales (you masochist), you’ll be pleasantly surprised
with a non-episodic second half of the season.
As a final note towards the ratings: I
decided to give this season a higher mark on the story section because they
toned down a bit on the less-successful comedy and because of the satisfying
conclusion. This is basically the rating I would’ve liked to give the previous
seasons, but couldn’t because of the more obvious flaws they had on the comedy
department.