Aria the Scarlet Ammo AA - Reviews

THIS IS NOT A SEQUEL. And that would be part of the problem. The title and even some of the characters make it appear as a sequel. After all, if it's the same title and just double one of the letters at the end (AA) then normally it would be safe to assume it's number 2. Instead, it's a different story. Forget everything you saw in Hidan no Aria A. This anime shares some similar character names and looks and a few aspects of the setting, but that's it. The characters that reappear in this anime don't have the same personalities as in the other one. There is a lot of yuri. There is less action. Characters are more simplistic and abnoxious. Supposedly it gets more serious towards the end, but I quit before then. 

I guess it shouldn't be too surprising since this is made by a seperate studio and well, while I liked the original, the story wasn't really going anywhere and neither were the characters. Of course, a second season could have fixed that. 

Overall, I, like many of the other reviewers, are a bit biased here. I watched the original first and expected this to be more like a second season. It's impossible, no matter how hard we may try, to judge this anime as it's own story unrelated to anything else. It's impossible to refrain from comparring the two anime, even if we try. So perhaps, if you watched this without any expectations of it being like the first or any knowledge of the first (meaning you watch this one first),  it might be enjoyable. However, if you have seen the first, and especially if you liked the first, I suggest skipping this one.

I really don't know how to rate this. On one hand, it was bad enough I quit before even getting halfway through, so normally it would get a very low score. On the other hand, I can't say whether I would have quit if I watched this first, but since I can't say for sure how I would have rated it otherwise, I will rate it the way I normally would, but just a bit higher.

For a video review, check out my Youtube channel. Link on my profile page.

This is part 2 of a two part review of the Hidan no Aria franchise.

Before I get to the positive points I want to point out that this spin-off takes place in an entirely different universe than the original anime. This was clearly shown by some of the characters having completely different personalities. Like Kinji, in this universe he’s a top class butei instead of the low class he was in Hidan no Aria.

Positive

*So my first positive point is one that I also mentioned in my review of the original anime and that’s the music. Also AA’s opening song was a very nice and lifting rock song. The ending song was a bit less to my liking but still the music was still good in AA.

*Next up is that some characters from the original make an appearance in this spin-off and for me that was especially nice in the case of Reki. As I said she was my favorite character of this anime and she plays quite a vital role in AA. I would have liked to know more about her past and story but that’s probably explained in the light novels.

*A small thing related to that is that the story of AA felt more finished than that one of the original.

*But the best thing about AA were the last 3 episodes of the anime. Here we finally get to the main point of this anime because the previous episodes were something different which I will get to later on. But in these last episodes we get to know Akari’s past and the things that happen between her and the main villain were quite dark and it happened whit out me expecting it.

I thought that this anime was completely lost but the last episodes surprised me in a good way. I didn’t expect that this anime would get as dark as it did. Unfortunately, the damage had been done and the end could not save it anymore.

Negative

*Because two thirds of this anime I can summarize in one word: yuri. Yes, believe it or not but the first halve of AA is a pure yuri anime. I couldn’t believe what I saw when I was watching this anime. Where had my action based anime gone to? When did it get replaced with this yuri based anime where the action was nowhere to be found anymore? I was really, really disappointed by AA that’s the least I can say.

*Further on: the originality in the characters was nowhere to be found. The characters of AA were complete replica’s of characters from the original. Like Shino who was a perfect replica of Shirayuki and Kirin resembled Riko very closely. Both the appearances and the personalities of these characters were copies from the characters of Hidan no Aria. 

This spin-off was made by a different animation studio than the original. Being Dogakobo here and JC Staff for the original. So I would have expected some more creativity from the studio when it came to character design. Now I’m not saying here that Dogakobo is a bad animation studio. I haven’t seen a lot of their anime’s but Plastic Memories was one of my favorites last year.

Conclusion

So as a conclusion, I was disappointed by this spin-off. How it went away from the action packed storyline to a completely yuri based one. If the entire anime would have been like the final episodes it would have been pretty good. But now it wasn’t and that’s why I’m going to rate Hidan no Aria AA at 2 stars. I would have enjoyed a continuation of the original story a lot more than this crappy spin-off.

For this I only watched the first episode and with having pervious expericence with the Hidan no Aria anime, I was able to write my conclusion of what I believe my opinion on the anime will be even after I watch the full thing.

I would like to start with the story. I believe it was a good idea to give the anime a fresh face and a new view on the anime (though deep down I am still mad that Hidan no Aria didn't keep going instead of the spinoff, but I digress). Akia, the new protagonist is a novice low rank and is a good change to the semi-skilled Aria we all know and love, after the first episode it was evident that Akia has a few ghost which I believe could be handled well in moderation or could really just leave a bad taste in your mouth after. In general I would give Hidan no Aria a 10/10 for the story but for this one on its own I would have to say 4. My only reason is the characters and how they constrast to Hidan no Aria.

In Hidan no Aria, we had all these characters in which we came to know and love and grow with, but with AA we see a whole new set of charaters which is great and I love. My main problem is that the old characters are given camioes that protray them diiferent to how they use to be. This is more prominant with Aria as she is seen as more kick-ass and more skilled than she was before, casually throwing in flips and jumps that the old Aria wouldn't really do, now I know some people might disagree with the gymnastics, but her attitude as also changed in the time that Aria first appeared I noticed a complete personallity change as if she had her own hystaria mode. Her dective skills and her temperment had all changed and it comparison to what she used to be like, I didn't like it.

Would I recomend watching this Hidan no Aria? Yes, but would I suggest AA after? I'm not sure. AA feels to me like a completly different anime, yes we have some of the old characters, yes its based on the pervious anime and is suppose to be a spinoff of it not a continuation of where it left off. I dont know if people remeber Digimon the first series and up to about 3rd series all kinda seemed related and then  every other one was completely different and the only reason you knew it was digimon was because some of the old Digimon were used and the evolution sequence was the same, that is how I feel AA is in relation to Hidan no Aria. Its still good to watch but its not what you would first expect.

Thats my long venting opinion on AA, I do recomend watching it but with a fresh mind and not recolection of the main story or plots of Hidan no Aria.

Imagine this if you will..You're trapped in a faraway forest,a bear attacks you leaving you with a beatiful abdominal wound.You are bleeding,screaming..Then a clown comes to your aid,gives you a balloon and takes off.Horrible death,right?Well Hidan no Aria AA is actually that bad..Maybe even worse,cause after watching it you don't end up dead and therefore you're destined to live a life remembering those dreadful hours you spend with it.

First things first.This is a spin off..And spin off's are notoriously known to be rubbish beyond your wildest dreams.And this is no exception.Now i can't imagine what went through their heads when they were writing this,but it is like the work of a drunk committee.Someone said,i know let's have loli nymphomaniac lesbians..Then someone else said to get rid of Kinji and add some really obnoxious characters..This isn't an anime anymore,it's a lesbian's wet dream.A world with no men and an all girls school.

Remember Aria?The badass tsundere of old?Now she's turned into a fluffy kitten sittin' on your lap begging for some cuddles and has a secondary role at best.In fact all the characters that were on Hidan no Aria A have decorative purposes.What you get as the main characters this time round are some lame school girls who have their mind in the gutter ALL THE FUCKING TIME.That becomes wearisome after a while to be honest..But the worst thing by far and large is Akari,the main heroine..Who went from a useless bag of bones into Lady Terminator in split seconds,because she had some "hidden powers" she didn't even know about..Wow..That's some creating writing right there..But at least all the characters get some development...HELL NO.They are as flat as a board.

And i'm not done kicking the damn thing..What the hell happened to the animation?The fist Hidan was not a masterpiece but at least it had some decent animation.This is unbearable,painful even to watch.

To conclude,if you have spare time on your hands why don't you paint your house,or your pets.It will be a better way to spend your time and more productive.My tip for the day is watch the first one and leave it at that.Don't,whatever you do,go anywhere near this road.

Reviews I've seen here so far treat it like a second season, a sequel to the first Hidan no Aria. As far as I'm concerned, it is not that at all. It feels more like a side story that shouldn't be confused with the main story revolving around Aria.

This anime follows the story of Akari and how she looks up to Aria. Compared to Hidan no Aria I'd say the theme is a bit lighter and easy to watch (except for the last few episodes, which are a bit darker)

Overal not that bad an anime, but you should really put aside the story from Hidan no Aria when watching this.