ARIA The NATURAL- Comments

Episode 26

A kind city








May the kindness of this city reach the hearts of many people.

After all this is the last episode of the ARIA The NATURAL, or probably the last season of ARIA. I really didn't expect that they choosed Navigation 28 for this episode. The adaptation was nicely done, and they did a good job at relating it to the next event that happened later in the episode. This episode, animation-wise, looks really nice with somehow more details in the background, especially the muted color of the snow, the lighting and the sky, which look truly beautiful. They really put their best effort in this episode for the sake of ARIA fans out there. (cry) I love the OP and ED for this episode too; the OP is "Euphoria ~ instrumental version", and the ED is just normal version of "Rainbow", plus "Undine ~ instrumental version" as insert song! They really put me into the right mood for the last episode.

In the last few minutes of the episodes (look at the last 12 screenshots), I was quite suprised (and those three girls too as you can see from the screenshots, they look quite suprised), though it is something that many ARIA fans already expected even in the beginning of the season, that Aika and Akari will become Primas, while Alice will become a Single in this last episode (or will Alice straight away become a Prima?)! Though not explicitly mentioned, the dialogues imply that they will become Prima/Single very soon. At the same time, I was also quite suprised that becoming a Prima seems to be easier, in a sense that you don't have to bring your senpai for a picnic through that narrow water channel, but the assessment for becoming a Prima seems to be based on what you did over long period of time, which is in the case of Akari and Aika, they went on "Renshuu! Renshuu! Renshuu!" almost everyday, and probably going on picnic, tour in the city, being able to appreciate the beauty of AQUA also do count to qualify as a Prima. But still I didn't expect something like that. For Aika, Akira asked her to go out with her for a pizza, and she would pay, since Aika would treat her in return when she becomes a Prima. In Alice case, it was just like Akari, in which Athena asked her to go on picnic later when the weather gets warmer. As for Akari, as I said before, the anime making team did a good job at this. As they sit by the fireplace, Alicia asked Akari what she wanted to be when she was a child, and as it it turned out that Akari, when she was a young kid wanted to become a yousei (fairy), then Alicia simply said that she will become one, implying that Akari would become a Prima very soon (as you know that Alice, Akira and Athena are known as Sandaiyousei (three great fairies)), and the screen moved on to focusing at Akari's glove :)

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Episode 25

Redentore











A reminder of the beginning of autumn. Time for people to get together. A memorable night.

I really love this episode! And even took 30 screencaps!

By the way, the description for Redentore in the anime version is quite different from the manga. While in anime version, it is a festival to celebrate of the beginning of autumn, in the manga it is mentioned as the name of a plague protection church in Giudecca island, and Festiva del Redentore is actually a festival to celebrate the control of this plaque. Hmm... totally a different thing actually. (thank you Adun for "Giudecca")

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Episode 24

Human





Why is it that people always remember bad things, and tend to forget good things that happened in their daily life?

The addition of Alice in this anime version doesn't really affect the original storyline at all, and for me it's even better with the presence of Alice. A very nice episode after all, and given the mood in the second part of episode, with that "We're going to be a responsible Undine" thing, I even thought that they're going to end ARIA second season with this episode (^^ ); Actually if you read AQUA, this "People always remember bad things..." comment was made by Amano Kozue himself in second volume of AQUA (I've said this in my comment on ARIA thought). So this story is actually an expression of his thought in form of creative work (manga). Interesting.

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Episode 23

Married to the sea





Sea. Ring. Wedding ceremony. Wish. Eternity.

An original story for anime. After all, quite a nice episode. Really love this one, though I wonder if there is such ceremony in real Venice in the past.

BTW did you notice that this group of 4 people who plays music for the wedding-with-the-sea ceremony somehow looks like Choro Club (1st & 2nd screenshots) ^^); , though the 4th one (3rd screenshot) is probably just an anime character (I doubt that he is Senoo though since Senoo is a pianist, and he doesn't wear spectacles). The song that they play on that ceremony is actually another version "Itsuka Kita Michi", which is not included in ARIA The NATURAL Original Soundtrack ~Due~ CD. Too bad, it is such a nice song.

Choro Club in anime:

Choro Club in real life:

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Episode 22

(^_^;)


Just a funny episode for a good laugh. The first part is, unexpectedly, even funnier than the manga version. But the second part is just a well made adaptation.

The next episode is most probably an original story for anime version.

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Episode 21

Railroad to Milky Way









Mysterious train sound in the middle of the night. Train ticket. Destination: Milky Way.

As I said before, I'd definitely love this episode. And it met my expectation; such a nice episode. I like the way it turned out in anime, i.e it shows that Akari is deeply in love with Cait Sith, while in the manga version it was just as simple as stamping that mark on her forehead. However given that the part where Cait Sith saves Akari from the evil ghost precedes this episode, as opposed to the manga version where this Railroad to Milky Way part precedes that part. So it is understandable why Akari is more emotionally attached to Cait Sith, her saviour, in anime version. BTW the next episode would be from Special Navigations in volume 6 and 7, which I personally don't like.

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Episode 20

Mysterious night










Summer heat. Sweats. Horror stories. Illusions. Mysterious summer night.

I was really pleased by this episode. Very nicely done (hence a lot of screenshots). Quite a number of creative angles that I could see in this episode. In comparison to manga, I'd say this anime adaptation is really nice; it instills the same fear factor like the manga version, and also the mysterious feeling with the appearance of Cait Sith. This episode also stays true to the original manga, with very little modifications done to the storylines and framing. Another episode to add to my list of favourite episodes.

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Episode 19

Aika






Aika. Short hair. Fever. Tears. Red cheeks. Hair pins. Love.

Cutest Aika ever... A must-watch episode for Aika lovers out there!

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Episode 18

Be yourself


You are yourself. You are no one else. Be yourself.

This episode is kind of fun, that's why I took only those 3 screencaps. But this episode is somehow motivational too. Ah... Barbeque... And Aika is so kawaii in this episode w

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Episode 17

The old and new memories





A farewell party at night on gondola and reminiscence of memories spent with the gondola. At her last night with the gondola, she sheds tears. However, no matter how painful it is, she bids farewell to her precious one. No matter how far they are separated from, they are close, since they are still in the very same AQUA. Together with new gondola, she hopes for wonderful memories in the future.

Another wonderful episode, though in the second half they made use of the very same animation in the first half of the episode. Actually I was a bit suprised that they split the Navigation 36 into two episodes, no wonder I could not figure out from which Navigation episode 17 would be judging from the preview in episode 16. And I was glad that they retained the part where Akari cries on the gondola; that is my favourite part in the Navigation 36. I felt the very same emotion that I had when reading Navigation 36 while watching the anime version of that part, it was pretty well done. By the way Akari is cute as usual in this episode \(^o^)/ As for the new ending, I can't seem to get used to it yet; I really like the previous ending animations with the songs by Round Table feat. Nino that complement the animations. The new ending animation doesn't feel as abstract as the previous two ending animations, though the ending song is quite good. Somehow it feels more anime-ish than the ones by Round Table feat. Nino. Probably it would take some time to get used to it. And I can't seem to figure out from which Navigation the next episode would be, probably another original anime storyline?

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Episode 16

Separation and memories




Akari's last days with her gondola. Her one-day journey in reliving the memories together with the gondola.

Very nicely done anime adaptation by combining chapter 1 and 5 of AQUA and chapter 36 of ARIA. But I'd say I like it more if they made this episode just the way the chapter 36 goes, especially the emotion shown by Akari while spending her last night with the gondola.

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Episode 15

Life wheel



Life in AQUA is just like a big wheel. Wherever they go, probably they will meet the same people that they met during their childhood, whether they noticed it or not. Reliving of childhood memories.

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Episode 14

Parina








Aqua in early morning. New discovery. Parinas are just normal clump of woods during the day time, but are wonders in this early hours.

And a parina for Aria Company. A mark for the company, but also a reminder of wonderful memories.

Simply one of my favourite episode. When I read Navigation 41, I was really hoping that this chapter would be made into an anime episode, and this episode was simply wonderfully done, though there were some modification made to original story. In the original version, parina for Aria company was there since the time of the earliest senpai, but since it is already old, Alicia suggests that Akari makes a new parina to replace the old one.

And if you haven't noticed, there are quite a number of Akari shots ^^ Well... Akari is just to moe in this episode, so as an Akari fan, to highlight Akari's moeness is a 'duty' to be fulfilled. Akari!!!

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Episode 13

Alice-chan is kind of weird (^^;)





Ummm... So we should step only on the shadow... Probably a good way to avoid sunburn? And to avoid the UV light so as to maintain the integrity of her smooth white skin? Special episode for Alice-chan. She's super cute in this episode \(^O^)/ Ahhh!!! She's flying!!!

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Episode 12

Illusion & Gratitude







Very nice episode consisting of two parts. Both are interesting and wonderful, and what I like most in this episode is that they retain most of original manga storylines.

For the first part, they managed to retain the mysterious feeling that the manga has, and also the fascination of the original chapter. The mirage is wonderful, and the mystery of Cait Sith and his particular fondness to Akari are mind boggling.

For the second part, another AQUA chapter in this second season. Yakourin or "Night glowing bell" chapter was wonderfully turned into anime form. Yes, with the addition of color now we know which color of yakourin that Akari has chosen. The event also feels more grandious than it is in manga form, with more people in sight and many more main characters.They also add that タントグラーチェ when bidding farewell to the fading glowing stone. It is actually tanto grazie, which means "Many Thanks". That's hard to grasp, if it was not for some japanese ARIA blog I'd say it would take me forever to figure that out since it is not in the manga (^^;) (and Babelfish for Italian to English translation).

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Episode 9

New discoveries and candle light:




An episode full of new discoveries in beautiful Aqua. And to appreciate the night without the convenience of electricity.

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Episode 8

Boccoro (flower bud) & Aqua Alta:





Aqua Alta. Boccoro's Day. Roses. Love. Such a wonderful episode to watch.

They did another good job in this anime adaptation. Though there were only Akari, Akatsuki, Aria Shachou and Alicia in the original manga, the additional stories involving Alice, Athena, Aika, Al and Akira didn't feel awkward though. And hey they changed the narrator for "Boccoro's Day" to a more bijin one though ^_^ In the manga it was a fat black woman.

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Episode 7

Kingdom of Cat:





Another beautifully made episode. Though I kind of busy for this season, no way I would miss watching this great anime ^_^ Somehow it's suprising for me that they went back to AQUA chapter. I thought they've already finished with the AQUA chapters, and I thought they decided to omit this chapter in favor of other chapters in ARIA. It's good, I mean it's really good that they included this one; one of my favourite chapter in AQUA. They've gone far with the chapters in ARIA, and now we're presented with chapter 4 in AQUA. Very well presented in anime form as it gave the very same feeling when reading the chapter of the manga; it felt myterious, and simply fascinating. Relaxing as usual, with some tinge of mystery with that Cait Sith legend, isn't it?

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Episode 05

Fox and Sakura










Wondering about old name for the rain during sunny day.
Wondering about what would become of traveller who lost the way during his travel.

It's been for quite sometime that I want to make screencaps for this wonderful episode, which I can simply claim as one of my favourite ARIA episode. Such a wonderful episode which cannot be simply described by words, and I tried my best to convey the feeling of being there in my screencaps, but still I feel that watching this episode is the only way to get the wonderful feeling that it gave me while watching the episode. The repetitive patterns of toris, and the legend behind tenki ame were wonderful. And the field of flowers, and their last stop at that old train below sakura tree were amazing. Simply a beautiful episode.

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Episode 1

Cassanova









Cassanova. Trance. Cait Sith.

After all another episode that's worth doing screenshots. Though Cait Sith is supposed to reveal his face only to Akari, but here in anime version, Ai-chan is lucky enough to see Cait Sith.

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