Cartoon Corner- Aria: The Animation

Originally posted at the DL September 2015.

ara ara~



Okay so I know that slice of life is a thing in anime, and said genre was probably at its height in 2005.  Even so this manages to be a continuation of the last entry in a way; holy hell how did they get this made!  I've seen movies that were less detailed, clean, and fluid in their animation.  The little tricks of animation to save budget ARE there, but... daaaaamn this show is pretty.  Unlike the last show, I'm willing to guess here that it's the simplest case; the production house fell in love with the manga and its aesthetic and said fuck it, we're doing it and god I hope we don't go broke doing it.  Seeing as they went on to produce three times as many episodes after this I assume it must have worked out somehow.

Unfortunately I'm not entirely sure what else to say about this one.  Other shows with high slice-of-life content I've covered had been more forthcoming with things like tentpole episodes, while somewhat hilariously considering its me the continuity of Aria actually makes it harder to cover there; it doesn't have big set piece episodes and branch out, each episode adds a teensy bit of new character and development and world detail and you don't quite see it until the end.  And indeed since this season is less "ending" and more "suitable pausing point" there's not a lot to go on.  The whole show of course is saturated in moe anyway, but that goes along well with the general thrust because it's overtly themed around finding the beauty in the everyday and taking the time to appreciate it.

Although...

Weakest Episode: That Which You Want to Protect.  So aside from being an introduction to Athena (despite Athena only REALLY appearing in two episodes, and the other episode being a way better display of her powerhouse singing anyway) this is really supposed to be this development episode for Alice.  But in the end the whole thing just feels kinda mean.  The show itself is making fun of Athena so that Alice's complaints seem plausible and Alice herself is being a dick the whole time.  Which is sorta in character but doesn't work for me this time.  Could just be they were being too "see see see Alice you have to see all the good things too SEE SEE SEE" and it rubs me the wrong way?  I dunno.
I'll admit, I also don't get much humor out of Maa which hurts as well.  Stop biting the pervy space cat in the dick dammit.

Best Episode- That Soft Wish.  Probably the best aspect of Aria is the setting, and consequently the more mystical episodes which are basically a chance to give new facets to the setting stand out.  Of the two, this one is better.  Akari and not-Akari whose name escapes me doing their mirror thing is adorable, and they sell the sense of creeping wonder really well.

Rating: 6/10.  It's pleasant enough but doesn't really do too much for me I'm afraid.