Dear friends,
I have another anime series that I would like to share with you. It is actually three related series called Aria: The Animation, Aria: The Natural and Aria: The Origination. (Click on each title to go to the page where I watch it. If that doesn’t work, just Google the names and you will find multiple anime sites that show it.)
The basic plotline is that it is around the year 2301, and the planet Mars has been terraformed and settled by people from Earth, which is called Manhome in this series. Mars is now called Aqua, probably because the majority of the planet is now covered with water. Every country on Earth was given an island on Aqua, so each island is a cultural treasure trove of traditions. There have been hints throughout the series that Earth is getting less and less habitable–the oceans are no longer swimmable, and parts of the planet have submerged and are not able to sustain life, but people do still live there and go back and forth to Aqua.
The series follows Akari Mizunashi, recently come from Manhome to work as an undine in a city called Neo-Venezia, which is basically a replica of Venice on Manhome. Venice submerged underwater, so the people rescued as much as they could of its buildings and art and rebuilt them on Aqua. An undine is basically a gondolier; on Aqua, they are all women, and they work for one of three companies: Himeya, Orange Planet, or Aria Company, for which the series is named. Akari works for Aria Company, but her best friends work for the two rival companies; Aika Granzchesta works for (and is the heir to) Himeya, and Alice Carroll is a prodigy scouted out before she turned 15 by Orange Planet. These three are the main characters of the three series, and we follow their adventures from being apprentice undines to becoming primas.
You may have noticed that everyone’s name in the series begins with an A. It’s true; I’m not sure why they did that. The sole human exception that I can think of is a one-time character named Henri, but Henri is pronounce /ahnree/, so it could be that the sound trumps the spelling.
There are two other regular characters who have non-A names, and they are the cats that are presidents of the companies. It is explained in the second episode of Aria: The Animation that blue-eyed cats are presidents of the companies. It has to do with their eyes being the color of the ocean and some good luck therein that combination. The cats, especially President Aria, play a sizable role in the series.
President Aria (the white cat pictured above) is actually like a little person. He walks on his hind paws and eats people food at the table with Akari and Alicia, and he has adventures all on his own. He doesn’t speak people languages, but he does verbalize in a way that is totally unique and adorable. It’s not cat meowing, either; it’s just…well, you have to hear it yourself.
President Hime (the black cat above, the president of Himeya) is much more like a “normal” cat. She doesn’t speak, but meows, and she doesn’t do things that President Aria can do, like help set the table or open an umbrella. President Aria has a huge crush on President Hime, but she rebuffs him consistently.
President Maa (pictured above), who is my favorite, is a little kitten, and, while the series starts with Presidents Aria and Hime already in place as the figureheads of the two companies, early in the series, Alice finds a kitten and, after some hijinks, the kitten is made the president of Orange Planet, whose previous president had just died. President Maa is so named because she makes a “maa” sound; that’s her meow. Her favorite thing in the world to do is bite President Aria’s “mochi mochi” tummy (his tubbiness is the subject of occasional jokes), and there are some truly funny moments depicting President Maa’s sneaking up on President Aria for a big bite.
I have to say that the antics of the cats are my favorite parts of this series. They’re definitely humanized, even the most catlike of them, and it’s really cute to see them interacting in the context of being very important personages (to use the term loosely) in their worlds.
The reason why I like these series is because they’re gentle, beautiful depictions of how life could be if everyone loved their jobs and knew how to be polite and respectful to each other. The examples of rudeness are so mild and so completely resolved that it is a “safe” show to watch; one does not squirm with embarrassment or discomfort on behalf of a character who is wronged in some way. It’s a slow-moving series without a lot of action, but there’s plenty in the way of kind interpersonal interaction, and one watches the gradual growth and maturation of the three main characters until they achieve the goals that they began the series with: becoming Prima undines.
Also, another thing that I like about this series is that the seasons are very pronounced. This is something that I’ve seen a lot in Japanese literature and shows: great attention is given to the seasons. Neo-Venezia has pronounced seasons; it’s very hot and humid in the summer, but it snows in winter, and spring and autumn are the main tourist seasons, probably because the weather is mild and enjoyable. The animation is gorgeous, and you really get a feeling of the season that is being depicted; you feel like you’re there. I’ve been watching winter episodes lately, and I almost forget that it’s summer here in Elk Grove–a fact I wish I could forget. (I hate heat.)
So if you’re a fan of anime, and if you like gentle, slow-moving plots, I highly recommend the Aria series. I’ve watched all the episodes over and over, and I still enjoy every one.
