It’s a return to the world of Neo-Venezia where we’re able to sample the slow, smoothing and relaxing life of the Undines and their friends.
What They Say:
Akari, Aika and Alice are three girls who share a single dream: to become the most talented gondoliers in all of Neo-Venezia! Every day they train toward their goal, exploring all the wondrous sights that the water-covered planet Aqua has to offer. Whether it’s spending a wild day at Carnevale, sharing a beautiful sunset, or even crossing paths with the mysterious spirits that dwell in Aqua’s shadows, for these three friends, each day is a new adventure!
The Review:
Audio:
The audio presentation for this release brings us the original Japanese language in stereo while the newly created English language dub gets both a stereo and a 5.1 mix. All three tracks are done via the uncompressed PCM format so they’re all pretty much the real deal in terms of what was recorded for the project. The show is essentially all dialogue driven with little in the way of serious directionality to it and that gives it a very soothing feeling when combined with the generally mellow instrumental music. There isn’t anything aggressive in this show but it all maintains the right kind of atmosphere that it wants to present in order to keep you engaged with it. The music is where things get to stand out a bit more overall but even that’s kept a touch lighter and not as strong as one might think, keeping to the tone and atmosphere of the series itself. In listening to these thirteen episodes, we didn’t have any problems with dropouts or distortions during regular playback.
Video:
Originally airing in 2006, the transfer for this series is presented in 1080p using the AVC codec with it in it its original full-frame aspect ratio. The thirteen episodes are spread across three discs in a five/five/three format and there’s plenty of space to work with on each disc. Animated by Hal Film Maker, the first season has a really nice look to it as it maximizes what it does with little animation in a general sense. This is one of those shows about mood and dialogue, so it’s very relaxed and often with some near-still sequences to allow the atmosphere to seep in. The visual design is great with the backgrounds working a number of appealing designs and the characters look wonderful as well. The high definition presentation for it takes the colors and gives them a more solid and richer look where it can while giving us more detail overall. It’s like the series just has a stronger presence visually because of it and that helps to make all the other smaller elements come across stronger as well. The result is a beautiful show looking even greater.
Packaging:
The packaging for this set brings us a standard-sized Blu-ray case with a hinge inside that holds two of the discs. The front cover gives us a couple of our key characters from Aria Company set outside the business along with our mascot boss as well. Similar to the first set, it shows off the character and costume design well but also the world design because it doesn’t feel like most other shows out there. It’s light with a smaller logo along the lower right that lets the overall design stand out more, especially with the deeper blue of the case itself. The back cover is a little more traditional with lots of white space as we get a small selection of shots from the show along the right. The left gives us a brief but effective summary of the premise while the discs features are clearly listed as well. The technical grid breaks out things along the bottom in far too small a font for most people to read unfortunately and it doesn’t provide clarity to the format either for some aspects of it, which is mildly frustrating. No show related inserts are included nor is there a reversible cover.
Menu:
The menu design for this release is an interesting one as we get an l-shaped bar along the left and bottom with some really nice blue and white elements that have the logo, the city, and some of the boats as well. The navigation is used along the bottom too with the soft waves linework that really is quite appealing. The rest of the screen is given over to the scenes from the show that takes us through the designs of the characters, the boats, and the city itself to highlight the appealing uniqueness of much of it. It’s just odd to get this kind of big block l-shaped design. The navigation loads quickly and works effectively with submenus and setup both as the main menu and as the pop-up menu during playback.
Extras:
The first season spread its extras out across each of the volumes, but this set has decided to put them all on their own disc which certainly gives it a stronger value feeling. The extras are pretty lengthy overall and certainly worth checking out after taking in the series – and we get the new addition of an English cast commentary that provides a new way to view the show. We get a good five-minute introduction/promotional video to the world which sets the mood just right. There’s a fun ten-minute long interview with the series director, Junichi Sato, who is always fun to watch, especially since he’s asked right off the bat why they used the subheading of The Natural. There’s a nice seven-minute interview with Yui Makino who sang the opening and closing songs as well as some of the inserted pieces where she talks about how she approached the vocals for the series. There’s also the clean version of the ending sequence that we get in these episodes. The technical crew gets a chance to talk as there is a really good seventeen-minute video piece with the sound director, music director, and Sato as they explore how they approached that aspect of the series. The Japanese cast isn’t left out either as they get an eighteen-minute piece where they talk about their characters and views on the show which is very nice and almost sweet at times.
After the first season of thirteen episodes, Aria managed to nab itself a second season made up of twenty-six episodes. And honestly, that still continues to boggle me all these years later because it was just so unexpected. The first season introduced us to the world and its characters as well as the simple charm of a very laid back life. It was very appealing and relaxing to be sure, but it’s one of those series where very little really happens. That’s not a bad thing as it envelops you with the kinds of stories it tells, but it’s not something that’s usually brought over. It’s also an odd kind of series because in a way, even though we have over three hundred minutes of things going on, there isn’t a whole lot to talk about. The series is about these girls living their lives and talking about it is like talking about how your day was at dinner. You can say a few things, talk about some things in a bit more detail, but there usually isn’t anything that’s major.
The first half of the second season in this set is really more of the same and that is a good thing overall. So much of what made the show work the first time around is the atmosphere it gives off. This set continues with the discovery of Neo-Venezia and its surroundings as the girls go through their training and other events that come to light. With all the basic relationships set up now, we’re able to just glide through the stories with relative ease. Now that Akari, Aika and Alice are all good friends and have become close while working hard to become the best Undine’s out there, it centers more on their experiences together as they figure out their strengths and weaknesses. The only real change is that Alice is now attending school so she’s not doing the Undine apprentice piece full time at the moment, though she gets plenty of practice in with the others.
The framework of Aria: The Natural is similar to what we had before where Akari is writing her letters to Ai back on Manhome and expressing what she’s seeing and feeling as the bookends to the show. This gives it a very charming feel from the start, though you have to wonder how many people Akari would write to if she could considering how easily she makes friends. Through this kind of style, the series is able to take us to the “big” moments of the lives of the girls for the most part as we see the various festivals, carnivals and training things that they all go through. Through these kinds of events, we see more of the history of the city and those who are involved in it.
The stories can be small but interesting to be sure. One of them revolves around the elderly mailman that Akari has befriended as she ends up helping him out for a day on his rounds and she discovers just how many mailboxes there are in the city. It changes her view of things as she takes into account the way people like to write letters as opposed to email or other forms and that adds to the warmth and charm of those who live here. Another cute story involves her and Aika doing some practice time and they end up following President Aria down a previously locked canal so they can find out what he’s doing. It starts up the entire discussion about the secret kitty kingdom and how the cats all get together at various times to spend time with each other for whatever reason. Understanding of cats is never going to happen and episodes like this simply reinforce that belief for many.
So much of the series is really focused on the discovery of the city itself. The second episode is a prime example of this as it has the main trio of girls running around the city finding little treasure boxes with pieces of a map in it that’ll lead them to a treasure. You know from the start that the treasure will be the experience of searching itself and finding new things about the place in which they live, but they pull it together really well in a way that makes it engaging and fun yet still in that mellow tone. Another episode focuses on a festival of sorts where the idea is giving roses to someone in an almost Valentine’s kind of way. Of course, Alicia is cleaning up in this area as are the other women she knows, but the story follows more how things go between Akatsuki and Akari as well as Aika and Al since she has such an interest in Al who is completely oblivious. There are some really beautiful moments in both of these episodes where the world they live in is even more of a character than they are.
And that’s still one of the most appealing parts of this show. As much as I like the characters and their interactions, the setting that it takes place in is a huge part of what makes it work. The kind of structural design that they’ve used, the way they’ve given it such a history with the various festivals and events and the way they explore all of it really breathes an incredible amount of life into it. Much of it is seen through the eyes of the girls, and the letters to Ai, but that doesn’t diminish it in the slightest. Instead, we’re given a very engaging tour of what’s really a tourist attraction but one with so many people who live, work and play there that we get a real sense of what it’s like to be there. There are few worlds and places in anime and manga that you’d truly want to spend your life in, but this is one of them.
In Summary:
Aria continues to be a difficult show to talk about but it is one of the more enjoyable shows out there when you want something very mellow, soothing and still engaging. Discovering the world of Neo-Venezia through the eyes of the three young women trying to become the best that they can is fun, cute, thoughtful and more. Reconnecting with it several years after last seeing it on DVD is welcome as the high definition presentation just adds enough extra oomph to fall in love with the little details more and really appreciate the color quality that comes to light here. With so many stories to tell – stories that feel real and honest – Aria has so much potential ahead of it and it’s already tapping into it.With the season, it’s here that Neo-Venezia becomes even more of a character to fall in love with than before.
Features:
Japanese 2.0 Language, English 2.0 Language, English Subtitles, Promo Video, English Cast Commentary, Interviews with Junichi Sato and Yui Makino, ARIA and the World of Sound, Cast Reflections on ARIA The ANIMATION, Clean Ending 1, and U.S. Trailer.
Content Grade: A
Audio Grade: A-
Video Grade: A-
Packaging Grade: B+
Menu Grade: B
Extras Grade: A-
Released By: Nozomi Entertainment
Release Date: April 7th, 2020
MSRP: $39.99
Running Time: 325 Minutes
Video Encoding: 1080p AVC
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Review Equipment:
Sony KDL70R550A 70″ LED 1080P HDTV, Sony PlayStation3 Blu-ray player via HDMI set to 1080p, Onkyo TX-SR605 Receiver and Panasonic SB-TP20S Multi-Channel Speaker System With 100-Watt Subwoofer.
