ARIA (manga) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

is a utopian science fantasy

Science fantasy

Science fantasy is a mixed genre within speculative fiction drawing elements from both science fiction and fantasy. Although in some terms of its portrayal in recent media products it can be defined as instead of being a mixed genre of science fiction and fantasy it is instead a mixing of the...

manga

Manga

Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...

by Kozue Amano

Kozue Amano

is a female Japanese manga artist. She is widely known as the creator of Aria, which proved to be a best-selling hit, and was adapted into an anime television series consisting of 3 seasons and an OVA....

. The series was originally titled when it was published by Enix

Enix

The was a Japanese company that produced video games, anime and manga. The company was founded by Yasuhiro Fukushima on September 22, 1975 as and renamed Enix in 1982...

in the magazine Monthly Stencil, being retitled when it moved to Mag Garden

Mag Garden

is a Japanese publishing company that focuses on manga-related publications and is also involved in the development of anime and live-action adaptations. It was founded on June 5, 2001 by Yoshihiro Hosaka along with former manga artists of Enix...

's magazine Comic Blade
Comic Blade
is a Japanese shōnen manga magazine published by Mag Garden. It was first published in February 2002 and is sold on the thirtieth of each month. The manga series are published in tankōbon under the imprint.-Serialized manga:...

. Aqua was serialized in Stencil from 2001 to 2002 and collected in two tankōbon

Tankobon

, with a literal meaning close to "independently appearing book", is the Japanese term for a book that is complete in itself and is not part of a series , though the manga industry uses it for volumes which may be in a series...

volumes. Aria was serialized in Comic Blade from November 2002 to April 2008 and collected in twelve volumes. The series has been adapted

Film adaptation

Film adaptation is the transfer of a written work to a feature film. It is a type of derivative work.A common form of film adaptation is the use of a novel as the basis of a feature film, but film adaptation includes the use of non-fiction , autobiography, comic book, scripture, plays, and even...

as an anime

Anime

is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....

television series, with a first season broadcast in 2005, a second season in 2006, an OVA

Original video animation

, abbreviated as media , are animated films and series made specially for release in home-video formats. The term originated in relation to Japanese animation...

released September 2007, and a third season in 2008 that ended around the same time as the manga serialization.

ADV Manga

A.D. Vision

A.D. Vision was an American international multimedia entertainment company headquartered in Houston, Texas, prior to its collapse and distress sale to four other Houston-based companies in 2009...

released English translations of the first three volumes of Aria in 2004, before dropping the license. Tokyopop

Tokyopop

Tokyopop, styled TOKYOPOP, and formerly known as Mixx, is a distributor, licensor, and publisher of anime, manga, manhwa, and Western manga-style works. The existing German publishing division produces German translations of licensed Japanese properties and original English-language manga, as well...

then acquired the English-language rights to Aqua as well as Aria. Tokyopop released the two volumes of Aqua on October 2007 and February 2008, and six volumes of Aria between January 2008 and December 2010. The anime is licensed in North America by The Right Stuf International

The Right Stuf International

The Right Stuf International, Inc. is an American retailer based in Grimes, Iowa that markets and distributes anime and manga-related products throughout the United States and internationally...

, which released all three seasons a box sets under its Nozomi Entertainment imprint between 30 September 2008 and 2 March 2010.

The series is set in the 24th century on a terraformed Mars, now named Aqua, and follows a young woman named Akari Mizunashi as she trains as an apprentice gondolier. The series has been praised for its calm pacing, optimistic worldview, beautiful art, and, for the anime, the quality of the soundtrack.

Story

Aqua and Aria take place in the early 24th century, starting in 2301 AD, in the city of Neo-Venezia on the planet Aqua—formerly Mars

Mars

Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...

, which was renamed after being terraformed into a habitable planet

Planetary habitability

Planetary habitability is the measure of a planet's or a natural satellite's potential to sustain life. Life may develop directly on a planet or satellite or be transferred to it from another body, a theoretical process known as panspermia...

covered in oceans around 150 years ago. Neo-Venezia, based on Venice

Venice

Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...

in both architecture and atmosphere, is a harbor city of narrow canals instead of streets, traveled by unmotorized gondolas.

At the start of Aqua, a young woman named Akari arrives from Manhome [sic] (formerly Earth) to become a trainee gondolier with Aria Company, one of the three most prestigious water-guide companies in the city. Her dream is to become an undine, a gondolier who acts as tour guide

Tour guide

A tour guide provides assistance, information and cultural, historical and contemporary heritage interpretation to people on organized tours, individual clients, educational establishments, at religious and historical sites, museums, and at venues of other significant interest...

(see Terms below). As she trains, Akari befriends her mentor Alicia, trainees and seniors from rival companies - Aika, Alice, Akira and Athena and others characters in the Neo-Venezia city. Aqua covers Akari's arrival on Aqua and her early training as a Pair, or apprentice, while Aria continues her training as a Single, or journeyman

Journeyman

A journeyman is someone who completed an apprenticeship and was fully educated in a trade or craft, but not yet a master. To become a master, a journeyman had to submit a master work piece to a guild for evaluation and be admitted to the guild as a master....

, culminating in the graduation of her, Aika, and Alice as full Prima undines.

Each chapter is a slice of life episode of Akari's exploration of the worlds of gondoliering, Neo-Venezia, and Aqua itself. Amano frequently uses several pages of lush art to depict an environment, showing the wonder of both everyday activities as well as one-of-a-kind events. It has been described by reviewers as very similar in tone and effect to Yokohama Kaidashi Kikō
Yokohama Kaidashi Kiko
is a science fiction manga written and illustrated by Hitoshi Ashinano. The title can be translated Yokohama Shopping Log or Record of a Yokohama Shopping Trip. One tankōbon volume, the publisher's former English language website, and the second original video animation series have the subtitle...

.

Aria Company

Aria Company is a very small water-guide company, with only two employees. Its uniforms are lined with blue, and its president (and namesake) is Aria Pokoteng.

A native of Japan on Manhome (Earth) who immigrates to Aqua when she is 15 to become an undine. While not as skillful at rowing a gondola as Alice nor as familiar with the history of her adopted city as Aika, Akari makes friends quickly and easily converses with customers and other strangers. She is depicted as optimistic and cheerful, finding enjoyment in things or events that others think humdrum and mundane, for which Aika and Alice call her "mysterious"; in the anime, Aika and Alice separately comment that Akari seems to attract mysterious phenomena to her. Akari often says Hohe or Hahi, which is her short version of "wow." When Akari used gondola simulations on Manhome, she accidentally learned how to row backwards and has to relearn the proper method when she starts at Aria Company; however, as Alicia puts it, "When rowing backward, Akari-chan is unrivaled!"

Most chapters of the manga and episodes of the anime are framed

Framing device

The term framing device refers to the usage of the same single action, scene, event, setting, or any element of significance at both the beginning and end of an artistic, musical, or literary work. The repeated element thus creates a ‘frame’ within which the main body of work can develop.The...

with narration

Narrator

A narrator is, within any story , the fictional or non-fictional, personal or impersonal entity who tells the story to the audience. When the narrator is also a character within the story, he or she is sometimes known as the viewpoint character. The narrator is one of three entities responsible for...

taken from e-mails written by Akari. In the anime, the recipient is a young girl named Ai, a customer in the first episode who becomes Akari's pen pal

Pen pal

Pen pals are people who regularly write to each other, particularly via postal mail.-Purposes:A penpal relationship is often used to practice reading and writing in a foreign language, to improve literacy, to learn more about other countries and life-styles, and to make friendships...

, but in the manga the recipient is someone she does not name but has never seen.

At the start of Aqua, Akari arrives on Aqua as a new Pair (apprentice) at Aria Company. In chapter 5 of Aqua, when Aika is promoted to Single (journeyman), Alicia tests and promotes Akari as well. Later, in chapter 58 of Aria and episode 12 of Aria the Origination, after Aika is promoted to Prima (full undine), Alicia gives Akari the test for Prima. When Akari passes, she is given the title .

The only other undine with Aria Company, Alicia is one of the Three Water Fairies of Neo-Venezia, known by the title . At the start of the series, she is 19 years old and the most popular undine in the city, noted especially for her graceful rowing style. She was promoted to Prima at 15, the youngest ever to do so. Like Akari, she is relaxed and easy-going, but she also likes to tease others, especially her childhood friend Akira. Her favorite phrase is ara ara ("Well Well") and she frequently giggles, to Akira's annoyance. According to Grandma Akino, she is an excellent undine because of her ability to enjoy everything.

At the end of the series, Alicia announces her upcoming marriage (though to whom is never stated) and retirement to take an administrative position with the Gondola Association. She tells Akari she had put off her Prima exam because she had been planning to retire after that, and did not want to leave her student and friend. According to issue #6 of Monthly Undine, after her retirement, "Snow White" is designated the 8th "honored appellation" by the Gondola Association, as an undine who made great contributions to the industry.

"Grandma"

A famous and long-serving Prima undine, who started Aria Company with Aria Pokoteng after realizing she was missing too much of life as Himeya's top ace. She was Prima undine for 30 years and mentor to Alicia, her last disciple, to whom she left the company on her retirement. She is highly respected by younger undines, who call her "Grandma".

A girl from Manhome. In the anime, she befriends Akari in episode 1 and becomes Akari's e-mail correspondent, while visiting Aqua whenever she can. In the manga, she first appears in chapter 60 as Aria Company's newest employee. In both versions, at the end of the series she becomes a Pair under Akari after Alicia's marriage and retirement.

A retired undine who trained under Grandma Akino, becoming a Prima before Alicia. She left Aria Company shortly after Alicia was promoted to Prima to marry a fisherman named Alberto. She has a son named Ahito, and she began working lace

Lace

Lace is an openwork fabric, patterned with open holes in the work, made by machine or by hand. The holes can be formed via removal of threads or cloth from a previously woven fabric, but more often open spaces are created as part of the lace fabric. Lace-making is an ancient craft. True lace was...

while she was pregnant with him. She lives with her family on Neo-Burano Island

Burano

Burano is an island in the Venetian Lagoon, northern Italy; like Venice itself, it could more correctly be called an archipelago of four islands linked by bridges...

Himeya Company

Himeya Company is the oldest and currently second-ranking water-guide company in Neo-Venezia. It employs 80 undines, with a uniform lined with red. Its president is Hime.

The first friend Akari makes on Aqua, Aika is 16 when they meet. Aika is a Pair and then Single at Himeya Company. She is the only daughter and heir of Himeya Company's owners, but does not enjoy the distinction as she feels the company's employees fawned on her too much. Aika speaks bluntly and often responds to Akari's idealistic comments with . Despite their contrasting personalities, she gets along well with Akari and Alice, but frequently squabbles with her mentor, Akira, whom she resembles. Aika considers herself reliable, especially compared to distractible Akari and antisocial Alice, but both her friends call her a crybaby for her tendency to tear up when emotional. She is proud of her gondola skill as an undine, and can be very competitive about it. She also greatly admires Alicia, and finds any excuse to visit Aria Company—and once tells Akari that if not for her family obligations, she would have joined Aria Company. Over the course of the series, Aika develops feelings for Al.

In chapter 58, Aika becomes a Prima, taking the title . She takes charge of a newly opened Himeya branch office, in preparation for one day taking on the whole company.

One of Neo-Venezia's Three Water Fairies, and a native of Aqua. As a Prima undine, Akira is called the and is famed for her conversational skills. She has many admirers among her customers, especially her female ones, but she considers herself very feminine. In flashbacks, Akira is shown as very tomboy

Tomboy

A tomboy is a girl who exhibits characteristics or behaviors considered typical of the gender role of a boy, including the wearing of typically masculine-oriented clothes and engaging in games and activities that are often physical in nature, and which are considered in many cultures to be the...

ish when young, to the point of using a male pronoun for (see gender differences in spoken Japanese
Gender differences in spoken Japanese
The Japanese language is unusual among major languages in the high degree to which the speech of women collectively differs from that of men. Differences in the ways that girls and boys use language have been detected in children as young as three years old ....

) and being mistaken for a boy by Akatsuki. Akira is mentor to Aika, who calls her the Demon Instructor for her strictness and her loud, brusque personality. Akira is particularly harsh with Aika because she believes there is potential in her, and Aika admits that it is only due to Akira's strictness and honesty that she has become a good undine.

Akira and Alicia are childhood friends, and their relationship mirrors Aika and Akari's, though Alicia teases Akira far more than Akari does Aika. Akira still resents that Alicia became a Prima before her. Upon Alicia's retirement at the end of the series, Akira becomes the undisputed top undine in Neo-Venezia.

Ayumi is a cheerful Single for Himeya Company, who often works as a traghetto rower with Atora and Anzu from Orange Planet. Unlike many undines, Ayumi doesn't plan to become a Prima because she wants to specialize on the traghetto, which gets her involved with the city and its people as well as lets her make money.

Orange Planet

Orange Planet is the largest water-guide company in Neo-Venezia, employing 81 undines (including 20 Primas). Its uniforms are lined with yellow, and its president is Maa.

Alice is an undine for Orange Planet. She first appears (in volume 3 of Aria/episode 3 of Aria the Animation) as a standoffish, detached girl of 14. Aika later describes her as anti-social and complains about her tendency put on a grim face and speak in a quiet voice. Alice speaks in a deadpan

Deadpan

Deadpan is a form of comic delivery in which humor is presented without a change in emotion or body language, usually speaking in a casual, monotone, solemn, blunt, disgusted or matter-of-fact voice and expressing an unflappably calm, archly insincere or artificially grave demeanor...

manner, though she frequently uses as an intensifier

Intensifier

Intensifier is a linguistic term for a modifier that amplifies the meaning of the word it modifies. Examples are "very," "quite," "extremely," "highly," and "greatly." An intensifier is the opposite of a qualifier, a modifier that weakens the word modified: "fairly," "somewhat," "rather," "a...

. Although initially only a Pair, her rowing already surpasses both Aika and Akari's—for which skill she was scouted by Orange Planet despite her young age. Despite working for rival companies, Alice, Akari, and Aika often practice together, and Alice sincerely enjoys the others' company, though this does not stop her from telling them to be quiet when they argue. Because of her age and lower status, Aika often addresses her as . Through her friendship with Akari and Aika, Alice lightens up as the series progresses, though she still struggles with her detachment.

For a long time, Alice is not confident in singing skills, until Athena advises her simply enjoy what she sings and not worry about her performance. In volume 11 of Aria, after Alice graduates from middle school, she is promoted to Prima straight from Pair, the first undine to do so, and is given the title . Her name comes from Lewis Carroll

Lewis Carroll

Charles Lutwidge Dodgson , better known by the pseudonym Lewis Carroll , was an English author, mathematician, logician, Anglican deacon and photographer. His most famous writings are Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass, as well as the poems "The Hunting of the...

, author of Alice in Wonderland.

One of Neo-Venezia's Three Water Fairies, known by the title for her beautiful singing voice. She is Alice's mentor at Orange Planet. She is quiet most of the time and often appears to be an airhead who does not pay attention to her surroundings (in the anime, she is shown more than once forgetting to duck while rowing under a bridge), but she genuinely cares about Alice. Athena has a strange laugh that comes out sounding as though she is angry. She was a trainee undine with Alicia and Akira, and joined them in joint practice sessions much like Akari, Aika, and Alice do now. At the conclusion of the series, Athena semi-retires from being an undine in order to debut as an opera singer.

Atora is a Single for Orange Planet and often works as a traghetto rower with Anzu as well as Ayumi from Himeya Company. Atora took the Prima exam once, but did not pass and became too discouraged to try again. After meeting Akari during her stint on the traghetto, she decides to train harder to retake the exam.

Anzu is a Single for Orange Planet and often works as a traghetto rower with Atora as well as Ayumi from Himeya Company. Although Anzu has failed her Prima exam several times, she continues to work hard at it and is determined to become a Prima.

Cats

Because blue-eyed cats are considered lucky on Aqua, all undine companies have a blue-eyed cat as a mascot, who is given the title President. Cats on Aqua have been bred to be as intelligent as humans, though they cannot speak.

President and namesake of Aria Company, and an Aqua cat. Aria is large and fat, massing 10 kg. He is attracted to President Hime, who does not appear to reciprocate his sentiments; his pursuit of her is a common comic relief scene.

President of Himeya Company, a small, delicate, black female cat from Manhome. "Hime" means princess

Princess

Princess is the feminine form of prince . Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or his daughters....

in Japanese.

President of Orange Planet, an Aqua kitten with very tiny blue eyes. Alice calls her "Maa-kun" after her unusual meow. Maa often bites President Aria's belly. The volume 8, Special Navigation, an annual President checkup reveals that Maa is actually a female cat and much attracted to President Aria.

A very large cat with mysterious powers, said to be Cat Sìth from Scottish folklore. He has been the king of the cat kingdom in Aqua for at least 100 years. In the anime, Alicia and Akari suggest that he is the spiritual guardian of Aqua. Jun'ichi Satō, the director of the anime, claimed that his interpretation is "a little different from the original manga's interpretation."

Other characters

Akari's first customer as a Single. He is a tall, impatient young man who calls Akari "Pigtails" or "Sideburns" (momiko) to tease her. He works as an apprentice Salamander, someone who helps maintain Aqua's climate in the floating buildings that are tethered overhead. Although drawn like a typical bishōnen

Bishonen

is a Japanese term literally meaning "beautiful youth ". The equivalent English concept is a "pretty boy".The term describes an aesthetic that can be found in disparate areas in East Asia: a young man whose beauty transcends the boundary of gender or sexual orientation...

, his constant scowl combined with a loose-fitting robe usually cover up his more "attractive" features, which he rarely displays. Akatsuki has an older brother who teases him to the point of rage.

Akatsuki is not on the ground often, so every visit to the surface is an adventure for him. He claims to be in love with Alicia, though Alicia and his older brother suggest that he is really attracted to Akari. In any case, every visit to Neo-Venezia, no matter his official reason, he spends most of his time with Akari.

More commonly known as "Woody." Woody is a Sylph who delivers packages and other goods to people in Neo-Venezia. He has a bad sense of direction and cannot navigate without a map. His physique is well-built, and he is usually seen wearing goggles. He was childhood friends with both Akatsuki and Al.

Al is a Gnome, a person who lives underground regulating Aqua's gravity so that it is the same as Manhome's. Gnomes rarely come to the surface except to shop. He looks younger than Akari and Aika, but he is actually three years older. His young appearance is due to the stronger gravity underground making him smaller. He and Aika start dating near the end of the series

An elderly mailman in Neo-Venezia, called Mailman-san or Mr. Postman by Akari. He is the first person that Akari meets after arriving on Aqua. He is a kind man who is devoted to his work and his younger co-workers. Akari does not learn his name until near the end of the series, when he hires her for a gondola ride after retiring from his job.

Terms

Several terms of the world of Aqua are derived from elemental

Elemental

An elemental is a mythological being first appearing in the alchemical works of Paracelsus in the 16th century. Traditionally, there are four types:*gnomes, earth elementals*undines , water elementals*sylphs, air elementals...

mythology:

: A female gondolier acting as a refined tour guide for visitors to Neo-Venezia.

: An apprentice undine who has just begun practising sculling

Sculling

Sculling generally refers to a method of using oars to propel watercraft in which the oar or oars touch the water on both the port and starboard sides of the craft, or over the stern...

a gondola. A Pair is recognized by her pair of gloves, worn to protect her hands as she builds up callus

Callus

A callus is an especially toughened area of skin which has become relatively thick and hard in response to repeated friction, pressure, or other irritation. Rubbing that is too frequent or forceful will cause blisters rather than allow calluses to form. Since repeated contact is required, calluses...

es. When a Pair is promoted to Single, she removes one glove. This is translated by Nozomi and ADV as "Pair", and by Tokyopop as "apprentice".

: A journeyman

Journeyman

undine qualified to take customers only under supervision. So-called because she wears only one glove. This is translated by Nozomi and ADV as "Single", and by Tokyopop as "journeyman".

: A fully qualified undine. A Prima does not wear gloves. This is translated by Nozomi and ADV as "Prima", and by Tokyopop as "full-fledged Undine".

: A person working at controlling the weather and adding heat to the atmosphere as part of terraforming

Terraforming

Terraforming of a planet, moon, or other body is the hypothetical process of deliberately modifying its atmosphere, temperature, surface topography or ecology to be similar to those of Earth, in order to make it habitable by terrestrial organisms.The term is sometimes used more generally as a...

Aqua. Salamanders live in floating islands tethered at high altitude.

: A person working underground to regulate the gravity of Aqua, so that it is as strong as Manhome (Earth). Because of their environment, most gnomes are short and have bad eyesight.

: A person who makes deliveries by air bike. Deliveries are done by air in Neo-Venezia because only unpowered watercraft such as gondolas are allowed in the smaller canals of the city.

Traghetto: A gondola designed to ferry a number of people across the Grand Canal. Because of its size and the number of passengers, the gondola is rowed by two Singles.

Three Water Fairies: Neo-Venezia's three most accomplished undines at the time of the series: Alicia Florence, Akira E. Ferrari, and Athena Glory.

Development

According to her original afterword to Aqua volume 2, Kozue Amano's goal in writing the series was to have readers find happiness in small things and so not focus on their failures. In another afterword, she stated that writing Aria has forced her to pay attention to the four seasons and that she hopes the series shows her appreciation for them. Amano developed a 24 month calendar system for Aqua, based on Mars

Mars

's real orbital period of 668.6 local days (see Timekeeping on Mars
Timekeeping on Mars
Various schemes have been used or proposed to keep track of time and date on the planet Mars independently of Earth time and calendars.Mars has an axial tilt and a rotation period similar to those of Earth. Thus it experiences seasons of spring, summer, autumn and winter much like Earth, and its...

), making every season 6 months long; Amano marked the passage of time and the seasons throughout the series through such means as Akari explicitly telling her correspondent the time of year and depicting seasonal observances such as fireworks at the end of summer (Aqua volume 2, Navigation 9 and Aria volume 4, Navigation 20), New Year's Eve (Aria volume 2, Navigation 9), or birthdays of characters (Aria volume 10, Navigation 46).

In the universe of Aqua and Aria, Neo-Venezia's builders modeled it after the city of Venice

Venice

Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...

before its demise in the 21st century, including counterparts to such public landmarks as the Piazza San Marco

Piazza San Marco

Piazza San Marco , is the principal public square of Venice, Italy, where it is generally known just as "the Piazza". All other urban spaces in the city are called "campi"...

and the Bridge of Sighs

Bridge of Sighs

The Bridge of Sighs is a bridge in Venice, northern Italy . The enclosed bridge is made of white limestone and has windows with stone bars. It passes over the Rio di Palazzo and connects the old prisons to the interrogation rooms in the Doge's Palace...

. In creating Neo-Venezia, Amano also based some of the fictional locations of the series on real Ventian locations. Examples include:

The Aria Company headquarters corresponds to the location of a vaporetto
Vaporetto
Vaporetto is a waterbus operation. It has a set of 19 scheduled lines that serves locales within Venice, Italy, and travels between Venice and nearby islands, e.g., Murano and Lido. The natives used to call the Vaporetto Batèo...

stop.
The Himeya Company headquarters is based on the Danieli Hotel, located on the southern promonade, near Piazza San Marco.

Other locations on Aqua that Amano based on real places include the Japanese shrine visited in Aria volume 1, based on Fushimi Inari-taisha

Fushimi Inari-taisha

is the head shrine of Inari, located in Fushimi-ku, Kyoto, Japan. The shrine sits at the base of a mountain also named Inari, and includes trails up the mountain to many smaller shrines....

near Kyoto

Kyoto

is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...

Adaptation as an anime

As part of the preparations for first season of the anime adaptation, the production crew led by director Jun'ichi Satō made a trip to Venice for location research. As a result of filming the movements of gondoliers sculling, they had to redraw the animation of undines rowing in the first episodes to make it realistic. Satō reported that seeing a gondolier use his paddle to toss a bottle out of the water inspired the scene in episode 11 of Aria the Animation where Alicia does the same with a ball, which was not in the manga. As part of the production company's commitment to adapting the manga faithfully and gesture of consideration toward the voice actors, they provided the collected volumes of Aqua and Aria to date, rather than requiring them to purchase their own or giving stacks of photocopies.

According to Jun'ichi Satō, it was a struggle to fit the available material into the 13 episodes of the first season, which focused closely on Akari. The title of the second season, Aria the Natural, came about because he had 26 episodes to work with, letting him treat the story in a more "natural" manner, allowing the series to develop other characters more.

Choro Club and Takeshi Senoo

Takeshi Senoo

is a Japanese composer. Along with Shigeharu Sasago he was music director of the Aria soundtracks, which he composed with Choro Club. He also co-composed the music for the live action series Ariadne no Dangan and produced the soundtrack for the film Sweet Little Lies.-External links:* * *...

composed 30 works of music for the first season of the anime and 15 for the second. Jun'ichi Satō and sound designer Yasuno Satō assigned Choro Club and Takeshi Senoo

Takeshi Senoo

abstract themes instead of plot points, which was an unfamiliar method for the composers, who did not have much experience working for anime shows. Takeshi Senoo

Takeshi Senoo

and the three members of Choro Club make a cameo appearance as musicians in episode 23 of Aria the Natural. Jun'ichi Satō has commented that the lyrics for the songs "Barracole" and "Coccolo", sung by Eri Kawai

Eri Kawai

was a female Japanese singer from Tokyo, Japan. She had graduated from the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music and both composed and sung not only classic but also pop and world music. She was also friends with well-known video game composer Yasunori Mitsuda and had collaborated with...

as the voice of Athena Glory, were gibberish. The lyrics for the first two seasons' theme songs were also initially meant to be gibberish, but after reading the manga Eri Kawai decided to write Japanese lyrics: "I read the original manga and wrote the lyrics, using my image of Neo-Venezia as a starting point. Then did my best to match words that flowed with the melody." Kawai made demo recordings for Yui Makino as a guide for her performance of the theme songs. Takeshi Senoo

Takeshi Senoo

has described "Smile Again," the second ending theme song of Aria the Natural, as a song about the end of summer, and envisioned it being sung by Erino Hazuki as Akari.

Manga

The manga was written and illustrated by Kozue Amano

Kozue Amano

, and has a complicated publishing history. Aqua was originally published by Enix

Enix

The was a Japanese company that produced video games, anime and manga. The company was founded by Yasuhiro Fukushima on September 22, 1975 as and renamed Enix in 1982...

in Monthly Stencil magazine from 2001 to 2002 and collected in two tankōbon
Tankobon
, with a literal meaning close to "independently appearing book", is the Japanese term for a book that is complete in itself and is not part of a series , though the manga industry uses it for volumes which may be in a series...

volumes. When the series moved to Mag Garden

Mag Garden

's Comic Blade
Comic Blade
is a Japanese shōnen manga magazine published by Mag Garden. It was first published in February 2002 and is sold on the thirtieth of each month. The manga series are published in tankōbon under the imprint.-Serialized manga:...

magazine in November 2002, the title changed to Aria. Mag Garden later re-released the two volumes of Aqua with additional material and new covers. Serialization completed in April 2008. In all, the 70 serialized chapters of Aqua and Aria were collected in 14 tankōbon
Tankobon
, with a literal meaning close to "independently appearing book", is the Japanese term for a book that is complete in itself and is not part of a series , though the manga industry uses it for volumes which may be in a series...

volumes, each volume containing five chapters covering a season of the year. Each volume is called a "voyage" and each chapter a "navigation."

In English, Aria (but not Aqua) was originally licensed by ADV Manga, who dropped the license after publishing three volumes. The North American license for Aqua and Aria was picked up by Tokyopop

Tokyopop

, which began releasing the series starting with the first volume of Aqua. The series has been licensed in France by Kami, in Germany by Tokyopop Germany

Tokyopop

, in Italy by Star Comics

Star Comics (Italy)

Star Comics is an Italian comic book publisher born in December 1985 that publishes Italian edition of manga and Italian comics in Italy. Until the birth of Marvel Italia in 1994 it also published Italian editions of many Marvel Comics's comic books...

, in Indonesia by M&C Comics

M&c Comics

M&C Comics is one of the major manga suppliers in Indonesia.As a part of the Kompas-Gramedia Group of book stores, M&C Comics have issued more than 50 manga, with ratings, from "SU:Semua Umur" or General Viewing, to "18+: 18 Tahun ke Atas" or 18 years old and older only.Manga works that are...

, in South Korea by Bookbox, in Spain by Editorial Ivrea

Editorial Ivrea

Editorial Ivrea is an Argentine manga and comics publisher that publishes in Argentina, Spain and Finland. They also published Lazer, a magazine which was specialized in anime, comics, manga, series and other media. The magazine has an acid humor and has also organized parties in Argentina...

, in Taiwan by Tong Li Comics

Tong Li Comics

Tongli Publishing Co. , most known as Tong Li Comics, is a publishing company which distributes a variety of domestic and imported comics in the Republic of China .-History:...

, and in Thailand by Bongkoch Comics

Bongkoch Comics

Bongkoch Publishing is a Thai publisher based in Thailand. It produced mainly shōjo, romance and fantasy comics. The price of the books is about 45 to 200 Bath ....

Anime

Aqua and Aria were adapted by Hal Film Maker

Hal Film Maker

is a Japanese animation studio founded in August 1993.-Anime produced: is a Japanese animation studio founded in August 1993.-Anime produced: is a Japanese animation studio founded in August 1993.-Anime produced:(Please note that this list only includes original productions or co-productions...

as a 54-episode anime television series comprising two seasons titled Aria the Animation and Aria the Natural, an original video animation

Original video animation

, abbreviated as media , are animated films and series made specially for release in home-video formats. The term originated in relation to Japanese animation...

(OVA) titled Aria the OVA: Arietta, and a third season titled Aria the Origination. The series was directed by Jun'ichi Satō with character designs by Makoto Koga, and broadcast on the TV Tokyo Network

TXN

- TV Tokyo Network stations :-External links:*...

between 2005 and 2008. All three seasons have been released on DVD in Japan. The series broadcast in Italy on the Rai 4, and in Philippine on QTV 11.

The series is licensed in North America by The Right Stuf International

The Right Stuf International

The Right Stuf International, Inc. is an American retailer based in Grimes, Iowa that markets and distributes anime and manga-related products throughout the United States and internationally...

. A DVD box set of the English subtitled first season was released on 30 September 2008 under its Nozomi Entertainment imprint. The second season was released in two box sets on 29 January and 24 March 2009. The third season box set, including the Arietta OVA and the bonus episode numbered 5.5, was released on 2 March 2010. The series is licensed in Korea by Animax Asia

Animax Asia

Animax Asia is the Japanese anime TV network Animaxs English language feeds in Southeast Asia and South Asia, as well as its feeds across other regions of mainland Asia, including Hong Kong and Taiwan...

, in Taiwan by Muse Communications, in France by Kaze, and in Italy by Yamato Video.

Soundtracks

Several soundtrack album

Soundtrack album

A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television program. In some cases, not all the tracks from the movie are included in the album; however there are rare cases of songs in the trailers that do not appear in...

s were released for Aria, including an album for each of the three seasons of the anime

Anime

, two piano music collections, a song collection, and a tribute album

Tribute album

A tribute album is a recorded collection of cover versions of songs or instrumental compositions. Its concept may be either various artists making a tribute to a single artist, a single artist making a tribute to various artists, or a single artist making a tribute to another single artist.There...

. Singles were released for the opening and closing themes for all three anime seasons, the OVA, and the two visual novel

Visual novel

A is an interactive fiction game featuring mostly static graphics, usually with anime-style art, or occasionally live-action stills or video footage...

adaptations. Most of the releases charted on the Oricon

Oricon

, established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc...

charts, with the highest ranking album being Aria the Natural Vocal Song Collection at 30th, and the highest ranking single being "Euforia", the opening theme for Aria the Natural, at 18th.

Drama CDs

Four series of drama CDs have been released. The first series was produced before the anime began and uses different voice actors; the other three were produced in conjunction with the three seasons of the anime, using the anime voice actors.

The first series comprises two volumes dramatizing episodes from the early volumes of Aria, released 25 August 2004 and 24 August 2005, and one volume dramatizing episodes from Aqua, released 22 September 2005.

The second series was produced in conjunction with Aria the Animation. It comprises three volumes titled Blue, Red, and Orange, after the uniform colors of Aria Company, Himeya Company, and Orange Planet, which were released 25 November 2005, 22 December 2005, and 25 January 2006, respectively. Red and Orange peak ranked 237th and 161st on the Oricon albums chart respectively. A drama CD box containing the second series was released for 27 July 2009, including a new drama CD as bonus material, and peak ranked 62nd on Oricon albums chart.

The third series was produced in conjunction with Aria the Natural. It comprises two volumes released 23 June 2006 and 21 July 2006. The first and second volumes peak ranked 132nd and 166th on the Oricon albums chart, respectively. A drama CD box containing the third series was released for 27 January 2010, including a new drama CD as bonus material, and peak ranked 82nd on Oricon albums chart.

The fourth series was produced in conjunction with Aria the Origination. It comprises three volumes titled Yuki ("snow"), Tsuki ("moon"), and Hana ("flower"), released 21 March 2008, 23 April 2008, and 21 May 2008, respectively. Yuki, Tsuki and Hana peak ranked 87th, 55th, and 48th on the Oricon albums chart, respectively.

Additional drama CDs were included as bonus materials for each volume of Aria Perfect Guide.

Radio CDs

An Aria radio show called Aria the Station was broadcast on Internet through onsen.ag and Animate

Animate

is the retailing arm of MOVIC and is the largest retailer of anime, games, and manga in Japan. The first and headquarters store of Animate opened in 1983 and is located in Ikebukuro, a district in Tokyo, Japan. Currently, there are 38 Animate stores in Japan, and two in Taipei, Taiwan...

in conjunction with the three seasons of the anime. The 115 episodes were later compiled on "radio CDs" released in three seasons. Each volume contains a CD-ROM with the radio episodes in MP3

MP3

MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...

format plus an audio CD containing additional material. The radio show starred Erino Hazuki

Erino Hazuki

is a Japanese voice actress who works for Aksent.-Notable voice roles:Leading roles in bold.2002*Seven of Seven - Erino Kogarashi*Princess Tutu - Malen and Uzura2004*SD Gundam Force - Core2005...

as Akari Mizunashi and Chinami Nishimura

Chinami Nishimura

is a Japanese voice actress who has voiced characters in both the Japanese and English-dubbed versions of Pokémon. Nishimura was born in Chiba Prefecture...

as President Aria Pokoteng, with other voice actors from the anime as guests reprising their respective roles.

The 12 episodes of the first season were collected on one album called Aria the Station Neo-Venezia Informale, released on 29 September 2006.

The 51 episodes of the second season, Aria the Station Due were collected on four volumes. The first volume, numbered Cour.1, was released on 24 November 2006; the second, Cour.2, on 29 December 2006; Cour.3 on 23 February 2007; and Cour.4 on 25 May 2007.

The 52 episodes of the third season, Aria the Station Tricolore, were collected the four volumes. The first volume, numbered Cour.1, was released on 28 September 2007; the second, Cour.2, on 21 December 2007; Cour.3 on 28 March 2008; and Cour.4 on 27 June 2008.

Video games

The Alchemist company

Alchemist (company)

is a Japanese video game developer. It specializes in the development of visual novel video games ports for use on home video game consoles such as the PlayStation 2 and the defunct Dreamcast.-Dreamcast:*Baldr Force EXE*Chocolat: Maid Cafe Curio...

produced two visual novel

Visual novel

A is an interactive fiction game featuring mostly static graphics, usually with anime-style art, or occasionally live-action stills or video footage...

video games for the PS2 based on Aria. Both were released in regular and special editions on the same day.

Aria the Natural: Tooi Yume no Mirage ("Mirage of a Distant Dream") was released 28 September 2006. This was later re-released on 6 March 2008 as part of the Alchemist Best Collection.

Aria the Origination: Aoi Hoshi no El Cielo ("The Sky Over the Blue Planet") was released 26 June 2008. It ranked 30th for its first release week on Famitsu
Famitsu
is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Enterbrain, Inc. and Tokuma. Currently, there are five Famitsū magazines: Shūkan Famitsū, Famitsū PS3 + PSP, Famitsū Xbox 360, Famitsū Wii+DS, and Famitsū Wave DVD...

sells chart with 7221 copies sold.

Art books

The three art books were published by Mag Garden containing drawings and sketches for Aqua and Aria by Kozue Amano:

Alpha (ISBN 978-4-86127-009-3) was released 29 January 2004.
Stella (ISBN 978-4-86127-140-3) was released 29 March 2005.
Cielo (ISBN 978-4-86127-297-4) was released 30 August 2006.

Mag Garden published a fourth art book containing additional artwork used in the anime, video games, drama CDs, and merchandising:

Aria the Illustration Avvenire (ISBN 978-4-86127-573-9) was released 24 December 2008.

In addition, three poster books have been published, each containing ten A2

ISO 216

ISO 216 specifies international standard paper sizes used in most countries in the world today. It defines the "A" and "B" series of paper sizes, including A4, the most commonly available size...

-format posters:

Aria Premium Poster Book (ISBN 978-4-86127-213-4) was released 22 December 2005.
Aria Premium Poster Book 2 (ISBN 978-4-86127-328-5) was released 22 December 2006.
Aria Premium Poster Book 3 (ISBN 978-4-86127-447-3) was released 22 December 2007.

Guide books

Four guide books to Aria have been released by Mag Garden:

The first guide book, Aria Navigation Guide (ISBN 978-4-86127-212-7), released 29 October 2005, is focused on the manga. It includes background materials, character profiles, and a summary of the series by chapter from the start of Aqua through volume 7 of Aria.
Three guide books cover the three seasons of the anime, containing episode summaries, descriptions of primary and secondary characters, and other anime-related materials. Each books also contains a bonus manga chapter and a drama CD. Aria the Animation Perfect Guide Book (ISBN 978-4-86127-263-9) was released 29 March 2006, Aria the Natural Perfect Guide Book (ISBN 978-4-86127-327-8) was released 22 December 2006, and Aria the Origination Perfect Guide Book (ISBN 978-4-86127-510-4) was released 30 July 2008.

Additionally Shinkigesha published guide books for each of Alchemist's two Aria video games, containing background materials, character profiles, and plot summaries covering all outcomes of the game:

Aria the Natural: Tooi Yume no Mirage Game Material Collection (ISBN 978-4-7753-0523-2) was released on 22 December 2006.
Aria the Origination: Aoi Hoshi no El Cielo Game Material Collection (ISBN 978-4-7753-0645-1) was released on 1 September 2008.

Novels

Aria has also been adapted as series of light novel

Light novel

A is a style of Japanese novel primarily targeting junior high and high school students . The term "light novel" is a wasei-eigo, or a Japanese term formed from words in the English language. Light novels are often called or for short...

s published by Mag Garden, with two released as of December 2008:
by Ayuna Fujisaki (ISBN 978-4-86127-241-7) - published 28 February 2006 by Mari Okada, Ayuna Fujisaki, Tatsuhiko Urahata, and Reiko Yoshida

Reiko Yoshida

is a Japanese screenwriter and manga author.-TV anime:*Angelic Layer - Script *ARIA The ANIMATION- Script*ARIA The NATURAL - Script*Ballad of a Shinigami - Series Composition, Script...

(ISBN 978-4-86127-448-0) - published 10 January 2008

Monthly Undine

Monthly Undine is a spin-off facsimile of the undine-focused magazine mentioned in the Aria universe. Six issues of Monthly Undine has been released as of March 2008, with a different character on the cover, each containing collectible item. First three magazines contain, a toy house parts with Himeya's Akira and Aika, a toy house parts with Aria Company's Alice and Akari, a toy house parts with Orange Planet's Athena and Alice respectively. When the three magazines' collectible items (toy houses parts) combined, they formed an "ARIA Company".

Issue	Cover character	ISBN	Release date
#1	Akira E. Ferrari	ISBN 978-4-86127-268-4	10 July 2006
#2	Alicia Florence	ISBN 978-4-86127-269-1	18 July 2006
#3	Athena Glory	ISBN 978-4-86127-270-7	24 July 2006
#4	Alice Carroll	ISBN 978-4-86127-449-7	10 March 2008
#5	Aika S. Granzchesta	ISBN 978-4-86127-450-3	21 March 2008
#6	Akari Mizunashi	ISBN 978-4-86127-451-0	31 March 2008

The President Cat Picture books

In March 2007, Mag Garden published a series of three Aria picture book

Picture book

A picture book combines visual and verbal narratives in a book format, most often aimed at young children. The images in picture books use a range of media such as oil paints, acrylics, watercolor and pencil.Two of the earliest books with something like the format picture books still retain now...

s. Each hardcover book contains a full-color short manga story focused on a cat president, and included an additional collectible item written and illustrated by Amano Kozue.

President Maa Picture Book (ISBN 978-4-86127-337-7) was published 10 March 2007.
President Hime Picture Book (ISBN 978-4-86127-338-4) was published 20 March 2007.
President Aria Picture Book (ISBN 978-4-86127-339-1) was released 30 March 2007.

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.