ARIA the NATURAL

Information of Anime

It been a year now that Akari Mizunashi came to Mars to become an Undine, or a gondola rower , in a city called Neo Venezia.  Together with her friends, Aika S. Granzchesta & Alice Carroll, they continue their training to become Undines & discover more mysteries of Neo Venezia's beauty & past.

ARIA the Natural is the second season & direct sequel of ARIA the ANIMATION.

Storyline (CONTAINS SPOILERS)

Below is a summary of the storyline I've seen.  This section does contain some spoilers.  If you haven't seen the series yet & don't want to be spoiled, skip this section.  If you want to know the story & want to see how I viewed it, read on.

It picks off where the first season left off.  Akari & company continue to train to become full-pledged Undines.  As they are training, they (or mainly Akari) see the beauty of Neo Venezia & its mysteries.  It takes place in the same Italian-like city & all the cast in the first season are here once again.  The show uses a lot of Italian references such as words, traditions, & stories just like season one.  The show focuses a bit more on the supporting characters now; mainly Aika S. Granzchesta.  The show ends with the three Undines-in-training still in progress.

My Personal Review

ARIA the NATURAL really picks up left where ARIA the ANIMATION left off.  It still retains its pure drama with no true love story involved.  Like the first season, this show isn't for everyone as it's moves at a very slow pace.  Also, I think the show is targeted towards a female audience once again.

Animation

The drawings are the same as the first season.  However, it's somewhat different & I can't seem to point out what it is.  I'm thinking it's the eyes being more detailed in the lash areas & the faces being a bit chubbier.  Overall, it's the same.  This time, the show tends to do a lot of those strange faces that the girls have.  It's appears very often in every episode as there seems to be more humour in this show.

The backgrounds are pretty good, but not as good as the first season.  It didn't draw me in like the first season did.  The dull colour tones are still in use, which is a good thing.  Personally, I think the show has suffered a lot in the detailing department.

Animation flow seem to be better this time.  There is no heavy loop breaks now as everything seems to be moving smoothly.  The water effects are still good as it gives off some realistic visuals.

One thing to note about the show is that it doesn't have an opening theme animation scene again.  There is an opening theme song, but it's played as the story is progressing.  It's like how some anime shows start off with their 1st episodes with the credits rolling on the screen as viewers continue to see what's going on in the show.

Sound

The sound effect are ok.  Sounded quite natural.  The volume is pretty low.  I assume it was to set a calm mood.  The same as the first season.

The background music is excellent.  It really help set that mood & draws you into the show's sceneries.  Plus, there are some new songs.  The old songs, however, are still here.  The opening & ending themes have changed in style from the first season.  It's more jazzy.  I like them, but I felt the old ones fitted the show better.  As much as I enjoyed the music, it only sounds good when you watch the show.  When I listen to them while doing other things, I couldn't get that calm feeling is has when it's played during the anime show.

The seiyuus are back in this show, which is a good thing.  I've gotten use to the voices from the first season & I really believed they fit with their characters very well.

Story

It's still very slow moving like the first season.  After finishing the show, I doubt that there is actually a storyline set of Akari becoming an undine.  It's more about discovering the secrets of Neo Venezia.  However, there are times where Akari can't discover all of Neo Venezia's secrets like seeing the Kingdom of Cat assemblies.  Like the first season, it's really calming as you can relate this to your daily life.  The joy of being with friends during your training & the sadness that may come when the time to depart comes.  Plus, the focus of a small community that helps one another; whether it be locals or tourists.  However, there are some love relationships going on, but they are very small & one-sided.  I don't see them being developed in the show.

The show ends the same way as the first season did with room for continuation for the series.  Akari has yet to reach the full-pledge Undine of being a Prima.  But she has progressed a lot on the way.

Overall Conclusion

ARIA the NATURAL is a delightful show to relax to.  It still has the relaxing & gentle feeling that made me like the first season.  Although it has more humour in it than before it still has that slow pace, so it's not for everyone.  I highly recommend putting this in your "to watch" list as the show is more of an art & beauty thing.  If you haven't seen the first season yet, I would recommend watching that first before this.  You can get confused & miss out on some of the character backgrounds.

ARIA the NATURAL receives a grade of nine out of ten from me.  The show displays it's art beautifully with great music to set the mood like the first season.  It's filled with a lot of soft & gentle feelings in it.  However, the show pace may not be for everyone.  This anime is targeted to a small audience than a mass one.  However, the ending isn't complete as it leave room for continuation.  The continuation would lead to the OVA, ARIA the OVA ~Arietta~.

Last updated on May 6, 2008