I really enjoyed the supernatural elements in episodes 20 and 21. It was nice to see an Aria episode that was a bit creepy. And it sounds like episode 22 should be fun![left][/left]
Episode 22:
The opening theme lyrics are a little different for this episode.
spoiler
In the first half Akari tells President Aria about alternative worlds and teases him that if he squeezes between the stairs he might find a gate to one. Aria has imagined a couple of possibilities (both really funny), so he’s curious… and tries to squeeze through between the stairs. He makes it through, falls, hits his head, wakes up… Did he really go to another world? Akari finds him but something’s not right. Her figure and her outfit are a little different. Apparently Akari is a boy now. Wait, it gets worse. Aria thinks he’s being kidnapped (why? Because he’s so cute!). Akari is going off to practice and meets Alice, who is spying on Al and Aika talking. Everyone is the opposite sex… although they don’t look much different, and the girls, err boys, sound more or less the same. Until Atasuki (probably spelled that wrong!) turns up - and is all girl. Even President Hime is different - she’s a he - who apparently likes boys at that, or at least likes Aria… eventually Aria can take no more and he runs off, back home to try to squeeze his way back through the stairs and maybe go back to where the girls are girls and the men are men. Of course, before he can get through, Alicia and the other undines turn up, and he-Alicia plays ‘upsy-daisy’ with Aria - which begins to cheer him up. Until Woody arrives, looking more like a bad drag queen than a female. He tries an ‘upsy’ that sends Aria way into the air, and misses catching him. Aria falls hard on the second floor balcony, knocking him out, and when he comes to everyone is back to normal. He’s so relieved he clings to Alicia tight, and all is well, except for the momentary reflection in the window where he sees a girly ribbon on his head in place of a hat… no, wait, it’s his imagination, he’s really himself and back home. If he ever left.
… and yet another series finds a way to cross the gender barrier…
In the second half, Atatsuki’s brother tells some amusing stories from when Atatsuki was a kid, about how silly he was, how he thought he was an android, and worried that his mother or other people might be stolen and replaced by evil aliens. Even had a special pose. Of course, Aria loves the pose and learns to copy it, and of course, eventually Alicia and Akari run across him out on a practice run where he sees Aria doing the pose… I suppose the word would be mortified, when he finds out how Aria learned it.
And incidentally, how come Woody is the only guy who’s name doesn’t begin with an A?
There was one thing I was really wondering about Episode 22:
Why is President Aria the only one who wasn’t a different gender in the other world? Everyone referred to Aria as a “him”. If this wasn’t the norm, you think they would have referred to him as a girl, or at least been shocked when he suddenly sprouted testicles.
Good question.
Ep. 23 is something else, the girls do something nice for an elderly couple celebrating their anniversary. This is just a really sweet episode, I don’t know what else you can say about it.
What was strange tonight though was watching Maria Summer ep. 5 and seeing those girls go under the same bridge that Alicia, Akari and this couple ride under a little while later. when Akari zooms in with the camera, I half expected to see a girl in a dark school uniform with long pleated skirt standing over there…
I caught that too. Aria has one the best futuristic feels for me. Even though many things are high tech, not everything is going to be.
Ep. 23
What a beautiful romantic episode. It was really nice how everyone came together so they could have their marriage of the sea.
I’m a bit behind schedule when it comes to Aria The Natural but I just finished watching Ep. 21 and man, it was a great hommage to Galaxy Express 999. The way Aria-Shasho was dressed up like Maetel and the kittens drawn Matsumoto’s style, just perfect.
This series really surprised me. I never shown much interest in the “slice of life” genre but Aria The Natural is so friggin’ cute and adorable it became one of my favorite series in recent months. I didn’t had the chance to watch the first season so that will probably be on my next list of purchases.
Is there any news if the third season will wind up on the SVOD schedule someday?
I’m behind too!
Episode 22 -
spoiler
It was funny that as soon as Akari mentioned parallel worlds, President Aria was determined to get to one. I wonder if the bump on the head had more to do with things than anything else. I loved Aria’s reaction when he realized that the genders are switched in this world and his scream before saying – “I don’t like this world.”
It was hysterical that Aika’s “no sappy lines allowed” became “no freaky falsettos allowed”! And Akatsuki might make a very pretty girl in this world, but she certainly can’t sing! But I think Aria’s biggest upset was to see that his beloved Hime is now a “he” and he runs away with the hope of returning to his own world.
Alicia catches him trying to squeeze back through the stairs and plays upsy-daisy with him and he seemed to be enjoying it until Woody came along and took things a bit too far. But at least the second head injury brought him back to his own world. And wouldn’t that huge fall have killed anyone else?
I noticed that when Aria changed worlds, the weather vane changed direction – wonder if that had something to do with things as well. Aria was so happy to be home, but it was funny that he looked in the glass and saw a female reflection of himself. He really scared himself there for a second!
Odd that Aria really did disappear from this world for a while and that Akari thought he went to a cat meeting. Maybe it wasn’t the hit on the head and he really did find a parallel world!
In the second half of the episode, Akatsuki’s brother is thanking Alicia for taking care of one of his clients and tells her and Akari a little of Akatsuki as a child. He says that Akatsuki “used to be just a rowdy dumb kind and a huge wimp.” Then he tells the girls a story.
As a little boy, Akatsuki wore a cape like a superhero and thought he was an android and protector of Aqua. One day his mother is out and he thinks that evil aliens abducted her. When she comes home, he tells her to prove her identity and she does this by calling him an android. He later tells his brother that he needs to make sure their mother wasn’t kidnapped and replaced by an evil alien. His brother teases him by saying – “who says mom’s the only one who can be replaced?” This scares Akatsuki and he runs out. I love how mom hit her son on the head with a frying pan for teasing Akatsuki.
Akatsuki runs to Woody’s house for help and asks him to hide him from his evil alien brother. But Woody has chocolate ice cream all over his face and looks like a monster, scaring Akatsuki even more. He runs out of the house and hides in an alley. His mom finds him, but he can’t trust her anymore either and backs away from her. But she calls him an android and gives him his superhero cape, before telling him to question people like he does with her. This way he’ll know when someone isn’t an evil alien and Akatsuki feels much better, giving her credit for being the mother of an android.
As Akatsuki’s brother finishes his story, he tells the girls that his paranoid brother used to ask “what is my true identity” sometimes ten times a day. Then Akatsuki’s brother teaches President Aria Akatsuki’s “pose”. Later, as Akari trains with Alicia, Akatsuki spots them from a bridge and sees President Aria doing his “pose”. He gets upset and Akari tells him that his brother told them stories of him as a child. Poor Akatsuki! When Alicia giggles, he just about dies! Very funny!
Presumably if we get it, look for it a couple months after it’s released.
I picked it up on DVD, but I would like to see them ad it as well. I hear the ending is pretty good, and I’m sure you guys want to see how it all finishes up.
I wish TAN would pick up a few other Nozomi shows while they’re at it. I’ve always wanted to see Emma, and Rental Magica would be great to see as well. Though the second could be problematic, since that had been owned by Kadokowa USA. Who knows who actually has the TV rights since they folded their US division.
Well, there’s a long gap before the next installment of Maria, perhaps they’ll use that time to give us something else. I mean, they gave us Boogiepop Phantom, and that one did run on TechTV’s Anime Unleashed about a million years ago.
Episode 23 -
spoiler
An older couple has come to Neo-Venezia to celebrate their wedding anniversary, but the husband doesn’t seem too enthusiastic about it, or maybe he’s just old fashioned. Though it’s funny how his ears turn red when he tries to hide his feelings.
Akari, Aika, and Alice later find out that the old man tried to rent the special gondola used for the “Marriage to the Sea” - “a festival where people pray for peace and calm seas” and a wedding ring is dropped into the sea. However, the “Bucintoro” is not something that can be rented and the other girls think that the man is selfish, but Hikari looks thoughtful.
When the girls meet the old man again and question him, it turns out that his wife wanted to see the “Marriage to the Sea”. He says that he had never been able to take her anywhere because of work, but wanted to grant her wish now. Akari offers to help him because she loves Neo-Venezia and wants her customers to love it too, leaving them with wonderful memories of their visit.
As Aika and Alice help Akari decorate her gondola, there is a great scene of the old man sitting with President Aria and he’s poking Aria’s little belly. Aria really seemed to enjoy it too! When the girls are done, I think the old man is pleased with their efforts – he doesn’t say much, but his ears turn red.
The time comes to pick up the man’s wife and she seems really impressed to see the decorated gondola that is carrying her husband. Alicia, Akira, and Athena show up with their customers and join them, making things even more festive. Aika and Alice arrive with a band and the old man looks very touched.
However, once they’re out on the water, the man can’t find the ring that he had bought for the occasion. His wife gives him one that she had bought earlier while she was exploring the city, saying that it reminded her of the “Marriage to the Sea”. The man says that “Neo-Venezia has always been and always will be eternally in love with the sea” and his wife says that “the sea has always loved Neo-Venezia and will always stay by its side”. I have a feeling that they are really talking about themselves and their relationship. It turns out that the old woman had mentioned wanting to see the “Marriage of the Sea” when she was a young girl and her husband remembered throughout all their years together. And a sweet touch in calling her husband her “Neo-Venezia” – I knew they were speaking of themselves earlier.
There is a stunning sunset and Akari says that it’s blushing for the lovely couple. Aika can’t say her usual full line, only getting out “no sappy…” before getting emotional herself. After saying some beautiful words, the man tosses the ring high into the air to fall into the sea below and I loved how it framed the old couple before falling into the water. The couple promises to love each other forever as everyone applauds them. Just beautiful! A very touching episode. I think I even got a little emotional myself.
Considering we’re a week away from the series finale of Aria the Natural, I sincerely hope that there are plans to have the third series “Aria The Origination” on ANOD soon! Oh, and "Aria the OVA’ would be nice, too! After all, they’re also Nozomi/The Right Stuf International products!
Episode 24 -
spoiler
A rainy day and practice is canceled. I loved little Aria’s bunny raincoat – too cute! The girls have a study session in Aika’s room. All the cats are there too and just when Aria thinks he’s going to have some quality time with Hime, the kitten shows up and chases Aria all over the room! Maa is even sneaky enough to catch him too!
Aika wants to talk about “aliases” – the name one takes when they become a Prima that becomes a second name. The girls come up with some pretty ridiculous ones for themselves. Akira interrupts them, needing their help in organizing some files and the girls learn there’s a lot more to being a Prima than just riding a gondola.
Aika takes the files back to Akira’s room, but overhears some girls speaking badly of Akira. She drops the files, runs back to her room and tearfully tells Akari and Alice what she heard. Nice to know that for all her complaints against Akira, she really does love her. Akira comes into the room and hears her talking. She tries to explain a few things to her, but Aika gets even more upset. Akira keeps talking to her, finally making her understand how things sometimes are and that they just have to be accepted for what they are.
The rain stops and the sun comes out. The girls realize again that “it’s not easy being a Prima” and Aika comes up with a sappy line of her own – “when we become stronger and our hearts become stronger…” Very nice!
Episode 26 -
spoiler
It’s winter again and the city is covered in snow. President Aria’s outfit is just adorable. Alicia and Akari roll a snowball and meet more people. But I wonder about their hands. They aren’t wearing gloves and must be freezing! I liked the scene at the bridge with President Aria atop the snowball, directing them, and later when the snowball runs over him. Poor thing!
When they wind up at a dead end, the people that live there end up having an impromptu party. They all pitch in to make a giant snowman. And it is a small world when the first man that helped them roll the snowball shows up. He lives there and helps them to decorate the snowman too.
Then it snows and looks so pretty. Neo-Venezia is such a wonderful place with friends you haven’t met yet around every corner. The ending was nice in showing all the friends and the important locations of the story. And from the way that Akari and Ai talk, I have a feeling that Ai will be joining Aria Company at some point in the future too.
Then at night with the gently falling snow, Akari and Alicia are sitting in front of a cozy fire with President Aria. I liked Akari’s thought on what she wanted to be when she grew up. It also seems that she is well on her way to realizing her dream too!
I love the characters and setting of this great story. This is such a wonderful series. I would love to see more as well.
I really loved the tone of episode 26. I especially liked the nice little touches of slightly altering the opening and closing music to fit the mood. This was definitely a nice way to wrap up Season 2.
It made me want to pop in my Season 3 set right then and there…lol. I really Anime Network is able to pick that one up as well.
Cody, I think they actually played both the Season 1 and 2 OPs and EDs during episode 26.
BTW, congrats on hitting the BIG 40(00)! How far behind Dragoon are you now? 
Pfft… I passed up poor Goon many moons ago. Wicca is my big competition. She’s only a few posts behind me. 
And thanks!
So I finally finished up The Origination the other day, and I have to say…
Oh my!
That was truely awesomely beautiful!
What a wonderful way to end the series.
It was actually so much better than the first two seasons, I almost downgraded my AP ratings for S1 & S2 down to 4 stars, just to have S3 as the only 5 star one to show how much better it is.
In the end I decided to keep all of them at 5 stars, since without S1 & S2, S3 wouldn’t have been as powerful.
I’m definitely glad I bought all three seasons now, and urge anyone who liked the first two seaons, and hasn’t finished this, to go buy it RIGHT NOW, and finish it up when you get it, as it’s well worth it!
That’s good to know, since we never did get the end of it on TAN. I’ve been wanting to pick these up for a while, maybe I’ll finally get around to it.
I went ahead and ordered this, although I went through Amazon since RSI never seems to have these on sale, or when they do it’s when I don’t have extra money, and what I paid including shipping is about the same as their sale price without spending another $25 or so to get free shipping.