This volume completes the second season of Aria, called Aria: The Natural. The series follows Akari Mizunashi, a young girl who lives on Aqua (terraformed Mars) in a town called Neo-Venezia as she trains to become a Prima Undine (gondolier).
As with Aria: The Animation, The Natural focuses on the characters and their day-to-day lives. This volume of The Natural continues to spotlight the supporting characters as well as the exploration of Aqua's spirit world. One episode shows Akari's suspensful encounter with a ghost in a deserted cemetary, easily the spookiest episode of Aria!
In a particularly emotional story arc, Akari must say good-bye to a gondola she and her mentor Alicia had been using for years. This two-part episode does not have the feel of disposing of an inanimate object but of having to say goodbye to an old friend that you know you will never see again. Positively heart-rending and one of the best anime episodes I have ever seen.
For fun, there is a paralell universe story where we see a different side to Aria's cast of characters.
As for character development, we learn more about the past of some of the supporting characters that populate Neo-Venezia to give us more insights into this fantastic world.
Everything about this series is outstanding! The writing is superb, the animation is stunning and fluid, the music is great and all the characters are very-well developed. Aria could very well represent the perfection of anime! Aria: The Animation and Aria: The Natural are essential additions to the video library of, well, anyone!
Watching one episode is never enough. Each episode leaves you with a desire to see more of Aria.
This is one series you cannot miss! It realy is the finest anime series around. Now we just have to wait for Aria: The Origination and Arietta.
