Ah, glorious singing by Athena-senpai is always good, even if it’s probably recycled sound work. And peerless Alice boat(wo)manship getting the hat oh so effortlessly and returning it like it was no big deal. Loved the comedy of Aika and the market stall girl going into akogare mode simultaneously as well as Akari and Alice alternating into super-deformed mode in awe of their respective senpais. And there I was going, ‘Eh?’, when there wasn’t a Demonstration Alpha of Awesomeness by Akira - only to realize later that this was all a setup for a truly wonderful episode.
There was setup material during the OP scenes too with an example each for Akari’s people skills and Alice’s boat handling; then another iteration to rub it in after Aika realizes that her peers reflect their senpais in terms of having a ‘genius’ type skill that seems innate to them, puts them heads and shoulders above herself and destines them for primahood.
Even Aika’s trademark comeback phrase falters as Aqua seems to tell her: ‘Dissing Akari’s embarrassing comments is forbidden!’ with the wind-borne rose petals. But Aqua is also saying: ‘There will be a flashback involving this later to cheer you up too! :3′
GA~N!! The horrible revelation! Akira was the last of the trio to level her Single status behind. This is also supremely ironic considering how Alice Alicia had, initially, only tagged along for undine training to be with Akira. And that Super Clumsy Blur Block (but how I love her so) Athena also got past the post first.
I like womanly Athena and Alice more than their teenage versions but can’t say the same for Akira. Probably it’s the long hair she’s got in the present, rather than the age per se. Like Aika, short hair suits her much better!
Something that’s not entirely clear to me, even after reading (admittedly not very meticulously) the posts by Adun, Totali, Fisherman Horizon: Does Aika realize that the little girl who inspired Akira was none other than herself?
And IMHO I do think that Aika has a unique talent. She has ‘command presence’ - she is willing and able to be bossy (as Alice finds out), this suits her really well to be the heir to the Himemiya Himeya business empire. Her forthrightness, in the joint trainings, has also been invaluable - there’s an episode in The Natural which shows how she mercilessly picks on Alice (scary face and soft voice) and Akari (easily distracted).
There is no escape from the Akari Virus. And no cure! Ahaha~~
Aika can be really over-competitive sometimes but this episode, like Minami Ke Okawari ep 5, really resonated with me. Normally I’d go ‘Yeah right!’ at the ‘Ganbatte!’ moral of this type of story but given that this is ARIA after all, I really have no choice but to say ‘Ganbarimasu!’ and knuckle down.
Heh, Akira says something along the lines of “Ah, so she doesn’t remember” or w/e….Aika has no idea that she was the girl that inspired Akira. She just thought she heard a really touching story that only had to do with Akira.
And I think Aika’s kinda thick that way… sorta like a certain, loveable, pink-haired girl who reminds me of a grown-up version of Yotsuba. The Singles all, as you pointed out, take after their trainers; Alicia and Akari are very people-oriented, and have the ability to charm the socks off just about anyone; Alice and Athena are boat-handlers par excellence (now); Akari and Aika work hard, and they’re very skilled… but that’s due to their ability to buckle down and plow through obstacles, rather than innate talent. She (Aika) picked that up from Akari; episode 5 (IIRC) of Natural shows that - the barbeque episode.
BTW, it’s ‘Himeya’ - like the company. As for Akari’s look, I think it’s more her behavior than anything - the long hair doesn’t work as well on her as it does with Alicia, but it’s the smile and the gentleness which I associate more with her childhood friend that make her cuter here than she is when we see ehr later on (usually frowning).
Thanks, Totali, for the clarification. Ah, sweet dramatic irony. I wonder if she’ll realize one day.
And wow, another lightning fast comment!!
[Add: Haesslich, re: Himemiya. orz. I must have been thinking about Kannazuki. ;)]
“Alicia”, deshou? ;)
For some reason, I prefer Akira with long hair… Maybe it’s because of all those gorgeous artwork Amano-sensei drew of her in her artbooks. Also, it’s probably Akira’s adorable way of making herself look more feminine considering how she was acting like a tomboy back in her childhood days, and how she seems to be slightly concerned that she’s (still) attracting more attention from chicks than guys in the present lol. Well, that’s the kind of impression I get from her anyway.
PS. Okay to be honest, I have a weakness for long hair (or long hair blowing in the wind).
\o/ Alice-chan!
Oh wait, there isn’t any Alice-chan in this episode. I actually wrote a little entry about the inspirational story of Akira. In a way, I really like the casual look of Akira in this episode. Man, they all look so darn hot \o/
Dav: I have a weakness for long hair too… but sometimes, shorter is better, as Aika proves. It depends on the lady involved - some work well with elegant good looks and long hair, others with shorter hair.
I think it’s the smile and casual manner which make her ‘prettier’ than her non-working mode these days. IF you look back at Aria the Animation episode 7, you’ll see her in her working mode, with her professional smile - it feels different from this, and from the way we normally see her.
As for attracting female attention, maybe she needs to tone down her suave manner a TAD; the flower thing in the previously mentioned episode, plus her normal ‘take-charge’ mode when not working, really does give her a lot of ‘masculine’ appeal… with everyone but Alicia, I think, who remembers her as a teenager.
Ooh~ You got me there, Haesslich. :)
I agree with you that ultimately, what makes Akira appealing is that casual personality of hers which we see from time to time whenever she’s not working i.e. in business mode. Special bonus if she’s relaxed just like she was in this Ep (also the reason which made Volume 11 a wonderful read for me). Amano-sensei did explore this side of Akira occasionally in the Manga as well and thanks to her way of handling the personality spectrum of the character, Akira is my favorite undine (strangely ^^).
Dav, thanks. Fixed.
Impz, last week was Akari, this week Aika and next week should be Alice. I expect more rejoicing then. ;)
Haesslich, I agree with you that it’s Akira’s coolness rather than her looks that attracts the female attention. Kinda like Hinagiku during the Valentine’s Day arc of the Hayate no Gotoku manga.
Zyl: I think of it like how I think of Chie from Mai-Otome and Mai-HIME; she acts in a similar way… which results in a similar sort of attention. It’s only that Akira doesn’t like that which differentiates her from the similar character type that Chie Hallard/Harada represents - tall, dark-haired, pretty yet debonair and prone to a ‘manly’ forcefulness which draws a lot of female attention. Rather like Hinagiku in that sense - they both consider themselves feminine, but they’re not the shrinking violets that are seen as ‘feminine’ by Western and Japanese culture.
Alicia represents the ‘feminine’ ideal in many ways - gentle and mild, subtly working around problems, never overtly threatening or forceful. Akira’s her total opposite in most ways, personality-wise, while Athena… well, she’s further into the gentle and mild end of the spectrum than Alicia is in many ways, but isn’t quite as elegant in her appearance or actions - she’s more ethereal than Akira’s more earthy manner and Alicia’s nuturing demeanor.
“Space cadet”, you don’t mean ? :P
No, ethereal - Athena’s behavior is a bit spacey, but her appearance - especially when she sings or fully tunes into her surroundings, is… well, I’d say angelic except that’s something I more associate with Alicia… so ethereal, as in otherworldly, it is.
As for short-haired Akira, I’d have to refer to their Singles days for how I prefer Akira’s hairstyle… or Athena’s for that matter, even if she reminds me of a taller, somewhat more elegant Osaka.
By the way, is it just me, or were they too cheap to spring for more than one or two songs for Athena?
As for what I said about Akira’s smile… here’s some old screenshots from Ep 11 of the first series (Animation).
http://img509.imageshack.us/img509/5368/ariatheanimation11akiraya9.jpg
See what I mean? Even with the longer hair, it’s the smile and the look of the eyes that does it, compared to her business smile or the (when we see her with the trainees) stern manner.
hey,you said that short-hair suit Akira better, but I don’t think so!!!
Akira is good with any hair-style!!! She’s so beautiful with long hair, short hair, or whatever!!!
And for Aika, I agree with you. Short-hair is much better…