Akari's Neo-Venezia: ARIA The Natural
I was about halfway through ARIA: The Natural when my laptop went kaput. But I was inspired to pick up where I left off by Francesco's Venice which was recently repeated on BBC4.
The historical comparision was startling. Francesco da Mosto laid out how Venice was a place of great art and culture but also a latter day Sin City, home of Casanova and syphilis. It was the herat of a mighty trading empire that was laid low overnight by Vasco da Gama's discovery of the sea route around the Cape of Good Hope. A third of its population died horribly from the plague. It was stripped of its treasures by Napolean, many of which are still in France. Then the existential threats of the sinking lagoon bed as well as native Venetians being crowded out by tourism.
But da Mosto's exposition also explained how the romantic image of Venice created by the poet Byron and the painter Turner are still with us today. And this legacy is evident in the anime. But by placing it on another planet far into the future, the series has bypassed the grotesque mirage of our own age and successfully created a sci-fi/fantasy world of beauty, grace and love.
Great characters are an essential part of the series' charm. Plus the chibi mode in combination with the humour, deadly effective on me - I was laughing so hard I had to stop the playback when SD-Alice said: 'From the ancient times... Gachapen desu!'
Despite powering up my yuri goggles to maximum strength and Okazu priming, I just couldn't pick up any yuri vibes beyond lots of admiration. The absence of real male love interests means that LFB hope springs eternal though. 
Athena-senpai is gorgeous as always. More glimpses of young Athena was great too.
Aika's new hairstyle is soooo much nicer. I started to like her character more almost immediately. Yes, I am that shallow. orz
In other news, Akatsuki's mom joins Ama Shigure and Yukari Takara on my anime MILF list.
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October 8th, 2007 - 10:44
Venice is one of the many places that i wish to visit in the near future. In fact I was planning to go next year until my friends conned me into going to Japan with them. And yes, the reason is because of ARIA.
October 8th, 2007 - 11:45
The power of anime to promote tourism! I’d never consider going to Japan as being ‘conned’ though – especially since I went to Comiket 72 largely due to Lucky Star.
October 9th, 2007 - 04:16
October 9th, 2007 - 11:41
LOL, Orion.
Do you like braids in general or just on Aika?
October 10th, 2007 - 15:23
Yes and yes. ^o^
Also, just to make sure nobody misunderstands the above post, I was totally kidding.
October 13th, 2007 - 00:27
Am I the only one who hates it whenever ARIA uses SD mode? I’m not against SD per se, it can be cute and I really like the effect in some shows. However, I don’t find it fits very well especially as the actual SD style is pretty ugly too. Even more so in contrast to the rest of the show. Same goes for the ugly “cat”.
October 13th, 2007 - 00:47
Well, I guess they had to save on budget somewhere.
Also, somehow, I get the impression that the SD mode is from the manga. Can anyone confirm?
October 13th, 2007 - 02:11
Yep, that’s correct. The SDs are originally from the Manga. Amano Kozue-sensei uses them quite often too. i personally like them though, especially when they’re used in the right situation which can be hilarious.
October 13th, 2007 - 16:59
Thanks, Dav. I do like the SD mode, if only because it helps to sustain my suspensement of disbelief at the impossibility of how nice and beautiful everything and everyone is. But it also helps to know that it has roots in the manga and not just the animation studio taking liberties with the art style.
October 9th, 2009 - 00:25
LOL, first time any girl x pussy NOT= yuri XD