(L) Aria the Origination

[StarCreator]

Originally Posted by Kamui4356

I for one am definately buying Aria. Though I'm debating whether I should preorder it on TRSI's website or wait until closer to release to see what other online stores are charging. I don't usually preorder anything, so if I decide to preorder it, it'll be the second thing ever.

TRSI's price is already 25% off MSRP, and there's an extra $5 off Nozomi Entertainment coupon that can be found on their website, near where they talk about the print catalog. I don't think you're going to find it priced better anytime soon.

[Tatiana Razajev]

Originally Posted by StarCreator

TRSI's price is already 25% off MSRP, and there's an extra $5 off Nozomi Entertainment coupon that can be found on their website, near where they talk about the print catalog. I don't think you're going to find it priced better anytime soon.

$32.49 for 13 episodes is pretty nice. Less with the Got Anime 10% discount. Although I'm not sure if the 10% is applied before or after the $5 off. Regardless I plan to use the $5 coupon towards Aria the Animation. Just a matter of ordering it before the pre-order discount as removed. Granted since it's still May I have plenty of time.

[Kamui4356]

Ah I didn't know about the coupon. That makes it $35.49 after $3 shipping. Yeah I don't think I'll be able to beat that price even with free shipping at some other sites. I guess this will make Aria the second thing I've ever pre-ordered. (The first was Final Fanstay X.)

[germanturkey]

without a doubt i'm buying this one. when you consider that ~35 dollars would normally net you around 4 episodes of a normal anime.. thanks for the heads up with the coupon.

[Need more Aria]

I was wondering if anyone has read the blog from

http://animearimasu.animeblogger.net...series-review/

it does contain summaries of last 3 episodes so if you haven't seen it yet I advise you to scroll down the page into the review section.

Spoiler:

Final Impressions

The ARIA series has been an amazing ride, especially if you consider that it was a rather scenic journey. ARIA was a series devoid of any noticeable plot, in the first couple episodes of ANIMATION, the cast and the world of Aqua is introduced, and in the final few episodes, a new age dawns as the next generation of prima are unleashed.

So what’s in between? What fills the gap between introduction and conclusion? Short answer: nothing. Long answer: the slow unraveling of the world of Neo Venezia, the subtleties in beauty and tranquility that defined ARIA as a “healing” anime. There were no distinct power level jumps amongst the cast, the ranks they had at the beginning remained until the end when they were promoted. Instead we were shown their slow, progressive growth, not through countless training episodes and gondola physics, but rather by the day to day experiences that touched upon themes of love, life, the universe and everything.

It’s difficult to explain ARIA to someone I’m trying to recommend it to, ask this blog’s second author, Soda, I’ve been pushing him to watch it for months. I’m often left telling them that: “It’s a calming experience unlike anything you’ve ever seen before. But be warned, it’s boring, but in a good way.” And that’s a pretty lame explanation “boring, but in a good way”? What does that even mean? The defining example of the point I’m trying to get across here is the time I fell asleep while watching an episode of ARIA, woke up sometime later, refreshed and relaxed, and proceeded to watch the episode again. That is the effect that ARIA can have.

However, with this comes a warning. ARIA is not a series that is meant to be marathoned, that is, watched all at once. The way you’ll get the most out of your ARIA experience is to watch it gradually, an episode or two a day after a stressful day at the office or to wind down from a tiring day at school. The slow pacing of the show needs to be matched by a slow pacing of its viewing.

Furthermore, while they’re not really pertinent to a series like ARIA, I feel like I have to touch upon its technical aspects, just for habit’s sake. The animation in ARIA varies, there are some episodes which pay great attention to scenic detail, others that emphasize the beauty and grace of the undines through subtle fluidity in their movements, and others still that fail in both regards and rely far too heavily on chibi animation. However, as a whole, the style fits extremely well, especially when it comes to character designs, each having their own distinct characteristics.

The ARIA soundtrack is absolutely amazing, an aspect of anime which usually gets a resounding “meh” from me, so understand how great it must be for me to have actually gone out of my way to acquire the soundtracks.

No, thank -YOU- ARIA. Thank you for bringing that warm and fuzzy feeling to my heart for 20 minute installations at a time.

With absolute confidence, I crown ARIA as my favourite anime of all time. It may not boast adrenaline fueled action, complex story elements or a touching love story, but ARIA’s atmosphere sucked me into the world of Aqua. Fleshing out its settings and its characters, ARIA evoked emotions I thought my heart was no longer capable of feeling, as corny as that may sound.

The only remotely negative thing I can say about ARIA on the whole is that I’m sad that it’s over. It’s difficult accepting that no matter how good it is, no matter how much money the DVD sales bring in, we will likely never see anymore ARIA ;_;

So with no hesitation, I recommend the ARIA series as compulsory viewing to any self respecting anime fan. The series is in fact so good that I’m going to break my usual pirate ways, I’m going to buy the ARIA DVDs. Even though I’ve seen the entire thing and I have all the episodes archived on my HDD, it doesn’t matter, a series like this is a rarity and it deserves every cent of support that it will squeeze from my wallet.

~ Shirukii ~

Taken from http://animearimasu.animeblogger.net...series-review/

[StarCreator]

I didn't know about the $5 coupon until it was too late, either (and apparently my renewing my Got Anime account in the order made customer service unable to apply the coupon retroactively). I did, however, order the set with a few volumes of the ARIA manga in order to push myself above the $49 free shipping threshold.

I considered phoning in to customer support to try to get the $5, but I decided it wasn't worth the hassle. I really don't mind letting TRSI keep the money in exchange for their awesome service.

[Kamui4356]

Originally Posted by StarCreator

). I did, however, order the set with a few volumes of the ARIA manga in order to push myself above the $49 free shipping threshold.

That's one of the reasons I was thinking of holding out actually, I wasn't sure that would work sice it's a preorder, and with shipping that would have pushed it up to $40, which I was pretty sure I'd be able to beat. The coupon pushed me over the edge by bringing it down to $35. I still feel a bit silly preordering it so far in advance though. Well, at least I'm guaranteed to get copy at a good price.

[mikesince83]

Wow I didn't realize how much I missed this series till I watched episode ten of Origination. I have three more episode to go so I'll watch one each day, Wednesday through Friday. It works out perfectly!

It certainly is a disappointment that ARIA is over since there really isn't any other (that I know of) decent slice of life series running this season besides maybe Chi's Sweet Home. I haven't seen any of it though so I can't really make a comparison.

And of course it's great to hear the show has been licensed. Does anyone know if they'll do a full dub, or just go with subtitles? Honestly I don't think I could watch the series without the lovable Japanese seiyus that practically define the world of ARIA, but it would be interesting to hear what some English voice actors could do.

[StarCreator]

The press release and subsequent preorder listing clearly states the release is subtitled-only.

[Kamui4356]

Originally Posted by mikesince83

And of course it's great to hear the show has been licensed. Does anyone know if they'll do a full dub, or just go with subtitles? Honestly I don't think I could watch the series without the lovable Japanese seiyus that practically define the world of ARIA, but it would be interesting to hear what some English voice actors could do.

So far it's sub only. I was kind of hoping for a dub though, since I know people who'd like the series but won't watch anything subbed.

[Kempis Curious]

Originally Posted by Goofus Maximus

All I want to know is: Who in the WORLD did Alicia get married TO?!?!?!?!? You'd think a boyfriend would show up at Aria Company at least once in a while!

Sorry guys, I'm the one marrying Alicia. I did show up to the company a few times, but... umm... what's her name Hikaru wasn't there. Alicia's house was kind of far from Aria Company too, it was more convenient for me to see her there.

I'm surprised she never talked about me, maybe she was embarrassed that my name doesn't start with "A". But doesn't "Hikaru" begin with an "H"? I don't get it.

-k


curious

[ZeRoGravity]

A lot of teary moments towards the end of the series. One of most satisfying ending I've seen from an anime in a while. I still have a warm feeling inside of me after finish watching the series last night. One of the few series I am willing to buy DVDs for.

[germanturkey]

bought the full set of winter uniform figures. pics to come later today. also don't know if you guys saw this:
http://www.akiba-station.com/blog/?p=687

[KrebMarkt]

Originally Posted by germanturkey

bought the full set of winter uniform figures. pics to come later today. also don't know if you guys saw this:
http://www.akiba-station.com/blog/?p=687

Want them All, Want them All.

Any webstore for international pre-order ?



First is Akari long hair version
She looks better than in the anime version.

Can anyone with good eyes guess who are the next two.

[germanturkey]

^^ links are broken

[germanturkey]

yum. spring uniform to come in the next few weeks when i can go back to the store..

[WanderingKnight]

I'm particularly amused by the "NOW DROWNING" wording on the promotional images right next to Akari (I suppose those are things coming up on August and September?).

On an unrelated note, the local manga store FINALLY got a supply of Aqua vol 2, so I could at last get a hold of it. I've been trying to get that one for more than a year now, but the owner didn't import it. Seems my yelling at him finally made him reconsider

[Shiroth]

Originally Posted by WanderingKnight

On an unrelated note, the local manga store FINALLY got a supply of Aqua vol 2, so I could at last get a hold of it. I've been trying to get that one for more than a year now, but the owner didn't import it. Seems my yelling at him finally made him reconsider

You should have got him to read some of the manga, then i'm sure he would have imported it a lot sooner.

[G. Zeus]

Originally Posted by Shiroth

You should have got him to read some of the manga, then i'm sure he would have imported it a lot sooner.

Dunno about that. It's far from being the fastest selling title around and methinks it's still a hard sell despite the recent increase in popularity.

[Kamui4356]

Originally Posted by WanderingKnight

I'm particularly amused by the "NOW DROWNING" wording on the promotional images right next to Akari (I suppose those are things coming up on August and September?).

I think it's supposed to say 'now drawing', but someone either made a typo that didn't get caught, or it was a romanization error.