Why Aria is a masterpiece

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Rating: 10/10

Mangaka: Kozue Amano

Synopsis: On the planet Aqua, a world once known as Mars, Akari Mizunashi has just made her home in the town of Neo-VENEZIA, a futuristic imitation of the ancient city of Venice. The technology of “Man Home” (formerly Earth) has not entirely reached this planet, and Akari is alone, having no contact with family or friends. Nonetheless, the town, with its charming labyrinths of rivers and canals, becomes Akari’s new infatuation, along with the dream of becoming a full-fledged gondolier. Reverting to a more “primitive” lifestyle and pursuing a new trade, the character of Akari becomes both adventurous and heartwarming all at once.

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It’s been a while since I felt this relaxed reading a manga. The leisurely pace is just suited right for me. Recently because of corona everything around me seems to be moving so fast, I just finished my 10th grade, I wish I could spend more time appreciating my surroundings each and every one of them. And After reading this manga, I’ve agreed that this manga has the best pacing. Sometimes I just wanna forget about everything and just disappear into the wonderful world of Aria. A depiction of little more than the life of characters within their setting.

Before starting I wanna thank Savageddt from WORDAHOLICANONYMOUS for recommending this amazing manga. I can’t express how thankful I am for recommending me Aria. This is a spoiler-free review.

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STORY

At first I thought it bad I took so long to finish it but now I’m happy because the longer you read it the more involved you’re into the world, this just makes the upcoming chapters magical. The guy who wanted to finish this as soon as possible is now wanting it to never end.

Now before you start reading Aria make sure you read Aqua. Aqua is actually a prequel to Aria so make sure to read it first to have better understanding of what’s happening in Aria.

Neo-Venezia, the pride of planet Aqua, is a quaint city filled with canals and easy-going people. The more you read, then you will start to see an undiscovered world of beauty to how amazing Planet Aqua is. This positive look at the world, the sensitivity for the ephemeral is really amazing. The inhabitants of Neo-Venezia take simple-minded approach to life which is reflected in Aria.

Aria teaches us to value all those little moments. The author Kozue Amano showing us those little things by small panels filled with no dialogue and full of character experience. It’s as if you’re there with them. Those little things such as random picnics, Cleaning your gondola or even just roaming around the cities. There’s no other manga that would give you such an magical experience. This is what Slice of life really is.

Like most slice of life, there is no major plot. It’s basically the characters daily lives but it’s damn interesting. There is no greater goal, no overarching deed that needs to be done, so that the manga can focus simply on their everyday lives as they strive towards graduating from their apprenticeship.

“Into the everchanging flow of time… A fleeing, yet treasurable moment was carved. A moment to be relieved, sometime in the future. Now there’s a wonderful thing to look forward to.”

I feel like a genius after reading this. The author teaches us about the different traditions, places and planets in a more enjoyable way. This is the only time I ever like learning something. The essence of Kozue Amano’s work, which constantly echoes within it, is the way of life adopted by the protagonists and their loved ones.

If you’re having second thoughts on reading aria, just go read the 49th chapter. There’s no spoilers except for showing how brilliant kozue Amano is. In the whole chapter there’s character dialogues except all you can read is the inner thought of Akari about her perspective of the four seasons on aqua.
Its amazing how someone can create a incredible chapter with no dialogue.

The way of enjoying every moment, the way of getting excited at the simple things that are expressed by random events that can hide a unique beauty if you spend enough time on them.

The wheel of time keep turning and turning and never stops. In the very same community in Aqua, everyone is reunited and that is absolutely stunning. The minute you start reading this manga you’re already part of the community together with all of the amazing characters.

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ART

Aria has one of the best artwork I’ve ever seen. Each chapter there’s a full page dedicated to amazing artworks like this:

This is just breathtaking!!

You could also see that the art just keeps getting better and better by each chapter. The artstyle just compliments the whole story so well that each chapter is so exciting to read. There’s no words to explain how breathtaking the art is.

When you thought the artwork was good in the first few chapters

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But it gets even better as you go on

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I also love the funny Artstyle in between. This just makes the whole series more light-hearted and relaxing.

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I’m sorry the art was too good, so I took too many snaps.

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Characters

The characters. I absolutely love them. There’s not a single character that felt left out and every character were perfect for their role. All in all, Kozue Amano’s character design is brilliant, she chose the right type of characters for a slice of life manga. Every character is just so goddamn likable. Its not like its all about a single character, it’s about everyone.

I always appreciate the fact that the author shows what happened to each character at the end of the manga as to what their future is. It’s always a sense of relief to see that they’re not forgotten and Like I said it’s not like there is a side character, each character gets the attention they deserve.

Akari Mizunashi

Akari is a happy and easy-going person, who we rarely see angry or upset, a quality which she shares with her supervisor. She is best described as a romantic and seems to find enjoyment in things or events that other people might think humdrum and mundane.

The best protagonist I’ve ever seen plus she’s Aquarius. The same as me. I really love her character so much, she has all the features for an amazing protagonist. A master of bringing happiness.

Aika S. Granzchesta

Aika is an undine for Himeya, the oldest and currently second-ranking water-guide company in Neo-Venezia. As the only daughter of its owners, she is also Himeya’s heir, but does not enjoy the distinction that much, as she feels that she is fawned upon too much by the company’s employees.

“Embarrassing remarks are not allowed!”.

Alice Carroll

Alice is a trainee for Orange Planet, a company who currently holds the first place in the water guide business. She first appears as a very standoffish, snotty young girl; however, exposure to Akari’s mood begins to lighten her up as the series progresses. This does not stop her from telling the other girls to be quiet when they argue, however.

I really want to talk about each character but I don’t want to write a too long post so here’s the link to the Characters. Maybe I’ll discuss about them in a future post.

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This is the longest I’ve ever spent on reading a manga. A month reading only one Manga and I’m glad I spent that much time because its that precious. The more time you take to read it the more you form a bond with it. A bond that will be remembered forever. Aria was absolutely amazing, a manga that will live in my heart forever.

I always call everything a masterpiece but this time it’s for real. The only issue with this manga is that I can’t recommend to everybody especially non-slice of life readers because it’s really slow paced and you need a lot of patience to get through it but if you want to try it out, I’m not stopping you because the journey is something beautiful.

Also I plan on watching the upcoming movie including post-anime movie trilogy, check it out too.

I didn’t want to write about the ending since I wanted to keep this spoiler-free but I’ll say it, one of the best endings periodt. After reading the final chapter this is what the author conveyed and I wrote it in my own words about how I feel.

I feel sad and lonely now since it’s over but although, it was probably something for the best. As lonely as it is and as sad it is.. it’s probably proof of just how precious this manga’s existence is. They become sparkling, dazzling and treasured memories that I’ll carry inside my heart forever. That’s why this heart wrenching feeling is The proof of happiness.

Thank you for reading

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