TV-Series
Description
"Aria the Animation" is set in the early 24th century on the planet Aqua, a terraformed version of Mars where water covers most of the surface. The city of Neo-Venezia, modeled after Venice, Italy, serves as the primary setting. The story centers on Akari Mizunashi, a young girl who moves to Aqua to pursue her dream of becoming an Undine, a gondolier who guides tourists through the city's canals. Akari joins the Aria Company, one of the three premier gondola companies in Neo-Venezia, and begins her apprenticeship under Alicia Florence, a skilled Undine and the company's president.

The narrative unfolds through a series of episodic vignettes, capturing Akari's daily life, her interactions with friends, and her growth as an Undine. Akari's cheerful and optimistic personality allows her to find joy in the small wonders of Neo-Venezia, from its serene canals to its vibrant festivals. She forms close bonds with her fellow trainees, Aika S. Granzchesta from the Himeya Company and Alice Carroll from the Orange Planet Company. Together, they navigate the challenges of their training while sharing lighthearted and heartfelt moments.

Aika, a proud and determined girl, often serves as a foil to Akari's carefree nature, while Alice, a reserved and prodigious Undine, adds a layer of quiet introspection to their dynamic. The trio's mentors—Alicia, Akira E. Ferrari, and Athena Glory—provide guidance and wisdom, each embodying distinct traits that influence their apprentices. Alicia's grace and kindness, Akira's strict yet caring demeanor, and Athena's gentle and artistic spirit shape the girls' journeys.

The series emphasizes the beauty of everyday life, blending slice-of-life storytelling with subtle science fiction elements. Themes of friendship, perseverance, and the appreciation of simple pleasures are woven throughout the narrative. The tranquil atmosphere of Neo-Venezia, with its picturesque landscapes and nostalgic charm, serves as a backdrop for the characters' personal growth and the deepening of their bonds.

As Akari progresses in her training, she encounters various residents of Neo-Venezia, including the mysterious Cait Sith, a cat-like entity believed to bring good fortune. These encounters often carry a touch of whimsy and wonder, reinforcing the series' gentle, reflective tone. While the plot lacks high-stakes conflict, its strength lies in its ability to evoke a sense of warmth and tranquility, inviting viewers to immerse themselves in the serene world of Aqua.

"Aria the Animation" is the first installment in the "Aria" series, laying the foundation for Akari's journey and introducing the richly detailed setting and characters that define the franchise. Its episodic structure and focus on character-driven storytelling create a soothing and contemplative viewing experience, making it a standout entry in the slice-of-life genre.
Information
Aria the Animation
アリア
Type: TV-Series
Anime Episodes: 13
Movie/Episode length: 25 min.
Date: 10/05/2005 – 12/28/2005
Official Website:Aria the Official Site
Categories
Genre
Everyday Drama
Settings
Sci-Fi
Tags
Magic
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Episodes
Staffel 1
1That Wonderful Miracle...
A young girl named Ai arrives at the Aria Company and demands a gondola tour from Akari Mizunashi. Akari refuses because her status as a Single,a journeyman Undine, prohibits her from guiding customers without a supervisor present. Ai circumvents this rule by insisting Akari take her as a friend rather than a customer, and Akari agrees. During the tour, Ai expresses her dislike for Neo-Venezia, citing its many inconveniences, while Akari counters that the city's slow, deliberate pace is exactly what she loves about the planet Aqua. They meet Akari's friend Aika from the Himeya Company, who joins them for the remainder of the trip, and the three share a lunch of buttered potatoes. While they rest, President Aria, the company's feline mascot, falls from a pole and drifts out into the bay, prompting Akari to row after him. Akari's pursuit is interrupted by a passing airship, and Alicia, Akari's mentor, gracefully retrieves the president in front of her own customers. At the day's end, Ai reveals her earlier dislike for the city stemmed from jealousy after her older sister constantly bragged about her honeymoon in Neo-Venezia, which included a tour with Alicia. Through the kindness and genuine interactions with Akari and Aika, Ai's perspective changes, and she asks to become Akari's penpal before departing. That evening, Akari tells Alicia that discovering a fondness for something one previously disliked is a wonderful miracle, directly tying her experience with Ai to the episode's title. With Ai's departure, the episode concludes as Akari continues her daily training, facing the ongoing challenge of growing from a Single into a fully-fledged Undine.
2On That Special Day...
During the annual acqua alta,when high water floods Neo-Venezia’s streets and most residents stay indoors, Akari encounters a sudden rain shower and takes shelter in Aika’s room at the Himeya Company. Inside, Akari notices the other Himeya employees treat Aika with formal deference, acknowledging her as the company’s heir. Aika’s strict mentor, Akira, arrives and chastises Aika for idleness during the flood; the two argue, and Aika leaves to spend the night with Akari at the Aria Company. That evening, Aika recounts a flashback of her first meeting with Alicia, when Alicia took her on a gondola ride and inspired her to become an undine. The next morning, Akira comes to the Aria Company to demand Aika’s return, and the apprentices learn that Akira and Alicia have been friends and rivals since childhood. Akira proposes a gondola race between Akari and Aika to settle where Aika will stay, but Aika abandons the race midway. She explains that she intends to return to Himeya because Akira is the only person there who speaks to her honestly, without the formality reserved for the company heir. Akari and Aika buy walnut bread, Akira’s favorite food, as an apology and return together. Watching Aika and Akira reconcile despite their quarrels, Akari realizes the two share a deep friendship and expresses her hope that she and Alicia will one day form a similar bond.
3To That Transparent Star...
Akari encounters a young girl named Ai standing alone at the port of Neo-Venezia. Ai explains she came from Manhome to see the star-shaped snow,a phenomenon unique to Aqua. Akari offers to guide her, and Ai accepts reluctantly. Aika joins them later, teasing Akari for her enthusiasm. The three visit various landmarks, but Ai remains withdrawn and speaks little. During a stop at a café, Ai confesses she traveled alone because her parents are busy and she feels lonely. Akari invites her to see the city at night when the acqua alta rises. As evening falls, the streets flood, and the trio boards a gondola. Under the starlit sky, star-shaped snowflakes begin to fall, and Ai witnesses the transparent crystals for the first time. The sight moves Ai, and she expresses gratitude for Akari’s kindness. Before Ai’s departure the next day, she asks Akari to write letters, starting a correspondence that bridges their worlds. Akari agrees, and Ai leaves with a promise to send the first letter, establishing a connection that will continue in future visits.
4That Undeliverable Letter...
President Aria leads Akari through narrow alleyways to an unfamiliar plaza filled with cats. A young girl wearing a bell collar approaches Akari and entrusts her with a letter to deliver. The next day,the mailman examines the envelope and tells Akari it contains a video card in an outdated format, but he promises to search for the address. While practicing gondola navigation, Aria guides Akari to an unknown canal where the same girl appears again. The girl explains the letter possesses the power to deliver messages to the heart across time and space before a woman calls her inside by the name Ami. The mailman later reports the address leads to Kai Tak Base, an abandoned terraforming facility in the middle of the Adriatic Sea. Woody, a sylph who delivers packages by sky-cycle, agrees to take Akari to the location. They arrive to find only a cemetery visible above the water, the rest of the base having sunk due to excessive groundwater excavation. Akari locates the gravestone matching the recipient's name and plays the video letter to it. The recording shows a woman speaking to her absent husband while a cat named Ami appears in the background, and Akari recognizes the woman's surroundings as the same place where she met the young girl. Akari returns to her training having fulfilled her promise, knowing the location she visited has now disappeared beneath the waves.
5To That Island Which Shouldn't Exist...
Akari receives a handwritten invitation to Neverland with map directions leading to a secluded island. She navigates her gondola to the island and becomes lost among its paths. Aika and Alice arrive separately after receiving identical messages. The three trainees discover a hidden cove where Alicia and Akira wait for them. Alice's mentor Athena also sent an invitation but does not appear. The three Prima undines organized the gathering for special training away from Neo-Venezia. Alicia and Akira instruct the apprentices to row unstable logs across the water to practice balance and control without gondolas. After the morning exercises,the group eats homemade lunches prepared by Alicia and Akira. The afternoon brings relaxed swimming in the cove's waters, an experience Akari treasures because Earth's oceans no longer permit swimming. Akari loses a hair ribbon in the water and recalls losing a similar ribbon during childhood. As night falls, the five women sleep in a tent on the beach. Akari rises and walks to the shore where Alicia joins her. Akari confesses she believed in Neverland as a child and now sees this human-made bay as a real version of that fantasy. Alicia responds that important feelings and memories never disappear but remain buried until a small trigger brings them back. Akari thanks her mentor and steps into the water, where the lost ribbon washes against her foot. She recovers the ribbon and cries with the recovered memory of her childhood swim. The trainees return to their daily routines with the Terraforming Jr. Finals approaching as the next challenge.
6That Which You Want to Protect...
Akari spends the night at Alice’s dormitory in the Orange Planet company. Alice reveals she has been punishing her left hand for being useless compared to her right. She introduces Akari to a kitten named Maa-kun,which she hides in her wardrobe because the dormitory forbids pets. Alice also introduces her mentor Athena, one of the Three Great Water Fairies, whom Alice dismisses as hopelessly clumsy. Akari observes Athena’s actions and notices her quietly supporting Alice in unnoticed ways. When Maa-kun cries during the night, Athena rises and begins to sing, her voice covering the kitten’s meows. Akari suggests to Alice that a left hand might not be as useless as she believes. The next day, Alice notices her left hand holding down her notebook while she writes. Returning from school, Alice finds Maa-kun missing from her room. She and Akari search but only locate the kitten when Athena sings a song to draw him out. Athena reveals she has known about Maa-kun all along and has arranged for him to become the new president of Orange Planet, replacing the recently deceased former president. Alice realizes Athena’s consistent, quiet care mirrors the subtle support her own left hand provides.
7Doing That Wonderful Job...
Akira gathers Akari,Aika, and Alice for a joint training session on the canals. She first takes the three trainees along as she guides a honeymoon couple, Ameri and Arashi. Akira handles the couple’s initial hesitation with professional grace, and Ameri becomes enamored with the experience. After the morning tour, Ameri requests to join the afternoon training as passengers, and Arashi dismisses the difficulty of an Undine’s work. Akira accepts the challenge and drills the three apprentices with unyielding rigor in front of the watching couple. During the final exercise, Akira leads the group into an area where the rising tide traps them in a maze of canals with impassable low bridges. The three apprentices split up to find an exit on their own, failing individually until Alice detects a current flowing through an abandoned building. They collaborate: Aika navigates with a lantern, Akari rows, and Alice opens the way, successfully escaping with the passengers. Akira rewards the group with pizza but does not scold the apprentices for getting trapped. When they question her lack of reprimand, she explains that their clear remorse makes further punishment unnecessary. Arashi realizes Akira’s harshness stems from genuine care for her students. The episode closes with the apprentices understanding the demanding standards required of a Prima Undine as they face their continued training.
8その 憂鬱な社長ったら… / その イケてるヒーローってば…
Akari and Alicia perform a late-summer cleaning of the Aria Company building. President Aria tries to assist but knocks over a bucket and scatters laundry,disrupting their work. He leaves a note asking not to be searched for and ventures into Neo-Venezia with a rice ball and a doll. During his walk, he encounters a bird that steals his food and narrowly avoids being taken home by a tourist child. He spots Aika with President Hime but chooses not to approach and returns to the company roof as evening falls. Alicia finds him there, and they share a meal together. In the second half, inspired by a comic book hero, President Aria dons a makeshift mask and cape to perform anonymous good deeds. He attempts to return a stuffed animal dropped by a young girl but faces a series of obstacles, including being recognized by Athena and chased by President Maa. After finally reaching the girl’s house, he trips and dirties the doll. He leaves it on the doorstep and starts to walk away. The girl finds the soiled doll and expresses joy at its return, lifting President Aria’s spirits. He returns home content, having successfully helped someone.
9That Starlike Fairy...
Akari and Aika take a mandatory night navigation test for undine trainees. They depart after sunset with only a compass and their memory of the canals. The test demands they reach a designated landing without consulting maps or asking for directions. A young girl suddenly appears on their gondola mid-journey and introduces herself as Aria. She points out a safe route that avoids strong currents,then vanishes as quickly as she came. Aika later remarks that the girl resembles portraits of the legendary founder of Aria Company. Alicia confirms that the founder, also named Aria, established the company’s tradition of prioritizing heartfelt service over rigid technique. Akari pieces together that the girl was not a hallucination but a direct encounter with the company’s origins. The experience deepens Akari’s commitment to mastering the waterways that hold the city’s layered history. She begins her next practice session with a clearer sense of why the small, daily acts of guidance matter.
10That Warm Holiday...
Akari and Alicia gather firewood in the winter forest,where Akari encounters the season’s first snowflies. One snowfly attaches itself to her and accompanies her back to the city. Alicia notices Akari’s attachment to the creature and learns that Akari has never visited a hot spring. On their next day off, Alicia invites the three trainees to a hot spring. Akari, Aika, and Alice travel together by gondola to the old building that houses the baths. Akari hesitates at the entrance, unaccustomed to communal bathing, but she relaxes once inside. That evening, Akari expresses guilt about taking time away from practice. Alicia responds that rest and warmth help one endure the winter, reframing the holiday as necessary rather than indulgent. Later, Alicia leads the group through a hidden door to a secret spot where the hot spring water mingles with the ocean under the open sky. The three trainees swim while Alicia brings peach soda. Akira and Athena arrive as Alicia’s surprise guests, and the gathering grows livelier. Akari steps onto the balcony as the first snow falls and watches snowflies depart. Alicia explains they are leaving for the season, and Akari bids farewell to her small companion, trusting they will meet again next winter.
11Those Orange Days...
Akari,Aika, and Alice return to the Aria Company after a day of practice and discover their three mentors, Alicia, Akira, and Athena, gathered together inside. The three trainees learn that their mentors, when they were still Singles, used to train together regularly but have rarely met as a group since becoming Primas. In a flashback, Alicia and Akira, as Singles, hear rumors of a new prodigy at the Orange Planet company. They encounter a Single from Orange Planet named Athena, and when Akira asks about the prodigy, Athena does not answer. They invite Athena to join their practice sessions, where they find her rowing lacks Alicia’s grace and her guidance lacks Akira’s skill. During one practice, Athena begins to sing; her voice stops passersby on the canal, who applaud, and Akira realizes that Athena herself is the rumored prodigy. Back in the present, Alice voices her realization that her own trio will also separate once they all become Primas. Alicia responds by advising her to enjoy the present and not regret what will be lost. When Akari escorts Aika and Alice home, they part ways at a bridge. After they separate, Akari begins to cry, then runs to the apex of the bridge and calls out to them. She waves and shouts assurances about meeting again tomorrow and wishes them a good night’s rest. Aika scolds Akari for shouting so loudly, and the exchange reaffirms the warmth of their friendship. Akari then watches through the window as the three mentors sit by the fire, laughing and drinking cocoa, and she understands that the time she spends with Aika and Alice now holds a similar irreplaceable value. The experience stays with her as she continues her training, aware that these shared days will one day become cherished memories.
12その やわらかな願いは…
On a snowy day with no gondola bookings,Akari and President Aria visit Neo-Venezia’s oldest bridge. Crossing the covered structure, the snow vanishes and the sky clears, revealing a dry canal. Akari meets Akiko, a woman who does not recognize her undine uniform and has never heard of the profession. Akiko invites Akari to her home, where they drink tea and share their unfamiliarity with each other’s surroundings. Akari notices an old‑style data card in Akiko’s camera, the same format as a letter from a past era. She realizes she has traveled back to a time before Neo-Venezia was built. At the canal, residents gather to witness water released by terraformers, a long‑awaited sign that the planet is accepting its new inhabitants. Akiko understands Akari’s origin when Akari accurately predicts the water’s arrival and describes the future city. Akiko calls cats creatures that connect past and future, then bids farewell to her “avvenire” – future. Akari crosses the bridge again and returns to the snowy present. She returns to Aria Company and embraces Alicia tightly, carrying the weight of the friend she left behind in the past. The next morning, the city continues its quiet winter routine as Akari reflects on the hope that built the world she now lives in.
13That White Morning...
Akari and Alicia go to Piazza San Marco for New Year's Eve and meet Ai,who makes a surprise visit from Manhome. Ai encounters Akari's friends including Akatsuki, his brother Woody, Aika, Akira, Grandma Akino, Alice, and Athena, people she previously knew only through letters. Ai embarrasses Akari by revealing personal gossip from their correspondence. President Aria runs into the crowd, prompting Akari and Ai to chase him. They follow his footprints through the snow to an old canal. On the opposite bank, they see snow-free buildings from Akiko's time (episode 12) and several cats including Ami from episode 4. A bell rings, and the present-day city reappears; Akari and Ai interpret the vision as Aqua accepting Ai. They return to the plaza to find President Aria already back, joining the midnight celebrations. The group stays until sunrise, watching people throw old items into the air at midnight as part of the New Year's tradition. After Ai departs with her sister and her sister's baby, Akari and Alicia row home together. As they exchange New Year's greetings, Akari silently wishes happiness for all residents of Aqua, past and present, marking the beginning of a new year for the Aria Company.
Cast
Comment(s)
Staff
  • Director
    Junichi Satō
  • Scenario
    Reiko Yoshida
    Junichi Satō
    Ayuna Fujisaki
  • Episode Director
    Keiji Gotō
    Nanako Shimazaki
    Shintarō Itoga
    Kenichi Takeshita
    Yoshio Mukainakano
    Masato Tamagawa
    Daisuke Tsukushi
    Takahiro Natori
    Kazunobu Fuseki
  • Original creator
    Kozue Amano
  • Art Director
    Junichirō Nishikawa
  • Animation Director
    Makoto Koga
    Etsuko Sumimoto
    Masatsugu Arakawa
    Takeshi Kusaka
    Masayuki Onji
    Toshiyuki Fujisawa
    Mikio Fujiwara
    Yukiko Miyamoto
    Takuji Yoshimoto
    Tadahito Matsubayashi
    Tomohisa Shimoyama
    Takayuki Hanyū
    Yūji Yanase
    Hiroshi Kazui
    Yūji Kondō
  • Producer
    Tetsuo Uchida
    Shigeru Tateishi
    Yasutaka Hyuuga
  • Series Composition
    Junichi Satō
  • Storyboard
    Junichi Satō
    Keiji Gotō
    Nanako Shimazaki
    Hiroko Kazui
    Kenichi Takeshita
    Yoshio Mukainakano
    Jun Fukuda
    Kazunobu Fuseki
    Mamoru Sasaki
  • Music
    Choro Club
    Takeshi Senoo
  • Character Design
    Makoto Koga
  • Chief Animation Director
    Makoto Koga
  • Director of Photography
    Hiroshi Yoshida
Production
  • Production
    Production I.G
    Shochiku
    TV Tokyo
    Hal Film Maker
    Mag Garden
    ARIA Company
  • Animation Production
    Hal Film Maker
Music
Opening
“Undine -forest mix-" (ウンディーネ -forest mix-)”
Yui Makino
Ending
“Rainbow -acoustic ver.-”
ROUND TABLE feat. Nino
Insert songs
Ep. 13
“Just For You”
Round Table featuring Nino
Ep. 11-12
“Symphony”
Yui Makino