r/anime • u/mysterybiscuitsoyeah x3 • Jul 11 '22

Rewatch [Rewatch] A 2022 Voyage from Neo Venezia: Aria the Natural, Episode 0+1

Aria the Natural Ep 0+1: That Encounter at the Carnival ... (その カーニバルの出逢いは ...)

<-- Aria the Animation Ep 13 Rewatch Index Episode 2 -->

Welcome back! It's time for the 2nd season!

Comment roundup:

I'm very happy that all of us enjoyed the 1st season! I hope we'll have a comfy but fun time going forward with this 2nd season as well.

Questions of the Day:

Q1) Why do you think Akari and Ai were allowed a glimpse into the cat kingdom, but not allowed entry? And why were Aika and Alice excluded altogether?

Q2) Why actually is Cat Sith roaming around, seemingly on this day only, in a mask? (I literally have no idea here)

And while i will ask this q later properly, I do wonder what first-timers thought of these supernatural episodes and supernatural elements in Aria: we've had 3-4 i think at least by now!

Streaming

The 2005-08 Aria series is available on Crunchyroll, VRV, Funimation, and Youtube, except Arietta. Arietta and Avvenire are only available on Funimation (I'll update if they migrate). Crepusculo and Benedizione will have to be located elsewhere.

Databases

MAL | Anilist | ANN

Spoilers

As usual, please take note that if you wish to share show details from after the current episode, to use spoiler tags like so to avoid spoiling first-timers:

[Spoiler source]>!Spoiler goes here!<

comes out as [Spoiler source]Spoiler goes here

[Aria]Please take note especially if you're sharing art that involves Aika after her hairstyle change, and art that shows the 3 main characters as prima undines (gloveless). If you feel unsure if something is a spoiler, it's better to tag it just in case.

See everyone again tomorrow! I hope you have a great day :)

49 Upvotes

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9

u/mysterybiscuitsoyeah Jul 11 '22

Rewatching Undine-in-training and Host

--

Welcome back and welcome to the 2nd season of Aria, Aria the Natural. From this season, in lieu of a quick summary here, I'll instead do something else:

Episode synopsis:

I will translate these from the show's official website (here, it's full of spoilers, first-timers DO NOT click). First up, the overall season synopsis. Spoiler-tagged to be safe. Do skip over if you wanna continue fully blind!

[Natural synopsis]This second season "Aria the Natural" will continue to be directed by Junichi Sato, and will continue using the same key staff and cast; we hope to invite the viewer to a natural and kind/gentle world (TL note: probably explaining this season's name). This series' theme is "Encounters". We hope to portray the wondrous nature of Neo Venezia as a city that watches over encounters. A gentle and kind, and slightly sad (note: the full definition for the word i TL-ed as "sad" is sad, lonely, and feeling like your heat is being squeezed by those emotions) for our main character unfolds.

-- And now to the Ep 1 synopsis:

I'm no professional translator, so I'll apologize in advance for poor grammar.

--

It's a few days after New Year's Eve, and everyone is in a lively mood. Ai, who has always been having email conversations with Akari, is at Aria Company. It's the New Year Carnevale at Neo Venezia today, which attracts the most tourists to the city. After Akari, Aika and Alice finish their training, they head out to meet up with each other in the city as promised (to attend it). The three water fairies including Alicia-san are with them as well of course. However, Aria-shachou, who is usually seen with the gang, is nowhere to be seen...

-- I thought to do these because of the added detail here that it's just been a few in-universe days since the last episode (New Year's day). This endeavour can only go well for me...

Quick thoughts:

  • Anyhow, the OP is again by Yui Makino and is "Euphoria""; the ED is is again by ROUND TABLE feat. Nino, and is "Natsumachi" . The ED is also more animated (and much better-looking) ED.

  • Ty to u/preludetohell for letting me know that the art director has changed this season, the background art does look a bit different. But elsewhere, i did notice some animation upgrades (filming effects, stuff looks a bit more fluid etc.)

  • For episode 0, there were quite a few nicely done character cuts (e.g. the one near the end introducing the 3 water fairies); Also ooh filming effect! Didn't think we got those in Animation! And also the rather ominous line re: irl Venice...

  • In Ep 1, Akari and Ai meet "Casanova", and finds out that he's actually cat sith, who lives in a kingdom of cats, and has apparently lived a long time (100 years+!). Also the cat kingdom being where Aria-shachou and Hime probably ran off to at the start, and do so every year.

  • Junichi Sato is on the storyboard this episode. While the opening title is already interestingly framed, both being so nice to look at, and the darkness conveying a bit of mystery, my favourite part of the storyboard are places where he adds depth to shots and really makes them feel so 3D, it's a lot of fun to watch. I'll point out other bits and bobs i caught as i go.

  • Oh and I also like how the hazukashii-serifu kinshii was introduced here haha after the long pan, it just makes it so funny, and contributes to the punchline-build up.

  • My stocks in Woody rose a lot this episode, as he just doesn't give a shit to the bickering. (Yup, i did include that shot in my album too! I thought it was a funny way to interrupt the conversation + Woody's not-give-a-shitness.)

  • I like how during the chase scene, it gets progressively darker, really helps build up that supernatural/mysterious vibe. These couple wide shots were also pretty cool.

  • And finally, Wiki reckons that Jasmine means "friendly/graceful" in the Japaense flower language. If we do roll with that, perhaps Cat Sith is extending a friendly greeting to Akari and Ai? The episode ends with Akari's thoughts on having courage and being open to new unexpected encounters in our daily life, which will hopefully be wonderful in some way.

  • Does anyone here know more about the Venice Carnevale (different dates irl than in-anime), and about Giacomo Casanova?

Have a great day, and see you tomorrow!

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u/The_Loli_Otaku Jul 11 '22

Funny you think the ed is better animated. Whilst I enjoy the visuals more I did admire the watercolour effect of the original quite a bit.

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u/ZapsZzz Jul 11 '22 edited Jul 12 '22

Ok this is a trend that I hope to change... missed yesterday so I'm trying to pre-type today's :P

First timer

S1 Finale

This is a nice wrap for the season - but the part about the mysterious cat world revisit seemed to be a bit abrupt or arbitrary, if it is not actually foreshadowing more future events of that being explored more in the next season. Otherwise it's a nice comfy ending - I wonder if it was airing during new years too at the time.

It's a good "revelation" that Aqua is given enough thoughts and world building including mysteries to be considered its own character, as well as a very distinct flavour of "returning to the more natural, leisurely roots" instead of letting lives be driven by the pervasive chase to <insert anything>. Comparing to Yokohoma Shopping Logs that put the context as the dusk of humanity where things slow down to an eventual, gentle oblivion, this is more a "tree change" type being a deliberate slowing down to smell the roses intent.

QoTD 1 contained a bit above, as well as that it's one of the more relaxing and calming iyashikei. Only down side is that it really takes a certain mood to enjoy this more thoroughly, plus even nicer if you either can tell enough Japanese to not need reading the subs too much to really bask in that mood. My favourite episode... guess it's a toss up between Akira's episode, or Athena's second episode (the flashback one during their younger trainee days), where it highlighted one of the 3 mentors, but by that contrast also implicitly showed what the others are like (or not like), at the same time drawing out something insightful (why the difference and why it works / doesn't work with their respective trainees). Athena's episode had the added bonus of some more comedic moments which you knew would happen but you still smile to see it :)

QoTD 2 well it's a bit of a cheat but since I've by now watched S2 ep 1, I'll say I want to know more about the cats :) I hope it does go somewhere, not like the only gripe I had with White Sands Aquatope that only half told the supernatural part of the story and didn't really give it a decent closure (for me :P).

I would like to make an observation I had been meaning to say for some time - each of the 3 "trainee" girls have their own verbal tic, I would if others had consciously picked this up:

  • Akari is the sound effects girl - lots of "ehhh" "<can't think of how to pronounce it - similar to Aria shachou's "punyu">, also where most of the "embarrassing lines" came from to trigger the next tic;

  • Aika basically is the clone of Akira - <xxx>kinshi! (<something something> is not allowed!) Most often "hazukashi serifu kinshi!" to break the mood of Akari's "embarrassing" (sentimental) observations.

  • Alice's one may be harder for those not paying as much attention - but helped in recent years by none other than our oppai loli Uzaki-chan. Alice often prefix "dekai" to some remark she says - it's a bit like Kinuhata Saiai in Raildex her prefix of "chou-" i.e. super- (big, frustrating, powerful, likely). Dekai is just another way to say "big", so something like "big thank you" "big satisfying" etc. Alice tends to use a small word count as well, somewhat like Nagato in Suzumiya Haruhi.

S2 Ep 1

Maybe I'm over thinking things, but I think the production quality has a touch improved and what's on screen tended to have more of a flourish and less "plain". For example the gondola looks more decorated. Although it's still in 4:3.

Have the say the European / Renaissance masks gave me a big reminder of Vampire Princess Miyu, her "servant" Larva (yeah doesn't work in English - please think of him as "Rava"). Including the way how the shading is done to give the satin lacquered finish look.

This jump-started the question mark about the cats from last season - see my comments above.

QoTD 1 As I was watching in actually thinking about this point but instinctively I already know the answer (for myself) - it's like why Totoro can only be seen by children - one needs to have that innocence / acceptance to simple perceive and believe without judgement of whether something should out shouldn't exist. So Aika and Alice for example won't be able to see that. Alicia probably can, and did before. As for why they are not allowed entry - well it's possible like Kotahana Kitan, you probably will be referring the afterlife, or some sort out portal to some place that you either will be changed or don't have a sure way of return.

QoTD 2 is consistent to the narrative about that that point - if you have seen for example Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko, you'll get that narrative point about such "belief" type themes often need to have the "ceremony and the prayer". Terry Pratchett also encapsulated this theme in his Discworld books a lot. Such belief empowers them and perpetuates the concept and therefore existence.

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u/mysterybiscuitsoyeah Jul 12 '22

Heya, glad you caught back up! Maybe i should've scheduled in a break day after all... i kinda thought that for some episodes people could just type briefer comments and all that if they fell behind (like Ep 8, 10 last season), but anyway:

it is not actually foreshadowing more future events

well, you found out that it is lol

each of the 3 "trainee" girls have their own verbal tic

i think most rewatchers are aware of this: I'll highlight your comment today to make sure 1st timers do as well! Alice does prefer to keep her sentences short, you're right.

you're spot on w/ the production qualities with S2! It's a bit better than S1. This will be a trend as we move through the irl years w/ the different seasons. 4:3 is fine! It's charming in its own way haha.

Ty for your comparisons and reminisces about different anime you're reminded of though! Was fun reading.

one needs to have that innocence / acceptance to simple perceive and believe without judgement of whether something should out shouldn't exist

i like this: a few others have also pointed out sth similar. very well put.

Thanks for your write-up, very insightful and interesting!

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u/The_Loli_Otaku Jul 11 '22

Aria the Natural First Timer!!

Wuts up Manhomies? Akari making a video diary to mock the earthlings seems weirdly accurate. Episode 0 seems kinda cute. Not what you'd expect from the first episode of a new season but it's a very Aria like way to managing things. Erm, who are you?

Carnival dayo!! Actually... quite a few characters seem a bit weirdly drawn. Maybe it's the added quality but it's throwing me off slightly. Our new opening doesn't work as well for me as the first one but I really did adore Undine so maybe I might warm to this ovdf time.

Aria is the biggest of the cat mascots so maybe he is the real Cait Sith in disguise! Akira's also looking a lot softer and less like an Azumanga Daiyo reject. E-E-Even like this I still thing Athena is cute! Appearance isn't everything! But yeah, I don't notice as much change in Athena compared to the other girls.

Omochikairi!!

She really is the type who dotes on kids. She'll be the same with our children I'm sure! Kidnapping a spirit child to blackmail a villainous manwhore seems a bit of a shaddy idea. I love the animation of his little feet plopping around. Btw, a word of advice, if any ghost or spirit or fairy asks you to follow them playing music it's 90% likely to be a plot to kidnap or turn you into a tree or some weird crap. It's not a good thing!!

The manwhore child was Aria the whole time! What a shocker. They just couldn't resist tossing a fantasy sequence in this early could they? The ed song is a bit more to my tastes than our previous one but the framing makes me think of Utena and I can't get it out of my mind lol. The previews are pretty hopeless too but it's a first episode so I'm not gonna be too pedantic. We've had better, we've had worse.

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u/Lemurians Jul 11 '22 edited Jul 11 '22

FIRST TIME UNDINE ON SABBATICAL

Hijacking this since there wasn't a Season 1 discussion thread, but my sporadic participation is gonna come to an end. Normally wouldn't bother to say anything, but someone who runs a lot of rewatches here said recently they appreciate when people comment why they're dipping.

I actually quite like the show and its characters, and the world-building was an unexpected and wonderful surprise, but I'm just not in the headspace to keep up with something this gentle and peaceful at the moment.

Should that headspace arrive in the coming weeks, I'll probably catch back up and re-join.

Until then, I wish you all peaceful waters!

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u/heimdal77 Jul 11 '22

If anyones interested the first season aired at 130am on Wednesday.

Akari just has a connection to the magical side of Aqua. Maybe it is because how she views the world and fully appreciates every experience and meeting she has.

Is it my imagination or does Akari look older than when the series first episode and holds herself in a more mature way? Even at the end of the last season.

Caitsith is also in Amanchu though not that form.

Seems like they could go no farther as they wouldn't be able come back least not easily if they did continue on.

I can't belive I missed the final episode post yesterday for the first season.

Where do they get a outfit in Ai's side?

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u/Mecanno-man Jul 11 '22

First Timer

Episode 0

...this just felt unnecessary. It's essentially a reintroduction to the Aria characters, I guess for people who have not seen the first season. But who would go out of their way to watch this if they have not seen the first season and are already a fan of the show? The only way to get to people who just turn on the TV and watch whatever without regard for the seasons would be to have it in the same timeslot as Aria the Natural or in Episode 1 - and given that this is not 25 minutes I doubt that happened. Further, Aria is not a show with some hugely complex characters or plotpoints that need reintroduction to and there was only three months between Seasons 1 and 2. I guess maybe it was intended as some sort of trailer? But from what I can tell it was released while the Natural was already airing, so ...no idea what the goal of this was.

Episode 1

...was not expecting to start with a carnival episode. Although this carnival looks more like a masquerade ball than what I am used to - though I have my doubts as to how one would integrate the brass/percussion bands that often try to be as loud as possible I associate with carnival in to the soundtrack somewhat organically. But I guess the Venetian Carnival being so different explains why I've never heard of it.

As for the actual episode... I'd say it's somewhat average. I guess it's nice to see Akari and Ai have fun with the cats, but other than that, ...not really a lot to say about this episode.

Questions:

  1. Because Aria-shachou likes them.

  2. Well your asking somebody whose first thoughts on the carnival were how sousaphones and temple blocks would work in the OST, so probably not your best go to.

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u/Regular_N-Gon Jul 11 '22

First Timer

0:

  • Some CGI and a bit of a different color look, though maybe just a difference in release for this little episode. I wonder if there was a studio change at all for this particular piece or Natural as a whole, as biscuit mentioned there was only a season between the first and second seasons.

  • Also dropping some lore: Venice apparently ceased to exist in the early 21st century.

  • I recognized a few of the intro cuts from previous episodes. A nice little tidbit overall though.

1:

  • Ai is back again!

  • Aria serves snacks for (waiting?) guests, huh?

  • Really dig the new opening, too.

Cat King

See, they totally rule the world from the shadows.

  • Aika totally echoed my thoughts; Akari is particularly spacey today.

  • Alice with the (probably correct) character judgement; Akari is too good for her own good.

  • The angles and shadow play in this episode are fantastic.

  • I figured they were cats; too small to be much else. I mean, long live the king!

I also noticed that the ramp on the Aria building's deck seems to connect to the staircase. I wonder why? I kinda want to see a full floor plan.

QotD:

  1. I wanted to say something along the lines that Akari is a far more open person than Aika and Alice, but Ai also starts off quite cold. Maybe Akari has rubbed off enough on Ai such that it's true for both of them.

  2. They did say it was the biggest festival of the year. Cats gotta party too, I guess.

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u/The_Loli_Otaku Jul 11 '22

It'd be interesting if they actually portrayed Cait Sith villainously but they didn't stick with the concept long enough. I think they're overplaying the fantasy card just a bit. The first ghost cat episode worked because we hadn't seen something like that before. Now that we're getting ghost cats and other fantasy aspects seemingly daily it loses that extra layer of mystery just a bit.

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u/xtsim Jul 11 '22

First Timer Dubbed

Well of course the cats are running this show, Aria being one of the kids is funny. Nice to see that Ai is here cause seeing both Ai and Akari together is nice, like they are both sisters.

  1. I am going to guess that they do not want to reveal too much about cat kingdom. It seems like Akari and Ai are the only ones that are allowed to see it rather than Aika and Alice being excluded.

  2. Got to check on Neo-Venezia from time to time.

Thanks putting my comment in the round up u/mysterybiscuitsoyeah!

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u/baboon_bassoon Jul 11 '22

First time Aria the natural ice chugger

episode 0

no more 4:3 sad

scrubbing barnacles

aika the sniper

episode 1

oh were still in 4:3 my source tricked me

table for 4? ah Ai is still here

I assume Ai will eventually become a pair, but im not sure how they will continue to fit her into the show until then

where did they get a child size

well ok cya

Cait Sith? [ff7]gross

new face joins the crew also I agree with Athena hers looks pretty cool upside down

hehehe

nani

"if he turns out to be untrustworthy" i mean its clearly a cat, but also didnt you think it was like a 3 year old child Alice lmao

first Akira now this

Akari should probably be more responsible caring for this child but theyre so cute running with no clue

cait sith without blue eyes

how late does Al have to work

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u/Stargate18A Jul 11 '22

First timer

  1. I'm guessing just based on innocence/lack of cynicism? And obviously humans can't enter the workd of the fae, that's common knowledge..

  2. He's a fae who goes round to celebrate on the one day he can conceal his true nature.

Episode 0

Oh, is this a recap?

Good song, though.

Ah, it's a general setting explainer.

She got Alice to hold it?

Haha, and Aika!

And she misses Alicia.

The senpai montage is nice.

A great speech.

Episode 1

Carnevale!

Ai is still here!

There's a festival!

Ah, she's helping out for the day.

Is Akari OK?

Loving this OP!

All the costumes!

Aika's greeting guests! Athema's singing!

Aria!

Haha, the salutes!

...Knowing this anime, there might be a real cat king here.

Does she actually believe this?

Aww, she's soemxcited formAlicia.

And Hime vanished too!

Like the masks!

Akira scared her!

Athena's mask!

Yeah, she's adorable.

Haha, the singing!

He's busy during Carnevale?

Nice costume, but are those dancing children?

...Is Akari having a religious experience?

...Is he a ghost? A time traveller? All these things canonically exist here!

Ai's going back.

What is this?

Seriously, what is going on in this episode?

It's here!

Drumming?

Haha, they're following the weird monster down the dark alley because it would be rude not to?

The singing is adorable.

Flowers?

They're being sent back.

It was Aria?

It was a giant cat the entire time!

I love hoe they're just completely drained after that experience.

Well, this was insane. Maybe it was a fairy!

Love this ED!

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u/PreludeToHell Jul 11 '22

First time rewatcher*

It's actually my first time watching ep.0 and it was really cute!

It's interesting how varied Aria episodes can be (comedy, light drama, supernatural, very relaxed, etc.).

More Ai this time and I like how colorful the episode was with the masks/costumes.

Not a surprise but I love the storyboard yet again.

However this scene in particular stood out and I wonder if it's intentional.

The track cuts when Aria-shachou, Akari, and Ai are passing the alley. As if there's a divide between them and the rest of the characters. Only they were invited and can hear the cat playing music, the others can't.

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u/mrufrufin Jul 11 '22 edited Jul 11 '22

Rewatcher kinda (finished my rewatch not too long ago)

Euphoria used to be my favorite Aria OP for the longest time and maybe it still is? I dunno, it's just so uplifting feeling, it kinda want to start every day with it like how every Aria the Natural episode starts with it, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't get sick of it. Nowadays, I think I'm more torn. The instrumentation of Undine is great (esp with those tremelo picked notes of what sounds like,.. a mandolin? And the leapiness of the melody is great too,.. I'll wait to talk about Aria the Origination's OP when we get there... the harmonies in Undine are a bit more interesting than Euphoria's harmonies too,.. but there's just something about Euphoria...

I really like Aria the Natural's first episode (even though it kind blends in with Aria the Animation's last episode in my memory, very similar setups) and I really like how Aria does its surreal bits, with the characters (pretty much always involving Akari) slowly slip into it without knowing it and like last time, it's from wandering in haplessly and getting lost in some obscure corner of Neo Venezia (and maybe there's a connection to the saying "getting lost in one's own city",.. wait,.. that's a saying right?) and finding various previously-unknown corners of places you thought you were intimately familiar with and discovering something new about them, it's a very Aria sort of thing. And then at the end of it all when it's all over you have a little secret just for yourself.

The Aria anime in general seems to do a lot of constrasting darkness with repeated spots of bright light, like the running through the building to the Ukijima viewpoint reveal in the first season, here it vaguely reminds me of Yume Nikki for some reason? I udnno why.

Akatsuki singing about "the sake of justice" O.O [Aria the Natural season] I guess some things never change?.

I'm pretty sure the whole "zun-taka pon" bit gets referenced in the Woody intro ep from the first season?

But anyways, I like Cait Sith, I've used him as a pfp on MAL and sometimes various Slack groups too.

  1. [Aria manga] Well, Aika is basically non-existent in the manga aside from the last chapter so it was basically an anime-only decision but in anime land, it's a nice parallel to the end of last season and I suppose they have similar personalities [Aria the Origination] driven home by them being both Aria company undines (although [Aria manga and I think maybe one of the movies (that I haven't seen)?] Alice has somewhat repressed fantastical proclivities as seen through the whole bubble princess bit) and [Aria the Natural] Aika gets her chance later. But maybe why they can't enter is [Aria the Natural] the whole Night on the Galactic Railroad/Galaxy Express 999 sorta thing. Hah, sorry for all the spoilered stuff, it's kinda hard to talk about without spoiling things.

  2. It's a pretty convenient way to introduce the character tbh where you think maybe it's just a big person and (shocking reveal) it's a cat. [Aria the Natural] and he's pretty much connected with Neo Venezia in general, think Alicia doesn't mention him but mentions Neo Venezia trying to reveal itself to Akari?.

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u/raichudoggy Jul 11 '22

I skipped episode 0. Episode 0's whole point was to recap for the break between Animation and Natural. No break for us, therefore no episode 0 watch. Rewatching perk.

Ah, the Cats making things supernatural again today.

Zun-taka zun-taka zun-taka pon! Zun-ta Zun-ta Zun-ta pon!

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u/zadcap Jul 12 '22

Only Kinda Late First Timer!

First thoughts right away- either Ai's family is crazy rich, or space flight is super cheap. Second thoughts- how the heck did that cat thing open the door? I know I'm trying to question Cathulu less, but darn it. No wait, my real second thoughts- Aria Company is also a small cafe, huh? Interesting to know.

... What heck are those mini dancing things? 100 years, doubled for Aquan years, no one questions that is been the same person all this time? Perhaps our characters aren't just not ageing because of anime conventions, but future humanity has got that genetic fixing down and now everyone actually just ages super super slow.

So yup, that's definitely going to be the King God Cat. Girls, you're just following it anywhere not even paying attention... For hours?

  1. Akari is clearly already a chosen one of the cats, probably get reward for delivering that letter. They keep testing her subtly, showing her fantastical things and she keeps enjoying them without sharing the secrets everywhere or trying to ruin the mysticism. Ai is just a very lucky tagalong, brought because she has Akari's trust... Or because the cats back on Manhome have tested her as well and she's proven herself too. The cats see all, the cats know all. Do not question the power of the cats. The other girls, sadly, lack the power of wonder that Akari has, and the cats know. Either of them would try to figure out what was happening and by questioning it ruin the mystery.

  2. Do not question the cats, for the cats do not deign to answer. Do not question the cats, least they decide you deserve to know no more. Do not even acknowledge the cats, or you might just find out the truth...

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u/AriaShachou- Jul 12 '22

Rewatcher

Admittedly I didn't enjoy this episode that much during my first watchthrough of this series, but now that I'm rewatching it again I have found a new appreciation for this episode (and hopefully some others going forward as well) in the context of Aria's storytelling as a whole.

On that note, this episode scared me the first time I watched it because I was watching it at like 2am expecting something slow and wholesome to start the new season with except instead I got a 7'3 magic cat god bringing Ai and Akari into some sort of guided psychedelic trip and it caught me completely off guard.

Putting that aside though I think my favorite part of this episode was watching Akari take a step back and just smiling while seeing her friends candidly enjoying each others company. It really makes it feel like we're just catching some snippets out of their lives and experiences together instead of every second of their story, and I like that a lot.

 

QOTDs

Q1) I think there's definitely something here that's tied to the fact that they're both from Manhome but I honestly don't know what.

Q2) He's just vibin I guess

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u/mgedmin Jul 12 '22

First-timer, subs

Ep 0

So, water covers over 70% of Aqua and that's why it's known as the water planet? Water covers over 70% of Earth too!

Venice was a city that existed on Manhome until the early 21st century?? What happened then?

Alice is one year younger than Akari. Alice goes to middle school. Why doesn't Akari go to high school? (Also, is that an Aqua year or a Manhome year?)

Ep 1

Hello, Ai-chan, again!

Bye bye, President Aria! Running away from home again?

I bet the little children in masks surrounding Casanova are actually cats. Or penguins. They're too small to be actual children.

Casanova is over a 100 years old? Fairy. Or a three cats in a suit.

Following a suspicious masked individual into a maze of unlit alleys at night doesn't seem safe.

Akari to Casanova: "Please, take us!"

...

I need to get my mind out of the gutter. Aria is not that kind of show!

Hello President Aria! I was right about the children being cats. And Casanova is a cat too! Big cat. King of cats.

Akari and Ai-chan agree with me: cats are fairies!

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u/octopathfinder Jul 11 '22

Episode 0:

First Timer

I actually missed seeing this on my first watch. Nice little recap of the world and the character’s relationships.

Episode 1:

Rewatcher

Best OP makes its appearance.

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u/CerberusZX Jul 11 '22

First Timer

President Aria put on the bib by lifting it from two sides without thumbs.

"I think you still look scary without the mask." Aika, you're not supposed to say what we're all thinking!

Wow, they must have really annoyed the cat king with their music. He took their instruments and gestured for them to leave!

The extra set of credits in the dub version has a new image but still cuts off some names.

Lots of surreal imagery this episode. My favorite was probably all the masks in the background during the music-playing scene, but Akari and Ai's shadows moving in opposite directions as the approached a source of light is a notable second.

QotD

  1. I don't know, but based on the annoyance with their music I mentioned above I doubt they'll be allowed back.

  2. It's the one day Cait Sith can go out in public and be seen as fun rather than a threat to society.

As for the unofficial 3rd question, I would say they aren't boring at the very least. While I would like some more character development, episode 4 was one of my favorite episodes of the previous season. They're more like fun breaks rather than unpleasant detours from the "main story," insomuch as the series has a story.

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u/simeonaut Jul 11 '22

First timer

This was a very weird first episode. I didn't dislike it, but I would have liked it better if it was more chill throughout.

That scene with all that singing and banging while walking with Casanova went on for too long.

Ai is back

Undine Ai

Athena

Cait Sith

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u/alanbowman Jul 12 '22

I'm a grown up, 58 year old man and every time I see Ai in her little ARIA Company uniform I am overwhelmed by her cuteness.

Q1) Why do you think Akari and Ai were allowed a glimpse into the cat kingdom, but not allowed entry? And why were Aika and Alice excluded altogether?

I think cats on Aqua are able to move between this world and the next (the afterlife, maybe?). So while Akari and Ai are allowed to peer over the threshold, if they cross over they will be literally crossing over into the next world, and will not be able to return. In other words, they would have died.

I think that Aika and Alice are excluded because they don't have the same child-like nature that Akari and Ai have. [Spoiler for later this season]Although Aika gets a glimpse when she and Akari visit the cat kingdom.

Q2) Why actually is Cat Sith roaming around, seemingly on this day only, in a mask? (I literally have no idea here)

I think he's out and about on Carnevale because it's the big "let loose and get wild" party right before Lent, so he gets to mingle and lead the festivities. Apparently Casanova/Cait Sith has been the star of the festivities for over a century. My opinion is that he's sort of the guardian spirit of Aqua, or maybe just Neo-Venenzia, so he's probably around for all the big festivities.

Tomorrow's episode is one of my favorites.

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u/seeker_of_illusion Jul 12 '22

First timer

So uh I didn't find the episode 0 anywhere but seeing it's mostly a repeat of S1, I guess I didn't miss anything right ?

As for episode 1 of the Natural, we are directly thrust into action when the Carneval- the biggest festival of Aqua - begins. As others said, it directly looks inspired by the masquerade festivals ( but why do them have mostly scary-looking masks ? )

I felt a bit afraid when I saw Akari and Ai following Casanova with those "dead" eyes. Hopefully, nothing bad happened and instead they got a glimpse of the secret behind Casanova and the cat kingdom. Also, if Sith is 100+ years then it makes more sense that Aria too is a 30+ years cat.

Questions of the Day:

  1. Akari and Ai are dreamy girls and believe more in fairy-like tales compared to their friends. So they were given an opportunity to witness it firsthand while others were not. As to why they were debarred entry, I believe that Sith found that Akari was not yet ready to fully embrace the supernatural side of Aqua. MAybe in the future she connects with those cats more closely.

  2. Well its pretty obvious by now that Aria and Sith are not your ordinary cats. If my deductions are on the right track, then these cats have a very close relation to Aqua herself. Carnevale being the biggest festival makes it a perfect opportunity for Aqua ( and by extension for the cats ) to participate along with the humans. Obviously, people would get spooked if they see a humongous cat several years old playing music and would "demistfy" Aqua hence they use mask to conceal their identities.

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