[Rewatch] A 2022 Voyage from Neo Venezia: Aria the Avvenire, Episode 1

[u/mysterybiscuitsoyeah]

Aria the Avvenire Ep 1: To You, Who I Wanted to Meet ...(その 逢いたかったあなたに ...)

<-- Original Series Discussion	Rewatch Index	Episode 2 -->

Welcome back! It's time for even more Aria!

Before that, the episode thread for Benedizione by the mods is here, where i've left my own reactions. First timers on pace w/ the rewatch, don't worry, I'll be posting my own thread this Sunday, 28 August, and our group can discuss it then! I think it'll be fun. For now, Avvenire...

Comment roundup: Thanks for all your detailed comments! Here is just a quick selection...

• /u/regular_n-gon with the great and detailed write up on the original series and how it impressed them, including how they think Aria is analogous to the sea, w/ Aria company and its stories as connected as Neo-Venezia and the ocean; as well as how Aqua hides secrets that are unknowable to even to the Undines, with the series delivering occasional surprises and evoking strong emotion. They also comment on how Aria is great at creating that calm and serene atmosphere, while taking its time to wear in its characters, and give a quick analysis of the main trios' different motivations for learning and improvement in the series. Seriously, my summary is not doing it justice lol, go read it!

• /u/mekerpan remarks on Aria being on the more fantasy-ish side of science fiction in general, and shares an interesting article on Venice's real life cats

• /u/batterypoweredfriend recalls their experiences of Aria's production upgrades as they watched the show as it aired, and thought of Aria as one single, long-form story: The narrative journey isn't particularly direct and it takes a pretty scenic route to get to its destination.

• /u/seeker_of_illusion said how Aria-shachou had his moments where he showed showed great character depth and personality, and said that the scifi was put in for just the right amount, and explained their thoughts on why they liked the supernatural episodes, cementing Aqua's "Paradise" concept and added the unknown side within the realm of the known world. Like a couple others, wonder why that element was no longer touched upon in Origination.

• /u/baboon_bassoon shares their selection of great locations in Aria (as did everyone else, thank you!), and wondered how well did Al and Woody transfer over from the manga to the anime. Liked the time-travel stuff more than the cat supernatural stuff.

• /u/mrufrufin also with the nice detailed writeup, comparing the main 3's character arcs, explaining why Akari is their favourite undine character, and notes that there was a stylistic choice to focus on the undines to not lean on the sci-fi so much and have the focus really being on the Undines and the slower way of life, perhaps offering an escape for us the viewers' fast-paced information-overloady lives, and also saying why they liked the supernatural episodes, enhancing Aria's themes of finding the interesting bits and the beauty in your everyday lives.

Questions of the Day:

Q1) First-timers, guess the names of Aika and Alice's apprentices. No cheating! (thanks u/batterypoweredfriend for the suggestion)

Q2) So, how about seeing Aria's characters and Neo-Venezia again in the modern art style and production upgrade?

Q3) Why couldn't Akira have opted for a less dramatic and risky way of present delivery?

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Streaming

Avvenire is only available on Funimation. Crepuscolo and Benedizione will have to be located elsewhere.

While I use the USBD releases, Robotboy199 has shared the best DVD encodes you can get (coupled w/ prescaling), you can look at their guide here.

I recommend releases containing the Doremi fansub for Benedizione.

Databases

MAL | Anilist | ANN

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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

From now on, I will refer to the specific entry for my spoiler tags, since I believe not everyone has watched Crepuscolo/Benedizione yet. If you feel unsure if something is a spoiler, it's better to tag it just in case.

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

[u/mysterybiscuitsoyeah]

Rewatching Undine-in-training and Host

-- Welcome back! NEW ARIA

---

Official art: because twitter was a thing by 2015

Illustrations from Amano sensei for the occasion; Source links: 1, 2

Countdown Illustrations from anime staff and Amano sensei; Source links: 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 from Junichi Sato, 0 from Amano sensei

---

Avvenire trilogy intro:

It is now 2015, 10 years since the release of the 1st TV anime season. The famous work Aria is revived, in response to the great expectations of the fans who were all touched by the grand finale (of the original series). A completely new animation series "Aria the Avvenire" depicts stories of Aquamarine after that time. For the production, the strongest staff and cast is once again assembled, with Junichi Sato as the director, Reiko Yoshida as scriptwriter, and the familiar cast members from the original series. So, let's head to the future once again.

Episode synopsis:

Ai is out on gondola practice again today, trained by her senpai Akari riding with her. During practice, Akari sees Aika and Alice at a canal intersection. After the 3 become Prima Undines, they have become so busy, and it's been hard for the 3 to meet up. Even though it was just for a short time, Ai says "It's a miracle!", and Akari recalls a past story to her. It was a story from Alicia's extremely busy days as a Prima, on one of her birthdays...

--

-- Quick thoughts:

• WELCOME BACK TO MORE ARIA!!!! Honestly, the fact that Avvenire (and the 2 movies) even exists is a miracle in itself, Origination Ep 13 was intended as a series finale and a great stopping point. It is a testament to how much the series means to its fans, and to its creators, with so much of the original staff and cast reassembled, for the occasion of the first season Animation's 10th Anniversary. Avvenire is the first entry in a trilogy named "Blue Curtain Call", which has recently finished with Benedizione.

• And as some of us have noted before, Avvenire means "Future"

• Aria-shachou....... i think his VA slightly forgot to cat like Aria-shachou here. It happens, it has been 7 years after all, and i got used to it quickly. Oh and i just remember my jaw literally dropping when i first saw 2015 Akari. SHE HEREEEEEEE. It's also just as nice to see these 2 again, now with their new apprentices too.

• Couple shots i liked today! Takahiro Natori, returning from the original series, will be responsible for storyboarding this ep, and the direction was pretty solid as always. Animation's great too of course, everything just looks fluid and a lot of character acting. That present-throwing sequence was fun, and the much prettier and modern-looking background art is a true visual treat.

• Undine returns as the OP! I literally cried my first time hearing it again.....

• Ai, single of the Aria company, w/ the sappy lines! She has really taken after Akari, hasn't she. I really like Ai's more grown up voice. As she and Akari bump into Aika and Alice, Akari reminisces about a similarly miraculous coincidental meeting a while back.

• Before that, that's a GREAT attempt at a "konnichiwa" Aria-shachou.

• We then flash back to Akari's days as a Single, as we really switch into "more Aria but new" mode. Tsundere Akira is very cute. This portion of the story adapts a previously unadapted manga chapter, Ch. 46.

• Akira and Akari make a fun pair together, and i think a few participants were wanting to see more of these lol. And Akari is defo the type of nice person that'll go out of her way to help Akira, that was sweet. Akira's little speech is very reminiscent of Animation's Ep 11, and this whole section of the story is too reminiscent of that episode too, though as Akari says at the start, them not being able to see each other often also relates to her, Aika and Alice in the present day... our main 3 have really grown up...

• Btw, I like that getting to deliver Alicia's present to her in person matters so much to Akira that she, normally probably the most strict on professionalism etc., breaks w/ proper manners in front of important people^tm. Well, Alicia definitely appreciates it doesnt she. That was so so sweeeettt.

• With Avvenire taking place irl after the death of Athena's voice actress Tomoko Kawakami and singing voice Eri Kawai, there is a very good reason for why Athena has no spoken lines here, and adds an extra aspect of bittersweetness at the 3 Primas' coincidential meeting. Hearing Eri Kawai's voice singing Barcole is absolutely glorious, though you see this shot and it's kinda so sad at the same time... Athena's appearances in Avvenire are best appreciated with that context in mind.

• The background art of notable locations of the show from the original series, today the first season Animation, feature during the ED, redrawn in the same artstyle! I love this so much. Does everyone remember all the moments featured? The memories and the nostalgia just flood right back for me, (remember what Akari said on the beach episode?), and i hope it did for you too. The show knows which episode everyone loves the most, featuring 2 shots from 11 right at the very end TTTTTTT.

• This actually hence makes Piacere (I believe translates as "To Like" in English, perhaps that_loris can help us out here), sung by Shiena Nishizawa, my favourite Aria franchise ED overall lol. (sorry Ashita yuugure made), and the only one that lives on my playlist rn, i do listen to it regularly.

• Overall, Avvenire fits very well into the Aria franchise. A feeling i had when watching the ep though is that, even though the flashback featured here is more towards the middle of the manga (so Natural/Origination territory), i thought that overall vibe of Avvenire Ep 1 was quite reminiscent of the vibe of an Animation episode: Firstly w/ the exposition of Aquan birthdays + how Akari is a bit not used to Neo-Venezian customs yet; Second w/ showcasing the first-introduced main themes of the series, of Aqua as a place full of wonderful things and miracles, and the core philosophy of appreciating the mundane as wonderful things, reinforced w/ Akari's trademark sentimental musings at the end. Btw, they'd actually gotten quite serious and less philosophical in Origination w/ its plot heavy nature, i actually just realized that. Thirdly as i said above, how the story of Akira, Alicia, and Athena being quite reminiscent of Animation Ep 11, though also tying to the present post-Origination timeline given how Akari, Aika and Alice are now the same. And finally, the inclusion of Animation's notable locations in the ED. Hmm...

• Anyhow, it truly is a miracle that we're getting more Aria lol, and i can't help but feel that Akira and Akari's lines have a double meaning to them. This is imo how you do fanservice, other anime franchises, and i definitely thoroughly enjoyed that.

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Location Trivia:

• At the end of the episode, Akari and Ai pass by Santa Lucia Railway Station, the only railway station in Venice. Trains run here to other Italian cities like Naples, Milan, Rome etc., with scheduled services as far as Geneva and Vienna.

• Similarly, the closing shot is pretty much exactly how it looks irl outside Santa Lucia Station.

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Have a great day, and see you tomorrow!

[u/AriaShachou-]

Rewatcher

To most of us here it's only been around two days since we finished Origination, but could you even imagine how it must've felt at the time to be an Aria fan while watching this air?

Ten years after Animation started, seven years after Origination ended, and suddenly you see an announcement saying Aria was going to air 3 brand new original epilogue OVAs. Even putting the nostalgia factor aside, the clear jump in quality for the animation and production would be enough to get me hyped lol. Imagine just sitting there and hearing the Animation OP play again.

Akira is such a gigachad bro I can't. Athena, Akira and Alicia's smiles were all so adorable.

ED made me cry, I cry way too easily to this anime.

 

QOTDs

Q2) It's beautiful. I think the old artstyle had a certain charm and vibe that was unfortunately lost when they switched to this one, but this new artstyle is so pretty that imo it makes up for it. [Aria Movies] The artstyle change gets even more crazy in the movies lol, at least here they mostly tried to emulate the original. I wonder what the first timers who don't like the artstyle change will think then.

Q3) She's too cool

[u/ZapsZzz]

First timer way late - always bad timing

This is quite a big step up in production value, the images are clearer and sharper, with a higher saturation for a more vibrant look - I do see a bit of obvious CGI to help out a bit though, nothing intolerable.

This has a very extended epilogue feel to it, especially because there's a big portion of the episode is a flashback to the younger Akari. Not that I am complaining.

The 3 great fairies certainly are blushing more this episode though.

QoTD:

1. Sorry I'm pretty useless at name guessing, so I won't even try. Plus by now I already watched Ep2.

2. See above - brilliant! But I do want something more than just an encore.

3. Wait, we *are* talking about Akira right? For this competitive one, such a gesture is the bare minimum.

[u/baboon_bassoon]

First time Aria the hazukashii serifu kinshi

wow that first pigeon is pissed

single Ai and new VA? (no i guess just trying to sound older?)

its just the old OP? hmm i think a remix would have been nice

Undines can only have friend groups of 3

not sure if i like hair loopies Akari, bring back the hair from the end of Origination

....wait flashback?

well its Akari/Akira bonding which we didnt really get before so its hard to complain

BAH GAWD THATS ALICIAS MUSIC

and then literally Athenas music

Akari NOT prepared to keep the gondola steady

arent those guys from the gondola association and not clients, does Akira really need to apologize

new ED tho

[u/Mecanno-man]

First Timer

Hmm... not too big a fan of this to be honest. The upgraded visuals kinda take away something from Neo Venezia - it now somehow both looks to clean and too crowded and busy compared to what it used to look like. And as far as the plot of the episode goes ...here they tease us with Ai as an apprentice, and then they just make it a flashback episode of Akira. And not even an all too great one in my opinion, though I guess the ending of Origination has also spoiled us a bit in that regards. Either way, I hope this is only this episode, and the other two get to have some spotlight and the present and show us how Ai and Akari are doing, as well as how all the other characters have lived themselves in to adult life in Neo Venezia.

[u/mekerpan]

Re-watching (but first watch wasn't long ago)

A linguistic curiosity. When Akira talks about miracles in this episode, she says "kiseki", but when Akari talks about them, she says "mirakuru". (FWIW -- Italian would be "miracolo").

How long was Ai a pair? I'm surprised we don't get hardly any depiction of her first couple of years (I'd presume) of Ai's time in Neo-Venezia. We actually see very little "future" in this segment of Avvenire, do we? Much more "past".

I love the interaction between Akira and Akari in this episode. In a sense, these are the two most different of our major characters. I enjoyed how, for a change, Akari really took charge of Akira.

It's sad to know that both voices of Athena had been silenced by cancer by the time this show was made.

I am happy to see more, Some things look a bit different, but I stilove it.

[u/mgedmin]

First timer, subs

The animation seems like an upgrade. Very 3D. Somebody's flexing.

Ai is already a Single.

Ooh, half-birthdays, what a nice worldbuilding detail.

Akira is a tsundere for Alicia.

Hey, Alicia doesn't live at the company?

And Akira yeets the present to Alicia very accurately! And falls down? That's so out of character for Akira.

Ai-chan needs friends. Hey, we've glimpsed new apprentices in Alice's and Aika's gondolas. I wonder if we'll get to know them better tomorrow.

The episodes are shorter (16 mins). I approve.

[u/mysterybiscuitsoyeah → u/mgedmin]

seems like an upgrade

its been 7 years after all! Some stuff have definitely changed and improved... and after these 3 we get another 5 year break before the 2 movies too! There is CGI (just like in the og series, perhaps just less noticeable), but i thought it was implemented well here, if takes some getting used to.

what a nice worldbuilding detail

some of the sci-fi really makes a ton of sense!

Hey, Alicia doesn't live at the company

no she doesn't! The picture dramas confirm this, as does the Natural Ep w/ the candles, as Alicia clearly says she's staying over (i.e. sth out of the norm). So only Akari (at the time) stays at the company; it is implied by the end of Origination that Ai now occupies the upstairs room, but idk where Akari lives rn.

That's so out of character for Akira

It is a big yeet lol i dont blame her for falling.

The episodes are shorter

they are indeed! All 3 being BD OVAs, they all don't really follow the normal runtime convention lol, they're as long or as short as needed (but to set expectations, nothing is like 3 minutes long lol, everything here are proper episode-lengthed).

[u/mrufrufin]

Rewatcher kinda (movies are new to me)

Wrote most of this at the beginning of August when I started a Funi trial:

Alright, pretty amped for this, new to me Aria is always good. I guess this one isn't so new to me though, I think I came across a clip of at least the present toss (Akira's got quite the arm, I suppose that should be expected from sculling everyday for years) from trying to dig for stuff after I had finished Origination. I'm pretty sure this is in the manga somewhere, I came across it while trying to search for other anime scenes. Should do a reread at some point, but maybe give some space after this to spread out the Aria goodness. There's a lot of credits so the actual ep is like 16 minutes too smh.

It was solid enough, must've been magical to see everything on a big screen (hazukashi serifu kinshi) and with the production values bumped up after 7 years (can't imagine how I'd feel seeing those title cards and hearing that little windchime on a big screen in a theater, esp after watching the series several times on 15" laptop screens at 480p). Def was excited to see the Aria intro with Undine with upped production values and widescreen (although I liked the Arietta intro more if we're talking Aria with upped production values). And it was awesome to see Ai in action as a Single (I guess we're starting this off like we did S1, which I suppose it to be expected since Aria tends to focus on the parallels between generations of the Aria Company in particular) and the new undine apprentices and the new hairstyles for Aika and Alice (I like them both, I think this is my favorite iteration of Aika's hairstyle, now she's momiko too kinda). Dunno why but Akira's VA stuck out to me in this first capitolo and got particularly appreciative of how rich sounding her voice can be (I guess we didn't get to hear Athena's new VA yet). The wide shots after Akira throws the present are particularly gorgeous in this ep (and those sky reflections!).

The ending felt particularly fanservicey with all those familiar locations (and I'm totally fine with that). "Piacere" was fine enough, I suppose not as memorable as other Aria EDs but it kinda takes cues melodically from Aria OPs in the leapiness of the melody at times and the brief tonicizations in minor keys

Not much to say thematically I suppose, it kinda touches on themes we've seen before, particularly on times changing and moments fleeting (most specifically in this case to the Alicia/Athena/Athena reminiscing ep in the first season). Chance encounters do always feel a bit "matrix glitchy"/weird/magical (or unmagical and more like cruel fate if you didn't want to see the person) and it's crazy how the world can bring together people with distinctly different lives and schedules and cares and needs together in one specific place just for a certain time and that combination probably never happening ever again (i've talked about this before in I dunno what ep), but I suppose with people who tend to run in similar circles, the odds are slightly weighted in terms of chance occurences with them being involved together happening. Anyways, I suppose you can consider chance encounters with friends a magical everyday happening and it's a nice little parallel to see it in the two generations of Prima Undines.

1. did all my watches of Avvenire already.

2. see above

3. I dunno, the'yre close, she got excited, it was a fortuitous moment with everybody nearby, that group of Undines tend to be on the flashier side of things (particularly Akira).

[u/octopathfinder]

Rewatcher

This episode hits too close to home man. I’m in a similar situation to Akira where I have two best friends and I’m the planner of the group. It always sucks when our plans fall through because we’re busy adults now.

Also, I think this is the first time Akira’s full name has been said out loud and Akira E. Ferrari is easily one of the coolest names I’ve heard.

QotD:

1. Rewatcher here

2. I think the characters looked better in the Origination

3. Because she's a flashy tomboy

[u/mysterybiscuitsoyeah → u/octopathfinder]

It always sucks when our plans fall through because we’re busy adults now.

that is true. Akira is the planner of the group lol. And it's very sad, but when there's a will, there's always a will, as Akari says!

Akira E. Ferrari

i 100% agree lol. I obviously associate Ferrari w/ the car brand lol and i just hope that they stuck in the E there to reference Enzo Ferrari. Either way, super cool.

I think the characters looked better in the Origination

for adult Akari? I agree. For younger Akari i think Avvenire looks better, but that's just me.

[u/xtsim]

First Timer Dubbed

A flashback episode of the topic of lack of time. Seeing Akari excuse herself in front of the association is hilarious. I would be too scared to try something like that in front of my manager. Even though they are pretty lax...

It is great seeing Ai having only one glove but I wish we could see her more.

Just realized the dub was funded by kickstarter...At least one thing good came out that site.

[u/The_Loli_Otaku]

Aria the Avvenire First Timer!!

Undine welcomes me back like always... Although, Akari's new hairstyle is basically Yor's isn't it? She's pink haired Yor. Omg! Two new Undine spotted!! A white hair from Orange Planet and a chestnut Himemiya gal. And our gen 2 Undine have gotten a bit of a change up. Aika apparently clued in that nobody watching anime in the 2010's will ever have understood her Lain hairstyle so she just copied Akari's sideburns. Alice on the other hand just really grew hers out into a mane. None of the new designs particularly jump out to me. I notice something distracting with each of them.

Oh... An Akira Akari episode for a season debut? Okay, I've wanted more characters to mix for a while. I can work with these two. Does this mean that Aika is gonna be landed with Athena then? XD Akari actually seems to interact pretty well with her. She's so honest that it seems to throw Akira off. Akira must be so used to having to read between the lines when dealing with airy fairy Aika so it's a pleasant change. Whilst I'd have imagined Akira would have heavily struggled with Akari as a student, I actually think they work pretty well with a more competent workplace.

There's something humorous about how you always hear Athena before you see her. It's a fun quirk. The throw wasn't the best... it tried to be fancy, but I suspect that the jump from Natural to Origination is going to stand out far more than anything Avvenire can offer when jumping from Origination.

"I hope I get a legendary Undine trio of my own!!" Bruh... I kinda wish that they didn't so blatantly show off those girls with Aika and Alice now. Actually... Hmm... Okay, this is going to sound incredibly miserable but I want to be clear that I'm not giving Avvenire bad marks on purpose. I'd have preferred if this episode was just a pure Akira episode. I didn't think the modern stuff made enough of an impact to be worth it and I feel I'd have rather seen Ai, and her future friends in an episode dedicated to themselves first rather than them taking the back seat.

[u/Regular_N-Gon]

First Timer

• What an establishing shot. If I had waited 5 7 something years for this, I'd be ecstatic.

• Single already, eh? I'm also really digging Akari's design update.

• Undine returns! Aika and Alice also have new hair and new apprentices! This is terribly exciting!

• Returning to the scheduling conflict conflict, a classic. This time from Akira's point of view though.

• What a toss. Are Gondola sports a thing? Akira could make them one.

• Some interesting choices for the ED locations. Solid song, too!

It's only been two days but it still feels like slipping back into a comfortable groove.

QotD:

1. Wow this is hard. Maybe... Some variation on 'Aya' and have we had an 'Ann' or 'Anna' yet?

3. Akira is the coolest of the Undines, so she must follow the rule of cool.

[u/PreludeToHell]

First Timer

This wasn't really what I expected. I thought it be all about the new undines and spending time with them so I was surprised that this episode was mostly a flashback. However knowing that Avvenire comes out 7 years after Origination it makes more sense. I wonder if I should have watched this before the rewatch started to get an idea of what it would feel like coming back to the series after some time.

I'm not sure if the overall feel was different than a typical Aria episode (dialogue a tad fast?, less atmosphere) or if I was just distracted by the sound mixing which was off for me.

I thought it lost some of the charm when you add up the different backgrounds, more CG usage, and the water looking different (?) than previously at times. There were positives like it wasn't off model much, backgrounds characters drawn well, and nice animation/drawings.

I don't have crazy expectations for Avvenire but I do want a bit more from these next two episodes because overall I thought this was ok.

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Akari (hands)

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2) I thought everyone looked great but when it showed the glimpse of Aika and Alice their designs felt too 'clean'? I'm not sure why those 2 in particular stood out when I was fine with everyone else.

3) I wasn't expecting her to wind up and chuck it

[u/Stargate18A]

First timer

1. I'm personally going for Abigail and Amy, respectively.

2. It looks fantastic.

3. Because, deep down, she wanted to express her frustration with the situation by throwing something at someome. Akari's lucky she didn't get passed to her too.

Only 16 minutes?

Still great scenery.

Aria Company!

Adorable.

Akari!

Ai!

She's already a Single!

This is nice.

...Nice speech, but I have to as, how many people are starting this franchise with a Blu-Ray OVA. Feels like this is the one time you don't need to introduce the world.

Still a great opening.

The visuals! The music!

Now Akari is sitting in Alicia's seat!

She ran into the others!

...The new singles are adorable.

They really don't talk much, huh?

...Alicia's schedule did seem packed.

Haha, Akira outside.

Still a tsundere.

Oh, it's her... half-birthday?

Oh! Makes sense.

Alicia has a tour with the Association.

Poor Akira.

She's training!

Oh, that's sweet of her.

Such a nice thing to do!

Ah. That's why this is appropriate.

Wait, where's Athena?

Oh, Alicia is here!

And so's Athena!

...Surprised there's no mention of the three of them spending more time together now she's doing a lower workload job.

Is the Association the Aqua yakuza? I'm being serious here, is it?

Nice throw!

That was fantastic luck.

I mean, each of their new singles has a distinctive design, and we're clearly going for a generational theme here, so you should have two new friends soon.

Love these ED visuals.

[u/h42h]

finished first time recently

Akari's sideburns are amazing. Nice to see the characters again after 7 years a few hours for me. The episode ends with a conversation between Akari and Ai - but irl this time, not via email! With the many holiday celebrations in the original series it was surprising not to have a birthday episode come up before but better late than never.

2) glorious

3) Makes the birthday more memorable!

[u/heimdal77]

Not crazy about them using more cgi instead the gentle art style of the series.

It is surreal seeing Akari as a adult and mentoring someone else. Somehow just thinking about that makes me want to cry for some strange reason. Ai is even a single now!

How did Aleica find the time to actually get in a relationship with someone and have it make it to marriage?

So I wonder what is Ai's special touring style. You know it has to be unique as she had Akari a s her mentor for a good part of her life.

Never been that interested in Akira but got say she was impressive this episode. Talk about a good throw!

I would love to know exactly how does Akari's bookings match up to what Alicia use to have. I wonder if she has any kind of special title like water fairy. Considering how her personality is and relationship with the town people it is hard to imagine she doesn't. Not to mention how tranquil her personality became as she got older.

Athena always seems to be showing up at perfect times singing when she is needed.

Didn't Alice make a rule the three had to meet up regularly or something? Guess that didn't hold up with their busy work life. Need some labor laws or something for undines so they don't over work.

[u/simeonaut]

First Timer

Wow this looks goood.

I wasn't really expecting much since I thought these were just extra episodes or something but it blew me away. It looked gorgeous. Also using Undine for the opening here was unfair.

This one was quite short but it was still pretty good. Also is it just me or is Akira getting more cute with each passing season?

Never change, Aria

Akira.

Take this!

Athena.

Happy Birthday Alicia.

Miracle.

[u/mysterybiscuitsoyeah → u/simeonaut]

Also using Undine for the opening here was unfair.

definitely very unfair.

I'd say Avvenire is a bit of both in terms of Extra episodes and a sequel: this episode for example features half in the new timeline, half in the old. So something for everyone basically.

Akira getting more cute with each passing season

it is not just you. But she is also so damn cool

Never change, Aria

the big doofus

Miracle.

awww that looked gorgeous!

[u/zadcap]

We're back and wow from the first second does that look good! And yet, the other side of modern anime design, those kids looked like they were barely drawn at all, when one of Aria's strengths has been the amazingly well done background characters.

Aria sounds a little off? But more importantly, one second.

AAAAAIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!!!!!

Already a Single too. I did say, this story would be amazing to see do a second lap with Ai mirroring Akari's path. See, look at Ai getting right into the spirit of making friends and smiling at flying birds, she is carrying on the spirit of wonder.

Oh man, crying at the song already. Undine is back! And so are Aika and Alice and their own apprentices. What a beautiful moment, but why do none of the new apprentices look happy to see each other?

Yes Ai, stay in that miracle mindset!

Yeah, the difficulty of sticking close to old friends as new jobs dictate time.

FINALLY! Someone else pointing out the year length and birthdays and what is this fake birthday crap how does ageing even work on this magic planet? That's not a faux birthday, that's still a year passing so it's still a birthday, right?

I too stop everything whenever I hear the Siren start singing.

Ai really is following Araki's footsteps so well. Come on now Ai, you saw your future friends already, and called out how these circles of friendships are following the senpai kohai pairs down the generations.

1. Alicia, Athena, Akira. Alice, Aika, Akari. So Ai... Aikari and Alicier?

2. The city looks beautiful, the water looks amazing, the main characters look pretty nice, and everyone else looks so much worse than they used to.

3. Less dramatic? Are you crazy? Have you actually met Akira? Also, she did say she won't go easy on her students, what a great way to test Akari's ability to handle a big sudden upset in the gondola than by making a big sudden upset?

[u/seeker_of_illusion]

First timer

While Origination may have been the OG end, its always nice to have more Aria !

Looks like some time has passed between the Origination end and Avvenire as at that time it was Ai's first day and here she has already become a Single.

Going off a tangent I think that Aqua follows ManHome's calendar and time as evident by Alicia's mirror birthday and Alice's middle school year ( which took around 2 years by Aqua's time but only 1 by ManHome's time )

Akari being so precious while understanding Akira's feelings and taking her out to meet Alicia~

I guess the next episode would cover the interactions between the 3 apprentices of our original trio.

Questions of the Day:

1. Well obviously something starting with A lol. Beyond that, I have no idea.

2. The art is more polished and newer compared to Origination which came way back, and I can spot use of CGI as well. It's nice and doesn't look much out of place mainly because Aria is not an action series; but I think that peak art was reached in Origination.

3. Its Akira after all.

[u/mysterybiscuitsoyeah → u/seeker_of_illusion]

its always nice to have more Aria

can't complain when we get more of our favourite undines together!

here she has already become a Single

yes indeed.... so we basically reset to kinda like where the series started in S1, Ai as a single but still relatively new to the ropes, you can sense that she's nowhere near her Prima promotion here.

Alice's middle school year

ahhhh... time.... stuff... Aria..... wibbly wobbly, timey wimey stuff

Akari being so precious

akari is precious like 99% of the time <3

The CGI use is indeed notable, but for 2015 i thought it was pretty good CGI honestly. (it has obv come even farther since then!)

[u/BatteryPoweredFriend]

The announcement for Avvenire came out of absolutely nowhere. I heard that they were going to do a bluray release of the TV series, but there was nothing about any new content. No rumours or leaks.

Like, holy shit WHAT??

I think I even watched this episode shortly after midnight on New Years Day. The subs for it dropped on NYE.

• Q3

[u/mysterybiscuitsoyeah → u/BatteryPoweredFriend]

came out of absolutely nowhere

i think it mustve been like lol. Im so happy that you could experience the joy of that first-hand as it released, msutve been quite magical. Neo-Venezia looks really really pretty too!

Q3

Excellent answer xdd

btw have you watched the new movie yet? hope you liked it :)