Aria the Benedizione

A very fitting conclusion to send-off the series with, and I was at emotional peace at the end of the movie. Unlike the previous movie and (what I remember of) the original series, this movie only focuses on the development of 2 characters and has a good bit of a story going on, so it is not exactly like the usual casual slice-of-life in previous entries. Animation was crisp and the background scenery in the city was gorgeous as always. Soundtrack fit the animation perfectly and was very relaxing, while the ending was a nostalgic new version of the original series' opening. Overall, I verysatisfied with the movie overall, and I felt the hour went by really quickly. Some very minor criticisms: This movie focuses mainly on 2 Himeya girls, Akira and Aika, and their relationship over the years. The other undine girls make their appearances in the movie, but don't get much screentime at all. If you have a favorite who's not Akira or Aika, you might be disappointed that the series ends with this story arc. Also, there was a TON OF YURI in this movie, so if you are turned off by that, you might not like it. Finally, I personally still have trouble getting into the new Shoujo manga-like art style of these new ones and much prefer the original 2005-style animation, but this is entirely just personal preference. All these were very minor issues for me and barely affected my enjoyment, so overall, a solid 8/10.

I never wrote a review before, but as a fan of the franchise I want to give my thoughts on this one. Aria the Benedizione it's supposedly the last animated piece of the franchise. Unfortunately the movie does not star Akari as the main protagonist, something that I found really odd considering the fact that she is the main protagonist of Aria. And don't get me wrong, I say this as a big Aika and Akira enjoyer. I love these two and their dynamic. But having Akari as a side character and only appearing for a couple of minutes doesn't give as much closure as itshould be for a final installment. You could stare at the main poster as long as you want and you wouldn't guess that the movie would focus on Aika. For the soundtrack Choro Club makes a comeback, adding a couple of songs and reciting some old ones. So does Yui Makino with a new version of the original opening for the credits song, which was a nice touch. On the animation level, it's J.C. Staff. You can't expect too much for these guys, but this is by far the best Aria has looked in ages. The plot does not differ too much from a regular Aria episode. It centers on a gondola that Aika refuses to inherit (which I guess it could be seen as some sort of allegory of the series coming to an end?). It has the trio of Ai-chan, Azusa, and Anya running around trying to resolve the drama, which I didn't really liked because I'm not too fond with these new characters. The film closes with Akira reminiscing about the moment Aika became a Prima Undine, retelling a moment that felt underwhelming in Aria the Origination, a monologue and a quick montage of everyone living their daily life. Again, I have no problem with Aika bein the main focus, but it gave me no closure on the franchise. Aria the Crepusculo has Alice as the main focus and it ends with the main characters enjoying the sunrise and talking about old times. It would've been a perfect ending so it makes you wonder why wouldn't they do the same here or made that movie the final installment. I am a very big fan of the series so I ended up enjoying it. It's good and of course if you're watching it it would mean that you've watched the other installments an that you're a fan, but I can see a lot of people being disappointed in this movie for the reasons mentioned above.

"The people who terraformed this planet as well as the people who founded this city, are all gone. Even so, the city of Neo-Venezia, will continue to live on, after we're gone" Aria the Benedizione wraped things up pretty nicely for in my honest opinion, the best slice of life series that's ever been produced. Now I can sleep soundly, in tear, that even though I won't see these girls for a very long long time, they will continue to live on in Neo-Venezia, doing what they love. Watching Aria is quite a magical experience to me. Just like watching life. It's slow, reminiscent and warm.Seeing Akari, Aika and Alice grew to be such exceptional undine made me feel so proud. And the way they treat their kouhai just like how their senpai used to do is just too adorable. I would love a tour in their world and hearing their wonderful voices echoing in the sky. One day, I hope they will consider a spin-off shows about the kouhai, they're fun to watch too. Til that time, see you, somewhere, somehow.

I refuse to score this but want to write my thoughts, but why do reviews do the counterintuitive thing and make you score it… The story boarding/layout/storytelling doesn’t even hold a candle to the originals and even a simple ova (arietta) was so much better than this 1 hour movie we got. Aria was known for its subtlety, epitomizing eloquent show not tell storytelling that was not highbrow and easily understood by all(accessible). These 3 installments were the opposite: all about telling through exposition dumps and explaining rather than showing their feelings. The setup was waayy to long, this could’ve been chopped down to 30-40 minsand nothing would’ve been lost. There were some continuity issues, the biggest being middle school Aika having short hair in middle school while she stated in series that growing her hair out to be long like Alicia’s was her goal since meeting her. Which is why middle school aika should’ve had long hair. Her whole arc in animation>natural was realizing she could never be a prima like Alicia and would begin carving out her own path as an undine which was metaphorically shown by the length of her hair. Also, it was so unlikely that she didn’t know Alicia and didn’t visit her until akira introduced her. Being a daughter of a gondola conglomerate she must’ve known about Aria company and should’ve recognized Alicia by the uniform. What made up for these minor gripes was showing how aika’s prima exam went. Ngl, I teared up watching that part lol. Brought back so many memories of the tv series and being able to see how Aika passed and that last scene of Akira taking off her glove was so emotional. Reliving memories of Aika growing up lol. Makes me want to rewatch the original all over again except I have no time to cries. To be honest, what I wish these 3 installments were about was seeing the 3 girls growth as primas and mentoring the newbs. And seeing from their perspective how hard it was for their mentors to mentor them. That would’ve completed the cycle of mentor-mentee and would’ve been a much more satisfying end to the series imo. Oh wells, it is what it is, just sad that this is an actual end to aria as they’re prob not going continue making spin offs anymore. This is not Eva after all and won’t attract new anime fans to watch it as it is a pretty underrated hidden gem of an anime. Sadly they don’t make iyashikei like this anymore and doubt anything that comes up in the next 25 years will be able to top this. Should prob buy the blue rays if they still exist lol, prob the better move in the long run. A treasure like this must be preserved for decades to come. Sincerely, Your average Aria enjoyer who rewatched the original 4+ times.

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