Subculture Anime Blog

Ahhhh! President Aria is naked! Ahhhhh!!!

Summary:

Akari, Alicia, and President Aria take the day off to visit Grandma. As the three reach another part of Aqua, Akari notices many spectacular things that she has not seen in Neo Venezia. There are things like bicycles, different colored houses, and beautiful garments. Alicia mentions the acquaintance she once had who wore one of the wedding dresses, Anna, and amazes Akari by telling her that she was an even busier person than herself. Akari and Alicia reach their destination, a gated house surrounded by a garden, but they find that no one answers to their call. Alicia recalls that they should be on time, when the girls see a boy observing them from not too far away. The boy runs away after being noticed, but Akari chases after him in hopes of asking him a question. Akari finds the boy running behind his mother, which happens to be Alicia’s senior Anna. Akari gets introduced to Anna, and also learns that the boy is her son Ahito.

Akari finally sees all of the beautiful things inside the house, and when the girls sit down for tea, Alicia recalls how Anna met her husband. When Anna had left the Aria Company, she was already pregnant. Anna recalls how hard it was to get used to her new life after marriage, but the female residents nearby had taught her new things. Anna greets her husband Albert when she hears the doorbell ring, but is surprised to also find Grandma outside. Albert has brought a lot of good seafood, so the girls quickly go to prepare it. When dinner is ready, everyone enjoys the great food to their fullest. Albert, Ahito, and President Aria fall asleep after their meals, leaving the girls to talk over dessert and tea.

Akari realizes that there are many things she does not know about the time before she joined the Aria Company, but Grandma is happy about Akari’s being the newest addition to their company. The girls recall that many great things have happened because of the company, and Anna credits this to Grandma’s founding of it. Grandma states that she was not alone in creating the company, however, and that President Aria played a big role in this. Alicia wonders if Grandma could tell more about this, so she tells her about the days when she was still a member of Himeya.

Grandma was known as the ace of Himeya, Akino, who was well respected by everyone in the company. Akino had been doing her rounds as usual, but she could not help but notice President Aria constantly sitting in one place by the water. She one day began asking many things about him, but found that President Aria would only continue to stare out into the sea. Akino took the chance to sit next to President Aria, apologizing for asking him so many things all of a sudden. This is when she realized how many things she had been losing while working constantly. There were so many wonderful things in the world to experience.

Akino finally asked what President Aria was always doing in the one spot he was sitting at, wondering if he was waiting for something important. When it started pouring heavily on another day, Akino walked out to find President Aria still standing in the single spot. She wondered what he was waiting for, but President Aria still would not budge. Akino ended up spending the night covering President Aria from the rain. Because of him, Akino was finally able to realize how much she had been pushing herself. The Aria Company was then founded, and it was the start of everything. Grandma makes Akari realize that the day would come when she would be the one creating new experiences for the Akari Company. With all of the girls’ support, Akari promises that she will do her best.

Preview: Athena S.O.S.!

Impression:

“What is it that you are waiting for?” …What powerful words, and presented in such a masterful way. I was definitely tearing up by the end of this episode, which a lot of you have already admitted to doing while watching this show. No, you are not alone. Those are tears of joy from watching something beautiful, just proving how excellent the storytelling in this series is. I was already expecting a wonderful episode after seeing last week’s preview, and even Aria merch master Adun had confirmed to me how great it was going to be. Just when I think this series cannot get any better, it does. And it does over and over again.

Meeting Anna and her son could have made a great story on its own, but the real treat started when Grandma began telling the story of the Aria Company’s founding. Grandma used to be in Himeya!? She had a name, Akino!? Yes, I was shocked. I wasn’t shocked by the respect she received during those days though. It seems like everyone from the Aria Company is destined to be amazing and inspirational. President Aria was awesome in this episode too, even with his usual silliness. Aria does not age! (…You can probably take that sentence in more than one way.) The alternate version of “Torikago no Yume” by Arai Akino just added to the joy in this episode. Akino singing an insert during an Akino scene…coincidence? I think not. The next episode hints towards some more Alice and Athena action, so it should be fun as always.