Subculture Anime Blog

Ugh, I’ve had class all day and I feel totally burned out on life…………anime time!

Summary:

In the Himeya company, Akira attempts to brainstorm names for Aika’s prima title. Overhearing some girls talk about Alice’s recent jump, Akira walks outside with a bit of frustration. While accompanying her throughout the day, Akira begins comparing Aika to Akari and Alice who pass by during the trip. After a successful job, Aika wonders if she has made a mistake because of Akira’s irritated look. Akira is unable to tell Aika what she is truly thinking, instead inviting her to a shop while she has free time. While walking with her, Akira finds that Aika is very enthusiastic about catching up to Alice. Akira attempts to comfort Aika in thought that she is forcing herself as usual, but discovers that Aika has actually been extremely inspired by Alice’s promotion. Thinking about their meeting of the past, Akira is finally convinced and relieved. Akira discovers that Aika is free on an upcoming holiday, so she has her cancel her meeting with Al in order to talk with her. Before leaving, Akira hands Aika the paper she was working on earlier. Realizing what this is, Aika is brought to tears of happiness. She quickly runs to Akira’s side, and the two walk back to the company hand in hand afterwards.

A few days after becoming a prima, Alice has become very busy. While doing well in guiding a couple through Neo Venezia, she becomes distracted at the sight of Aika and Akari doing their usual practice. Afterwards, she recalls that she has not been able to see the two at all ever since becoming a prima. Alice returns home quite late, which has been happening often as of late. She almost makes a call to her friends, but realizes that it would be strange to call for no reason. Athena sees Alice off the next morning, but is unable to avoid feeling concerned. Alice is somewhat lost in thought while serving a family during the day, but she enjoys herself thoroughly with them. At the end of the day, the couple’s child presents Alice with a piece of candy. This makes Alice blush a little, as she smiles while observing the world around her.

It begins to rain as Alice returns to the company. She observes that the days are hectic, but she feels very good at the end of each job. This gives her many things that she would like to talk about, but she is saddened when she believes that she will not be able to meet her friends anymore. Alice attempts to regain her composure, but realizes that she is very lonely. When Alice returns to her room, she is shocked to find Aika and Akari waiting for her. Enjoying pizza with them afterwards, Alice expresses the feelings she has had up to this point. It turns out that she had accidentally said these things out loud, so the girls encourage her. Alice despairs at the inability to find a reason to meet her friends, but she is put into shocking realization when the girls state that there does not need to be a reason to meet them. Looking out into the sky afterwards, Alice is finally assured that things would be alright with the friends she has.

Preview: Akari and Alicia episode!

Impression:

What’s your anti-drug!? So, I’ve been seeing a lot of burn out posts lately. Being in the game for almost a year now, I wonder if it’s just that I’ve been around enough to see these kinds of things. I personally find that type of thing kind of silly, since anime blogging has been kind of a stress reliever for me for quite awhile now. Maybe it helps that I kind of put off the strict schedules I set up for myself in the beginning, but who knows. Aria is also the perfect show to sit back and relax to after a long day, and I’m really glad that I decided to start covering my beloved slice of life shows in the Fall. I’ve found that I really like to talk about how the themes relate to life itself, so I guess expression also helps to calm the nerves!

Getting away from the random reflection, this episode was excellent. I’m still feeling a bit weirded out by the time starting to move in Aria, but the end result is nothing but amazing. I loved seeing the cheerful Aika during the first half of this episode, right down to the gobbling of gelato (For those of you who have never had this treat, it’s pretty much ice cream….but different). I’m really enjoying the character-centric episodes, and the tie-ins with some of the previous Akira/Aika episodes were awesome. Akari is great and all, but it seems like she’s all we really got for the most part in previous seasons. I couldn’t help but smile when Akira basically laid her plans to Aika, and the style change during that scene was quite fitting.

The second part of the episode, with the Orange Princess’s struggle, was very reminiscent to the similar problem previously revealed about the three water fairies. It was pretty easy to see that Athena could see through Alice’s hidden struggle, and I was impressed that she didn’t say anything throughout the entire span. The theme of change was beautiful, and even tear inducing. I actually haven’t read any of the Aria manga (yes, I am an insult to the fandom), but I can’t help but wonder if it can pull off the emotion as well as the animation can. Just the way Alice expressed that she was lonely was almost heart shaking. I should have seen the ending coming with its comic relief, but I think I had the same humorous surprise that Alice had. This show brings character attachment to the max, and I think that’s one thing that helps create such a wonderful experience for everyone. With only two episodes left, I think I may actually be crying for other reasons soon.