Aria Volume 3

I love science fiction. And a story that is different in writing style. This is what Aria Volume 4 (Aria (Tokyopop)) does. Have a try at it.

I ordered this as a gift for someone and they liked it very much. Receival of product was good, thanks!

Someone else has described this as a 'slice of life' manga, a story that follows a character throughout the day-to-day tasks of living, as opposed to 'magical girl' or typical shoujo or shounen action/adventure stories. "Aria" is one such series. While it takes place on a terraformed Mars, the sci-fi aspect of it draws almost no notice. We know almost nothing about the characters' backgrounds and families, even three volumes into the series. The focus is on the present, and the development of Akari, as she matures into the professional she wants to be. It's not true that there are no adventures in these stories--rather, there are exploration of Akari's world, and the reader experiences them alongside her. They're not the kind of adventures that involve adrenaline and excitement and flashy action, but discovery. Akari can seem a little too sweet to be true, and it's a bit puzzling as to why so much of Japanese culture survived the homogeny that is alluded to as Manhome, but it's easy to overlook. Part of the fun of reading "Aria" is seeing Akari's delight in discovery. It's a positive, upbeat story without going too far. The art is beautiful, tracking the story through the seasons of Aqua's much longer year. Akari's world is a nice place to visit, one that makes me see my own in a better light. Not a bad accomplishment for a manga without magical girls, horror, or big robots. It's important to remember other types of heroes.

As Volume 3 of Aria opens, spring has come once again to Neo-Venezia as Akari marks the one year anniversary of her arrival on Aqua. The unthreatening anD peaceful adventures of this gentle manga continue as the girls make a new friend out of a rival Undine named Alice, and Akari and Miss Alicia travel to an island to get to Alicia's favorite resting spot. Aika also runs into some trouble when she runs away from her mentor, Ms. Akira (No relation to the mythical telekinetic psychotic), because she doesn't feel she's getting any respect. She would rather work with Ms. Alicia, who just happens to be a childhood friend of Akira. The manga concludes with the Festa del Boccolo, in which you're supposed to give a red rose to the woman that you love. Akari tries to help the love-stricken Akatsuki declare his feelings to Ms. Alicia (Does everyone's name start with "A"?) I enjoy this series. As you can tell, there aren't any life threatening mecha or demons involved here. The story is as soft as a wind. Aria is more about mood than plot so it's a good series to read when you're stressed out, a massage for the spirit.