TokyoPop once again pulled it out of the bag with Aria: The Masterpiece and I will definitely be reading more from this series very soon

Loved this series when I was younger so I was excited to see this! Re-read and still adore this series! Gorgeous world building and lovable characters!

Absolutely beautiful. I've long been a fan of Aria, ever since I was a child. Amano Kozue manages to craft a world that is unbelievably magical, romantic, and beautiful. The characters that inhabit this world, too, are very near and dear to my heart. Akari is an excellent protagonist, and while at times her naivety is too much, her overall worldview really inspires me to love life. I really wish I could live in the world of Neo-Venezia, but I suppose that it will have to be enough that I carry Akari's lessons with me.

‘On the planet Aqua, a world once known as Mars, Akari Mizunashi has just made her home in the town of Neo-Venezia, a futuristic imitation of the ancient city of Venice. In pursuit of her dream to become an Undine -- a gondolier who leads high-end tours around the city -- Akari joins as a trainee with the Aria Company, one of the three most prestigious water-guide companies in Neo-Venezia. There, she explores the beauty of the city and the world along with other trainees from Aria and rival companies, working hard for her dreams and making new friends along the way. Experience the world of Aqua like never before with Kozue Amano's gorgeously detailed illustrations and full-color spreads in this deluxe edition featuring the full prequel series, Aqua!’

Amano's Aria: The Masterpiece, Vol 1 features gorgeous artwork and adorable characters. President Aria, head of the company where Akari has come to train as an Undine, is a Mars cat. These kitties are just as intelligent as humans, and kinda reminded me of the hyper intelligent animals in Anne Bishop's Black Jewels series, except that the Mars cats cannot talk, telepathically or no. I loved the flying islands/ cityships! The story didn't quite catch me though. It became something to read in when I was bored, or tired. There wasn't too much meat to it for my liking.

***Many thanks to Netgalley & Diamond Books/ TokyoPop for providing an ecopy in exchange for a fair and honest review.

'Aria: The Masterpiece Vol. 1' by Kozue Amano is a utopian manga series first serialized in the early 2000s. The first two volumes are collected here.

When the story opens, we meet Akari Mizunashi. She is on her way to the planet Mars, which is now known as Aqua, to become an undine, which is a cross between a gondolier and tour guide. The book follows her adventures as she meets the company president (a cat!), and makes friends with Aika, another apprentice undine. There are trials to pass and adventures to be had on this weird, beautiful world.

I wasn't familiar with this manga, but I enjoyed reading it. There isn't a lot of conflict in the story, but the world kept me interested. The art was really good too. I enjoyed this trip to the world of Aqua and Aria.

I received a review copy of this manga from Tokyopop, Diamond Book Distributors, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this manga.

I regret not seeing the anime if only to see the gorgeous vistas of Aqua in color.

Light on plot and heavy on world-building, Aria, the manga, takes us to Neo-Venezia, a city that runs on gondolas. The aptly named Akari Mizunashi, arrives in the city to pursue her dream of becoming an undine, a gondolier who takes people on tours. She meets a Mars cat who turns out to be an important entity (of course) and from then on she starts her apprenticeship with Aria.

The planet Aqua is a treasure chest. Yes, a treasure chest from long ago, filled to the brim with wonderful memories. That's why it feels so nostalgic. That's why it's so dear to me.

Each chapter is a slice of Akari's day to day and everyday, she discovers something magical about Aqua, big or small. She frequently emails a mysterious person about all the fascinating things she encounters. The manga's atmosphere is as laid-back and calming as city. There is practically zero conflict, just pleasant interactions that were actually really mundane if you think about it but in the hands of Kozue Amano became soft, dreamlike and sparkly. Also, the touches of magical realism lent it an endearing charm.

Aria is the kind of feel-good manga you can read if you want a breather. It is a grand adventure taken one gentle step at a time. I am looking forward to exploring more of Neo-Venezia, see which directions the mangaka would nudge the almost non-existent plotlines and hunt for more wonderful treasures.

P.S.

I received a copy of Aria The Masterpiece Volume 1 from Tokyo Pop via NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

SOUNDTRACK

Underwater
Kidswaste

I don't read a lot of manga. I've read Death Note and a couple of others but not enough to really know something about the genre, but since I like to read comics/graphic novels every now and then I wanted to try Aria, in which the main character travels to Mars, now called Aqua to become an Undine who rows the gondolas through Neo Venice.

I was not completely prepared for the weirdness of the CEO being a cat, but said, the rest was pretty normal. I think this would classify as 'casual', which is how Netflix has started describing series that are nice to watch but where there is not a lot happening. She is training to be an Undine, and that's what happens. There is never really any kind of problem and she just seems to be having a good time. One thing I liked was the lights festival with lights that glow for a month and afterwards everyone collects at the sea to bid them farewell.

However, it seemed rather unnecessary to put the story in space, as everything seemed about the same, except for the cat. Also why did Mars have to be called Aqua and Earth Manhome? I quite liked the art though and it was a nice and quick read.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Come to Neo-Venezia, Aqua with Akari. Discover beautiful places, see Akari grow, meet new friends, and more. I was so happy that this one showed up on Netgalley and that I was able to read it, I do hope that the other books in this series will also pop up, I need to continue reading this.

So I watched Aria years ago, back when it was still airing, and I just loved the show. It was a bit slow at times, sometimes a bit boring, but I just couldn't stop watching because of so many other fantastic elements. I also tried the manga, but it is hard to find it because Tokyopop quit years back. I hope that they will be able to finish this whole series now, I will be waiting for it to be finished before I buy it though.

And this was a gorgeous read, I loved Akari so much more in the manga than in the anime. In the anime she is often a bit more immature/childish, whereas in this one she is quite mature. Of course, at times she shows a fun/less mature side and it was quite nice to see it, because it made her more interesting and more likeable. I loved how hard she worked, how hard she tried her best to become an outstanding undine, just like her mentor Alicia.
I had quite a laugh that she trained (at Manhome) how to do the gondola the wrong way. But hey, if there is an emergency just flip her rowing the other way and she is a speedboat. :P
I loved reading the emails she was sending, though at times I found it a bit inappropriate when she was typing. Like with the fireworks show, instead of truly enjoying it with her new friends, she had her laptop on her lap. I get that you want to send a mail, and I get that you want to share those new feelings before they fade away, but really... I am sure it can wait.

We see more and more of Neo-Venezia as the story unfolds. We see tons of little sideways, alleys, secret paths, we see busy waterways and quiet ones, we see outside of it during Akari and Alicia's picnic time, we even see the floating island and what goes on there (and what it does). I would so love to visit Neo-Venezia, find out the secrets, enjoy some delicious foods at fabulous restaurants, go in a gondola and let the undine take me to magical places.

I did feel that the training/how the time goes by was a bit weird. We do see some training but not that much, so it felt odd to see Akari get promoted. Yes, it was a few months after she has gotten there, so she worked hard for it, but I just wish we had seen a bit more of it. Of course, not too much because that would just not work out well.

I loved President Aria, he was just so silly, but at times you could indeed see that he is very intelligent. I have forgotten if he ever managed to get Hime's love/attention, so I am eager to see that happen/see those scenes between those two.

We also meet other characters and while I don't always like them, for instance Aika takes some getting used to, but eventually I liked her so so much.
However some, like Akatsuki, I never really truly like him. :(

The art is absolutely gorgeous. The backgrounds/scenery are just stunning, and I also like the character designs.

All in all, I need more Aria in my life. Maybe until the next volume comes out I will just re-watch the show again. :P

A fun little ride following a girl who wants to become a gondaleer on mars. Very nice art and a nice concept.

I was sadly not as in to manga as I am now back when Aqua and Aria were first licensed by ADV and then Tokyopop, so while I've seen the anime, I had not had the chance to read the manga before it was out of print. I love the delightful atmosphere of Aria and am ecstatic to have it in print (and in a pretty new omnibus edition!). If you are looking for a plot-heavy book, this is not for you, it is all atmosphere and delightful day-to-day happenings. I have already ordered this title for my library and can not wait to give it every patron I can!

An absolutely beautiful Manga with a very odd premise.
The story is set in the year 2301. Akari is a young woman leaving Manhome (the planet formerly known as Earth) to travel to the planet Aqua (formerly known as Mars).
Yes, in this future, Mars is completely covered in water, and Akari is moving to a city that is modeled after present day Venice, Italy because she wants to be a gondolier. She is a brand new employee at the Aria corporation, whose President is a giant white cat. Because it's good luck for gondola companies to be run by cats. (I told you this story was odd!).
Still, Akari is an endearing dope, the cat is cute as all heck and the art is absolutely gorgeous. It wins on sheer adorableness alone.

Wonderful, wonderful series! I love this manga so much. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

I first became aware of this series back in the mid 2000’s. I used to watch much more anime and read more manga than I do presently, and this really fit the bill for me. I collected the volumes at that time, but I’m so happy to see that this new release is coming out again. I hope many more people can be introduced to this series and come to love it as much as I do.

Aria is a lovely, sweet tempered gem of a book. The main character, Akari Mizunashi, lives in a future where Mars has been terraformed for use by humans. However, through an accident much of the planet is now covered with water. The residents decided make the best of it and to model their new home after the original Earth city of Venice. This is Neo-Venezia. Akari is a young woman who dreams of living in this beautiful city and working as an elite gondolier, a Undine. The manga follows her daily life, learning her trade, growing in skill, making friends in the community and sussing out the secrets of this mysterious planet.

When I first fell in love with this anime I was going through a very stressful time. I looked forward to relaxing after a rough week with a couple of episodes and just drifting away from my troubles. The artwork is beautiful, and it is clear that the mangaka (manga artist) had an abiding love and appreciation for the beauty of the natural world. The story is heartfelt and warm. The characters are funny and adorable. I simply can’t recommend Aria enough. If you are looking for something to make you feel good, give you some laughs, and gentle feels then you need to pick up this series.

Song for this book: Barcarolle from Aria the Animation

Aria is an older anime and manga that I remember from my youth! It was such a pleasure to read this manga volume 1 and relive the anime in it's crisp artwork. There are also some color pages that really made the read very pleasurable for me. I love seeing colored manga artwork so that was a definite plus for this volume. The story follows the anime so if you're a fan, I'd recommend this!

In an alternate universe, Akari Mizunashi has just arrived on planet Aqua. She's planning on becoming an Undine, a gondolier for tourists around the canals of the city of Neo-Venezia. This is her story of fulfilling her dreams.

Although this story had good illustrations, I found it very lacking in its plot. There was absolutely nothing in the story to keep the reader's attention: no ups and downs, no great peak, nothing much other than a young girl trying to make her dream job come true (and even that, with no difficulties at all).