Sentiment on ARIA

ARIA (アリア)

ARIA, by mangaka Kozue Amano (こずえ 天野), is serialized in Mag Garden’s monthly magazine Comic Blade. There are currently 9 volumes of manga, excluding 2 volumes of Aqua which are the prequel to Aria. ARIA depicts the story of a young Undine, Akari on planet Aqua. Over these 3 years, ARIA has gained tremendous fandom and generated a diversity of merchandise on its success.

Animation:

Two seasons of ARIA animation has been produced. The first season ARIA the animation comprised 13 episodes and was first aired in 2005. It was also released in 6 DVDs. After the success in the first season, the director and team continue to produce ARIA the Natural. ARIA the Natural was adapted as a 26 episodes series and gained much recognition and popularity. One success in the DVD sales is the bonus that comes with the DVD such as box art, clear files, postcards and even crafts.

Manga & Books.

There are 9 volumes of ARIA manga and 2 prequel Aqua released, as well as a novel. Kozue Amano has made a success out of ARIA due to her artistic and dedicated artworks, especially in the colour settings. There were 2 guidebooks, 2 calendars (desktop & wall version), 3 artbooks and a poster book released. There also a poster book, a guide and calendar scheduled for release at the end of year. Furthermore, 3 monthly undines have been released and came with bonus toys.

Soundtracks:

With just two seasons of Aria animation adaptation, it has produced 15 albums in just two years time. Aria the animation has generated 2 Drama CDs, 3 Characters CDs, 2 singles and 1 OST album. Aria the natural generated 2 Drama CDs, 2 singles, 1 OST album, 1 Piano collection and a vocal collection.

Merchandise

Another success of ARIA is the massive variety of merchandise available. These include items such as keychain, cups and bowls, straps, necklace, card holder, stickers, notepad, mat, tray, towel, clock, pouch, calculator, plush, tissue and underlay. ARIA has also released a number of figures.

In addition an ARIA PS2 game has been scheduled for release in November 2006. The graphics and settings are impressive. There is both limited and regular edition as well as a single CD for its theme. The limited edition would feature many bonuses such as pins, single CD and SD figures.

My Sentiments:
Many would have thought that a manga or animation such as ARIA which depicts the spice of life genre would not make a hit. However, many are wrong and its merchandises are widely sought after. The reasons for the huge success in ARIA are the artworks and the merchandises that emerged from it. There are also incentives such as gifts to purchase the DVDs as well as the books. The diversity range of merchandises would easily market its popularity to fans. In addition, the dedicated effort in the director and the animation team add to the success of ARIA.