Aria and a pure slice-of-life experience

I recently finished watching the 13-episode first season of Aria. It caused me to recall a discussion that was circling the blogsphere back in August about the true definition of slice-of-life. Now that I’ve seen Aria, I know why many consider it perhaps the best example of this genre…

As NovaJinx and others have pointed out, what fans consider to be a slice-of-life anime is made up of some combination of three things: the series has 1) little to no plot, 2) episodes comprised of stand-alone stories rather than parts of an ongoing narrative, and 3) a setting placed in the real world, usually Japan (or a fictional likeness), revolving around the day-to-day lives of the characters. Moe comedies like K-ON!, Azumanga Daioh, and Lucky Star, romance comedies like Love Hina, Ouran, and Hayate no Gotoku!, and shojo or romance dramas like Clannad, Toradora!, and Kimi ni Todoke, are all common series that fans relate to the slice-of-life genre. I’m not going to get into the whole true definition of slice-of-life and what are the only anime that should be put into that genre. I’m just going to discuss how it relates to Aria. And just to be clear, my thoughts here are based on the first season of Aria only. If something I say contradicts what happens in the later seasons, please let me know.

So what’s different about Aria that makes it a much “purer” example of the slice-of-life genre? I can’t speak for others, but here’s what I feel about it – ultimately, Aria has no other genre besides slice-of-life. For almost all anime I’ve seen, I can at least categorize them into three genres each, sometimes two. But I just couldn’t bring myself to put Aria into any other genre besides “slice-of-life.” Some may ask, what about “comedy”? Aria does have funny parts, but can it really be in the comedy category alongside K-ON! and Azumanga Daioh, series I classify as “slice-of-life” and “comedy”? Comedy in K-ON! and AzuDai is much more utilized, emphasized, and integral to the shows’ entertainment value than in Aria. In comparison, the instances of comedy in Aria are subdued and rarely take the focus away from the steady slice-of-life flow. Aria comedy is simply Aria-shachou doing something cute, Akari fretting about something, Athena being clumsy, or other little scenes of characters doing amusing things. Aria’s comedy provides a light chuckle here and there before blending right back into the relaxing slice-of-life atmosphere. In this sense, the comedy stays true to the slice-of-life genre’s realism; the funny things that the characters do and say feel like things that can happen in real life and don’t rely on the hyperbolic style and exaggerations of animated humor. The most “cartoony” Aria gets is Maa-shachou biting Aria-shachou on the belly, or the girls making their signature stylized anime facial expressions. But to me, comedy is just not emphasized enough for me to place Aria in that genre.

What about “drama”? Drama is even less prevalent in Aria than comedy. The most drama we’ll see is Akari tearing up when realizing that life can’t go on like this forever, or encountering a melancholic (never too much though) event before accepting it and moving on. There’s no suspense, waterfalls of tears, pain and suffering, unrequited love, or anything else in Aria that comes to mind when we think of “drama” other than a few sentimental tears.

And finally, the last genre I considered for Aria alongside “slice-of-life” is “fantasy,” or “sci-fi” more specifically. The setting of Neo-Venezia is indeed fantastical and a very important part of the show’s appeal. But when people think of “sci-fi,” they think of stories involving outer space and aliens, enhanced superhuman powers, and advanced technology. Aria has some of the latter…but honestly, anything in Aria that one would think of as “sci-fi” – a futuristic world on another planet and cats with human-like intelligence for example – is very much de-emphasized as sci-fi specifically, and is simply blended into the slice-of-life flow along with everything else. If Aria took place in a slightly fictional version of real world Venice, would it lose any of its charm?

In conclusion, I consider Aria (the first season at least) the purest example of a slice-of-life anime, and the most gentle and quietest anime I’ve ever seen. The relaxing feeling that fans love about slice-of-life is what Aria is all about. The episodic stories revolve around the characters living out their daily lives and learning life lessons along the way. Little bits of funnies here, some sentiment here, but overall a gentle, quiet, soothing documentation of a realistic yet fictional place called Neo-Venezia.

No Comments… read them or add your own.

  1. Even though it’s mostly episodic, there is still a sense of progression throughout the plot, especially as you advance through the series. The last season of the anime was especially focused on wrapping up the plot and closing all the loose ends that had been setup in terms of the characters (season 3 even starts with a sort of character synopsis/recap so people won’t be lost, showing that it’s no longer purely episodic — you can’t just jump in randomly). So… it’s probably something more than just “slice-of-life” by the definition provided, but I think you could also say that Aria itself helps defines the genre. No matter what label you assign to it, it’s a story that revolves around a developing cast of characters and exploring the world they’re in along side them. Because it did what it set out to do very well, it’s become the sort of measuring stick to which other similar shows will be compared.

    • Yumeka says:

      Cool, I’m glad to know that there’s story progression in the later seasons. If one wanted to describe Aria’s plot for just season 1, it would that the girls are trying to become better undines and learn more about this amazing world called Neo-Venezia. I guess “learning about Neo-Venezia and the people within” sums up the plot =)

  2. Kal says:

    Hum… I guess I’ll watch Aria. Sounds interesting.

    *added to the ‘to watch’ list*

    • Yumeka says:

      I should warn that only those who like 100% relaxing shows that can be funny and sentimental without being too much of either, would enjoy Aria. It’s not a series for everyone and I know even fans of other slice-of-life anime may find it boring. But if this post made it sound like something you’d like, then do give it a try =)

  3. H says:

    Yeah, i’ve read the first volume of Aria and i would definatly have to agree with you 110%. But i didn’t know that they had an anime version so, i guess i could watch it.
    bye.
    –End–

  4. Tsuki says:

    A little off topic here, but I find it kind of funny how I just started to resume watching Aria the Natural (season two) today before stumbling upon this post.

    Anyways, there is an argument out there that “slice of life” as a term itself is inaccurate. Aria is often referred to as a “kuuki-kei” anime, which translates to something along the lines of “atmosphere” or “ambience”. Kuuki-kei certainly would fit in the case of Aria. I know quite a few people that get annoyed when Aria is referred to as a slice of life anime, though maybe that’s just a matter of preference.

    • gdmcrjunkie says:

      I on the other hand have seen people call it iyashikei, healing anime. This is the first time I’ve heard of the term kuuki-kei, it definitely suits Aria as well.

    • Yumeka says:

      Kuuki-kei sounds like a better definition for Aria. Probably more as a sub-genre since there are relatively few anime like that. Mushishi would be the only other kuuki-kei anime I can think of off the top of my head.

  5. ~xxx says:

    I haven’t finished aria when it was shown on our local channel because I was having my Law and other subjects…

    But, If I could obtain a copy then it’s all fine for me.

  6. f0calizer says:

    What’s also beautiful about ARIA is the sense that there’s a parallel or shadow world alongside the human world of Neo-Venezia belonging to solely to the cats and ruled by Cait Sith. You probably didn’t get to see much of it in the first season, but in the second season there are some episodes where Akari “crosses over” into the cat world thanks to Aria Shachou. We never find out a lot about this cat world, but that’s part of the whole mysteriousness and loveliness of Neo-Venezia. If they explained everything completely, it would lose so much of its beauty — and perhaps humans aren’t supposed to find out what the cats are up to!

    • Yumeka says:

      There are a couple of instances in season 1 where Aria-shachou brings Akari to that parallel world (one was back into the past before Neo-Venezia had its canals). I was a bit confused about that but you’ve helped clear it up! I was wondering who that somewhat sinister looking cat was in the Aria pictures I was browsing through while writing this post XD Must be this Cait Sith.

  7. Wraith says:

    If you want another example of very pure slice-of-life, check out Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou. The manga story is the main one there, but there are several animated episodes that are very faithful to the manga.

  8. MkMiku says:

    Aria is amazing. It’s the most calming anime I’ve ever seen. I wish real life was the same.

  9. Marina says:

    The ARIA trilogy anime is actually my favorite series to date, and has been for quite a while now. I agree that Mushishi is one of the few that I could even compare with its relaxing atmosphere. There are some others that fit the description as well at their beginnings, but gain further plot as they near the end (Kobato., Sora no Woto, Natsume Yuujinchou).

    I wasn’t fully charmed by ARIA after watching the first season; it was the second season–Aria the Natural–which caught my interest and invested me in the series as a whole. While the first season is primarily about introductions to the characters and the beautiful world of Aqua, the second season centers more on the supernatural wonders of Neo Venezia. Akari goes on plenty of adventures with Aria-shachou and encounters instances of time travel and various members of the mysterious cat world that lives within and parallel to Neo Venezia. The second season is also twice the lengh of the first and third seasons, spending ample time on intimately acquainting both Akari and the viewer with the city (I think a quote from the 2nd season is “Aqua is opening its heart to you” or something like that). Like someone already stated, the third season focuses back in on the duties of the undine and what it takes to become a prima, wrapping up their stories as apprentices and introducing them to an adult world of responsibilities. I actually cried in the third season.

    Thanks for writing a review of Aria, and I hope to see you reactions to the following seasons!

  10. kunakida says:

    Actually, Aria (in terms of the whole series) also falls into the “coming-of-age” genre.

    Aria primarily focuses on what happens as Akari finds her place in the world.
    The other characters are interesting side stories, but the story is mostly about what happens from the point Akari arrives in New Venezia until the point she achieves her goal of becoming a prima Undine.

    One of the earlier examples of this was Kiki’s Delivery Service.
    Other than the fact that Kiki is a witch (she can fly a broom), the rest is pretty much normal day-to-day slice-of-life stuff. Kiki’s Delivery Service is about Kiki finding her place in the world, from when she leaves home until she becomes accepted as her new town’s witch.

    The main difference is that Kiki’s Delivery Service has to fit in a single movie, while Aria gets multiple seasons to fill.

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