About ARIA * The Manga * The Anime * The PS2 Game * Characters * Aqua * People   About ARIA　アリアについて   ARIA is the sequel series to AQUA - a story about Earth-born Akari Mizunashi, a young girl who now lives on the planet Aqua. Aqua was once known as Mars, and was terraformed 150 years before the story begins - covering 90% of the planet's surface with water. It thus gained the nickname "the water planet".   Aqua is home to the unique profession of the undine - a gondolier who gives tours round the beautiful and often confusing waterways of the planet. Akari dreams about becoming an undine. When ARIA begins, she has been a trainee with ARIA Company for 11 months, in the city of Neo-Venezia (which is a futuristic recreation of the city of Venice).     The story follows Akari and her fellow undine friends Alicia and Aika in their adventures on the water-covered planet. Alicia runs Aria Company and is therefore Akari's sensei. Aika is a trainee and the heir to the prestigious Hime-ya.   Later on in the story we meet Aika's sensei, Akira, a qualified undine also from Hime-ya. Other characters to be introduced are another trainee called Alice and her sensei Athena, both from the company Orange Planet.   Each gondolier company on Aqua has a blue-eyed cat as its mascot, and these are referred to with the title "president" or "shachou". Aria Company's mascot, Aria-shachou, is a large white male cat who loves fighting with hairbrushes. Hime-ya's mascot Hime-shachou is a much more demure female cat, tiny and navy-coloured, with a penchant for orange boxes.   About the Manga Series　漫画について   At the moment only books 1, 2 and 3 are available to buy in the English-speaking world, but as far as my knowledge goes, there are 10+ books in the series. The manga is expertly drawn by Kozue Amano, also manga-ka for AQUA, who combines undoubted artistic ability and an obvious love for her characters and locations to result in manga which is irresistibly cute and highly readable. The quality and detail of her work speaks for itself, and ARIA really stands out as one of the most impressive new manga series of recent release.   The manga itself is also currently being serialized in the magazine Comic Blade, and two artbooks have also been released including artwork from ARIA and AQUA.     About the Anime Series　アニメについて   ARIA the ANIMATION first aired on Japanese TV on 5th October 2005. A collaboration between Kozue Amano, creator of ARIA and MAG Garden, and loosely follows the same story as the manga. A second series, ARIA the NATURAL, soon followed, finishing in late 2006. An OVA (Original Video Animation) entitled ARIA the OVA ~ARIETTA~ is planned for release in Autumn 2007.   In Japan there are now several DVDs available on the market, but nothing in America or the UK as of yet. However both series are available from fansub groups, and these appear a pleasant mix of story material from both ARIA and AQUA, with the spirit of the manga still firmly intact and several new characters.   The anime series has been so successful that a range of related merchandise has become available, from gashapon figures and bags to full costumes. ARIA also even has its own radio station.