Aria (アリア, Aria?) is an ongoing science fiction manga by Kozue Amano. It is a sequel to the two-volume series Aqua. Aria has been serialized in Mag Garden's monthly magazine Comic Blade since November 2002, and collected in eleven tankōbon volumes to date. It has been adapted as an anime television series, with a first season broadcast in 2005 and a second season in 2006, plus an OVA released September 2007.
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English translations of the first three volumes of Aria were released by ADV Manga in 2003 and 2004, before going on hiatus. In 2006, Tokyopop announced it acquired the rights to publish the English translation of Aqua, the prequel to Aria.
Aqua and Aria take place in the twenty-fourth century, on the planet Aqua (formerly Mars), which has been terraformed into a habitable planet covered in oceans. The city of Neo-Venezia, the setting for the series, is based on a historical version Venice in both architecture and atmosphere.
The series is the story of Akari, an apprentice gondolier with Aria Company, one of the three most popular gondola companies in the city. She is training to become a full-time gondolier, or undine, as they are called in Neo-Venezia (see Terms below). Aqua covers her arrival on Aqua and early training as a pair, while Aria continues her training as a single.
The style of Aria is very laid-back, taking a slice-of-life approach as Akari explores the worlds of gondoliering, Neo-Venezia, and Aqua itself. Amano frequently takes several pages of lush art depicting an environment, showing the wonder of both everyday activities as well as one-of-a-kind events. It is very similar in tone to Yokohama Kaidashi Kikō.
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Undine Companies
ARIA
Himeya
Orange Planet
MAGA
Fantastic House (Kisoukan/Kisou-yakata?)
and
Empress
Need to confirm the Company Colors