Aria (アリア,
Aria?) is a science fiction manga by Kozue Amano (天野 こずえ,
Amano Kozue?). The series was originally titled
Aqua (アクア,
Aqua?) when it was published by Enix in the magazine
Monthly Stencil, being retitled when it moved to Mag Garden's magazine
Comic Blade.
Aqua was serialized in
Stencil from 2001 to 2002 and collected in two tankōbon volumes.
Aria was serialized in
Comic Blade from November 2002 to April 2008 and collected in twelve volumes. The series has been adapted as an anime television series, with a first season broadcast in 2005, a second season in 2006, an OVA released September 2007, and a third season in 2008 that ended around the same time as the manga serialization.
ADV Manga released English translations of the first three volumes of
Aria in 2004, before dropping the license. Tokyopop then acquired the rights to publish the English translation of
Aqua as well as
Aria. The Tokyopop editions of
Aqua were released in October 2007 and February 2008, and the Tokyopop version of
Aria volume one was released in January 2008, with publication on-going. The anime is licensed in North America by The Right Stuf International, which released the first season,
Aria the Animation, as a box set under its Nozomi Entertainment imprint on September 30, 2008.
The series is set in 24th century on a terraformed Mars, and follows a young woman named Akari as she trains as an apprentice gondolier. The series has been praised for its calm pacing, optimistic worldview, and beautiful art.
Source:
Wikipedia