Aria the Natural is at least twice the length of both the prequel and sequel that followed it. Production wise its about the same but what makes it an improvement in comparison to the original is a stronger sense of focus. As I stated in the previous review Animation was the foundation as it introduced the characters and setting while Natural builds upon those ideas and creates a stronger narrative. While its also mostly episodic it does have compelling character arcs and explores the supernatural elements of the series. The wonderful city of miracles NeoVenenzia gets explored more as opposed to the original work and there are some very strong character arcs to accompany those adventures mainly focusing on Akari and Aika as far as character arcs are concerned. Now I would recommend reading the Animation review first as I talked about the characters for the most part in the review. This one is more focused on the episodes and the character arcs that emerge from them. Now with that said lets begin Aria the Natural https://www..com/watch?v=oLOB7yuoF0g The world of Aqua is given a greater focus in this season and it becomes clear that theres more to the city of NeoVenenzia than meets the eye. The first episode makes this clear as the Carnevale festival begins and Ai makes a return to the city to visit during this time. Before it happens President Aria disappears and Akari explains that he leaves every time this festival occurs. Everyone aside from the main characters wears masks for the festivals not the kind we have to wear lmao and the Cat King is mentioned and houses secret meetings for cats. When Akari and Ai both follow a small creature with a robe and a mask and they meet the Cat King or Cassanova as a result. A massive black cat that can stand on his two legs. He gives them both flowers and the Cat King or Cait Sith and his followers disappear. This is what shows us and Akari and Ai that there are wondrous secrets in NeoVenenzia. Honestly I believed that Cait Sith would be a one off appearance but he makes a lot of appearances in the show than you would expect. Hes a crucial character to the show and helps Akari grow to love the city even more than before. This season is far more focused on building the world of Aqua than the other two seasons. Before we get into that I must talk about two characters. First theres a new character named Albery Pitt who was actually introduced in the last episode of Animation but hes more present here. Hes usually just called AL and hes a childhood friend for Akatsuki. Hes an apprentice gnome and he works to help maintain Aquas gravity levels. Aika is also shown to have a major crush on him although this is mostly a background element until one particular episode towards the end of the season. There are a few episodes focusing on this crush. Another thing worth noting about him is that he likes to make old man jokes much to Aikas annoyance and the others confusion. He appears to be much younger than everyone else but hes actually 19 so about as old as Alicia and Akatsuki. This is due to his growth being slowed by the gravitational forces underneath Aqua but hes still capable of growing despite his age. Hes intelligent and knowledgeable about space. The second character Ill mention is the guy I shouldve talked more about last time President Aria. Hes Akaris goofy cat companion who is often present in many of Akaris misadventures around the city. Whats interesting about Aria and other Aqua cats like President Hime from the HImeya company and President Maa of Orange Planet is that they seem to understand what humans are saying to them and Aria is a very intelligent cat in particular. He not only can fully comprehend what everyone else is saying but he also can stand on two legs and move his other two like arms. He makes strange noises to respond to his friends. Another thing worth noting is that he seems to be very old for a cat. Grandma was the one who founded the Aria company and named it after him and he looked just like he did in the show but thats a detail Ill get to in Origination. And he was around back when Alicia was Grandmas apprentice until the present. It looks like he hasnt aged a day. Hes like Will Smith. Aside from that he also gets some interactions with the other cats like President Hime who he tries to flirt with but she doesnt seem to care and President Maa only seems interested in biting his chubby belly as a running gag. Finally as a cat he seems to be a part of this cat group alongside Cait Sith and other cats. Back to the more supernatural bits whats interesting is like the scifi elements its never really explained because thats not the point of the show its the sense of wonder that they bring Akari and the viewers. Unlike the scifi elements however we do get glimpses of this fantastical world. The frequent appearances of Cait Sith and his group of cats are the main supernatural element. The main thing about the supernatural elements is that Akari is the one who experiences them and she usually experiences them alone. Such as the headless ghost lady and the fox. While episodes like those have ominous connotations to them they end with a nice resolution and some reflection of the episode. The cat group shows up in different locations and Akari sees them in at different points in the story. There was this one episode where Aika and Akari try to follow Aria to find out where hes going but after getting lost in a Legend of Zelda lost woods kind of scenario Not literally in a forest mind you Aria leads them out of the abandoned building area and Akari catches a glimpse of the group of cats before they leave. There are other times where they show up and that reaches a head in episode 19 where they leave and never show up in NeoVenenzia. Cait Sith only reveals himself to people like Akari who has this constant sense of wonder and admiration for the city and their encounters only reinforce that core idea. The supernatural elements are more of a background element however. The main thing about Natural is the stronger sense of community that the city presents. We are shown far more locations and we meet all kinds of different people throughout the season. We see all the different activities and festivals that these people participate in like the Carnevale festival or the Night Shine Chime festival where they make sounds and emit light in the darkness. People take boats to the water and gather around to show off the lights before they burn and fall into the ocean. They say Tante Grazie or Many Thanks after it falls into the endless abyss that is the ocean. Akaris light falls into the ocean but leaves behind a night shine crystal symbolizing Akaris sentimentality and attachment to the city and friends. At the center of all of these events is Akari who allows the audience to see the setting unfold alongside her. Shes still an Undine in training so she believes that she has a lot to learn but it feels like all of these supernatural or otherwise normal events are often happening around her. It might be because of her kind and caring demeanor or it might be because of her sense of wonder like I pointed out before but regardless shes a charming lense to the audience. Take episode 10 for example. Aika and Alice are following Akari around because she draws people in due to her friendly and sociable nature. There was this one guy she meets that Aika and Alice both find suspicious so they decide to follow them. It was later revealed that he is a street performer and he has Akari help him in his show to entertain kids. Or take episode 4 for example where she travels with the mailman around the city because his gondola was broken and Akari would share one with him to travel around. They meet up with a boy named Sora whos also voiced by Mokoto Kumai who also voiced Syaoran from Cardcaptor Sakura. Seriously they sound the same lmao who wrote a letter to apologize to his teacher for saying that he was glad that she was gone. She was leaving because she was getting married and they took him there to give the letter to her directly. Akari using her backward paddling skills It makes her go faster was able to get there on time. There are also the two gondola episodes where she must get a new one because of how old her gondola is and Alicia and Akari reminisce about all of the good memories they had with it. Things like this show that Akari is willing to help others without anything in return and its a joy seeing her interact with other characters or learning more about NeoVenenzia. Alices arc isnt as focused on as Akaris or Aikas but it does show her slowly try to get out of her bubble that she puts herself in. The episode where she invites Akari and AIka to Orange Planet would be the first example. Shes invited by the other pairs to a party but she looks like shes going to decline via the letter they gave her. This is because she believes they dont like her and that shes afraid they wouldnt have anything to talk about together. Athena starts combing her hair after their hot bath and she says that people are like mirrors. If you smile they smile. If youre nervous theyre nervous. President Maa climbing her bed to bite President Arias stomach also ironically inspired her to become more socially active and also more expressive. Another example is when Alice is trying to give herself bizarre rules like when she wants it to make it all the way to Orange Planet from her school by jumping on shadows. What sounds like a really weird and childish episode ends on a really sweet note to teach Alice to realize that its ok to lean on others and ask for help. This arc culminates into a grand finale in Origination but more on that in that review. Finally theres Aika. Her arc is more pronounced than the other two as after an accident she goes through a bit of an identity crisis and she wanted to be just like Alicia and while Akari and Alice try to cheer her up but it doesnt really work. Akira shows up and tries to cheer up Akira in her way. After what she said Aika goes through a transformation regaining her sense of pride and competitive spirit. She still has more episodes focused on her like when she gets sick and worries that Alice and Akari dont need her or when Aika goes for a different style but is worried about how AL will react. Stuff like that helps flesh her character out and makes her more relatable to the viewer. Shes a really solid character that you do want to see succeed because shes trying her best to and helps Akari and Alice as well. Like Alice Aikas arc gets resolved later on in Origination. To wrap up all of the characters meet up for a party on a large boat and the three main leads organize it themselves. Ai goes silent in the emails for a while due to personal reasons so Akari is worried that she wouldnt make it for Redentore. A festival based on a festival in Venice where they would go on boats and party till the sun came up to celebrate the beginning of Fall. Akira and the other Water Fairies make the girls organize it as a test. They have to have food and entertainment. As the party is set up and is about to leave they decide to start leaving but Ai just barely makes it on time. So they meet up and they all go on this boat. The last episode focuses on just Akari and Alicia where they make this giant snowball and other townspeople help them push it around. Akari asks Alicia why she chose her for her student. Alicia doesnt give her a direct answer but she does tell her that the same thing happened to her when she was a kid in regards to the snowball when she was younger I wont go into the exact ending after that but it is a fitting end to a heartfelt sequel that improves upon Animation. But before we close off lets talk about the OVA about Alicia. Arietta https://www..com/watch?v=SXckAhULkEk One thing that becomes obvious right away is the sheer spike in quality as far as animation is concerned. Hal Film Maker received a lot more money for the series after Natural so they had the resources to improve on the animation. For one the 4:3 aspect ratio that was used for Animation and Natural is gone going for a fullscreen that would be present for the rest of the show. The other thing is that the character designs are more lively and are crisper as opposed to the previous seasons while still maintaining the charm of the designs. Backgrounds look even more stunning than before and so many screenshots can be taken. Origination would stick to this look and Avvenire would make it even better. Then theres the story which starts off with Akari dreaming about being a Prima Undine and Alicia not being there. It even has Ai over there in the dream as a bit of foreshadowing. As Akari tells Alicia this she tells her that she felt sad when Grandma left and tells Akari about a backstory regarding Campanile. I wont go into more detail to avoid spoilers but its a nice transition to Origination. It foreshadows the end of Origination quite well. All and all Natural is a vast improvement to Animation. It does a much better job of exploring the characters and setting while also setting up Origination as well. Its just a pleasant ride through and through and Origination is an even better experience but well save that for the next one.