Aria: The Masterpiece, Volume 5 (5)

This is a fascinating manga series that combines sci-fi, fantasy, and slice of life. The series takes place in the future, when Mars has been terraformed and renamed Aqua (because of all the water on its surface). The human colonies on Aqua are designed to resemble cities on Earth (called Manhome here). The people of Aqua prefer a much slower pace of life than people on Manhome, and aspects of life on Aqua more closely resemble Earth's past. A young girl, Akari, comes to Aqua to learn to become a gondolier in the city of Neo-Venezia (which resembles Venice). Female gondoliers, called Undines, give tours of the city, giving Akari plenty of time to admire the beauty of her new home and meet interesting people. There is a short prequel series to Aria called Aqua. Aqua covers Akari's arrival on the planet and introduction to life on Aqua. The series has received some criticism for being slow and lacking danger and adventure, but that is not really the point of the series. The main purpose is to show people how to appreciate the small pleasures of life. The sci-fi and fantasy elements (the spaceships, advanced environmental controls, intelligent Martian cats, and even the occasional appearances of the legendary Cait Sith) are mainly background to the stories about the magic of friendship and simple pleasures. Each volume contains a few short stories about Akari and her friends and the little adventures they have on a daily basis and the life lessons they learn. It's a great series for relaxing when you're stressed out.The stories included in this volume are:Mailman-San -- Akari helps her mailman friend deliver the mail when his own gondola has a hole in it.Canzone -- Alice's mentor, Athena, is also one of the three greatest undines (like Akari's and Aika's mentors). However, Alice has little patience for her because she is clumsy outside of a gondola. Alice hates clumsiness and weakness, even punishing her own left hand for not being as strong as her right. Akari points out to her that her left hand helps her more than she realizes, causing her to see her mentor in a different light.The Night of the Meteor Shower -- Akari and her friends spend a night on the roof, watching a meteor shower, giving Aika the chance to realize how much she really likes Al.Margherita -- Aika's mentor, Akira, is tough, but she genuinely cares about her students. After a day of training in which many things go wrong, she finds a way to show the trainees how much she appreciates their hard work.Shadow Chasing -- Akari never minds waiting for people because there are always interesting things and people to watch.

The third great prima is introduced in this volume, and not surprising it is the mentor of Alice. What is surprising is that she doesn't have the same personality as Alice... it's a welcome contrast to what is going on between Akari-Alicia and Aika-Akira. Also in the same story we are reminded that the beautiful, skilled, dignified, and reserved Alice is still the youngest person in the set of main characters... she still has some some growing up to do and is prone to silly beliefs and lack of self-confidence.The other memorable story is the start of a male/female romance between two of the characters. This kind of thing is very low-key in this series, so don't get your hopes up if you're looking for more of that. Alternatively, don't be scared away from the series if you hate that sort of thing. : )

This series is so relaxing! and has a strange calming effect.It's a very cute story and I would recommend to anyone!

'Aria The Masterpiece 5' with story and art by Kozue Amano is a welcome return to the gondoliers on the planet Aqua.I've been lucky enough to read three of these volumes for review, and they are always a lovely breath of fresh air. The conflicts are manageable, the characters are mostly nice to each other, and everything just seems so nice in this world. This time around, there is a Spring festival with grilled meat. One of the gondoliers has a hair crisis and gets help. Another gondolier says a heartfelt goodbye to treasured boat. Another has amnesia and learns how others feel about her.If you had told me about this series, I would probably have never read it, but I adore these stories, which always make me smile, and I seem to read most when I need them. The art is lovely as is this wonderful world. I hope to return there again soon.I received a review copy of this manga from Tokyopop, Diamond Book Distributors, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this manga.