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Rating: 
Summary: Makes you long for the not-too-distant future
Review: (Out of 5)Story: 5
Cover:5
Artwork: 5
Characters: 4
Extras?: Full Color (beautiful) first page The story isn't totally brand-new (terra-forming Mars) but it's still very interesting. When Mars was terraformed, the polar ice caps were melted too much and this resulted in covering the surface of the planet with 99% water, that's why it's now called Aqua. The planet is also a little behind in technology, so the lifestyle is more laid-back and relaxed. That's where Akari comes in. She's an undine, and her job is to travel along the channels of Neo-Velenzia (much like modern day Venice) giving people tours of the grand city. She enjoys her job, and is a very happy girl. She loves to meet new people and man her gondola. This is one of the first manga that I have ever seen with the cover flipped. It makes the volume both eye-catching and intriguing. The artwork is clean, detailed, and utterly breathtaking. The characters only got a 4 out of 5 because we're really only introduced to the main character, Akari Mizunashi. Her friends and fellow undines are mentioned and shown, but very little background is given. (This is only the first volume though.) So far there's only 4 volumes planned for publishing by ADV Manga, but hopefully more volumes will be picked up of this wonderful new series.
Rating: 
Summary: LET'S LAZE ON MARS
Review: After 150 years of terraforming, the barren planet of Mars has been turned into a new water-covered planet named Aqua. Akari Mizunashi, parentless and alone, has come to the city of Neo Venezia (modeled on Venice) to become an undine (gondolier) on the labyrinthine water boulevards. She's made a couple of friends after 11 months, such as her mentor Alicia and fellow co-worker for the Aria corporation. She also has a strange overweight cat/dog named President Aria that serves as her good luck mascot on her travels as a sort of wholesome taxi driver.
You can't just become a full-fledged gondolier without meeting some prerequisites, which are not made very clear in this first volume. Akari loves her work, if you can call it that, since she loves to introduce tourists, or anyone for that matter, to the charms and beauty of her new home. Along the way she brings some light into people's lives, meets ancient spirits, and competes in a race. Aria has a gentle beauty to it. It's not an action manga. It's more like a haiku with words and pictures. Sometimes a couple of panels will take up the subject of the motion of the boat through the water as leaves twirl in the air around it. What we're really dealing with here is the daily life of a person who just happens to be an undine on Aqua. Whether you find joy in simplicity should be the gauge for this manga. The characters are a little sketchy yet and you wonder how long the story can survive on charm alone. There's a great gem of a story in this volume about Akari and a friend visiting a shrine and encountering a spirit that bodes well on the storytelling aspects that need to equal the visuals. I'm curious as to how volume 2 will turn out.
Rating:
Summary: The tides of life
Review: Aria belongs to what I like to call "slice of life manga" - that is, it does not posess complicated plot, but rather follows a character and shows all the little things that happen to him/her during their days. So it is with Aria, which follows its main character, Akari. In a future Mars which has been terraformed into a planet with an earth-like environment but too much water, and renamed Aqua, Akari lives in Neo-Venezia, a recreation of earth's Venice. She is an apprentice gandolier, called undine in the world of Neo-Venezia. The manga has a slow, dreamlike pace. It shows all the little, wonderfull things that happen during our lives. You know the statement "life is what happens while we are busy doing other things"? Akari washes her gondola and notices that the spray from her hose forms a rainbow. She guides a grumpy old man on her boat through the beautiful canals of Neo-Venezia in autumn, leaves drifting gently from the trees. She meets an aquaintence and they both wait for their mutual friends on a bridge, and feed the ducks below. She goes on a trip to another island that has a japanese shrine on it and witnesses an unusual wedding.
The art is beautiful, full of joy and good at conveying the quiet (or sometimes raucus) beauty of the surroundings. The production of the manga is very good - the paper is of good quality, there is a color insert, the sound effects are in original Japanese with a subtitle in English below them. The translation seems good, without any "Americanisms", and there is a page of translator's notes in the back.
Overall, I liked this manga quite a bit. If you are looking for action, a fast moiving plot, or lots of emotional angst in your manga, this is not for you. But if you are the type that likes to stop and smell the roses, you will like this as well :)
Rating: 
Summary: Like an Afternoon Stroll through Venice
Review: Aria has some of the most beautiful artwork of any manga I have ever read. Both the characters and the city are rendered with excellent detail. This is reason enough to buy the book.
Akari, the star of the series, is cute and innocent without being too ditzy. She's genuine and heart-felt, making it easy to like her. The other characters aren't entirely fleshed out, but it's only the first volume, and it does seem promising that we'll get to know them better later on.
Each of the book's chapters follow a day in Akari's life as a gondolier. While I realize that the book isn't meant to be an 'action' book, some of the stories drag on with very little action or unusual events happening. In one chapter, one of the most exciting things that happens is a bunch of birds flying by. Pretty? Yes. Exciting? Not really. Even with that said, some of the other chapters can be truly charming once things get rolling. The language and story of the book is appropriate for all ages. There's no foul language or nudity. Aria has a very warm, family-friendly message of enjoying life and trying your hardest in everything you do. And that's a message both kids and adults can appreciate.
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