As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, I typically let new anime episodes pile up over time, only to plow through them all at once when the opportunity arises. Or, I try, at least. In reality, if the pile is big enough, there’s no getting through it all in one sitting. When marathoning a single show, I often get so wrapped up in the story that taking a break is the least of my worries. But, when watching single episodes from an assortment of shows, it’s easy to get distracted.

So, rather than save the best for last, I prefer to get to it first - which raises the question, “What show is currently batting lead-off?” Haruhi? Nana? Ouran? School Rumble?

Aria?

Absolutely. It’s the show everyone seems to like, but no one likes to talk about - myself included. Why? I don’t have the answer, really. And as for why I love the show so much… well, I don’t have the answer for that, either. But I know it’s something special, and the fact that I always seem to watch it first isn’t particularly surprising now that I’ve realized it.

Aria is a fascinating show, however, in that it doesn’t appear to aspire to greatness. The animation is noticeably low budget for this day and age, for example. But does it matter? Not to me. Sure, I look at Amano Kozue’s amazing artwork for the original manga, and think, “Hot damn, I’d like to see that animated!”. But, then, I look at HAL Film Maker’s approach to the TV series and think, “You know, this looks pretty nice, too.”

In fact, I sometimes wonder if the simple, low-key animation of the TV series is more fitting, given the equally simple and low-key nature of the Aria universe and the stories it has to share. Had Aria gotten, say, the KyoAni treatment, would it still be Aria? And, had the studio gone all out from the very beginning and blown its budget animating every last strand of Akari’s hair floating in the Neo-Venezian breeze, would we be able to enjoy a second season of the show today? Conservative budgets aren’t always a bad thing, you know.

Consider You’re Under Arrest - and, by the way, those of you playing the “When will Jeff mention You’re Under Arrest?” drinking game can throw the whole bottle down now. The first four You’re Under Arrest OAV episodes are really something animation-wise. That’s something most people who have seen the show can agree on, I think. But the TV series? Um…

Granted, it’s not all that bad, especially for a show of late ’90s vintage, but compared to those few amazing OAV episodes, it’s quite a change. The animation remains consistent, however. Or, to be more specific, it improves somewhat as the show progresses. The important thing, however, is that it never gets worse. And, 47 episodes later, that initial shift in animation quality is a distant memory.

Now, what if you were presented with the following choice: 13 episodes of You’re Under Arrest animated at OAV quality, or 47 episodes of You’re Under Arrest at TV quality… with a 26 episode second season chaser. What would you choose?

What of Aria? 13 episodes of “ZOMG! THE HAIR!” or 39 episodes of “Hey, this looks kind of nice, too,”… with the distinct possibility of more to come?

Like I said before, “They could produce five seasons of ARIA, and I’d watch to the very end.”

So, I think you know where I stand.