neko’s thinkbox

7 PM, spotted raw on Share, 7:40 PM, download finished, 8:05 PM, I bawwed.
11:10 PM, I finally managed to finish typing this text, and I finally get my first meal of the day.
Midnight 1:45 AM, I sort out the screenshots, and… it’s finally posted. That episode I have anxiously been waiting for a whole week.

Didn’t care to proofread though, so there could be a lot of crap ahead. Considering that it’s ARIA, I am blaspheming it. T_T

Episode summary:

Even Akira is speechless….

The first part of the episode starts with Akira sitting in the lobby of the Himeya headquarters… thinking about a good nickname for Aika, for when she becomes a Prima. The news of Alice’s fulgurant promotion to Prima Undine has spread pretty fast, and the Himeya Singles are all over it. They also wonder why Aika isn’t promoted yet…
Akira is pretty melancholic in front of that event, because, Aika seems ready to become a Prima too. Her guiding and rowing have improved so much that even the strict Akira is unable to criticize her. Aika, unusually enthusiastic, is waiting for Akira to say something, but Akira only manages to invite her to eat a gelato in town… even though Aika is the only one to eat one.

Aika tells Akira about Alice’s promotion, and she’s obviously implying that she wants to be promoted soon as well. Akira thinks that Aika is depressed over that and tries to comfort her, but far from that - Aika is fired up more than ever. Especially for that one date she has with Al on national holiday, which… she has to cancel though, because Akira wants to be with Aika on that day. Eventually, she gives Aika the paper with the different name suggestions for her, telling her to choose one. That’s all for the first part :|

I thought what I’d do was, I’d pretend I was one of those deaf-mutes.

The second part, we meet another person’s melancholy: Alice’s. Ever since that moon-gazing party, she gained much more self-confidence and became much more comfortable with her job. However, she gets so many customers that she often returns home by the late evening hours, not being able to meet her seniors as she used to in the past.

At the end of yet another extensive working day, Alice gets a candy from the son of a satisfied couple, and returns home in the pouring rain. The feeling of loneliness increases in Alice because she still has not found a good reason to see Akari nor Aika, but… as she enters her own room, who’s there? Akari and Aika, gobbling bananas. They brought a Pizza, which the three of them eventually will eat up. Alice learns that she doesn’t need a reason to meet any of her seniors, and so ends today’s moral lesson.

Neko’s Thinkbox

Epic drawing. The mood is close to triggering manly tears.

Don’t be mistaken. The apparent lack of events doesn’t make this episode a bad episode, absolutely not – it was a really wonderful moment. Yet, once again, premonitory of the inevitable… okay, I will shut up about it already.

Anyway, I was surprised with this episode. Honestly speaking, I had somehwat expected Aika’s promotion today. As far as I had thought this through, Ep 9, Alice becomes a Prima, Ep 10, “filler”, Ep 11, Aika becomes a Prima, Ep 12, “filler”, Ep 13, the Grand Finale, Akari. Well it was not so.
In this episode, Aika’s promotion is strongly hinted already within the first seconds of the episode, yet it just remains a hint. Aika wants to become a Prima, but in her own pace – fine. So the most likely course would be to let Aika and Akari promote at once in the last episode, I suppose. It would be pretty stupid to prioritize Aika in ep 12, no?

The nick they settled on in the end. So, Aika will be “Rosen Queen”, huh? Damn. I found “Kinshi Hime” (Forbidding Princess) or “Nakimushi Serenade” (Crybaby Serenade) more fitting to my Aika… This episode really made me like Aika even more, once again. She really is a crybaby ‹3 I absolutely loved the piano part just as Aika started crying. Really, beautiful scene. The perfect interaction between the animation and the music always catches me unguarded, especially when it’s so emotion-laden… And I very often find myself sobbing to that kind of mood…
Speaking of which, if they dare to use Undine (the hikigatari version!!) as the opening in the last episode, I swear I will already be going to cry manly tears even before the opening ends.

Sabishii.

Akira was a bit too soft though. I have to admit I liked her strict side a lot as well as her dere side, but ever since Origination, she was a bit too dere… Note how she runs up to Aika, saying “it’s okay now”. I almost thought she would say “I’m going to take off that glove of yours, so don’t be depressed”, or so. Really, it did feel as if she was giving in to Aika’s apparent despair. She even went as far as to give Aika her notes with name suggestions… But, she cancelled Aika’s date with Al, which I (personally) found great XD

However, there is a problem with the last two promotions. For Akari’s and Aika’s first promotion to Single, they didn’t know it at all. Alice got the surprise of her life as well when she was promoted on the Hill of Hope (like the two others). But now, since it’s only Akari and Aika… there is no way Alicia nor Akira will be able to keep that secret anymore, no? Because anything they will do together their juniors will most likely be the promotion. Akira asked if Aika was free on that holiday, and then gives her the list with the nicknames, well, it has to be the promotion! Aika can’t be as naïve as to just be as ignorant as for her first promotion, and then be surprised as Akira takes off her second glove? Same goes to Akari, what is Alicia going to do?

Ah, Alice doesn’t have that kind of problems… but she still does have some trouble nevertheless. She might be more comfortable with her customers now, and experience many blissful moments (like eating butter potatoes with her customers, or the boy giving her candy), but I still do feel that the second part still reflects Alice’s unpreparedness for her new responsibility. Right at the beginning, she almost missed out on an appointment. When she sees Akari and Aika, she is reminiscent of the days she spent practicing with them. In the evening, after a long working day, she feels lonely and wants to be with her friends. I guess she never actually thought about that before she became a Prima (it was too sudden for her, after all). But, she did realize at the end that even if they will all be Primas, and carrying on their jobs, they will always be together.

One for all, all for one!

Heck. Is it just me or did the art get brushed up in this episode? They all look much cuter now! Even the overall artwork of the backgrounds seems much better now (except the rendered hallways at the beginning of the b-part, but I’m nitpicking…) Are they are putting their best for the last few episodes? All the more quality to savor…

The preview… “I have been waiting forever for this day to come, I have always been looking up to you, and from now on too”. Next Episode? =/ No clue. I DON’T READ THE MANGA ANYWAY HAHAHA

Ara ara, what could it be…?

Hohe, we’ll see the next week!

Okay. I’ll read the manga entirely once the series is done. Ordered the whole manga collection, should be here in a few weeks.