Aria the Avvenire OVA 1: Bittersweet Reunion

Earlier last year, the second-to-best announcement I could have hoped for was made: an OVA for my favorite anime series of all time would be produced. Then came even better news! We would receive three OVAs in the Avvenire story line. The only way they could have improved my already sunny mood would be to announce a full season.

But then, I forgot all about it. My excitement lasted all of a month, then vanished in the face of an already full plate. I was reminded once again of Avvenire with the release of the first OVA, “For You, Whom I Longed to Meet.”

On whom should my eyes delight, other than the first shown Aria-shachou, failed seagull impersonator! With his goofy entrance and my resulting smile, I was immediately transported back to Aqua and all its enrapturing qualities. True to the anime series, the opening theme trades stock animation for continual narration. I’ve always loved this preference, since I tend to skip other openings after listening to them only a couple of times.

Avvenire is set several years in the future after the events of Aria the Origination. If you are interested in this Utopian science fiction and have not seen all 54 episodes, I suggest you stop reading now!

I admit that the first note of “Bacarolle” almost brought tears to my eyes.

This first OVA treats us to two time periods in one, first with us in the present where Akari is the Prima undine of Aria Company with Ai as her trainee. The second goes back to when the three Water Fairies were in their prime. In both, friends once with plenty of free time to practice and have fun together now find their schedules packed with work and obligation. While they yearn to see one another like before, they also glow in the excitement of doing what they love best.

“Meeting someone when you want to see them, and hearing someone’s voice when you long to–the things we take for granted might just all be miracles in themselves.”

I can’t wait to see what the next couple of episodes have in store for us. Sometimes waiting so long before releasing any kind of continuation can ruin the enchantment cast by the original. Or there are instances where the new addition is so far removed from the familiar that it leaves devoted fans feeling cheated of the people and places they expected to meet once more. Luckily, the producers for the Aria franchise very much understand their audience–while we want to see how far Aria Company has come, we also must see how everyone we came to love in the first few seasons has fared over the years.

The theater release in Japan treated its viewers to all three episodes; the rest of us must wait a couple months between episode releases. Hang in there, everyone! The journey through Neo Venezia was always a slow one. I know I’ll be re-watching this episode several more times before the next.

Until next we meet!