The BEST episodes of Aria
Every episode of Aria ever, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Aria!
On the planet Aqua lies the watery city of Neo Venezia, a tourist hub in which people travel around in gondolas. Professional gondoliers known as Undines are well-revered as they act as tour guides for the people. Akari Mizunashi is a gondolier in training and also an employee of Aria Company. She gets to meet all sorts of people as she takes them on the gondola rides, from friendly mentors to special individuals, all this admidst the beautiful scenic backdrop of the entire city.
#1 - Those Really Self-Imposed Rules...
Season 2 - Episode 13 - Aired 6/25/2006
Alice has created a new challenge for herself: when she walks home from school, she can only step on shadows. This is an ironclad law for her - but try as she might, she keeps failing. Even worse, Athena interferes by trying to help out. Alice's self-imposed challenge is something that she must conquer alone, or so she thinks; but maybe there's more to success than just doing everything by yourself.
#2 - That Night of the Galaxy Express...
Season 2 - Episode 21 - Aired 8/20/2006
In the still of the night, Akari is woken up by the distant sound of a train. But Neo-Venezia's trains don't run at that hour, so what was it she heard? And to make matters even more mysterious, the next day, President Aria gifts her with a train ticket. It would seem Akari is about to have another brush with the secretive spirit, Cait Sith...
#3 - Those Undines of Tomorrow...
Season 2 - Episode 24 - Aired 9/10/2006
Heavy rain keeps the girls from their usual gondola practice, so instead they spend the day at Himeya. They start off studying at first, but when their minds drift off to what nicknames they'll take as Primas, Akira steps in and gives them some good old-fashioned paperwork to do. Even that can't get Aika down, however... because she's noticed lately that people whisper to each other when she walks past. Does that mean she's finally being recognized for her skills as an Undine?
#4 - That Keepsake Clover...
Season 3 - Episode 5 - Aired 2/5/2008
Athena and Alicia both have wonderful talents, but what about Akira? For that matter, what about Aika? Aika gets discouraged, thinking that maybe she doesn't have any natural talent, but Akira has an old story to tell that might lift Aika's spirits.
Watch Now:Apple TV
#5 - That Warm Holiday...
Season 1 - Episode 10 - Aired 12/8/2005
Winter has come - the mornings are crisp and cold, and it's hard to get out from under the covers to go practice sculling. So as a special treat, Alicia suggests that they visit a hot spring! Akari's never seen one before so she's excited to go, and all the others decide to join in as well.
#6 - The Day of Festa del Bocolo...
Season 2 - Episode 8 - Aired 5/21/2006
Another wonderful holiday has arrived: Festa Del Bocolo! This day is a celebration of an ages-old story on Manhome, about a knight whose love for his lady lived on after his death in the form of a rose. In Neo-Venezia, that means that women everywhere receive roses from the people who admire them. Akatsuki wants to give Alicia as many roses as he can, but he's too nervous to deliver them (even though he'd never admit it). Will Akari be able to help?
#7 - To the Kingdom of Cats...
Season 2 - Episode 7 - Aired 5/14/2006
While practicing one day, the girls see President Aria in his own little gondola. But he doesn't see them... instead, he disappears down a canal that's normally closed off. According to Alicia, there's an old legend on Manhome that tells of the Kingdom of Cats, a strange realm that people aren't allowed to enter. Could such a place really exist?
Watch Now:Apple TV#8 - That Heartwarming Town and Its People...
Season 2 - Episode 10 - Aired 6/4/2006
Even though Akari is originally from Manhome, she seems to know more people in Neo-Venezia than Aika and Alice do, and they've lived on Aqua all their lives. No matter where she is, Akari has the ability to befriend any stranger. To learn more about this mysterious power Akari has, Aika and Alice decide to follow her in secret... but they might have to blow their cover once Akari innocently starts talking to a dangerous-looking man in black!
Watch Now:Apple TV#9 - That Precious Sparkle...
Season 2 - Episode 11 - Aired 6/11/2006
Akari has been given her very first solo job: carrying a shipment of Neo-Venezian glassware. They're beautiful pieces that sparkle in the sun, but the glassmaker's apprentice has a disposition that's anything but bright. He's sour and angry, and he's the one who'll be traveling with Akari as she delivers the shipment. Will Akari be able to handle the pressure of fragile cargo and a critical taskmaster?
Watch Now:Apple TV
#10 - Those Who Aim for Tomorrow...
Season 3 - Episode 4 - Aired 1/29/2008
Akari wants to help out more around the Aria Company, but she's only a Single. So Alicia suggests she try her hand at working on a Traghetto! A Traghetto is a ferry-style gondola run exclusively by Singles. Will Akari be up to the challenge?
Watch Now:Apple TV#11 - That Shadowless Invitation...
Season 2 - Episode 20 - Aired 8/13/2006
The whole town is sizzling in a strong summer heat wave, and the girls are doing the best they can to beat the heat. But then, Akari spots a woman dressed all in black, with even her face covered with a thick black veil. Aika tells Akari a Manhome legend about the spirit of a woman dressed in black, who was angered that she couldn't be buried on San Michele Island. Supposedly the ghost spirits away any gondolier foolish enough to take her on board... but that's only an old story, right?
#12 - That New Me...
Season 2 - Episode 18 - Aired 7/30/2006
Aika is proud of her long, beautiful hair, and takes care of it as best she can... but things don't always go the way we want. One afternoon, while everyone is enjoying a cook-out on the beach, Aika leans in a little too close to the grill, and her hair catches on fire! No one is hurt, but her long beautiful locks are a lost cause. How will the hot-tempered Aika handle losing something that was so precious to her?
#13 - The Wonder of That Rainy Day... / The Discoveries on That Spring Day...
Season 2 - Episode 5 - Aired 4/30/2006
Akari and Alicia are visiting a shrine that looks just like the old Japanese shrines on Manhome. Though the grounds are beautiful, there's also a hint of mystery and danger in the air... Later, they are wandering on a different island, looking for a beautiful spot that Alicia once saw. But the farther they go, the less certain their path becomes. How do you reach your destination when you don't know the way there?
Watch Now:Apple TV
#14 - That White Morning...
Season 1 - Episode 13 - Aired 12/29/2005
It's time to ring in the new year, and everyone in Neo-Venezia has come together to celebrate! Even little Ai has come back from Manhome to take part in the winter festival. But as people gather and memories are shared, President Aria suddenly wanders off. Akari and Ai attempt to track him down, but what they find is a mysterious New Year's gift from Aqua itself.
#15 - Those Orange Days...
Season 1 - Episode 11 - Aired 12/15/2005
On one bleak winter day, when the clouds are thick and the snow is gently falling, the girls finish their sculling practice to find that Alicia, Aika and Athena are all together at the Aria Company, sitting around the fire. Over cups of hot cocoa, they discuss their younger days, and how it was that they all came to be friends.
#16 - That Starlike Fairy...
Season 1 - Episode 9 - Aired 12/1/2005
Fall has arrived in Neo-Venezia and the girls have switched into their winter uniforms. And yet, Aika feels so unmotivated... She wants to do more than just go through the motions of everyday practice. She wants to really sharpen her skills, and become as good as the legendary Great Water Fairy, the greatest Undine of all time! So the three of them are sent to go visit this legendary lady in her house out in the country... but she's nothing like what the girls expect.
Watch Now:Apple TV
#17 - That Soft Wish...
Season 1 - Episode 12 - Aired 12/22/2005
Aria Company has no bookings on a snowy day, so Akari and President Aria visit the oldest bridge in Neo-Venezia. When they reach the other side of the decrepit covered bridge, the snow is gone, and the women she meets on the other side has no idea what an undine is. Together they wait for the terraformers to send water under the bridge for the first time.
Watch Now:Apple TV
#18 - That Melancholy President... / That Cool Hero...
Season 1 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/24/2005
It's a double dose of President Aria! In "That Melancholy President...", it's cleaning time for the Aria Company, and President Aria wants to help out and lead by example for his company. Yet he can't seem to do anything right, and only gets in the way. He's so sad about it, that he's determined to run away... but where will he go? And in "That Cool Hero...", we get to see President Aria's cute crime-fighting alter-ego: Nyan-Nyan-Puu!
#19 - That Imminent Spring Breeze...
Season 3 - Episode 1 - Aired 1/8/2008
As winter melts into spring, Akari, Aika and Alice all continue to practice and set new goals for themselves. But Akari still feels like she isn't good enough to become a Prima. Will she or any of the girls ever be truly satisfied with their talents?
Watch Now:Apple TV
#20 - Those Feelings Within...
Season 3 - Episode 3 - Aired 1/22/2008
A new vendor has opened up shop in Piazza San Marco, selling heart-shaped chocolates in glass bottles. Akari buys a bottle, and later goes to buy another, but by then, the patissier has mysteriously disappeared. Where did he go, and will he ever return?
Watch Now:Apple TV
#21 - That Smiling Customer...
Season 3 - Episode 2 - Aired 1/15/2008
Someone has requested Akari for a gondola tour! An old woman with a kind smile says that she'd like to see a side of Neo-Venezia that only Akari can show her. Akari takes her to many unique spots, but the woman already seems familiar with them all...
#22 - That White, Kind City...
Season 2 - Episode 26 - Aired 9/24/2006
As snow softly covers Neo-Venezia, Akari and Alicia are out for a walk. Akari asks Alicia what she thought as a child - back then, what did she want to be like when she grew up? But in response, Alicia just begins to roll a ball of snow on the ground. As they walk around the city pushing the snowball, it grows bigger and bigger, to the point where people remark on it everywhere they go. Alicia only continues to smile, but it's certain that her answer is hidden there somewhere.
#23 - The Fruits of That Encounter...
Season 2 - Episode 25 - Aired 9/17/2006
Akari, Aika and Alice have been given their latest assignment: they must host a party on the Festa del Redentore! It's a festival that marks the start of autumn, and it's celebrated with feasts and fireworks. They rent a large boat, and start brushing up on their hostess skills, but Akari can't help but be a little distracted. She hasn't heard from Ai in a while, and all her emails have gone unanswered...
#24 - That Mysterious World... / That Guardian of Aqua...
Season 2 - Episode 22 - Aired 8/27/2006
When Akari innocently suggests that perhaps the little space between two stairs at the Aria Company is a portal to another world, President Aria, ever curious, squeezes through the gap, and pops out on the other side to find a terrifying sight! The second story is a flashback to when Akatsuki was little. He considered himself to be a superhero, but he wasn't quite as heroic as his imagination led him to believe...
Watch Now:Apple TV#25 - That Crybaby... / That Young Girl's Heart...
Season 2 - Episode 19 - Aired 8/6/2006
Aika is stuck in bed after catching a cold. She wonders about Akari and Alice... Are they slacking off without her? Surely they're lost without her guidance! So she sneaks out of bed one day to go take a peek... Later, Aika has a cute new set of hairpins, and she'd like to show them to Al. But she can't find the chance to visit him, and it's bothering her more than it should. Why does her heart ache when she thinks about it?