Aria (anime) franchise discography | |
---|---|
Studio albums | 5 |
Compilation albums | 1 |
Singles | 9 |
Tribute albums | 1 |
Aqua and Aria is a utopian science fantasy manga series written and illustrated by Kozue Amano published between 2001 and 2008 by Enix then by Mag Garden.[1] Set in the early 24th century on a terraformed Mars, now called Aqua, it depicts the life of a young woman named Akari as a trainee gondolier tour guide, or undine. It was adapted by Hal Film Maker as a 54-episode anime television series broadcast between 2005 and 2008, comprising two seasons, an original video animation (OVA), and a third season, all directed by Jun'ichi Satō with music direction by Shigeharu Sasago and Takeshi Senoo.[2] The discography of the Aria television series consists of five studio albums, one compilation album, one tribute album, and nine maxi singles.
The core of the discography is the three original soundtrack albums, covering the three anime seasons, produced by Flying Dog/JVC Enterainment and released in 2005, 2006, and 2008, respectively. Most of the music on the soundtrack albums was composed, performed, and arranged by Takeshi Senoo and Choro Club,[citation needed] a Japanese choro band that previously created the music of the anime adaptation of Yokohama Kaidashi Kikō,[3] another futuristic slice of life story.[4] The other two studio albums containing piano versions of music from the soundtrack albums and theme sounds, released in 2006 and 2008, respectively. A vocal compilation album collecting the songs and lyric-less vocal themes from first two anime seasons was released in 2006.
Nine maxi singles were released, seven of them produced by Flying Dog/JVC Enterainment, covering the opening and endings themes of the three anime seasons and the OVA. The remaining two, produced by 5pb. Records, were the opening and ending theme songs of the two video game adaptations. One tribute album was released to mark the passing of Eri Kawai in 2008.
Like this manga's closest spiritual contemporary, Hitoshi Ashinano's Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou, it doesn't have story arcs so much as an endless string of idyllic moments. Rather than a plot, Aria contains a series of encounters with customers, townspeople and the city and surrounding countryside.