Aria the Animation

During their first practice after Carnevale, Alice speculates that Akari and Aika will take the Prima exam soon, but Akari is uncertain as she doubts her own skills after watching Alicia. Alicia receives a package of jam from satisfied Carnevale customers and invites Akira, Athena, Aika, and Alice to tea to share it. In a flashback, Akari tells the others how Alicia impressed the customers (and Akari) by accurately predicting when snow would start falling. In flashbacks, Aika describes how Akira saved a dancing customer from falling out of the gondola, and Alice how Athena stopped a toddler's tantrum by making funny faces. The three trainees admit they have a long way to go as undines, and their mentors tell them they themselves have more to learn, saying that if you're ever satisfied with your performance, you will never improve—the best thing to do is cherish the fact that there's more to learn and have fun along the way. On the balcony afterward, the trainees recall that this last was Grandma Akino's advice, and from inside their mentors watch them and conclude that their students will be wonderful undines, like none seen before in Neo-Venezia. « read less

During a study session, Akari learns that the interior decor of Caffè Florian was transported entire from Venice, and mentions she's never been inside despite knowing the owner. They visit during a break, and spot a candy-seller's cart in the Piazza San Marco. When a boy trips and drops his candy, the seller gives him a replacement bottle, but Akari still feels sorry for the chocolates spilled on the ground. Inside the cafe, Akari is impressed by the art. Some time later, Akari sees the candy-seller looking at the renovations to the Ca' d'Oro, and is disappointed he hasn't been selling since that first day. One morning Akari meets him outside the Piazza cafe, where he begins selling again, and he thanks her for her chance remark about the spilled chocolate, which reminded him of how he once wanted to give his customers joy, and says that after wandering the city's sights he figured out better packaging for his sweets. He treats her to a latte, and Akari realizes that Caffè Florian's art contains their creators' feelings, just like his chocolates, and the latter bring just as much beauty to the Neo-Venezia. « read less

During practice, Aika sees Akari chat easily with many acquaintances and Alice row with her exceptional skill, then watches Athena's singing make passers-by stop to listen and Alicia gracefully catch a hat blown by the wind. Alice calls their mentors' talents the sorts one can only be born with, which disturbs Aika. While helping Akira clean her room, Aika finds a photo of Akira as a Single with Athena and Alicia as Primas, and demands to know how she could smile despite being promoted last. Akira says that of course it was hard having such talented friends, and tells a story, shown in a flashback: After Athena's promotion, while worrying about being left behind, Akira unsuccessfully searches a clover bed for a four-leaf clover with the help a child who turns out to be Aika. The child then says if there's nothing there, you have to make up for it your own way and adds a rose petal to a three-leaf clover to make four leaves, and Akira concludes she has to make up for her talent through hard work. In the present, Akira gives Aika the clover keepsake as a good-luck charm for becoming a Prima, and Aika returns to practice with renewed determination. « read less

On the anniversary of Aria Company's founding, Akari and Alicia visit one of its former Primas, Anna, on Neo-Burano Island. Alicia tells Akari how Anna fell in love with a fisherman named Alberto who was visiting the city. Anna admits she was lonely, the first few years on an island where she knew no one, but says eventually she met other women through lace-making. Grandma Akino arrives as a surprise visitor for dinner. After dinner, Grandma tells the story, shown in a flashback, of when she, then Himeya Company's undisputed top Prima for 14 years, first meets President Aria on a seawall staring out at the water. She tries talking to him several times, but doesn't find out what he is waiting for. On a rainy night, she finds him still sitting and shelters him with her umbrella through the night, and as the sun rises she realizes it had been the first time in a while she had spent time just sitting. After this, she founds Aria Company with him, in order to continue seeing the world through his eyes. In the present, Grandma and Alicia tell Akari they look forward to seeing "her" Aria Company starting soon. « read less

When Alice graduates from middle school, she's happy that she can now spend more time practicing with Aika and Akari. Athena invites Alice on a picnic on a canal through the countryside outside Neo-Venezia, and has Alice treat her as a customer. Athena praises Alice's skills as an undine, and Alice responds that she is training with an excellent mentor. As they pass through a lock, Alice is startled when an undine wishes her good luck. While waiting for the lock to fill, Alice tells Athena that she's confident in all of her undine skills except singing canzone, and Athena tells her conveying a love for singing is more important than any technical skill. When they reach the Hill of Hope, the destination of the Single promotion exam, Akari, Aika, the owners of Orange Planet, and a representative from the Gondola Association are waiting for them. After an exam on canzone, Athena takes off both of Alice's gloves, promoting her straight from Pair to Prima (the first undine ever to do so), and gives her the title Orange Princess. « read less

Two weeks after Alice's promotion to Prima, Akira hears some Himeya Singles gossip about how Aika, the heir to the company, is handling "losing" to a competitor. Akira worries over whether Aika is holding up, but has difficulty talking about it with her until Aika mentions she was present at Alice's promotion. Aika assures Akira she's been motivated by the competition and asks to be trained hard. Akira sets the date for Aika's Prima exam in a month, and says she won't forgive her if she, as the company's future queen, fails. Meanwhile, Alice is settling into her working life as an undine, but has little free time. She realizes it's been several days since she last saw Akari and Aika, at the moon-gazing, but can think of no excuse to call her friends, even though she misses them and is lonely. When Akari and Aika pay a surprise visit with a pizza, Akari tells Alice that being a friend is reason enough. « read less

The next morning, Aika, Alice, and Akatsuki demand to know whether the news about Alicia is true, and Akari says yes, Alicia is retiring to get married and work for the Gondola Association. Alicia had delayed this until Akari became a Prima, and Akari blames herself for not becoming more reliable before now. Aika and Alice worry about Akari, but she says she'll be fine. The next several days are busy, as Alicia hands the running of Aria Company over to Akari. When Akari eventually breaks down crying, Alicia admits that Akari has long had the skills to be a Prima but she'd delayed the exam because she didn't want to leave Akari. Mr. Mailman, now retired himself, hires Akari for a tour, during which he offers to refer customers to her. At Alicia's retirement ceremony, all the undines of the city participate. The following morning, Akari sees Aria Company filled with memories of Alicia and her friends, then opens the reception-area shutter to let in her new beginning. In an afterword, Akari tells Ai what happens to the other characters—including Athena becoming an opera singer, leaving Akira the undisputed top Prima—ending with Ai's first morning as a new Pair for Aria Company. « read less