Finally, I got to read the first volume. I've been delaying listening to the Drama CDs, too, because I didn't want to listen to them before reading at least a few volumes of the original work. Unfortunately, this means Iriya novel 3 will get pushed back in my to-read list. Baa. I'll read them all at once!
First of all, after two pages of Alicia (page 8 and 9), I was convinced that she had to be played by Oohara Sayaka. This strong level of match is just so rare. I can't wait to get the DVDs.
ARIA feels a lot like "Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou." However, if one were to read written descriptions of the two series, I don't think one would be able to see the commonality, because it's mostly the feel thing. I just can't describe it, but I'm confident that anyone who read both will agree with me. Also, chapter 4 (otenki ame) feels a lot like "Mokke," so if you like that chapter, you might want to try "Mokke," too. Just in case someone gets the wrong idea, I have absolutely no negative intention about saying that it feels like all these other manga I've read. I'm just using them to help me describe the series that is so new to me.
Art work is great, particularly the clothing. I bet it's hard to draw the ARIA Company uniforms. And the story is great, too. It's all great! I'm wasting time writing this. Got to go start on the second volume.
By the way, there's furigana for almost all kanji used in the book, so this will make a great reading for beginners of Japanese language.
