It's time for an Aria thread!

In this thread I'll be talking about Aria the Origination episode 5! It's always been one of my favorite episodes and it solidified Aika as my favorite character in Aria since I find her feelings of inferiority to be relatable!

We start out with a shot angled down on Aika while she looks up at Akari which already highlights Aika's feelings of inferiority since she compares herself to her friends. She hates feeling left behind so she wants to improve and get on the level of someone like Akari.

While at the market, Athena pops in to display her talented singing voice. This initiates the episode's theme of talent which will be important later on. Alice notes that Athena's heavenly singing voice is what makes her tick, much to everyone's amazement.

Alicia appears, demonstrating her gracefulness when it comes to her oar control even when she unexpectedly has to catch a child's hat from falling into the water. Her talent is her ability to be graceful while also displaying excellent skills in controlling her gondola.

Akari mentions how talented both Athena and Alicia is. Here, Aika says in response that if they possessed such talents they would've already been promoted. It's clear that this idea of talent and inferiority is circling in her head, we even get another shot angled down on her.

These words from Alice suggest that Athena and Alicia were simply naturally talented. The lighting on Aika gets darker despite how bright it is outside to emphasize her shock upon hearing those words. She very much parallels Athena and Alica to Alice and Akari.

As we'll see in a bit, she views Alice and Akari as both naturally talented as well. When she asks about how Akira felt when compared to Athena and Alicia, she's also thinking about how she feels when compared to Akari and Alice. It's important to note how only part of Aika's-

face is shown in this shot. This can oftentimes connect to ideas of mystery or feelings of not knowing one's identity, questioning who one is. This is fitting since Aika questions what her identity is, what makes her special, and what talents she possesses.

She tries not to think about it and continues to eat, but then the shot shows both Akari and Alice surrounded by a white, with white emphasizing how Aika views them as perfection, as people who possess qualities that are the utmost of excellence, they're pure without flaws.

Like in the beginning of the episode, we see Aika looking up at one of her friends. This time, there's a shot angled up on Alice to display her superiority, especially when displaying her ability to control the gondola while there's a shot angled down on Aika who feels inferior.

Alice uses the word "genius" again which really strikes Aika. Akari is a "genius" at interacting with people, already being well acquainted with a bunch of random people we see passing by. This talent of being sociable is something Aika also lacks, something Akari naturally has.

Akari says a sappy line again and we're about to get Aika's catchphrase before being stopped by rose petals. These petals remind her of Akira "Crimson Rose", and since she was already thinking about how Akira might've struggled just like herself, the petals catch her off guard.

The flurry of red rose petals could also be symbolic of passion and desire. Aika is an extremely passionate person and she desires to reach the top, so it's kind of cruel that these rose petals begin flying around her as she has doubts when comparing herself to her friends.

There it is! Alice's words about Athena and Alicia being natural geniuses is ringing around in Aika's head. We see her feeling emotionally frustrated by this with these extreme close-up shots of her face. She doesn't feel as if she's a natural, but sees Akari and Alice as such.

I think it's interesting how we watch Aika say goodbye while Akari and Alice are both leaving together. It reinforces how Aika feels like she's being left behind, only for her weakness to be also emphasized by her hand almost closing, implying a feeling a fragility.

There's an extreme long shot making Aika appear smaller which further emphasizes her inferiority. She thinks that no matter how hard she tries, her talents will never reach the level of those who she deems as gifted which makes her frrustrated enough to make a fist.

Another shot looking down on Aika before she finds a picture of Akira, Aika, and Alicia together. To her astonishment, she notices how Akira is the only one who hasn't been promoted yet, only reinforcing her suspicion that Akira must've felt left behind just like how she is.

Akira is able to say that she's was the last one to become Prima in her friend group and that it was "pathetic" but in a joking manner. Aika can't comprehend how she can smile about that, especially since Aika is feeling depressed from feeling like she's in last place.

Akira's backstory begins! She sees herself as one person in a crowd of many when compared to Alicia and Athena. There's an extreme long shot and a shot angled down on her before she expresses how they're amazing, with the shots suggesting she doesn't feel the same about herself.

There are two instances where the sky is shown and emphasized. The sky acts as a symbolic ceiling, something above Akira, a place that's high up yet she can't reach. Very much similar to how she puts Alicia and Athena on a pedestal where she feels she can't reach.

Ultimately, as Akira tries searching for the rare four leaf clover, she begins thinking about how she's unblessed. This lack of a "heavenly gift" that she thinks her friends have makes her feel anything but special, thus she feels like she will never be successful.

Reaching the thread limit so here's a tweet I made in May expressing my thoughts on the scene where young Aika appears. Read that before coming back here. Just gonna add the detail of the rose petal also representing Akira's newfound burning passion. https://twitter.com/RecklessPeggy/status/1257350022036885506

Akira sees herself in Aika and really wants her to succeed. This story definitely helped to make Aika feel more hopeful for her future, and giving Aika the bookmark that she treasures as a charm for "aspiring Primas" shows how Akira firmly believes Aika can achieve her goal.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH, I LOVE AKIRA SO MUCH!

Aika finally takes control of the gondola in this ep which gives her power. Birds fly in the background to show how she's reaching new heights. Aika realizes how important Akira is as a source of inspiration. Aika is now a changed person who won't allow her dreams to be crushed.

I hope you enjoyed reading this thread! If you did, consider sharing it around! Anyways, have an excellent rest of your day folks ^_^