So I have an English competency test tomorrow to evaluate my written communcation skills for a job competition, the test will last an hour, so why not practice by transcribing my thoughts on ARIA The CREPUSCOLO into the digital space? I recently got around to watching ARIA The CREPUSCOLO, and looking back into history, the last time I gave the ARIA series much thought was in 2016 when I discussed about ARIA The AVVENIRE. Hard to believe that was almost five years ago, seriously where did the time go? CREPUSCOLO is the second part of the "Ao no Curtain Call Trilogy" and what a treat for ARIA fans.

When ORIGINATION ended in 2008, I picked up the series in 2013, and by the time I completed ORIGINATION, the thought of anymore new ARIA-related anime content felt very unlikely. Then out of no where this Ao no Curtain Call Trilogy gets announced, where we would get three additional installments to the ARIA series: AVVENIRE, CREPUSCOLO, and BENEDIZIONE. I was patiently waiting for this second part of the trilogy since ARIA The CREPUSCOLO focuses on Alice Carroll, who is one of my favouirte characters.

Like many ARIA episodes, the storytelling is very simple yet magical, CREPUSCOLO is no exception to that. The story follows Alice, and her newly distant relationship with her senior, Athena. One of the new generation of undine's, Anya Dostoyevskaya, notices this distant relationship between the two Orange Planet aces, and begins to plant the seeds to mend their relationship. The plot mainly focuses on Alice and Athena, not so much Anya, but Anya gets the story rolling.

Watching Alice work toward repairing her relationship with her senior reminded me as to why I resonate with her. I find that her qualities mirror pieces of me. Alice is shy to a fault, very pragmatic, non-confrontational, seems to unwillingly reduce relationships when the other party experiences a big life transition, yet very intelligent all at the same time. Some of those qualities I have mentioned are not the most flattering, and while watching CREPUSCOLO, a lot of those character flaws were addressed, and resolved flawlessly. Not much more to comment on the plot, since the episodes in ARIA are episodic, short and sweet!

I can't express how exciting it is to watch ARIA in 2021, the nostglia aspect of course, but also as a visualist it's very satisfying to watch an old series through the lense of animation in 2021. 2005 - 2008 animation was what it was, not horrible, but eclectic in it's own right. However animation today is pretty much day and night compared to what is was a decade ago. I mention this because I was pleasantly surprised during a breif flashback scene we get to view Alice's prima undine promotion with a 2021 facelift. See the tweet below comparing the same scene in 2008 vs 2021, both wonderful in their own rights, but stikingly different.

Akari Mizunashi + Aika Granzchesta #ARIAカンパニー

ARIA The ORIGINATION (2008), ARIA The CREPUSCOLO (2021) pic.twitter.com/bxWKR2GWLu

— Okii (@animedecoy) December 13, 2021

Overall I am content with ARIA The CREPUSCOLO, again it's nothing but a treat for ARIA fans. Now the wait for the last part of the Ao no Curtain Call Trilogy, ARIA the BENEDIZIONE. If you have read up to here, thank you for reading! I didn't want to make this post long at all but I appreicate it if you've made it this far. I hope you all have a safe holiday season, a happy New Year, and I will see you all in 2022!