Watching CITY the animation and finished ARIA the origination. Aria started out average (relative to the rest of it) but then it really started hitting. Ep 9 is one of the most emotional episodes I have ever seen in my life. It did a most wonderful thing: make me tear up without making me sad. And when Alicia explained her way of thinking and acting, it just was so wonderful and wholesome. She is a sage like character. Many anime focus on the dark side of life. Others on big dreams and unreasonable success. Others on comedy and entertainment. Aria focuses on happiness and how to live life. More so than most other slice of life series.