12 Days Day 9: Masshiro na START desu 

09

I wrote a long-ass post on Dreams of the Quill about Episode 4 of Aria the Origination, and, in keeping with the spirit of these posts, I will not link to it now. But. This is definitely one of my favorite episodes of anime, period. Remember the one? Akari wants to help Alicia because Alicia’s so busy, so Alicia tells her to go work a traghetto?

Akari meets three other singles, including two dispirited prima-wannabes, and, with her suteki power, inspires them all to try harder at life.

“Masshiro na START desu”—Akari introduces the idea of a tabula rasa to her peers, teaching them that every time they try something their records are wiped. No matter how many times they’ve failed, they just need to start over and try harder. The pure, unbridled hope in Akari’s cheerful lecture is something I’ve held inside me the last two years as I tried to get over the shortcomings of my past and become a better human being: no matter how shitty I am, I can wipe that clean and start over.

Akari didn’t teach me this lesson, but it was still refreshing to hear it from her lips. Combine that with top-notch execution, and you have one damn good episode of anime.

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