damion.huel - 2015-08-26 00:05:21

Short, simple, sweet. A story that portrays the little moments we all have with friends when something interesting can happen when nothing in particular is going on. These are the sweet moments captured in Aiura. 

marie10 - 2014-08-17 04:03:31

Aiura was/is a very funny and good series, ignoring the fact that it doesn't seem to have any real story line, it suits the genre 'slice of life' and 'comedy' really well, and I suggest that if you have any free time you should deffinetely watch this anime. 

avis34 - 2013-09-10 03:14:11

SPOILER-FREE™

I just so happen to be a fan of moe, a huge fan of moe. In fact I like moe so much that if I don’t watch at least one moe show a season I am afraid I will shrivel up and die. In spring 2013 that show just so happened to be Yuyushiki, but before the season started I looked to Aiura as a potential supplement. Sort of like a multivitamin, you need a healthy diet, but it can’t hurt to have extra. Unfortunately this show was so lacking in substance that a better comparison would be the minerals you get in hard water.

STORY 3/10

As a slice of life, the story is not especially important. But Aiura takes that to a whole new level. Now to be fair, since this series is so incredibly short it wouldn’t be fair to expect much of a story. I feel like this show would be far better served by full-length episodes. What we get is a series of slice of life situations. Now the comedy in Aiura is actually receives a pass. But ultimately every episode feels like it ends just as soon as I felt like I was getting into it.

ANIMATION 6/10

Most shorts look awful. It is due to no fault of the studio, but usually anime shorts have no money behind them and end up looking no better than your typical internet flash video. Aiura, on the other hand, has visuals quite reminiscent of a full-episode series. This only further increases my confusion as to why this is a short, as it certainly looks like the studio could afford to make it look good. I would say Aiura looks just about average in terms of animation, with some parts actually being quite pretty and charming.

SOUND 7/10

There isn’t much to say about the sound, I only really have two points to make. 1 The OP is really excellent and 2 Kanaka’s voice made me cream my pants.

CHARACTER 3/10

The characters, or rather what we saw of them, were pretty decent. With the limited amount of show time we can only really get so much. The characters are funny and cute, as they darn well better be in a slice of life of this vein, but they do not (or rather cannot) have any depth.

ENJOYMENT 5/10

This show was fairly fun to watch, but it was really frustrating how short it was. I understand as an anime short it can only do so much. However I feel like this show was probably pitched to a committee as a real series, but was turned down at the last minute. It would have just been so much better with more content.

CONCLUSION

An anime short does not have to be disappointing. For example, Double J embraced its “shortness” and wound up becoming a great example of a short. Aiura was just never destined to be a short, and this format really hurt it.

jast.helga - 2013-09-10 03:08:26

-No spoilers are contained within this review-

Aiura, simply put is a beautiful nothing.

Story (1/10)

The story of Aiura is much like the empty skin of a baked potato. The very shape of the story is there, following the basic structure of a Slice of Life. Tag along with three high school girls, Ayuko, Saki, and Kanaka as they go to school. But that’s it. The very inside of the potato has been scraped clean by the spoon of “time constraints”. From the outside it seems like a succulent, delicious and decadent meal, but when you peel away the tin foil wrapping you are left with an empty shell. If this show was a full sized slice of life it could have been so much more.

Animation (7/10)

This anime looks very beautiful. The backgrounds are made up of vibrant watercolors. However the characters are animated in a very normal fashion. Unfotunately there weren't many locations, so the backgrounds, although very pretty, were kept to a minimum. Overall the art style was very easy on the eyes and a light and pleasant experience.

Sound (4/10)

I don’t remember Aiura having a very good soundtrack. The ED was very pleasing to the ears and was by far my favorite part of the anime. Other than the opening and ending there really wasn’t any music. I felt like there could have been more, but then again there really wasn’t any time for more.

Characters (2/10)

The characters of Aiura really aren’t all there. This is not because the characters are poorly developed, but because the anime is so short. The entire series is about as long as one or two episodes of a normal 20 minute per episode show. Given the short amount of time the characters try to fall into clichéd slots as soon as possible.

Enjoyment (2/10)

I believe that I could have enjoyed this anime if the episodes were longer than four minutes. I would sit down, pop open a soda and set up a snack, but before I took the first bite it was over. Despite the appealing scenery I just felt empty at the sound of the ED. I wanted the episodes to continue but alas, it

Final Thoughts

If you like anime that looks pleasing to the eye and don’t want to worry about a story than this is the anime for you. And besides, it’s not like it can be a waste of your time.

fmcglynn - 2013-06-28 08:18:31

First show this season that I finished, and I liked it. Sure it's only 4 minutes and you can finish it in less than an hour, but I'd be lying if I said it wouldn't be a very fun hour. Aiura will just keep you in a good mood, and for that alone I recommend it. Each episode has a different story from the rest, but each one is pretty funny, and none of them are bad. The characters are all very funny, all 3 of them (plus the teacher, who is like the second best teacher ever). I'm sure you'll like all three girls. The animation is very nice, and I like the character designs. The best part of this show though, is its opening. This is one of my favorite openings, simply for the fact that it combines crabs and Steve Jobs. The randomness! The best part is that that Jobs died of cancer, which the crab is the zodiac of. Yeah, a little messed up if that was their goal, but every time I see the opening I just burst out into laughter because I always see something different each time. Watch this show if only for the opening.

mia.wehner - 2013-06-27 01:43:11

I started watching Aiura because I was feeling really sad. Not the watched-episode-20-of-k-on!! kind of sadness, nor the watched-episode-18-of-clannad-AS type of sadness either. But personal sadness. And I knew I needed to watch something light-hearted. Aiura just finished up today so I thought, why not? And I couldn't have made a better decision.

Story Aiura is like any moe comedy slice of life. A typical 4-koma manga is adapted one of two ways: Either given lots of depth and expanded upon, such as K-On!, or just all the gags of the 4-koma are animated and strung together, such as Azumanga Daioh. Aiura is the latter. Although most shows of this moe comedy slice of life theme end up with just about no plot anyway, Aiura really is exactly what it looks like. However I find that Aiura is set up really well to be adapted in the same way K-On! was, and would really like to see it that way - I was familiar with the cast and setting quicker than any other show, even in an hour-long show. What makes shows like Aiura so great is that the cast and setting are really familiar to you, as if the characters are your friends and the setting is your hometown. Hell, I'm sure I know the cities seen in Clannad, TMOHS, and Lucky Star better than my own town. That's what gives Aiura a couple of points for story. 2/10

Art & Animation Oh, this is my favorite. Out of all the shows I've seen, Aiura is by far the most beautiful. I'd say it's on par with 5cm/s. I'm talking KyoAni level beautiful. And I'm sure if you know me then you know I worship KyoAni for their gorgeous shows. I was beyond impressed with Aiura, I expected it to look good as it's apart of the most recent season of anime, but it just blew me away. I'm actually reminded a lot of Puella Magi Madoka Magica, which to me has the best overall art and animation of everything I've watched so far, but Aiura doesn't get to apply it's good looks quite as much as PMMM does. Aiura seemed to have a lot of still shots without much movement aside from some lips moving, so I can't give it a perfect score. But the looks of the show matched the feel of it perfectly, I liked the character designs especially. It felt a little different, and I think what felt so different was the legs. Just look at those legs.

I can't say I've seen thighs like that anywhere else.

Look how cleanly you can see the movement of her foot tapping tracing itself all the way back up her leg. Okay, I'm starting to sound just a little bit weird right now. Anyway, look how cute Kanakana is! Such great character design.

I think I worship Kanakana.

Look how beautiful that lighting is. And the colors. This scene just speaks to me. I'm sorry, I'll quit going on about how much eyecandy Aiura has. 9/10

Sound One of the highlights of this show is its opening theme. It's so fast paced and hard to keep up with. It helps set the tone for such a happy show. And it's also extremely random. I don't know what Steve Jobs has to do with anything, and the crab as he died from cancer...Which is all apart of how random it is, I think. Here's a video if that helps (Look on the top left)

I found the voice acting to be really good - it was different. The voices sounded much more normal compared to the frequent high-pitched little girl voices you see in any anime. They sounded like actual high school girls, and that's what made it stand out, ironically. I believe the entire main cast has never voice acted in anime before, which I thought was pretty interesting, but I hope I continue to hear them, including the voice of Yukon, who sings the fantastic OP and ED. The only two voices I recognized were the math teacher's voice (My Kyon!) and the adorable student-posing teacher (Rikaaa<3) 8/10

Character When I said that I got to know the cast really fast, I meant it. I came to love Ayuko, Kanaka, and Saki very fast. I know I have a soft spot for these types of shows, but I really mean it. I can confidently say that of the ten or so characters, I love them all. The cast is part of the reason for me saying that I would really love to see Aiura fleshed out and given a lot of depth the way K-On! was. You never get to learn much about them, because there's only so much development you can get out of 45 minutes of screentime, but I was falling for them all surprisingly quick. 5/10

Enjoyment As I said in the beginning, this series excels in lifting your spirits. I'll say that it never had any moments that made me cry laughing the way Lucky Star of the same style did, but the comedy felt more natural and less repetitive than Lucky Star's comedy - in Aiura, it's all smooth and the gags are unique, but Konata saying something witty and Kagami giving an angry retort can be the extent of the comedy in some episodes of Lucky Star. It's not the comedy that makes you feel so happy though, it's just the whole mood and tone of the show, watching Kanakana play her pranks or Yukon skip across the street is enough to satisfy me. 6/10

Overall I can't stress enough how much I wish that Aiura could be expanded upon, and I feel bad that it wasn't so well received. There really is just an endless amount of potential in the show. The beautiful artwork and excellent voice acting, the cast and setting that can connect with you in an instant, and the happy tone all makes for a great show that if you ever feel down, Aiura can be a simple one-hour remedy that provides lots of happy feels.

mdoyle - 2013-06-23 13:06:26

Aiura is one of the great, new short animes that you just have to watch.

Story:
Since it is a short anime, there isn't much to say to the plot. Aiura is about three friends, Kanaka (the overly hyper one), Saki (Kanaka's show stopper) and Uehara (Yukkon, the more quiet and relaxed of the three) and their daily lives. What you'll most likely notice my watching this short anime, is that it actually has the potential to be a full one! In the end, this is a bit disappointing as it is quite enjoyable. The mere three short minutes doesn't give this anime much justice.

Animation:
It's well animated. There's been given a fair amount of treatment for the visuals despite it being what it is; short.

Character:
In Aiura we meet three best friends who seem so different personality wise, but who get along great. Their personalities don't clash (though the girls do have their fair disagreements) and it's that what gives this anime it's character.

Enjoyment:
To simply say that one will enjoy this anime is more or less and understatement. To say that the viewer will connect with either one of the girls and therefore quite love this anime, is more accurate. The thing with short animes is that they're there to please you faster than regular ones. Instead of 20 minutes of watching Aiura, you only have three. And trust me, it won't feel like three minutes and you'll be begging for more (sad isn't it?).

If you're new to short animes or simply need/want something to pass time with, Aiura is here for you. Not only that, but I'm almost certain that it won't disappoint you. Though I stand by the fact that justice wasn't given when they decided to only make this a short one, it's definitely better than not getting it at all.