Aria the Animation - Episode 5:To That Island That Shouldn't Exist...

It's a trap.

An unknown sender sends Akari an invitation to Neverland with instructions on how to get there by gondola.

Good job.

What?

What??

It's obviously Akari.

Akari travels to Neverland on her gondola but when she gets there, she gets lost. While looking for a path, Akari finds Alice also wondering around. While they talk, Aika finds them and surprises Akari. All three of the girls wonder who would invite them to a deserted island.

Fan service isn't allowed!

Told you it was a trap Akari.

Akari, Alice, and Aika eventually find a big beach. Awaiting the three girls at the beach are their mentors, Alicia and Akira. Alice's mentor Athena wasn't able to come because she went to the wrong island by accident. Much to the disappointment of everyone, Akira plans to have the three of them do intensive training at the beach.

Stretching fan service.

Well done.

During training, the three trainee undines do laps on the beach. After that, they end up doing balance training on logs while their mentors and the presidents relax. The three trainee undines have a particularly hard time on the balance training. Akira and Alicia decide that it is time that they show their skills off to inspire their students. This works and Akari, Aika, and Alice continue training hard.

Ufufu.

During lunchtime, everyone happily eats Alicia and Akira's homemade bentos that they brought.

It's gotta be global warming. 

More fan service.

...and more.

After lunch, Akira lets everyone play since Alicia insisted, "relaxation is necessary too". Akari looks forward to this since you can't swim in the oceans on Man-Home. Alicia proposes to Akari that they "walk under the sea". Everyone goes diving in the ocean using air masks. Aika spots Alice on a cliff hesitating to jump off. Aika, Akira, and Akari run after Alice to jump off the cliff also. Alice is a little nervous at first but Akari suggests that they jump together.

You don't really need it...

After everyone plays, they are all resting on the beach. Akari realizes that she has lost a ribbon for her hair and recalls a moment like this in when she was a child. Akari tries to remember what she did with her other ribbon but fails 

You mean a president's tongue? haha

I am.

For dinner, Akira and Alicia make barbecue food. All the trainee undines beg Akira to make her delicious fried rice balls.

Amen.

Alicia must think the world is perfect.

What luck.

Calm down. Your luck wasn't that good.

Akari gets up when everyone is sleeping and stares out at the ocean. Alicia joins her and Akari talks to her about how she believed in Neverland as a kid. Akari forgot when she stopped believing in Neverland and is a little disappointed. Alicia tells Akari that memories are never forgotten and that they are just locked away in your heart and can be unlocked with a small trigger. Akari cheers up and goes to play in the water again but finds her lost ribbon washed up on her foot. Akari looks at it and starts to cry tears of joy.

Analysis:

In this episode, all the trainee undines are lured onto an island by an invitation saying that it is Neverland. All of the trainee undines are kind and nice people; I would expect them all to believe something like that.

When Akari loses her ribbon for her hair, it causes her to recall a similar memory from when she was a child. Akari remembers what happens in her memory until she tries to remember what she did with the other side of ribbon. In the end of the episode, Akari coincidently finds her other ribbon. This triggers her memory of the even when she was a child and she cries tears of joy.

The theme of this episode is memory. Akari forgot a lot about her childhood but Alicia comforts her by telling her that she didn't forget her memories. They are all just locked up inside of her heart. Alicia said that "with just a small trigger" you could remember a memory again. Soon after this, Akari find her lost ribbon and it triggers one of her old memories and causes her to cry tears of joy. The main message is that memories last forever.

The episode is called "To That Island That Shouldn't Exist" because it refers to Neverland, which is a fictional island.