Aria the Animation - Episode 7:That Wonderful Job...

Me too.

Clearly you haven't been with Alicia.

Akira's plan for today's training is to have Alice, Akari, and Aika ride with her customers and observe. Akira goes to pick up the customer's and the lady is really into Alice and Akira since they are famous among undines. Akira figures out that the couple is on their honeymoon.

Not the smartest duo.

Fatality.

Screw that book.

True that.

The husband in the couple gets upset when Akira embarrasses him during the tour. Akira changes the mood by asking how they met. The wife says that she met her husband on a train on Man-Home and fell in love with him since he was kind enough to give his seat away all the time. Near the end of the tour, Akira takes a detour to show the couple the beautiful things about Neo-Venezia that you can't find in the tour guide that the husband brought.

Oh no he didn't.

Akira drops the couple off and says goodbye but the wife insists on going on another ride with Akira. Akira declines since she has to train the three trainee undines but the wife volunteers herself and her unhappy husband for the training. Akira initially refuses but when the husband underestimates undines, Akira accepts their request.

Surprise!

I didn't even know that in the first place.

Akira changes her personality when she trains the undines and the couple notices how strict and scary she really is. Each of the undines take turns rowing the gondola but they each have their flaws and get yelled at by Akira.

That's the one.

Congratulations. You've just been robbed of all your belongings.

Alicia meets up with Akira and suggests that they all take a break for cake and tea. The wife gets even more excited since Alicia is also really famous. Even the husband recognizes Alicia.

I would think that they would at least try and fix this issue.

Shut your mouth when Akira is talking.

When they resume practice, the tide in Neo-Venezia has risen and blocked off many passages that have low bridges. The test now is too try and successfully find a route to take Akira to her destination. Akari goes up to row but fails many times. Even with the help of Alice and Aika, Akari has a hard time finding a route that they can take. The husband finds that this seems a little too hard but Akira tells him not to interfere with the training.

It's not even a gas lamp...

What every undine knows how to do.

Thank god. You were almost trapped in the middle of town on a gondola.

Alice finds a weak current in the water and follows it to an abandoned building. The undines try crossing through the building but it is pitch black inside and there is a lot of debris. Akari rows while Aika gives direction in the front of the gondola with a lamp. Eventually they make it to a locked door. They all give up hope except for Alice who picks the lock and allows them to get to their destination.

Mmmmmmmm.

If only more people knew.

When did you get so smart?

Screw that book.

Akira rewards them by buying pizza for everyone. Alice, Akari, and Aika are confused as to why Akira didn't scold them and Akira responds by saying that they already understand what they did wrong so there is no need. They all happily eat the pizza together. The husband realizes that being an undine is hard work and he also understands that Akira is only strict with her students because she cares a lot about them.

Analysis:

The newlywed couple isn't very informed about undines and underestimates them, especially the husband. Akira takes them on their training excursion and this drastically changes their idea about undines. The wife always thought that Akira was a nice person but she quickly learns that she is really harsh during training. The husband also learns how hard it is to be an undine but is able to understand Akira in the end.

The theme this episode is tough love. During training, Akira scolded everyone harshly if they made a mistake and pushed them really hard. Akira never did this because she liked to do it but because she cared for her students and wanted them to improve. Akira proves in the end that she doesn't scold people unnecessarily and rewards them for their hard work. The husband who had the wrong idea about undines before was also able to understand Akira's true feelings for her students. Ai also introduced this in the beginning when she was scolded by her mother for being late. Akari tells her later that even if they are scolded, they are scolded because those people love them.

This episode is called  "That Wonderful Job" because Akira and the trainee undines showed the couple how wonderful being an undine really is.