ARIA Arietta/Origination DVD Set R1 + Contents

My animetherapy has finally arrived after this release has been delayed two weeks. ARIA is like my drug, it relaxes me like nothing else after a rough day. How dare you make me wait Rightstuf? I feel like I'm going through a withdrawl! ^^; Everything is okay now, it's now in my possession and ready to be consumed. Here is a deeper look into my favorite drug:

This set includes the Arietta OVA & the complete Origination episodes. It also came with a really wonderful 48-page booklet that includes the following:

• Q&A with Junichi Sato and Yoshimasa Hiraike
• Character Diagram
• Episode Guide
• Sketches
• Comments From the Cast + Q&A
• Background Selection

Plus, many more! But my favorite content of this booklet has to be Erino Hazuki's (Akari) "Tales From Venice", which is like her travel log while she was in Venice with the production team. Previous booklet from Natural and Animation lacks in comparison. I can't wait to read it later.

Those who pre-ordered this set was given a special set of ARIA bookmarks:

Oh, yes, they look really nice! I'll probably use these once I get back into reading manga again.

DVD Contents

Arietta OVA DVD Menu

 











Origination DVD Disc 1 (Menu)

 

Contents:

--Episode 1~5
"Bonus" Section has

• Picture Drama 1
• Picture Drama 2
• Picture Drama 3
• Clean Ending
• Nozomi Trailers

Origination DVD Disc 2 (Menu)

Contents:

--Episode 6~9
"Bonus" Section has

• Picture Drama 4
• Picture Drama 5
• US Trailers
• Nozomi Trailers 

Origination DVD Disc 3 (Menu)

 

Contents:

--Episode 10~13
"Bonus" Section has

• Picture Drama 6
• Picture Drama 7
• Nozomi Trailers

Origination Extras Disc (Menu)

 











 (If you can't read the text in the picture above):

• Cast Discussion on ARIA
• Director Discussion on ARIA
• Satojun's "Venice, I'm Sorry!" Part 1
• Satojun's "Venice, I'm Sorry!" Part 2

Thoughts?
This release is no different from the "Natural" & "Animation" release: same box, same durability, a booklet, and a special goodie with pre-order. One minor negative that I've always considered is how tight the DVDs fit into the box, which makes it hard to take out. My solution to this problem is to simply take out the booklet from the box. As for the transfer quality and specs, Natural & Animation was 4:3, while Arietta & Origination is 16:9 Widescreen! I haven't watched the episodes yet but it should look really good. I am still praying for a BD release of ARIA though, which I will purchase in a heartbeat! Overall, I am all for subtitle-only release, making Nozomi Entertainment and Sentai Filmworks my current favorite R1 companies. Now all I need is the release date for Maria-sama ga Mitteru 4th Season and I will be satisfied for the rest of this year! ^^