Aria: The Masterpiece #3

Kozue Amano's beloved gondolier saga continues in this third Masterpiece volume, and the cover sets the mood beautifully — a blue-haired undine in her crisp white-and-crimson uniform stands poised at the oar of her gondola, a small grey cat perched on her shoulder, with the sun-warmed architecture and shimmering waterways of Neo-Venezia stretching behind her. The composition captures everything that makes this series so quietly wonderful: the graceful rhythm of canal life rendered with real affection for its setting. Tokyopop's 2019 deluxe edition is a fine way to experience Amano's dreamy world at its most polished.