(Minor spoilers may be present however I will refrain from mentioning spoilers that may remove the "magic" of the story. Additionally, I will be mentioning aspects of the anime as well, specifically Animation, Natural and Origination, and giving insights to a lot of the anime as a point of comparison to the manga. Also, more specifically this a 9.5/10)

Given that I had watched, and loved, the anime of Aria, I knew for a fact that I would be enjoying the manga too. I had no idea that I would end up loving it this much, however. You see, for the most part the Aria anime, specifically Natural and Origination, were great on their own, the story and everything in it felt like it was all adding up to one of the best conclusions, with my only really complaint being that some of the episodes dragged a bit too much to my liking. The anime and the manga are pretty much 80% the same in terms of major events, although the anime did omit certain parts of the manga, both pretty minor and pretty major, as well as made major additions that made both versions pretty unique in their own way and overall worth experiencing both.

The manga is definitely a lot faster paced than the anime. The anime took its time in showcasing the world of Neo Venezia and its people, by making strong use of both silence and serenity, and calming music. At the same time, given that an anime has a 24 episode long run time, while the manga's episodic chapters went pretty quickly, the anime added conflict, which ultimately helped develop the characters better, this is something that I feel like the manga lacked that I'm glad the anime had. Although this caused the anime to occasionally drag, I feel like overall it was worth it and it paid off well. The manga could have really benefitted from having longer chapters and having certain "episodes" last perhaps 2 or 3 chapters rather than 1. That said, I still feel like the characters were extremely well developed, even more than most other manga. I just also feel like the emotional investment would be even higher than it is now if it chose to take its time and make each "episode" last longer. It just made for some more heartwarming moments, such as Alice's "self rule" episode. It's not abysmal pacing at all, it's just a bit fast, which is funny considering the anime's slower pace. That said, it didn't bother too much and I understand that my feelings would probably different if I did not have the anime in mind.

I am a bit conflicted with the differences in the anime and manga overall, for example, if you're a fan of Ai-chan, don't get your hopes up. Akari's pen pal is someone completely different(although I will say, who it is in my opinion is a way better fit for the story of the manga, especially with what it decided to focus on). Also, the order at which the episodes take place can make me a bit here and there when it comes to which medium did it better.

The manga's art is great, simply put. It actually makes up for the lack of sound design to help still create its own atmosphere, and the characters always look expressive and it definitely looks and feels more unique than most other manga.

Even so, however, despite lacking in the atmosphere that the anime exuded through its use of calm animation and sound design, the manga does have something that the anime cannot hold a candle to:

WORLD BUILDING! Actually, this is the main reason I chose to review the manga more over the anime. While the anime probably edges the manga over when it comes to how much meat there was in the story, and how it helped make the characters a lot more loveable, I've talked a lot about that already in other shows/manga. Aria(the manga) is probably the only time I've seen such a beautiful use of it's world building to make character's arcs and even the story itself move forward. The mysteries and enigmas within this setting, together with the things that make more logical sense blend together nearly perfectly to further the themes and ideas of the story.

The world of Neo Venezia is shrouded in so much more whimsical mystery than in the anime, especially when concerning the legends of Neo Venezia, even more specifically, those related to Cait Sith. Cait Sith, King of Cats, is one of those enigmatic characters that just appeal to me, and he reminds me of my own childhood. I just love characters like that, and the way the manga presented it is so beautiful and works so well with the overall vibe and tone of the manga. Aria the Natural is the only season that covered things surrounding Cait Sith and the more supernatural aspect of Neo Venezia, and while I did love those parts, I still feel like it never concluded. Actually, the role of Cait Sith here made for an equally strong emotional hook as the ending arc, one that fit perfectly for the personality and arc that our main girl Akari Mizunashi went through.

It doesn't just stop at the magical side of things though, as the manga even perfectly uses the less magical aspects. In a city that's basically a carbon copy of an older city, there is a lot to work with when it comes to themes of culture and history, and boy does it utilize it. Admittedly the anime does an equally good job at it, but in any case the story of Aria perfectly used its setting to create interesting themes about culture and the people of a place, and personally, I actually even found it thought provoking.

Overall, Aria the manga is an amazing work of art, yes, that is right, art. I don't typically like using a term like that, I feel like it's a bit corny to call something a "work of art", but there's no other way to describe it. It feels like a beautiful painting that you are simply meant to "vibe with", which is a similar feeling I have with series such as Kino's Journey or Natsume Yuujinchou. The stories are already fantastic, but the main draw is how it connects to you, how it presents its story and world and how you feel so invested in such an unfamiliar setting or scenario. To combine it with amazing characters and themes you got the work of a near masterpiece. Actually, in the near future I may even bump it to a 10. I'm heavily considering it, it's just as of now it's hard not to do a compare and go "which version did it better" with the anime in mind, but I am sure that if I just looked at them completely separately both have the makings and craft to be a perfect 10/10, so a 9/10 is essentially just a personal thing that is likely to change for the better. Read it, watch it, doesn't matter. Go both, I say, just experience Aria. I won't say I'm sure it will resonate with everyone no matter what one's preference is, although I will say that I believe that it is a unique experience to anyone who decides to pick it up.