Akira - The 2nd Water Fairy and Aika's mentor. She is one of my favorites in the cast. As said before, she helps Aika's character a lot. Akira's relationship with Aika is handled rather well, and by the end you can see just how much they grow to care for one another. You can also see Aika's own personal growth by looking at how they interact with one another. Their interactions also help Akira open up more about herself to Aika, which only strengthens their bond as the show progresses.

Pretty much all of Aika's best scenes involve Akira in one way or another, but that isn't to say that this Akira's character is solely reliant on her dominance in her relationship with Aika. She actually has a very entertaining personality. She's very tomboyish and harsh in what she says, so it's interesting to see how she interacts with the cast. And by harsh in what she says, I don't mean that she's mean. It's actually quite the opposite. It's clear from the beginning that while there is a level of harshness in her words, she does say everything she does out of her care for those around her. She gets a lot of the best lines in the show this way.

Alice - Rowing prodigy, Kohai, and objective Best Girl. One of Alice's biggest strengths as a character has to do with her and her mentor Athena having the best episodes dedicated to them. This is because her relationship with Athena is probably the best in the show. With Aika and Akira, I felt one of them carried the relationship, but with Alice and Athena it feels a lot more balanced. The episodes that focus on the both of them end up revealing more layers to both of their characters that make me like the both of them even more. Their best moments are also handled with a bit more subtlety than the others, but that little bit goes a long way to make their scenes together all the more effective.

Alice also goes through a more noticeable amount of character development than the other characters in the show. Due to Akari's capability to befriend her and make her part of the group, she is able to break out of the shell she's in at the beginning of the series, and as the series goes on she is the most proactive in trying to improve herself in her personal life. You can see a noticable difference in the way she interacts with others, and her overall attitude from the beginning of the series to the end. Oh, and her chibi faces are just priceless.(should be pointed out that all the chibi faces in this show are amazing)

Athena - 3rd Water Fairy, and maybe my favorite of them. Athena is probably the least utilized of the main cast , but they still achieve a lot with the time given to her. Her character consists a lot on her clumsiness and her excellent singing voice (And when I say excellent I actually mean excellent, her singing voice is amazing as advertised. Unlike Maki from Love Live who is said to be good at singing but really isn't). Athena's clumsiness is thankfully kept to just the right amount where it's still charming, and not at all a nuisance to those around her. I can't say much because I already covered her when I talked about Alice, but her moments with Alice really help display the best parts of her personality.

Side Characters - Like I've already said, one of this show's strengths are the side characters. The recurring ones do a great job at complimenting the main cast when they show up, which is what side characters are really meant to do. The only one I can think of that doesn't do it is Al because he's a rather boring character, unlike the others who either have personalities that stand out, or have connections to the main cast that make them interesting to watch. Al just doesn't have that, and his only real quirk is barely used (but to be fair his quirk could easily get annoying). Other than recurring ones, the ones that show up for about an episode are quite great too. Aria doesn't introduce a side character without a purpose, so when side characters do show up I find that the episode turns out excellent more times than not.

Overall

I can't say it enough how much I love the Aria series. I urge anybody who is a fan of slice of life to watch it since it's one of the best in it's genre. It's use of the genre helps to make it stand out among other SOL I've seen, so you should get a very meaningful experience from it. It's more powerful moments really hit home to me, and a lot of the lessons I feel I can use in my own personal life. This series is definitely one I will hold close to for some time to come, and I hope anybody who I recommend it to will end feeling the same way.