#i might grab sofia for the final slot. women.

[milkyandromedas]

having the world's grandest and silliest time in skyrim via bringing 21 and soon to be 22 followers around with me at all times. narrow hallways are a nightmare. sometimes upon entering an area i spawn one to two floors above or below the group. everyone is always talking to each other and to me. i have music on in the background i don't know what anyone's saying to me ever. but they are my friends.

[medea10]

My Review of Arte

How did I get into this anime? Well, I had a few slots open for the spring 2020 anime season! Let’s read what this anime is about.

A girl during the Renaissance era in Florence, Italy wants to be an artist…

*ADDS THIS IMMEDIATELY*

I really don’t want to be disappointed with this. I have a horrible habit of adding animes where the main concept has to do with the art world. And have it go wrong when the anime is too boring or not enough love is given to it. But maybe this will go well! The manga is already getting high marks and praise. And for being a history piece, it got picked up rather quickly from a big anime licensor in the west.

Arte comes from a noble family and her family has plans for their daughter. It’s just that Arte is heavily into…well…art. They’re fine as long as it’s only a hobby, but it’s getting a little out of hand for Arte’s mother. Arte wants to become an artist! BIG problem! This is Italy during the Renaissance era. No women artists! But Arte persisted by asking all around to become an apprentice.

The only man to even give her a chance was an artist named Leo. After testing her endurance, he allows her to become his apprentice. Arte’s life is officially changing as she throws away her nobility to draw and paint.

BETWEEN THE SUB AND THE DUB: FUNimation grabbed this anime. Surprisingly, they didn’t give Arte a simildub. Quite possibly because this was one of those newer animes that arrived during the COVID-19 nightmare! Or they didn’t want to fuck with Italian accents this time around! The sub had a nice mixture of veteran and newer seiyuus. Color me surprised when I heard Rie Tanaka’s voice again near the end of the series. Here’s what you might recognize these folks from.

*Arte is played by Mikako Komatsu (known for Mairin on Pokemon XY, Seishirou on Nisekoi, Susamaru on Demon Slayer, Wy on Hetalia, Eternal Feather on Soul Eater NOT, and Tori on YGO Zexal)

*Leo is played by Katsuyuki Konishi (known for Kamina on Gurren Lagann, America on Hetalia, Tsumugu on Kill la Kill, Laxus on Fairy Tail, Tanaka on Durarara, Fuegoleon on Black Clover, and Arima on Tokyo Ghoul)

FAVORITE CHARACTER: Arte! This girl wants to pursue a career in the arts and will do whatever it takes to do so. She defies her mother’s wishes, cuts her long hair, almost cuts off her breasts, did all the impossibly difficult tasks other apprentices could never do, and so much more. You have to admire this crazy, little lady.

SHIPPING: In episode 3, Arte started feeling that light and fuzzy feeling many of us feel when we “fall” for someone. And she started to feel funny whenever she was around Leo. This would be fine and dandy except for a few issues. For one thing, Leo is her boss and she’s his apprentice. Best to keep things professional! Secondly, during this period in time, Veronica does have a point. It’s best that if you want to achieve in your craft in a man’s world, it’s best to stow the romance bags to the side. After that bag of reality was dropped on Arte, she mostly focused on her art work and no romance was ever brought up again.

Although, I do have an inkling about Yuri having the hots for Arte! But I know my girl Arte here don’t have time for this boy’s bullshit!

LEO AND ANGELO: No, this isn’t a shipping debate. Actually, there are fans of the show speculating if these two characters are in fact the famous artists Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. Come on now, this story is absolute fiction with a few true details here and there. Yes, we still don’t know the full name to Leo to prove that he could be the fictionalized version of the real-life artist and the anime never once put up an advisory at the beginning of every episode saying that any character that’s similar to real-life people is purely coincidental. But it’s possible that these two could very well be those very artists. Both da Vinci and Michelangelo were living Florence around the same time. I’ll chalk this up to you history buffs and conspiracy theorists out there. I choose to believe the creator of Arte just used the names of these artists and that’s that!

ENDING: During the 7th episode, Arte is given an opportunity to go to Venice to become a tutor for a handsome man’s niece and to paint a portrait of his sister-in-law. At the time, Venice was seen as a staple in the art world (despite Florence’s rich history that we know today) and this would be a perfect time for Arte to spread her wings. I mean, she won’t be an apprentice under Leo forever, right?! Yeah, Leo’s words to Arte before she left for Venice played around her head a lot during her stay in Venice. Saying that it’s okay if she chooses to stay there longer than six months or even stay permanently!

During this time, Arte was able to find ground with this difficult child (Catalina) that she must tutor as these two do share something in common. Both girls have a certain passion that they want to hone as their own, but can’t due to family forbiding it, status in the world, and even gender. Arte did so much to get where she is now including disobeying her mother by leaving home and try in a profession that’s mainly for men. Arte was unable to do much with her relationship with her family (especially after her father’s death), but she was able to help Catalina and her mother with theirs and even hope for a future where Catalina can see a boy she likes again.

As we near the end of this series, we find Arte still wondering about her future. She’s still seen as the rarity as being a woman of nobility entering the art world when that profession is usually done by people seen as lower than nobles and majorily male. Plus, what Leo said before setting for Venice keeps replaying in Arte’s mind. It’s true that this time Arte has spent in Venice with Sofia and Catalina was life-changing. And Yuri ended up asking Arte to stay with the family permanently. Meanwhile, Leo is noticing that maybe, just maybe, he’s missing Arte. That or he’s annoyed by all the people in Arte’s circle bugging him.

In the finale, Arte has reached a conclusion on where she’s going to go after finishing up Sofia’s portrait. She got some decent advice from one of the apprentices she met in Venice. That Arte should use her nobility and gender to her advantage in a male dominated profession. Okay, he didn’t exactly say that, but you get what I mean. There’s a certain softness to Arte’s work that’s not seen with many male artists. She should continue doing what she loves despite what others may say or think.

So in case you’re wondering, she turned down Yuri’s proposal of staying with Sofia and Catalina full-time. She’s going to head back to Florence and continue as Leo’s apprentice. Yeah, Catalina is pretty upset by Arte leaving after spending over six months with them. But they promised to keep in touch with letters. Upon Arte’s return to Florence, she learns about Leo doing a special mural for the Easter holiday. But Leo got ill and has been bed-ridden for days.

Arte steps in and takes over the mural so that it could be completed in time for Easter. With a little help from her friends like Darcia, Angelo, and Veronica, she was able to complete it. And just in time for Leo to emerge to give his critique on Arte’s work. As usual, he told her on what she should have done, but acknowledges that she has definitely grown as an artist during her time in Venice and is happy to see her again. Surprisingly, that wasn’t the only shocking moment of the finale.

Arte’s mother was there for the unveiling of the mural and actually praises her daughter. I guess she’s come a long way from the first episode where she burned all of Arte’s drawings. So yeah, girls can be more than just bargaining tools for marriage or becoming nuns. So Arte’s going to continue working under Leo and we end there.

I can already tell you that many people were not digging this anime, but I liked it. But again, painting is my thing. And being a female, I’m drawn to stories of girls trying to overcome prejudice just because of their gender. Even when studying art in school, most pieces that were covered in the curriculum were majority (if not, all) male. Well, unless I took a class with a supremely feminist teacher, we would not learn anything about female painters. And if we did, it would just be for like one day or one week out of the semester before we get to the well-known names like Van Gough, Pollock, and Monet.

By the looks of it, Arte doesn’t look like it’ll get any kind of continuation. I know that the manga is still in publication and maybe if that ends we might get something extra. But I wouldn’t hold my breath on that one. Even FUNimation didn’t bother giving this an English dub. Then again, this aired during the height of the COVID pandemic (in Japan) In fact; it was one of the very few animes in the spring season that never took a week off due to COVID. I would like to see what happens to Arte in the future. Like if she ends up with her own workshop or if she takes over Leo’s place when he retires. It’s fun to think of what happens and I might just one day pick up the manga to see if any of that actually happens. Due to my particular love of painting, I’m going to recommend this series regardless. And while you’re at it, check out some other series like Honey and Clover or Hidamari Sketch.

If you would like to watch this anime, FUNimation and Hulu have all 12 episodes available for streaming.