# Aria the Scarlet Ammo (2011)

> A reluctant logistics-minded dropout at an elite armed detective academy is drafted as partner by a volatile prodigy hunting a notorious killer.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/42093

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 12
- Episode runtime: 25 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: animation, action, comedy
- Network: TBS
- Cast: Rie Kugimiya, Junji Majima, Mariya Ise, Ayako Kawasumi, Kaori Ishihara, Takuya Eguchi, Mikako Takahashi, Takayuki Kondo
- TMDB rating: 6.5/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1936037/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: moderate
- Complexity: simple
- Violence: mild
- Tone: breezy, comedic, energetic, romantic, sincere

## What critics say

Viewers rate the single season as a moderately enjoyable, action-driven anime with a fun dynamic between its leads, though its mixed audience reception points to uneven execution.

## Synopsis

Aria the Scarlet Ammo (2011) is a Japanese anime action comedy series created for TBS, produced by J.C.STAFF and adapted from a light novel. Set in a near-present Japan where crime has grown so severe that the government founded Tokyo Butei High, an elite academy training armed detectives, the story follows Kinji Tooyama, an antisocial sophomore dropout who hides a powerful but embarrassing special ability behind a life of leisure. His quiet routine collapses when he becomes a target of the notorious Butei Killer and is pulled into the orbit of Aria Holmes Kanzaki, an emotional, outspoken prodigy who insists he become her partner. The engine of the show is that partnership: Kinji wants peace, Aria wants results, and each case, shootout and school-life skirmish pushes them closer while the crime threat keeps escalating. Across a single twelve-episode season, the series mixes brisk gunfights with romantic bickering and running gags, creating a breezy, energetic register. Its tone is lighthearted and exuberant, with a sincere undercurrent of loyalty. Fans of Toaru Majutsu no Index, Strike the Blood and Date A Live will find familiar resonance in its shonen power fantasy and academy setting.

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