When he was young, Yukito Kunisaki's mother told him of a winged girl in the sky. Yukito's family has been searching for this girl for generations. Finally, Yukito's journey takes him to a small seaside town where he meets Misuzu Kamio, a girl who is eager to make friends with Yukito. Yukito ends up staying with Misuzu and her mother, Haruka, while he searches for the girl in the sky. In the town, however, there are strange occurences, and as the days pass by, Misuzu starts to have strange dreams.
What is the truth behind Misuzu's dreams and her failing health? And how is everything connected to Yukito and his journey?
The manga adapted from the game is illustrated by Yukimaru Katsura.
Story & Characters
When someone asks me what your favourite anime is, I always reply Kimi Ga Nozomu Eien... then AIR. Why? It's only
because of one factor: the characterisation in both series. I'll get to characters later.
The story is simply superb. It's a little confusing at first, especially with the jumps around characters, times
and location, but in the end, it's very touching. The originality of the concept deserves a lot of praise. I simply
can't stress enough how great the complexity of this storyline is without spoiling it. Take my word for it,
it's excellent. Some people think that the complexity of the story is what makes it messy and complex. In some
ways, I quite agree; it can be strange, but that does not change the fact that the ending is incredibly touching. It can
be seen that most people find the lead up to the climax to be quite boring and pointess, but that just leads up to the
development of....
Characters:
The developments of the characters, shall I say, vary. While the side characters don't recieve that much attention,
the three main characters Misuzu, Haruka and Yukito, especially the former two, are greatly developed. It's good to
see the absence of the annoying young lead male character; Yukito steps into those shoes nicely. The support characters
are good at their job: supporting the main female, Misuzu and making the story move along progressively. I have nothing
much to say except the fact that story and characters are the facets of this anime that make it so successful.
A/N: I would have given it 9.5/10, but there's no .5 :P
Rating: 9
Art
The art was really well done. However, while I'm not a real big fan of the way the eyes are drawn, this style of
art makes it more memorable to me. The appearances of the female characters are, surprisingly, unique, all of them
having different hairstyles and clothes (except the school uniform). The backgrounds aren't splendid, but not
really average either. It more than serves the purpose of conveying the story.
The most striking aspects of the art in this series would be the ways the sky and water are protrayed. Apart from being
used in most if not all of the outdoor scenes, these two are also potent symbols in the story.
Overall, the art of this anime is deceptively cute. It didn't really strike me as a drama/tragedy type of title
when I watched the first episode, but overall, it only serves to further heighten the sense of tragedy that befalls the
characters. This anime does not disappoint when it comes to art. To the animation artists' credits, the art remains
consistent throughout the entire series, which is good to see.
Rating: 10
Sound
The OSTs aren't bad. They are, at the very least, suited to the anime. I, personally however, don't really
like them that much, despite their suitability to the genre. However, I really like the background music, performed by,
if I'm not mistaken, "I've" (never heard of them though). The two pieces, which have become
synonymous with the title are Hane and Summer Lights. Although they are just piano with acoustic accompaniment, they are
both very powerful musical pieces. I get a really warm and fuzzy feeling (WAFF), when I listen to the latter piece.
However, during the climax of the anime, episode 12, if I remember correctly, the song Aozora sung by Lia really touched
me. It was so... fitting for the moment. One of the factors contributing to a great anime is the music and how it fits
with the title; as one of the greatest series ever produced, AIR also has music befitting of the series.
Rating: 8
Presentation
As I said previously, this series ranks number 2 on my personal list of animes (out of around 40 odd titles). Number 2
by a long mile, if I may add. In my opinion, and as objectively as I can possibly put it, the storyline,
characterisation, art and music all play an integral part in making the series as successful as it has become. The
originality and complexity of the storyline are the staples of the anime. Without it, AIR would have just been another
shunned and rejected wanna-be drama series. The build up was not only good, but appropriate, and the climax of the story
just really touches one's heart.
Overall, excellent series, and as an acquaintance of mine once put it: "pure genius"!
Rating: 10
Final Verdict
9.3333 (very good)
Reviewed by pariahed, Apr 17, 2006
