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Plot Synopsis

When he was young, Kunisaki Yukito's mother told him of a winged girl in the sky. Yukito's family has been searching for this girl for generations upon generations. Finally, Yukito's journey takes him to a small seaside town where he meets Kamio Misuzu, 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?

Story & Characters

Another anime adaptation on a visual novel/eroge. This one has a particularly touching story. It starts off REALLY slowly...for the first quarter of the series you mostly see Yukito seemingly bumbling around town not heading in any direction or achieving much, and the viewer has very little idea what is going on, or what this "winged girl" thing is about. Consequently when we are shown Kano and Minagi's special situations that are supposed to lead the viewer into thinking "Is she the winged girl Yukito is looking for?", the viewer DOESNT think that, because the viewer has absolutely no clue what this winged girl is about, so all he sees is "Okay this girl, has some really weird stuff going on...oookaaaayyy.".

Once you get past that phase though, the storyline picks up really well. It really drives you on to see whether Misuzu and Yukito can make it, to find out more about the past, the origin of the curse, and whether the curse is broken or not. The way the series conclude on a bittersweet note, yet offers hope for the future, is extremely well done. The series is just full of incredibly touching moments, if you are prone to tear, be prepared to reach for a box of tissues, especially near the end of the last story arc.

There are however, some parts that are not very well done. For example some portions of the storyline just arent explained properly. For instance its not very clear whether Yukito suceeded in breaking the curse on Misuzu at the end or whether Kanna would re-incarnate again. In the Summer arc, there are several portions that seems out of continuity with the rest, when rebuffed from their first attempt to access the mountain where Kanna's mother is kept, they seemingly have no problems whatsoever the second time going directly to her prison, even though the monks would have been well fore-warned and prepared by then.

However overall, a very nicely well done and touching plot, delivered in a fairly unique manner...particularly the way the last story arc "Air" is shown, where you can see past events with a totally new perspective.

Rating

9 (very good)

Art

Okay the anime is full of gorgeous scences. The scences of the ocean. The sunset scences at the train station. The lush greenery of the wild forests in the summer story arc. They are all vibrant with colour and beautiful. Its an absolute treat for the eyes. This, without a doubt, deserves a 10. It is hands down the most beautiful anime ive seen.

Rating

10 (excellent)

Sound

Sound is extremely well done. Voicing is above average, especially Minagi's seiyuu, who played her part perfectly, Misuzu is also particularly well done.

Of note however is the music. The OP, Tori No Uta, is one of the best songs ive heard, and really fits the OP sequence and mood of the anime. So does the ED, Farewell song. Also there is the heart breaking song that is played during an extremely dramatic moment near the end of the series, and it just fits the scence perfectly(you will know it when you see it). The OST is a fantastic buy with these 3 great songs and several other great music tracks as well.

Rating

9 (very good)

Presentation

The presentation would be near perfect except for the awkard way the anime starts off, but once you get past that, its really really well done. The way we get a perfectly timed flashback sequence, followed by the story arc where we see old events with a new perspective, is really well thought out. At first you think Misuzu's mother just cant be bothered, then by the time the series finishes, you have changed your mind.

For such a sad story there are numerous comedy moments. However the majority of them are in the 2 bonus episodes, AIR in summer, that expand on the feudal era's events. The 2 episodes are chock full of comedy moments, yet manage to greatly expand the background story and are still filled with meaningful moments.

Rating

8 (good)

Final Verdict

8.83 (very good)

Reviewed by Question, 1y 24wk ago