Ranked #752

Air (movie)

"A condensed love story with significant differences from its TV counterpart."

Advice #1: Do NOT watch the movie right after finishing the TV series. It is very tempting to do so (for comparison) but you are bound to be disappointed if you do so (due to various reasons to be discussed below).

Advice #2: Forget what happened in the TV series about Kano and Minagi as they play no part in the movie so do not hope for much of their appearance in the movie. (same for PIKO PIKO!)

Advice #3: Do NOT view the movie as inferior to the TV series. You are comparing French to English. The two are not even made by the same director!

Story:
It was a very good idea for Toei Animation to have both Kanna and Misuzu's story intertwined throughout the movie. This makes plot development much simpler to understand. For example, instead of the dreams that Misuzu often had in the TV series (as a way to link the past with present), she now uncovers the past through her field work. Two every different ways of presenting to the viewer "the story behind the story". There were also significantly more romance involved between Kanna-Ryūya pair and Misuzu-Yukito pair.

Art:
Since the movie was produced by Toei Animation, the animation quality will obviously be different from its TV counterpart. It is certainly not wise to compare the two (movie VS TV series) in terms of graphic (Kyoto Animation win by light years ahead). However, it is worth noting that the Movie does have some unique filming techniques that were quite impressive but those "still image" picture-book-like techniques were kind of overdone a little. In addition, for a 2005 production, the animation quality is really not that great (especially for a movie).

Sound:
Soundtrack wise, the same OP/ED songs were used for the movie as the TV series. So it should make most viewers comfortable watching the movie (not sure if it were wise to do that as it'll just make viewers want to compare the movie with the TV series even more).

The major difference from the TV series is that Yukito in the movie is NOT voice acted by Daisuke Ono, instead Yukito's CV in the movie is Hikaru Midorikawa (Heero Yuy from Gundam Wing, Kaede Rukawa in Slam Dunk, and Yusuke Yoshino in Clannad).

Character:
While it was enjoyable to see more character development and more developed relationships between the main leads, it was also sad that major characters in the TV series like Kano, Minagi, Michiru, Uraha, and even POTATO did not have much of a role in the movie.

It is worth mentioning that some characters' personality are altered slightly. What does that mean? For instance, the "love" between Kanna and Ryūya in the TV series was very pure (Ryūya's love was more like out of respect), but the movie version have a totally different take on that. Much the same between Yukito and Misuzu.

Final Impression:
I tried my best to not compare the TV series and the movie as much as possible (due to the simple fact that they were produced by different company), but I still find it hard to rate the movie as high as the TV production. However, the movie did give us some alternative paths that were not taken in the TV series (which was rather unique). It does not really matter which to watch first (TV or movie), but ultimately both have the same tragic ending (though the movie was less tragic due to Yukito being alive at the end ). read more

The 1000th Summer...

When I noticed that there was an Air movie, I was ecstatic to watch it after finishing Air TV. Then I noticed that the studio who produced the movie was Toei. After the disappointment that was Kanon 2002, I decided to bury the movie and never look back. Then I watched Clannad the movie and noticed that it was also produced by Toei. I decided to see if Air the movie is as good as Clannad's and it didn't disappoint!

Unlike the TV series, the movie focused more on Misuzu's story. The other heroines of Air only made cameo appearances and weren't even mentioned in the movie. This can be taken either way by their fans, but I applaud the cohesive storyline of the movie. One of the main weaknesses of the TV series was the jittery story due to the attempts of balancing out the three girls. The movie completely eliminates this obstacle and presents its viewers with a heartfelt story of a young girl named Kamio Misuzu and a traveler known as Kunisaki Yukito.

The movie visuals did not disappoint with stunning backgrounds and lively character designs. Even though I prefer the character designs of Kyoto Animation, Toei's designs have a rather unique charm to them.

Now comes the main gripe I have with the movie in general. The background music itself was great, I especially enjoyed the use of 'Aozora' during Misuzu's beach scene. The problem stems from the rather cheesy music used during some scenes. How is it that I burst out laughing when I'm supposed to feel shocked during a supposedly shocking scene?

Probably the section that blows away the TV series, the character development between Misuzu and Yukito! Sure the other characters were mostly sidelined, but I believe it is better to fully develop the main characters rather than having half-fleshed characters that are forgotten due to time constraints.

The movie is very enjoyable for old and newcomers of Air. Those who have seen the TV series should definitely consider the movie. If it wasn't for some rather odd choices concerning background music, I would have probably given a higher score. Now there are some "Hmm" moments, but nothing a little thinking wouldn't solve.

Hope those who read this enjoyed it somewhat and remember to give the movie a shot! read more