| Overall |
9 |
| Story |
8 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Character |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
Air Gear
+++Positives
Air Gear is without any doubt COOL. Everything from the catchy OP and ED, the slick presentation and the surprising sophistry of ideas behind ordinary roller-blading scream COOL. There is a wicked sense of humour prevalent throughout the anime, and the frequent crude jokes will definitely get a laugh out of you. The sense of competitiveness which any sport inspires is very nicely captured, there's a lot of yelling and foot-stamping but it never gets boring.
The characterization is very good, although full of the typical anime cliches - angry young kid with "hidden" talents, gorgeous shy chick who loves our hero and also
kicks ass when required, etc ... But it's very easy to like the characters, especially the leads, and you will definitely root for Ikki (!!!) as he progresses along the path of the Stormriders.
The art and animation is very consistent throughout. There are a lot of battles where the tension and the excitement is aptly captured. The overall
sound is really excellent. Although often recycled, all the music used is Great and the timing is perfect. I couldn't praise it more.
---Negatives
Air Gear suffers from the basic flaw of most mainstream anime, "Incomplete Manga-to-Anime Conversion". The first 15 episodes are brilliant, then the story starts meandering off course. You reach the 22nd ep and you start wondering how the series could possibly end in the next 3 eps. It seems very abrupt and suddenly, Ikki is the promised GOD. I don't know whether the manga continues the story (I've never read one in my life), but it was disappointing. The viewer is promised a showdown between Ikki and some very cool unnamed dudes (The 8 Kings ...), which never happens.
The side characters can get annoying. Especially the chick named Simca (the whole "mysterious" & desperate nude hottie who understands the hero's potential even before he does, blah...) and other oddities. Also,
there's a lot of Animation-Shortcuts used in the battles. It can get irritating when you see Ikki do the same move everytime although he calls it something else, or the way the animation is designed (the camera angles, etc).
Why You Should Watch...
Air gear is undoubtedly FUN. It's really pleasant viewing and for people who just wanna smoke a few joints and catch a good Sports Anime (which is not 100xx eps long), it's perfect.
The entire experience of wading through Air Gear definitely exemplifies the ideal of FREEDOM. You just wanna roam outside in the streets at night, even if it's not possible to go up the side of a building wearing blades. The show fulfills it's premise, as in, it provides solid original concepts and some breath-taking entertainment. Definitely Recommended... read more
