Air is one of three KEY visual novels adapted by Kyoto Animation. Out of the 3 adaptations, this is the one I remember the least. Clannad and Kanon 2006 were both exceptionally fantastic series, being emotionally gripping and beautifully told. So naturally, I had pretty high expectations for Air when I first heard it was made before the two series in question. Unfortunately, I can't say that Air captured the same feeling I had when watching Clannad and Kanon. So today, I look at KyoAni's first attempt at an adaptation, Air. Enjoy.
Story: 4/10.
Yukito Kunisaki is out to find the Winged Maiden, a old tale that his mother told him about as a child. He passes through a small town that he didn't expect to stay in very long, as he meets Misuzu Kaimo. This mysterious girl invites Yukito to stay with her. As Yukito continues to stay in this small, quaint little town, he starts to realize something: Could the Winged Maiden be closer than he thought? The first 10 episodes of the anime are pointless; some sarcastic guy with ridiculous hair helps a girl with their problems, and once their character arc is over, you never see or hear from them again. This is Air's biggest problem, character development. I'll get more in detail about the characters further down the track, but for now, let's talk about the feels. The most interesting arc in the show is Mizusu and her mother's story, showing how powerful a mother's love can be. It was so powerful and moving, I actually had to call my mother to tell her that I love her. Unfortunately, the anime doesn't focus much on these characters, deciding to focus more on girls we don't give a crap about, an unnecessary flashback arc, and a recap episode at the VERY END. The flashback arc in particular was a complete mistake. They could have easily explained these two episodes in about 5 minutes; granted, it would have taken some time to refocus, but they should've done that anyway to give Misuzu and her mother their proper story. Add this with the incredibly pointless side character arcs that do nothing to develop Yukito's character, and half of the show was nothing but a waste of time. You could probably skip episodes 2-6 and still understand what's going on. The biggest problem with Air's story is the fact that it's way too ambitious. It tries to take on many ideas at once, and ultimately falls flat on it's face. KyoAni eventually fixed all these problems with Kanon, and perfectly avoided them with Clannad, but that doesn't excuse Air for causing those problems.
Characters: 5/10.
When it comes to adapting a visual novel, the one job Air had was to make me care about the characters. If you don't care about the characters, then you won't care about what happens to them; whatever happens will go over your head, and you're sitting there thinking: "Was that supposed to make me cry?" You can probably guess by my tone, I didn't care about the majority of Air's cast, save for Misuzu. Even still, all she does for the first few episodes is fall over, drink peach juice and say "Gao!" Later on in the show, I grow more attached to Misuzu's character, but by that time, the show is near it's end. I cared about her, but not even close to how much I cared about Nagisa or Ayu from Clannad and Kanon. Air doesn't devote enough time to the main cast, instead deciding to have the side characters take the spotlight for a majority of the series, and even still, their arcs are very uninteresting. The anime somehow achieved a middle ground, leaving both the main cast and the side cast extremely underwhelming.
Art/Sound: 8/10
The biggest praise I can give Air is it's atmosphere. The soundtrack is absolutely beautiful, and the art, while it may be dated for some, is still fantastic. Keep in mind, this anime came out in 2005. The art and sound alone make this series worth watching. Character design comes down to personal preference; if you don't like the huge eyes and bushy face, so be it. The OST keeps a great balance of soothing and spiritual, matching the melancholic atmosphere the show. Finally, for all you dub watchers out there, Air's dub is actually pretty good. It's one of the few KyoAni dubs that doesn't want to make me tear my ears out. Looking at you, first season of Clannad. Overall, the art and soundtrack is fantastic, and while the anime itself may not have lived up to the beauty of the two, it was a pleasure nonetheless.
Final Verdict
Air isn't terrible; there's nothing about this anime that will make you think less of KEY's other adaptations, but the anime isn't that good, either. This series has a lot of potential; it has an interesting story that mostly fails to deliver, characters too unexplored for me to care, and an amazing feel to it that the rest of the anime mostly fails to capture. It could have easily been as great as it's successors with a few plot tweaks, a change in focus, and more character development. I feel like Air would have done a lot better if it were longer than 13 episodes. Air was a drama with missed potential that should have been a lot better than what it could have been, and doesn't hold up compared to it's predecessors. At the end of the day, Air may make you cry, but you really have to ask yourself: Why are you crying? Is it because the characters on screen are crying? Or is it something deeper?
Air gets a C-
