Air (series)

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Air
Genre	Drama, Fantasy, Romance, Harem
Game
Developer	Key
Publisher	Visual Art's, NEC Interchannel (for the console ports)
Genre	Visual novel
Rating	Mature
Platform	PC, Dreamcast, PlayStation 2
Released	September 8, 2000 (PC) September 20, 2001 (Dreamcast) August 8, 2002 (PS2)
Manga
Authored by	Key (story) Yukimaru Katsura (art)
Publisher	Kadokawa Shoten
Serialized in	Comptiq
Original run	August 10, 2004 – February 10, 2006
No. of volumes	2
TV anime
Directed by	Tatsuya Ishihara
Studio	Kyoto Animation
Network	BS-i
Original run	January 6, 2005 – March 31, 2005 August 28, 2005 – September 4, 2005
No. of episodes	13 + 2
Movie
Directed by	Osamu Dezaki
Studio	Toei Animation
Released	February 5, 2005
Runtime	91 minutes

Air is a Japanese visual novel created by the software company Key, which was also responsible for the games Kanon and later, Clannad. Although Air was created as a PC eroge for adults, it has minimal hentai scenes. A version without hentai scenes, dubbed the "All Ages Version", was later released on three systems: The PC (without voice acting), the Dreamcast (with almost full voice acting) and the PlayStation 2 (with full voice acting). This "All Ages Version" was later the basis for an animated TV series and movie.

Air features the song Tori no Uta (鳥の詩, Bird's Poem^?) and insertion song Aozora (青空, Blue Sky^?).

Contents 1 Plot 2 Media 2.1 Air (video game) 2.2 Air (TV) 2.3 Air (movie) 3 Cast 4 Series setting 5 Soundtrack 5.1 Controversy 6 References 7 External links

[edit] Plot

Kunisaki Yukito is a travelling showman, travelling across Japan searching for a legend passed down from his mother about a "girl in the sky". During his journeys, he comes across a small seaside town where he meets a clumsy yet cute girl named Kamio Misuzu, who is eager to become friends with him. As Yukito stays in the town with Misuzu and meets other residents there, a legend of "one thousand summers" begins to unfold, the mysteries of the past framed by the odd relationship between Yukito and Misuzu.

[edit] Media

[edit] Air (video game)

The game is divided into three segments: Dream, Summer, and Air. The Summer segment can only be unlocked by completing all three good endings in the Dream arc, while Air is unlocked by completing the Summer arc.

In the Dream arc, the player plays as Yukito Kunisaki who had to get off the bus in a seaside town because he couldn't afford the fare to travel on. While trying to earn money with puppet shows, he meets Kamio Misuzu, Kano Kirishima, and Minagi Tōno one by one. As the game progresses, Yukito gets the chance to learn the story of one of the girls, depending on the choices that the player makes.

The Summer arc is a novel arc, in which no choices are presented to the player. The narrator of this arc is Ryūya, and the events of this arc takes place a thousand years before the Dream arc, in the Heian period.

The Air arc, which centers on Misuzu Kamio, is the finalé of the game. The protagonist in this arc is Sora, a crow that Misuzu befriends and brings home. Sora bears witness to the events of the Dream arc concerning Misuzu, and continues the unfinished story from the Dream arc. Kano and Minagi play cameo roles in this arc.

The first version game are criticized by some for its inclusion of hentai scenes, which some say are out of place and detract from the actual plot of the game. For this reason, Key released subsequent editions of Air without the erotic content and labelled them as "All-Ages Version". Additionally, Key did not make their next game, CLANNAD, an eroge title like Kanon and Air.

[edit] Air (TV)

Main article: Air (TV series)

On November 17, 2004, a teaser DVD named Air ~prelude~ was produced containing interviews with the cast, clean opening and ending sequences, and promotional footage of the anime itself. It is a limited edition DVD, with only 20,000 copies produced.

An anime based on the game aired in 2005 on TBS's BS-i satellite broadcasting network. The first episode, かぜ ~breeze~, was aired on January 6, 2005. The anime series comprises thirteen main episodes, which consist of twelve main episodes and one recap episode. The anime also follows the game by splitting the series into three parts; Dream (eps 1-7), Summer (eps 8-9), and Air (eps 10-12), with the recap episode (ep 13) following.

At the end of episode thirteen of the Air anime, there was a teaser for a special addendum to the series, entitled Air in Summer. The two episodes aired on August 28 and September 4 respectively on BS-i. The DVD was later released on October 5 in Japan.

[edit] Air (movie)

Main article: Air (film)

An Air movie, animated by Toei (the same team who worked on the Kanon anime), premiered in Japanese theaters on February 5, 2005. It is a reinterpretation of the Air storyline by director Dezaki Osamu, and may be considered as a retelling of the original storyline. The DVD was released in three editions, the Collector's Edition, the Special Edition, and the Regular Edition on August 5, 2005.

[edit] Cast

Seiyū Anime character Game Anime Movie Tomoko Kawakami Misuzu Kamio Aya Hisakawa Haruko Kamio Hikaru Midorikawa Yukito Kunisaki Daisuke Ono Chinami Nishimura Kanna Kikuko Inoue Uraha Nobutoshi Canna Ryūya

Seiyū Anime character Game Anime Movie Asami Okamoto Kano Kirishima Yumi Touma Hijiri Kirishima Ryoka Yuzuki Minagi Tōno Yukari Tamura Michiru Hiromi Konno Potato Daisuke Ono Sora

[edit] Series setting

The seaside town featured in Air is actually a city in Japan called Kami. Located in Hyogo Prefecture, Air was set in the Kasumi district of Kami; during the course of the series' creation, Kasumi was an individual town that has since merged with two others to form the city of Kami. Many of the locales in Air, such as the seawall, the train station, the shrine, and the school are real places. [1] [2]

[edit] Soundtrack

Main article: Air soundtracks

Many soundtracks of the Air series have been released to date. Some of the music from the original Visual novel soundtrack have been also used in the anime and movie - including the opening and ending theme for the TV series; "Tori no Uta" (The Song of the Bird) and "Farewell Song" both performed by famed I've Sound artist Lia.

[edit] Controversy

Music from the game and anime have been the subjects of considerable controversy. On August 27, 2005, Anime News Network reported that Singaporean musician Shaun Yu may have plagiarized "Tori no Uta". Yu's current album, The Best of Shaun Yu, features a track called "Melody" which sounds like the Air theme. Though Key made no official statement at the time, an investigation was initiated.^[1]

On September 21, 2005 it was reported that a second song on the album, "Magic", may have been plagiarized from another song on the Air soundtrack, "Tenshi no Kyujitsu".^[2] Yu has stated that his producers, YesMusic, had arranged both tracks, and that he was unaware of the situation. YesMusic, in turn, has stated that it licensed the rights to the song from Key/Visual Art's for mainland China distribution, but that the album came out in Taiwan before licensing could be arranged for that territory. However, Key/Visual Art's denies this, as per a statement on its website:

Official Announcement Regarding Plagiarism of Tori no Uta

Thank you very much for supporting products of our humble company. According to information provided by fans, we've learned that Shaun Yu's 真愛珍愛2005風行精選集 distributed by SONY BMG Entertainment (Taiwan) is suspected plagiarizing our music - Tori no Uta. We apologize for worrying supporting fans. We have filed a formal complaint to SONY BMG Entertainment (Taiwan) and made following demands:

• Apologize publicly on the web.
• Credit the composer of Tori no Uta to Shinji Orito clearly.
• If the above two requirements are fulfilled, we will not ask for financial compensations.

We have been negotiating with SONY BMG Entertainment (Taiwan) with those terms. Regrettably, 季忠屏, director of YesMusic, the production company of this CD, has made a false announcement today that he had purchased distribution rights from us. It is a pity and is regrettable. In order to show our objection to his plagiarizing actions and his dishonest attitude, we shall not license any of our creation to them, including Tori no Uta. These days, we have received supports from both Japanese and Taiwanese fans. You have our immense gratitude. Please keep supporting our humble company, Key, in the future.

Translation from Anime News Network, not the official website

On September 29, 2005, Sony BMG Taiwan posted a statement of apology in both Chinese and Japanese on their official website. CD shipments were cancelled and recalled.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• (Japanese) Key Official HP
• (Japanese) Air Movie Official HP
• (Japanese) Air Animation Official HP
• (Japanese) Air Anthology Comic Official HP
• (English) zalas's Air Wiki
• (English) Air: Information and Synopsis

Air v • d • e
Media:	Manga(2004-2006) | TV series(2005) (list of episodes) | Movie(2005) | Soundtracks
Main characters:	Yukito Kunisaki | Misuzu Kamio | Haruko Kamio
Modern era characters:	Kano Kirishima | Minagi Tōno | Michiru | Hijiri Kirishima | Potato | Sora
Feudal era characters:	Ryūya | Uraha | Kanna