Air (anime)

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Air
Genre	Drama, Fantasy, Romance
TV anime
Directed by	Tatsuya Ishihara
Studio	Kyoto Animation
Network	BS-i
Original run	January 6, 2005 – March 31, 2005
No. of episodes	13
TV anime : Air In Summer
Directed by	Tatsuya Ishihara
Studio	Kyoto Animation
Network	BS-i
Original run	August 28, 2005 – September 4, 2005
No. of episodes	2

Air was first introduced in anime form on November 17, 2004, when 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 was a limited edition DVD, with only 20,000 copies produced. On January 6, 2005, a thirteen episode anime of Air following the plot of the Air visual novel began airing on TBS's BS-i satellite broadcasting network produced by Kyoto Animation with the episode Breeze (かぜ, Kaze^?). The series concluded with the recap episode aired on March 31, 2005.^[1]

At the end of episode thirteen, there was a teaser for a special addendum to the series, entitled Air in Summer. The two episodes aired on August 28, 2005 and September 4, 2005 respectively on BS-i. A DVD was later released on October 5, 2005 in Japan.^[2]

On December 22, 2006, Air became one of the first anime series to be released in Blu-ray Disc format, the next-generation format meant to replace DVDs. The release came in a four disc box set containing the twelve main episodes and the two Air in Summer episodes.^[3] The box set retails for 29,800 yen (~$247.66), though this is still cheaper than buying the seven individual DVDs, including Air in Summer.^[4]

Contents 1 Plot 1.1 Dream (episodes 1-7) 1.2 Summer (episodes 8-9) 1.3 Air (episodes 10-12) 2 Episodes 2.1 Anime 2.2 Air in Summer 3 Trivia 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Plot

[edit] Dream (episodes 1-7)

The story opens with Yukito Kunisaki, a freeloader that just arrived in town. After a failed attempt to make any money with his puppet show, now starving Yukito falls asleep on the seawall. He is later woken up by a "flying" girl, or so he initially thinks; it turns out to be a regular girl named Misuzu Kamio. After a walk with Misuzu, Yukito notices that his puppet is missing. After a search, a crow manages to locate Yukito's missing puppet and return it to him. In the aftermath, Misuzu manages to lure Yukito to her house with food. Later they convince Haruko Kamio, Misuzu's foster mother and aunt, in allowing Yukito to stay. The next day after escorting Misuzu to her school, Yukito comes across Potato which steals his puppet. Potato leads Yukito to Kano Kirishima and after a brief walk Kano leaves Yukito for school. After picking Misuzu up from class, Yukito inquires where he can find a crowd to perform his puppet show. Misuzu leads him to the local train station encountering Minagi Tohno, Misuzu's classmate. A few moments later Michiru literally runs into Yukito.

Yukito is looking for "the girl in the sky", Kannabi no mikoto, as per a tradition held in his family. The cursed girl could be Kano, Minagi or Misuzu. Eventually, he discovers who it is, but she has already learned to love him and passed her 15th birthday. Once the girl in the sky does either of these, she is cursed to die. The remainder of this arc is dedicated to Yukito's attempt to save her.

[edit] Summer (episodes 8-9)

This arc reveals the events of 1000 years before the Dream arc. Before she was cursed to constant reincarnation and death whenever she finds love, Kannabi no mikoto, was a prisoner in her own castle. Because she bore wings on her back, she was not permitted to leave the castle walls, not even to see her mother, who was in a similar situation elsewhere. With Ryūya, a member of her samurai guard, and Uraha, a fledgling telekinetic, Kannabi no mikoto, or Kanna as she is called, escaped and traversed feudal Japan to find Kanna's mother. However, the rest of the guard and a sect of Buddhist monks followed. In this arc, Kanna becomes less of a detached entity and more of a sympathetic character. She learns about recreation and friendship, love and heartbreak. Whereas before she could be seen as a spirit "possessing" Misuzu and dooming her to her death, the Summer arc reveals her to be as much a victim as her present-day incarnation is, and just as incapable of escaping the curse.

Air in Summer takes place during the Summer arc.

[edit] Air (episodes 10-12)

Yukito's final wish to save Misuzu's life is heard. The series starts over from the Dream arc, although it is seen through Sora's point of view, and many new things are revealed that the viewer did not see following Yukito. If Yukito could not save Misuzu, can Sora? Will Haruko learn to love her daughter in time? And just what is Sora, anyway?

[edit] Episodes

[edit] Anime

Screenshot	Title	Original air date	#
	"~Breeze~" "Kaze" (かぜ)	January 6, 2005	01
	Yukito Kunisaki arrives to the town in hopes of making money for food with his puppet show. He meets Misuzu Kamio, a strange girl living in the town. Misuzu manages to lure Yukito to her house with food at which after a discussion she offers him residence. Soon after Haruko Kamio, Misuzu's foster mother, arrives to the house. Haruko initially opposes Yukito's stay but later decides to allow him to stay in the shed.
	"~Town~" "Machi" (まち)	January 13, 2005	02
	Yukito explains to Misuzu the quest of the cursed girl with wings that had been in his family for generations. The next day Yukito's puppet show only manages to attract a dog named Potato, while scaring others. Yukito is caught by Hijiri Kirishima while performing in front of her clinic and offers Yukito work doing odd jobs.
	"~Whisper~" "Koe" (こえ)	January 20, 2005	03
	Surroundings of Yukito and Misuzu briefly change from the shrine to a cropland as a result of Kano's experience. After a confrontation with Hijiri, Yukito and others briefly go to the clinic. Yukito and Misuzu leave the clinic for home. On their way Yukito realizes he wasn't paid for his part time job and sneaks back into the clinic only to overhear Kano's other personality.
	"~Plume~" "Hane" (はね)	January 27, 2005	04
	Kano strangles Yukito at her zombie-like state near the shrine hard enough to leave a mark before falling unconscious. Back at the clinic, Hijiri apologizes for Kanos behavior and explains when and how Kano's unusual symptoms started, with a single bright feather at the shrine.
	"~Wing~" "Tsubasa" (つばさ)	February 3, 2005	05
	Yukito ends up spending the day with Minagi and Michiru while Misuzu is at school. Yukito walks Minagi home after being invited to go stargazing on the school's rooftop when he first learns of her mother's mental illness. Later, Misuzu attempts to play cards with Yukito, but is overcome with extreme pain. When Yukito learns of Misuzu's condition he decides to move out of the house.
	"~Star~" "Hoshi" (ほし)	February 10, 2005	06
	After Minagi's mother's mental condition has caused her to forget she has a daughter, Minagi leaves home and joins Yukito. Yukito tells Minagi he's leaving town and wants her to come with him, but instead leads her back home to face her mother. Michiru is invited to eat at Minagi's house. Michiru leaves, having fulfilled her purpose.
	"~Dream~" "Yume" (ゆめ)	February 17, 2005	07
	There are a number of flashbacks that Yukito has of his mother telling him about the girl with wings, about how she will forget everything and die when she dreams her final dream, and about how the person close to her will also die. Misuzu's foster mother leaves, leaving Yukito and Misuzu alone. Misuzu tells Yukito about her last dream, and Yukito comes to the decision to stay by her side, knowing the consequences.
	"~Summer~" "Natsu" (なつ)	February 24, 2005	08
	This story takes place 1000 years before the "Dream" arc. Kanna is a girl with wings confined to a palace with a friend, Uraha, and body guard, Ryūya. When Kanna is to be sent to another temple, the 3 escape and go on a journey to find Kanna's mother. Meanwhile, the palace is attacked and the 3 are pursued. They finally find Kanna's mother but she tells them to leave.
	"~Moon~" "Tsuki" (つき)	March 3, 2005	09
	Kanna's mother claims to be "tainted". They all escape from the mountain but their pursuers manage to kill Kanna's mother. Before she dies, she passes the ancient prayer to Kanna. While the pursuers are closing in, the 3 talk about settling down near the ocean, but Kanna knows this is only a dream. She takes flight but the monks curse her and she gets killed by the soldiers. Ryūya and Uraha learn about the curse and Kanna's suffering and vow to end it by having a child who will break the curse.
	"~Light~" "Hikari" (ひかり)	March 10, 2005	10
	The events of the Dream arc are retold from the point of view of a crow Misuzu found and named Sora.
	"~Sea~" "Umi" (うみ)	March 17, 2005	11
	Misuzu's curse is getting more serious. Soon, she has forgotten who Haruko is and begins to act strangly, playing cards by herself and not wanting to go outdoors. Haruko is depressed, but tries hard to restore the memories Misuzu lost. Soon, however, Misuzu's birth father shows up, and tries to claim Misuzu back from Haruko, deciding to let Misuzu decide who she wants to live with. Haruko, desperate because of Misuzu's memory loss, begs him to let her have Misuzu for 3 more days, to which he agrees.
	"~Air~" "Sora" (そら)	March 24, 2005	12
	The summer festival has finally arrived, but unfortunately it rains that day and thus the festival is canceled. Wanting to do anything she can for Misuzu, Haruko brings her to the local shrine. As mother and daughter bond, can Haruko ultimately save Misuzu from returning to her other self in the vast blue sky?
	"Recap episode" "Soushuuhen" (総集編)	March 31, 2005	13
	A recap of Misuzu Kamio's story arc.

[edit] Air in Summer

Two additional episodes of the Air anime were aired after the conclusion of the main plot. These episodes expanded on the back-story of Air on the events that were the cause for Misuzu's curse.

Screenshot	Title	Original air date	#
	"~Mountain path~" "Yamamichi" (やまみち)	August 28, 2005	01
	"~Universe~" "Ametsuchi" (あめつち)	September 4, 2005	02

[edit] Trivia

• In the second anime episode, Ayu, Nayuki, and Makoto, characters from the Key game Kanon, appear as students at Misuzu's school.
• In the twelfth episode, Haruko can be seen wearing an Air t-shirt in a flashback.
  

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Air (TV) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia
• Air in Summer at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia

Key v • d • e
Kanon	Anime episodes | Characters | Soundtracks
Air	Anime | Characters | Movie | Soundtracks
Clannad	Nagisa Furukawa | Soundtracks
Other games	Planetarian (Albums) | Tomoyo After (Soundtracks) | Little Busters!
Pre-Key games	Dōsei | Moon. | One: Kagayaku Kisetsu e
Related	Key Sounds Label | KineticNovel | Tactics | Visual Art's