Air (visual novel)

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Air
Genre	Drama, Fantasy, Romance
Game
Developer	Key
Publisher	Visual Art's (PC) NEC Interchannel (DC/PS2) Prototype (SoftBank 3G/PSP)
Genre	Eroge, Dating sim, Visual novel
Rating	18+ (Original PC), 15+ (PS2)
Platform	PC, Dreamcast, PS2, SoftBank 3G, PSP
Released	September 8, 2000 (PC-limited) July 19, 2001 (PC-regular) July 27, 2001 (PC All Ages) September 20, 2001 (Dreamcast) August 8, 2002 (Original PS2) April 8, 2005 (PC Standard Edition) September 1, 2005 (PS2 re-release) May 1, 2007 (SoftBank 3G) May 2007 (PSP)
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
No. of episodes	13
Movie
Directed by	Osamu Dezaki
Studio	Toei Animation
Released	February 5, 2005
Runtime	91 minutes
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 is a Japanese visual novel developed by Key, and released on September 8, 2000. The original version, first available on the PC, contains a minimal amount of adult-only content of a sexual nature. Subsequent clean versions were sold playable on the Dreamcast, PlayStation 2. The PC version with adult content was re-released with added support for Windows 2000/XP under the name Air Standard Edition. The last releases of Air will be available to play on the PlayStation Portable and the SoftBank 3G cell phone; both will be released in May 2007.^[1]

The gameplay in Air follows a linear plotline where the player interacts at predetermined times to choose predetermined options that appear on the monitor. The game was developed so that the focus for the player would be an intricate plot and the appeal of the three female main characters. The title of the game is meant to reflect the prominent themes of the air, skies, and use of wings.

Air has made transitions into other media. A manga series based on the visual novel was first serialized in the Japanese magazine Comptiq and published by Kadokawa Shoten; the manga ran between August 10, 2004 and February 10, 2006 and was illustrated by Japanese artist Yukimaru Katsura. A thirteen-episode anime series created by Kyoto Animation aired in Japan between January 6, 2005 and March 31, 2005. A subsequent release of two episodes entitled Air in Summer aired on August 28, 2005 and September 4, 2005. While the anime was still airing, an Air movie by the animation studio Toei Animation hit theaters in Japan on February 5, 2005.

Contents 1 Plot 2 Setting and themes 3 Gameplay 4 Characters 4.1 Main characters 4.2 Secondary characters 4.3 Feudal era characters 5 Release history 6 Reception and sales 7 Adaptations 7.1 Manga 7.2 Drama CDs 7.3 Anime 7.4 Movie 8 Music 9 References 10 External links

[edit] Plot

Set in the middle of summer, Air's story revolves around three girls whose lives are connected to the same man. Yukito Kunisaki, the main protagonist, is a showman traveling across Japan, continuing his mother's search for the "girl in the sky".

At the beginning of the story, Yukito comes across a small seaside town where the story takes place. On his first day in town, Yukito tries to earn money by putting on a mysterious puppet show for kids he finds by manipulating a doll magically without strings. Yukito is unsuccessful in gaining the children's favor, and the children end up running off without paying him for his performance.

Defeated after not getting any money, and not having enough for even a meal, Yukito falls asleep on a seawall near the beach. He awakens the next day to find beside him a young girl who introduces herself as Misuzu Kamio – a sincere yet clumsy girl who is eager to become friends with him. Misuzu persistently attempts to play with him, while Yukito tries to refuse her efforts. When Misuzu finds out Yukito has not eaten anything since the day before, she suggests that he come to her house and eat for the time being. Lured by a chance to eat, Yukito follows her back home. Upon learning of Yukito's lack of lodging, Misuzu suggests that he stay at her home until he can find a place in town while he earns money, despite Yukito's hesitance to go along with her plan. That night, Haruko – Misuzu's aunt and foster-mother – comes home and after Yukito and Misuzu persuade her, it is decided that he will stay with them on two conditions: that he sleeps in the shed, and that he shares a drink with Haruko.

As Yukito resides with Misuzu, he meets two other girls, Kano Kirishima and Minagi Tohno, who like Misuzu, have strange personalities connected with mysterious pasts. Before long, a legend of "one thousand summers" begins to unfold where the mysteries of the past are framed by the odd relationship between Yukito and Misuzu.

[edit] Setting and themes

There are important locations featured in Air that are based on those of the Kami city in Hyogo Prefecture, Japan. Air is 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.^[2] The summer season offered bright, sunny skies for the town during the day. In the manga adaptation, the town is described as a "quiet town with few people...with nothing but beaches and countryside."^[3]

As indicated by the title, air, skies and wings are important themes: Yukito is searching for the "girl in the sky" and Misuzu believes that her other self is flying in the sky above her. Other characters show a similar relationship to the sky, such as Minagi who is a member of the Astronomy Club and Michiru who has a fondness for bubbles that float in the air. Kano wants wings to fly, and Kanna already has them. Misuzu names a crow she finds Sora (空, Sora^?), meaning sky. Another major theme is the maternal bond, as the four heroines' stories revolve around their mothers, either biological or adoptive.

One of the sub-themes in the story is magic. Uraha, Yukito's mother, and Yukito himself have the ability to use magic, though Yukito is the least skilled among them. Kano was told by her sister that when she grows up and takes off her yellow ribbon, she will gain the power to do magic.

[edit] Gameplay

The visual novel is divided into three segments: Dream, Summer, and Air. The Summer segment can only be unlocked by completing the 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, who meets Misuzu Kamio, Kano Kirishima, and Minagi Tohno 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 next arc, the Summer arc, is a linear 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.^[4] 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 gameplay requires little interaction from the player as most of the duration of the game is spent on simply reading the text that will appear on the screen, signifying that a dialogue has occurred. Every so often, the player will come to a "decision point" where he or she is given the chance to choose from usually two to four options that are displayed on the screen. During these times, gameplay pauses until a choice is made that furthers the plot in a specific direction, depending on which choice the player makes. With the consumer ports, if an undesired choice was selected, there would be an option to rewind the story to correct the mistake, which saves time on loading and saving games. However, if the player reaches a bad end to a storyline, the player does not have this option and must reload the game at the last saved point.^[5] There are three main plotlines that the player will have the chance to experience, one for each of the heroines in the story. To view the plotlines to their entirety, the player will have to replay the game multiple times and chose different choices during the decision points to further the plot in an alternate direction.

One of the goals of the original version's gameplay was for the player to enable viewing of H scenes depicting Yukito and one of the three heroines having sexual intercourse. Later, Key released subsequent editions of Air without the erotic content. The original PC release was without voice acting, though this was later changed for the Dreamcast, which included full voice acting minus the protagonist, and the PlayStation 2, with full voice acting.

[edit] Characters

Main article: List of Air characters

[edit] Main characters

Yukito Kunisaki (国崎往人, Kunisaki Yukito^?)

Yukito is a traveling wanderer searching for the 'girl in the sky'. This goal has been passed down his family for from generation to generation for the past thousand years. He is the male protagonist of the series, and is the role the player assumes in the game. Voiced by: Hikaru Midorikawa (game, movie), Daisuke Ono (anime)

Misuzu Kamio (神尾観鈴, Kamio Misuzu^?)

Misuzu is the first of the three girls featured in Air that meets Yukito Kunisaki. She befriends Yukito, and invites him to stay at her home. She is a cheerful, slightly clumsy girl, and often utters the pseudo-dinosauric phrase Gao when she feels troubled. Misuzu has a great love of dinosaurs, finding the story of their glory and extinction "romantic." When she was young, she believed that baby chicks were young dinosaurs. Voiced by: Tomoko Kawakami

Kano Kirishima (霧島佳乃, Kirishima Kano^?)

Kano is the second of the three girls to meet Yukito. She is usually energetic and playful, and often says strange, nonsensical things. Kano is friends with a stray dog named Potato that follows her around and is able to communicate in his strange manner of speech. She always wears a yellow ribbon tied around her right-hand wrist, believing that when she grows up and takes off the ribbon, she will be able to use magic.Voiced by: Asami Okamoto

Minagi Tohno (遠野美凪, Tōno Minagi^?)

Minagi is the last of the main girls to meet Yukito. A top student in the school, Minagi is very shy and quiet, which isolates her from others. Until she met Yukito, her only friend was Michiru, with whom she often blows bubbles at the old train station. Voiced by: Ryoka Yuzuki

[edit] Secondary characters

Haruko Kamio (神尾晴子, Kamio Haruko^?)

Haruko is the foster mother and aunt of Misuzu. Haruko loves Misuzu as her own child, but tries to distance herself from Misuzu because she fears that one day Misuzu will be taken from her. She is very outgoing and enjoys a drink after work as well as riding her motorcycle, which she parks by crashing into the garage nightly. Voiced by: Aya Hisakawa

Hijiri Kirishima (霧島聖, Kirishima Hijiri^?)

Hijiri is Kano's older sister and the town's local medical doctor. She has taken care of her sister ever since their parents died. Hijiri was the one who originally tied the ribbon around Kano's wrist. She is also Yukito's employer - he does odd jobs at her clinic. Voiced by: Yumi Tōma

Michiru (みちる, Michiru^?)

Michiru is a young girl who does not seem to have a place to live; Michiru is nevertheless a spirited, energetic young child. Having befriended Minagi at an early age, Michiru does not seem to have any other friends. She plays an important role in Minagi's storyline. She enjoys playfully attacking Yukito Kunisaki and has fondness for bubbles.Voiced by: Yukari Tamura

Potato (ポテト, Poteto^?)

Potato is a strange dog that lives in town, mostly with Kano. Potato follows Kano a lot, and is the reason that Kano and Yukito meet. Potato makes frequent appearances throughout the series though it exists mostly as a minor character for comic relief in the visual novel and anime. Potato's only 'word' is "piko", though sometimes it will say the variations "pika" or "pikori". Voiced by: Hiromi Konno

Sora (そら, Sora^?)

Sora is a crow Misuzu befriends as a pet before she meets Yukito Kunisaki on the same day. Though Sora mostly appears as a minor character it has some important appearances, such as discovering Yukito's missing puppet or pulling Misuzu's toy dinosaur to the shrine. Sora's true nature is revealed at the very end of the series. Voiced by: Daisuke Ono

[edit] Feudal era characters

Kanna (神奈, Kanna^?)

Kanna is a young girl also known as Kannabi no Mikoto, since '-bi no mikoto' is the formal suffix given to winged beings. She is one of the last winged beings in history. Kanna is deified out of fear for the awesome power inherent in her kind, so from birth, Kanna has been kept in isolated areas away from the general populace. Not long after meeting Ryūya and Uraha, she escapes with them to find her mother, the only other winged being left. Voiced by: Chinami Nishimura

Ryūya (柳也, Ryūya^?)

Ryūya is a skilled, yet low-ranked samurai charged with Kanna's protection. Ryūya quickly befriends Kanna and eventually they fall in love. Unfortunately, after creating a diversion for Ryūya and Uraha, Kanna is cursed by Buddhist monks to live an endless cycle of reincarnation, suffering, and death. Ryūya dedicates the remainder of his life to finding a way to lift the curse, and though he never does, he has a child by Uraha in the hopes that their kin would eventually find a way to break the curse. Voiced by: Nobutoshi Canna

Uraha (裏葉, Uraha^?)

Uraha is one of the many servants in charge of Kanna's care. She also befriends Kanna and Ryūya and ends up escaping with them during their journey to find Kanna's mother. Though unbeknownst to the other two at the time, Uraha possesses powerful magical abilities that would come in handy later during their quest. Voiced by: Kikuko Inoue

[edit] Release history

Air was first introduced to the public on September 8, 2000, playable only for the PC as a limited edition package containing two CD-ROMs for the game, and the music album Ornithopter.^[5] It retailed for 8,800 yen (~US$74.18) prior to tax.^[6] The next year it was followed by three separate releases: a regular edition of the original PC game released on July 19, 2001, an all-ages version released on July 27, 2001 and the first consumer console port of the game for the Sega Dreamcast on September 20, 2001.

The second consumer port for the PlayStation 2 was released on August 8, 2002, retailing for 7,140 yen (~US$60.22). After the PS2 game sold enough units, three years later on September 1, 2005, a cheaper version for the PS2 also known as the "Best Version" went on sale for 2,980 yen (~US$26.67).^[7] To make up for the loss of hentai content in the consumer ports, extra scenes were added.^[8]

The Air Standard Edition was released on April 8, 2005 with added support for Windows 2000/XP as a DVD-ROM. Only this version, the original limited edition release, and the regular edition release contained pornographic scenes. The Standard Edition retailed for 3,800 yen (~US$31.55) before tax.^[9] Lastly, a version of the game playable on the PlayStation Portable and the SoftBank 3G cell phone has been announced, published by Prototype. The PSP version is set for a May 2007 sale date, while the SoftBank 3G release will be released on May 1, 2007.^[1]

[edit] Reception and sales

According to a national ranking of how well bishōjo games sold nationally in Japan, the original Air PC release premiered at number one in the rankings.^[10] Two months after the original release, the game ranked at forty-two followed by the same ranking a month later in December 2000.^[10] This game stayed on the charts for a month and a half longer, ranking in at twenty, and forty-two.^[11][12] The original release appeared on the charts once more in late September-early October 2001 at twenty-six.^[13] The regular edition of the Air PC release premiered at number thirteen, ranked in at number forty-one in the following ranking, and forty-two in the ranking after that.^[14][15] The PC all-ages version premiered at number seven in the rankings and had a final ranking at thirty in the next ranking.^[14] The Air Standard Edition premiered at number one in the rankings.^[16] The Air Standard Edition ranked in twice more, at thirty-four and at twenty-eight in the next two rankings.^[17]

The Dreamcast version sold 42,445 units in its first week, and was the fourth highest selling console game in Japan that week.^[5] The Dreamcast version ultimately sold 50,406 units and is ranked the fifty-third highest selling Japanese Dreamcast game ever, as of 2007.^[18]

"Air took the bishōjo gaming world by storm," as states a review of the Dreamcast game at mobygames.com.^[19] Air was positively reviewed at hentai.co.uk, commenting: "This game stands out, much like its predecessor Kanon, due to its amazingly intricate plot and storyline that will keep you playing for hours on end, and even once you have finished the game its replay value is beyond amazing."^[8] The PS2 version was reviewed at gamefaqs.com, commenting: "Memorable and remembrance, this game is quite enjoyable in a sense that it sets on with quite simple and non fancy introduction words and sentences."^[20] Air has been reviewed as, "a serious, thought-provoking read, despite its excessively-cute and "loli" character artwork and sometimes juvenile gags," as stated by Yukino Yoshi at freetype.com.^[4] Characters from Air have appeared in other dōjin works not directly based on the Air series. Games such as Eternal Fighter Zero -Blue Sky Edition- by Twilight Frontier where most of the playable characters either came from Air or from the earlier Key games Kanon or One.^[21]

[edit] Adaptations

[edit] Manga

An Air manga was serialized in the Japanese computer game magazine Comptiq between August 10, 2004 and February 10, 2006.^[22] The individual chapters were later collected into two separate volumes published by Kadokawa Shoten. The story was adapted from the video game version that preceded it, and was illustrated by Japanese artist Yukimaru Katsura. Between the two volumes, there are fifteen main chapters, nine in volume one and six in volume two. There are additional bonus chapters that are included at the end of each volume.

The manga version goes through the Dream and Air arcs in detail while the Summer arc is only touched upon briefly throughout the manga. The main focus is on Misuzu's story with Kano and Minagi serving as minor characters in comparison. However, in the last bonus installment at the end of volume two, Minagi's story is explained.

[edit] Drama CDs

There were nine drama CDs released based on Air. The first three focused solely on each of the main heroines separately per CD where the cover of the album would depict which of the girls to be presented. These three albums were released on the same day of August 24, 2005. The next batch of three was done the same way and were released on October 21, 2005. The last three were released in one month increments after the second batch of three drama CDs went on sale. The seventh CD focused on the events of the Summer arc in the story while the last two were based on the Air arc. At least the last CD released on January 25, 2006 contained original stories in addition to the story from the visual novel.^[23]

[edit] Anime

Main article: Air (anime)

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 was a limited edition DVD, with only 20,000 copies produced.

An anime based on the original visual novel aired in 2005 on TBS's BS-i satellite broadcasting network. The first episode, ~breeze~ (かぜ, kaze^?), was aired on January 6, 2005. The anime series comprises thirteen 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. The theme songs from the Air visual novel are used for the anime's opening theme, ending theme and soundtrack.

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, 2005 and September 4, 2005 respectively on BS-i. The DVD was later released on October 5, 2005 in Japan.

[edit] Movie

Main article: Air (film)

An Air movie, animated by Toei Animation premiered in Japanese theaters on February 5, 2005. It is a reinterpretation of the Air storyline by director Osamu Dezaki, 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] Music

Main article: List of Air soundtracks

Between the original game's release in 2000 and the anime version of 2005, six albums were released related to the Air series. Of the six, five were for the visual novel version and the last was for the anime movie. From the five albums for the visual novel, this only amounts to 26 separate songs which were either presented in their original versions or remixed. Such as into arranged versions in the first album release entitled Ornithopter, or in piano versions, as in Kanon Air Piano Arrange Album Re-feel. "The soundtrack for both the anime and the game has received much praise, high sales and also some controversy since it was originally released," states the Air information page on the website hentai.co.uk.^[8]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Key's official Air website (Japanese)
• Air anime official website (Japanese)
• Air movie official website (Japanese)
• Air Anthology manga official website (Japanese)
• Air Information and Synopsis
• zalas's Air Wiki
• Air at MobyGames
• Air 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