Air Collection [DVD] [2022]

This is a DVD release of AIR based on the Japanese Visual Novel of the same name. I won't spoil the story too much but essentially, Air is a story set in the summer about Yukito Kunisaki who is a travelling showman/puppeteer on his search for the ‘Girl in the Sky’, of which his family has been trying to find over the generations. In the course of his journey to find the ‘Girl in the Sky’, Yukito arrives in a town beside the sea, where he meets Misuzu Kamio, a girl who is looking for a friend who she wants to share the best summer yet with. Misuzu and her ‘Mom’ takes in Yukito as a freeloader due to not having anywhere else to go. Over time, friendship develops between Yukito and Mizuzu, and with Yukito meeting other residents in the seaside town, he comes to realise that all might not be as it seems, kicking off the story and mystery of the ‘Girl in the Sky’!As the original anime of the legendary Key Visual Novel series of which has sparked anime adaptations (Such as Kanon, Clannad, Little Busters and others), AIR has a very high reputation of emotion and storytelling, of which is synonymous with the Key/VisualArts Visual Novels. So when I heard that MVM would be releasing AIR in the UK on a home release, I could not wait to buy in order to experience it for myself!Overall I have to say I enjoyed AIR, the storytelling is good, and emotions of what AIR is known for really hits home. Another show to reach for the tissues for those wet eyes! However, I found that I had to watch the show twice to really understand it; I found the first watch left me with a fair few ‘huh?’s, and some of the arcs between the characters are a bit rushed. However, I can only imagine this is due to a visual novel being condensed into a 12 episode + 2 OVA series, and from reading extracts of the visual novel itself; Kyoto Animation and Key have done a good job of keeping the Anime true to the source material even within the limited episodes. You'd be pleased to read that Key and Kyoto Animation rectify this in their second animated visual novel release, Kanon, which I highly recommend also! :)This leads me nicely on to the fact that this is one of the very first Kyoto Animation shows they ever worked on as a studio, and as such the animation is outstanding, even for the early 2000’s! Start as you mean to go on! The show is set in the summer so lots of bright visuals, however everything is clean, and even though the show is not in HD, the beauty of everything is incredible. The DVD contains Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound of both the English Dub (A classic ADV Films Dub works) and the original Japanese. The English dub is good, however I really enjoyed the Japanese version as the actors really carry to the watcher each characters emotions, words and thoughts in an excellent manner. The soundtrack is taken from the Visual Novel itself, and is quality, fits the show very well!The DVD also contains some trailers of other MVM licensed Anime, and the textless opening and closing songs. It also contains the 2 episode OVA AIR in the Summer, of which consists of lighter side stories in the relation to the characters that appear in the later part of the AIR story.I recommend AIR to anyone who likes their anime with a bit of mystery and emotion, or just to see a quality piece of classic anime work! I especially recommend it to Key and Kyoto Animation fans to see how from AIR, Kyoto and Key worked together to create the Clannad Masterpiece.Check it out! :)PS – Potato is Best Boy. I will not be swayed by debate ;)

Air is an emotional and profound anime series based on the visual novel by Key. Like a lot of Key's other works, the anime was created by Kyoto Animation, whose work you might've recognised in Haruhi Suzumiya, Clannad, Angel Beats, Violet Evergarden and A Silent Voice. This is one of their earliest works, and while it's rough around the edges, it's nevertheless a good-quality, essential anime, one that has never seen the light of day in the UK until 2022. The wait is finally over.Air manages to tell a story that balances a surreal, fable-like tale with an emotional slice-of-life anime, and does so quite well. It's definitely not the best of Key's anime adaptations, as it may have benefited from more episodes than 12 to give its characters more breathing room, but what's here is still solid. It's a tale about Yukito, an unsuccessful puppeteer, travelling across Japan in search of the "girl in the sky" legend his late mother told to him. His travels take him to a small seaside town, where he meets the story's main heroine, Misuzu, and several other characters who seem to share a connection to this legend. As Yukito helps these girls with their own individual problems, the mystery surrounding this legend starts to unravel, and Misuzu's tragic connection to it poses a threat to her own life, and anyone who gets too close to her. If you're familiar with Key's other stories, you can expect an emotional rollercoaster here, one that you won't soon forget.The show's biggest issue would have to be how the story handles its Summer subplot, which is supposed to explain the origin of the "girl in the sky" 1000 years before the events of the show. It's a bit jarring and off-putting to spend all of the anime with its main characters up to a certain point, and only have this subplot introduced halfway through the main heroine's final story arc. A better solution would have been to show this subplot periodically throughout the series, maybe at the start of each episode, to gradually build up intrigue without ripping the audience's attention away from the main cast of characters in the present day.Flaws aside, I can't recommend this show enough to anyone who hasn't yet seen it. The visuals are good, even for an early 2000's anime, and it's animated surprisingly well. The voice actors in the English dub do a good job, with the standouts being Vic Mignogna, Luci Christian, Cynthia Martinez, and (as much as it pains me to say it now) even Monica Real. All of this is aided by a great soundtrack, especially a song towards the end of the story. No matter what shortcomings Air might have compared to Key/Kyoto Ani's other adaptations, its pros outweigh its cons, and it's a profound tale that deserves to be experienced at least once. I'm especially happy that it's come to DVD, after 12+ years of waiting.

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lover of all Japanese anime