Air (video Game)
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''Air'' is a Japanese
visual novel A , often abbreviated as VN, is a form of digital semi-interactive fiction. Visual novels are often associated with and used in the medium of video games, but are not always labeled as such themselves. They combine a textual narrative with sta ...
developed by
Key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...
, a brand of
Visual Arts The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video, filmmaking, design, crafts and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual art, and textile arts al ...
. It was released on September 8, 2000 for
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as an adult game. Key later released versions of ''Air'' without the erotic content, and the game was
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to the
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,
PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...
,
PlayStation Portable The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in PAL regions on September 1, 2005, ...
,
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and
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. The story follows the life of Yukito Kunisaki, a traveling
showman Showman can have a variety of meanings, usually by context and depending on the country. Australia Travelling showmen are people who run amusement and side show equipment at regional shows, state capital shows, events and festivals througho ...
searching for the "girl in the sky". He arrives in a quiet, seaside town where he meets three girls, one of whom is the key to the end of his journey. The
gameplay Gameplay is the specific way in which players interact with a game, and in particular with video games. Gameplay is the pattern defined through the game rules, connection between player and the game, challenges and overcoming them, plot and pla ...
in ''Air'' follows a branching plot line which offers pre-determined scenarios with courses of interaction, and focuses on the appeal of the three female main characters by the
player character A player character (also known as a playable character or PC) is a fictional character in a video game or tabletop role-playing game whose actions are controlled by a player rather than the rules of the game. The characters that are not control ...
. The game is divided into three segments—Dream, Summer, and Air—which serve as different phases in the overall story. The title of the game reflects the prominent themes of the air, skies, and use of wings throughout gameplay. The game ranked as the best-selling PC game sold in Japan for the time of its release, and charted in the national top 50 several more times afterwards. ''Air'' has sold over 300,000 units across several platforms. Following the game's release, ''Air'' made several transitions into other media. A
manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...
by
Yukimaru Katsura is a Japanese manga artist. Most of her works are based on stories from other media, notably video games. She usually draws girls round-faced, and tends to use warm color tones. Works *''Air'' *''Ark'' (based on the song of the same name by the J ...
was serialized in
Kadokawa Shoten , formerly , is a Japanese publisher and division of Kadokawa Future Publishing based in Tokyo, Japan. It became an internal division of Kadokawa Corporation on October 1, 2013. Kadokawa publishes manga, light novels, manga anthology magazines su ...
's ''
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'', and later published into two volumes. Comic anthologies and
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s were also published, as were
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s and several albums of music.
Kyoto Animation , often abbreviated , is a Japanese animation studio and light novel publisher located in Uji, Kyoto Prefecture. Founded in 1985 by Yoko and Hideaki Hatta, it has produced anime works including ''The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya'' (2006), ''Cla ...
produced a 13-episode
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television series and a two-episode anime mini-series in 2005, and
Toei Animation () is a Japanese animation studio primarily controlled by its namesake Toei Company. It has produced numerous series, including ''Sally the Witch,'' ''GeGeGe no Kitarō,'' ''Mazinger Z'', ''Galaxy Express 999'', ''Cutie Honey'', ''Dr. Slump'', ' ...
produced an anime film in 2005. The anime adaptations are licensed by
Funimation Crunchyroll, LLC, previously known as Funimation from 1994 to 2022, is an American entertainment company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony as a joint venture between Sony Pictures and Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Aniplex that specializes ...
who released them in North America.


Gameplay

''Air'' is a
romance Romance (from Vulgar Latin , "in the Roman language", i.e., "Latin") may refer to: Common meanings * Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings * Romance languages, ...
visual novel A , often abbreviated as VN, is a form of digital semi-interactive fiction. Visual novels are often associated with and used in the medium of video games, but are not always labeled as such themselves. They combine a textual narrative with sta ...
in which the player assumes the role of three characters. Much of its
gameplay Gameplay is the specific way in which players interact with a game, and in particular with video games. Gameplay is the pattern defined through the game rules, connection between player and the game, challenges and overcoming them, plot and pla ...
is spent on reading the story's
narrative A narrative, story, or tale is any account of a series of related events or experiences, whether nonfictional (memoir, biography, news report, documentary, travel literature, travelogue, etc.) or fictional (fairy tale, fable, legend, thriller (ge ...
and
dialogue Dialogue (sometimes spelled dialog in American English) is a written or spoken conversational exchange between two or more people, and a literary and theatrical form that depicts such an exchange. As a philosophical or didactic device, it is c ...
. ''Air'' follows a branching plot line with multiple endings, and depending on the decisions that the player makes during the game, the plot will progress in a specific direction. With the consumer ports, if an undesired choice was selected, there would be an option to rewind the story to correct the mistake. 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. There are five main plot lines that the player will have the chance to experience, three which are initially available and two more which can later become available. Throughout gameplay, the player is given multiple options to choose from, and text progression pauses at these points until a choice is made. To view all plot lines in their entirety, the player will have to replay the game multiple times and choose different choices to further the plot to an alternate direction. When first playing the game, the player assumes the role of Yukito Kunisaki and the scenarios for the three heroines are available in what is called the Dream
story arc A story arc (also narrative arc) is the chronological construction of plot in a novel or story. It can also mean an extended or continuing storyline in episodic storytelling media such as television, comic books, comic strips, board games, vide ...
. After the plot lines for these three heroines have been completed, an additional scenario called Summer is made available where the player assumes the role of Ryūya. Summer is a linear novel arc in which no choices are presented to the player. Upon the completion of the Summer route, another scenario called Air is made available, which serves as the true ending to the story. In Air, the player assumes the role of a
crow A crow is a bird of the genus ''Corvus'', or more broadly a synonym for all of ''Corvus''. Crows are generally black in colour. The word "crow" is used as part of the common name of many species. The related term "raven" is not pinned scientifical ...
named Sora. In the
adult An adult is a human or other animal that has reached full growth. In human context, the term ''adult'' has meanings associated with social and legal concepts. In contrast to a " minor", a legal adult is a person who has attained the age of major ...
versions of the game, there are scenes with sexual CGs depicting Yukito and a given heroine having sex. Later, Key released versions of ''Air'' without the erotic content.


Plot


Setting and themes

There are important locations featured in ''Air'' that are based on places in the city
Kami are the deities, divinities, spirits, phenomena or "holy powers", that are venerated in the Shinto religion. They can be elements of the landscape, forces of nature, or beings and the qualities that these beings express; they can also be the sp ...
in
Hyōgo Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Hyōgo Prefecture has a population of 5,469,762 () and has a geographic area of . Hyōgo Prefecture borders Kyoto Prefecture to the east, Osaka Prefecture to the southeast, an ...
, Japan. ''Air'' is set in the
Kasumi Kasumi may refer to: Places * Kasumi, Hyōgo (香住), a former town in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan * Kasumigaseki (霞が関 "Gate of Mist"), a district in downtown Tokyo * Kasumi, Jajce, a village in Bosnia and Herzegovina Other uses * Kasumi (gi ...
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 A seawall (or sea wall) is a form of coastal defense constructed where the sea, and associated coastal processes, impact directly upon the landforms of the coast. The purpose of a seawall is to protect areas of human habitation, conservation ...
, the
train station A train station, railway station, railroad station or depot is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track and a station building providing suc ...
, the
shrine A shrine ( la, scrinium "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred or holy sacred space, space dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor worship, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, Daemon (mythology), daem ...
, and the school are based on real places. As ''Air'' is set in the middle of summer, the season offers 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." Scenario assistant
Yūichi Suzumoto is a male Japanese novelist originally from Shimizu-ku, Shizuoka, Japan, though he now lives in Osaka, Japan. As of 2006, he works for Aquaplus, known for being the publishing company of Leaf. Before going to Leaf, Suzumoto worked at the publishin ...
has commented that his impression of ''Air'' is similar to that of a
folk song Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be c ...
due to the rural setting and heartwarming story progression. 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 Astronomy () is a natural science that studies astronomical object, celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and chronology of the Universe, evolution. Objects of interest ...
club, and Michiru who has a fondness for
bubbles Bubble, Bubbles or The Bubble may refer to: Common uses * Bubble (physics), a globule of one substance in another, usually gas in a liquid ** Soap bubble * Economic bubble, a situation where asset prices are much higher than underlying fundame ...
that float in the air. Kano wants wings to fly, and Kanna already has them. Misuzu names a crow she finds —Japanese for "sky". Another major theme is the
maternal bond A maternal bond is the relationship between a mother and her child. While typically associated with pregnancy and childbirth, a maternal bond may also develop in cases where the child is unrelated, such as an adoption. Both physical and emoti ...
, as the four heroines' stories, as well as Yukito's, revolve around their mothers, either biological or adoptive. Main scenario writer
Jun Maeda is a Japanese writer and co-founder of the visual novel brand Key under Visual Arts. He is considered a pioneer of nakige visual novels, and has mainly contributed as a scenario writer, lyricist, and musical composer for the games the company pr ...
commented that he prefers to include mothers in games if given the choice between only including a mother or a father, as is what happened with ''Air'', though he backs this up by noting that in
bishōjo game A or , is "a type of Japanese video game centered on interactions with attractive girls". ''Bishōjo'' games are similar to ''Choose Your Own Adventure'' books in the way of narrative, in which the game tells a story but the player may make ...
s, women are the main focus anyway. Complicated relationships involving family members and friends play a key part throughout the story. One of the sub-themes in the story is
magic Magic or Magick most commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces * Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic * Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...
. 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. However, the problems of parents leaving their offspring and poverty are displayed realistically.


Characters

The player assumes the role of Yukito Kunisaki, the protagonist of ''Air''. He lives a poor life going from town to town with little money, trying to make a living off his show with a puppet. As a young adult, Yukito sometimes acts childishly if provoked. Yukito tends to be helpful to those around him while trying to earn any money at the same time, and does his best to look after Misuzu in the Dream arc. Misuzu Kamio, the main heroine of ''Air'', makes Yukito quite mistrustful at first by being too friendly, but eventually earns his affection. She is a cheerful but introverted, slightly clumsy and simplistic high school girl, and often utters the pseudo-dinosauric phrase ''gao'' when she feels troubled, a habit she retained from childhood. Misuzu has a great love of
dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...
s, finding the story of their glory and extinction "romantic". As a child, her fascination with dinosaurs stemmed from thinking chicks would grow into them; her adoptive mother Haruko Kamio thinks it is ridiculous. The second of the three heroines Yukito meets after Misuzu is Kano Kirishima, a girl attending the same school as Misuzu. She is usually energetic, playful, and tells jokes by saying nonsensical things. Kano is friends with a strange stray dog named Potato that follows her around and is able to communicate in his strange manner of speech. Kano still believes in things she was told by her older sister Hijiri as a child as a way of coping with her past. The third and final heroine Yukito meets is a girl in Misuzu's class at school named Minagi Tohno, a top student in the school who is introverted as well. Until she met Yukito, her only friend was Michiru, with whom she often blows bubbles at the abandoned train station in town.


Story

''Air'' story begin on Monday, July 17, 2000, when traveling
street performer Street performance or busking is the act of performing in public places for gratuities. In many countries, the rewards are generally in the form of money but other gratuities such as food, drink or gifts may be given. Street performance is pr ...
Yukito Kunisaki arrives at a small seaside town. As a young adult, he has been traveling around Japan in continuation of his late mother's search for the "girl in the sky" who, according to a family legend, has been cursed to spend eternity all alone. Yukito's sole way of earning money is by performing a puppet show by moving a doll that has been passed down in his family with magic, but he fails to gain anyone's attention by doing so in this town. The next day, he meets Misuzu Kamio—a sincere yet clumsy high school girl who is eager to become friends with him. He accepts her offer to eat lunch at her home, and Misuzu's aunt and foster mother Haruko Kamio is later persuaded to let him stay for the time being. A few days later, Yukito meets two other girls who go to Misuzu's school—Kano Kirishima and Minagi Tohno—who, like Misuzu, have strange personalities connected with mysterious pasts. As Yukito grows closer to Misuzu, he realizes from the dreams she has been telling him about that she is in fact the girl in the sky. Yukito recalls his mother telling him that after the dreams, the girl in the sky would start to first physically weaken, followed by feeling pain from an unknown source, then forgetting about those closest to her, and finally be doomed to die alone. Yukito realizes that his mother had once had her own encounter with the girl in the sky, but she had been unable to save her from her fate. Ultimately, Yukito decides to stay with Misuzu, regretting that he did not play with her more when they first met. Yukito uses all of the accumulated wishes that his ancestors have imputed into the doll to grant his own wish to stay by Misuzu's side, and as a result, Yukito disappears. In the summer 1,000 years prior during the
Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kanmu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means "peace" in Japanese. ...
, Kanna is one of the last winged beings who has been held prisoner at a
Shinto shrine A is a structure whose main purpose is to house ("enshrine") one or more ''kami'', the deities of the Shinto religion. Overview Structurally, a Shinto shrine typically comprises several buildings. The '' honden''Also called (本殿, meani ...
for much of her life. Kanna is set to be executed following a political change in the Imperial Court, but she escapes with the help of Ryūya, a member of her
samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...
guard, and her loyal
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Uraha. They decide to go in search of Kanna's mother Yaobikuni, who according to rumor is imprisoned somewhere south of Kanna's shrine. Although they eventually find Yaobikuni and free her, she is killed by a group of archers soon after. In an attempt to save Ryūya and Uraha, Kanna sacrifices herself, leaving herself cursed by Buddhist monks to relive painful memories in the sky for eternity. This eventually weakens but does not go away entirely, allowing Kanna to continuously reincarnate as a human girl, with Misuzu being one such reincarnation. Yukito's final wish to stay with Misuzu is granted in the form of his memories inhabiting a young crow Misuzu finds on July 16, 2000 and names Sora. The events of the previous timeline with Yukito play out again, but after Yukito disappears after the doll grants his wish, Yukito's memories within Sora surface, allowing him to give Misuzu the necessary encouragement to be strong until the end. Haruko tries to show Misuzu more affection than she has over the past ten years they have been living together, but by this point, Misuzu's condition continues to worsen, eventually mentally reverting to how she was when she and Haruko first met. Haruko continues to care for Misuzu, and Misuzu shows that she truly cares for Haruko by choosing to stay with her instead of leaving with her father. Haruko and Misuzu spend the next three days together as mother and daughter, culminating in Misuzu's death. As a result of Misuzu dying happily with her family, it is implied that she takes her happy memories back to Kanna, effectively breaking the curse.
Metaphysically Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that studies the fundamental nature of reality, the first principles of being, identity and change, space and time, causality, necessity, and possibility. It includes questions about the nature of consci ...
, Yukito's and Misuzu's present incarnations are shown to be a young boy and girl playing on the beach on July 17, 2000 as they are watched by Misuzu with Yukito asleep next to her.


Development

After the release of Key's debut game '' Kanon'' (1999), video game
director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''Di ...
and Key co-founder
Naoki Hisaya , born , is a Japanese screenwriter who has worked for Tactics, Key and Siesta, but as of 2006, he is a freelance writer. He is well known for being the main writer of the popular visual novel '' Kanon'' while working under Key. Additional works i ...
resigned from Key. Hisaya had led the planning of ''Kanon'' and was its main scenario writer in conjunction with fellow Key co-founder
Jun Maeda is a Japanese writer and co-founder of the visual novel brand Key under Visual Arts. He is considered a pioneer of nakige visual novels, and has mainly contributed as a scenario writer, lyricist, and musical composer for the games the company pr ...
. Hisaya's resignation resulted in Maeda leading the planning for Key's next work, with Maeda wanting to produce something different from not only ''Kanon'', but also ''
Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...
'' (1997) and '' One: Kagayaku Kisetsu e'' (1998) that Maeda and other founding members of Key worked on previously as part of the brand Tactics under video game publisher Nexton. Maeda put pressure on himself to make something structurally different from ''Kanon'', but he also took it upon himself following Hisaya's resignation to continue to produce " crying games" for Key's fan base. As with ''Kanon'', Maeda wanted to write a moving story that would leave a strong impression on the player, but ''Air'' was not intentionally written to be soothing to the player despite this being a common impression by fans in October 2000. The concept for ''Air'' was one of several types of stories Maeda had wanted to write, and he chose to go with what would later become ''Air'' after careful consideration, along with taking into account the responses from people who had played ''Kanon''. According to writer and critic Shūichirō Sarashina, a common aspect of ''bishōjo'' games at the time was to treat the individual heroine routes equally, producing a coherent narrative as a result of a sum of its parts, and he notes that ''Kanon'' also followed this pattern. Maeda focused on straying from this pattern because he wanted players to experience the entire story as a whole, but he still wanted its content to be enjoyable as a ''bishōjo'' game so that as many people as possible would be satisfied by it. In doing so, Maeda kept the basic structure of having multiple heroine routes, but he realized that he could not give each character the same level of focus. When developing the plot, the basic structure of having multiple points of view and an overarching storyline had already been solidified, which according to Maeda was not something he was aware of having been done in visual novels at the time. Fellow scenario writer
Yūichi Suzumoto is a male Japanese novelist originally from Shimizu-ku, Shizuoka, Japan, though he now lives in Osaka, Japan. As of 2006, he works for Aquaplus, known for being the publishing company of Leaf. Before going to Leaf, Suzumoto worked at the publishin ...
was apprehensive about this structure when he first heard about the plot from Maeda, but ''Air''
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and
Visual Arts The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video, filmmaking, design, crafts and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual art, and textile arts al ...
president Takahiro Baba had already given his approval for the project by then. In addition to Maeda and Suzumoto, Takashi Ishikawa is also listed as one of the main scenario writers. Scenario assistance was provided by Kai, Tōya Okano and Tomotaka Fujii. In terms of gameplay, ''Air'' was designed to emphasize its story compared to its
adventure game An adventure game is a video game genre in which the player assumes the role of a protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and/or Puzzle video game, puzzle-solving. The Video game genres, genre's focus on story allows it to draw ...
elements, with the development team opting to include very few choices to diverge the plot, which Maeda later regretted. According to Suzumoto, some players complained that ''Air'' did not feel like a game as a result, and that some found it boring because of a lack of these choices. Three heroine routes were developed to show a range of different possibilities the
player character A player character (also known as a playable character or PC) is a fictional character in a video game or tabletop role-playing game whose actions are controlled by a player rather than the rules of the game. The characters that are not control ...
Yukito Kunisaki could take in parallel universes. In doing so, Maeda wanted to show that small variations can diverge Yukito's ultimate fate. In the planning stage, Maeda did not specifically include
adult An adult is a human or other animal that has reached full growth. In human context, the term ''adult'' has meanings associated with social and legal concepts. In contrast to a " minor", a legal adult is a person who has attained the age of major ...
content due at least in part to his self-described inability to write detailed sex scenes. Maeda believed that people would have bought the game even without adult content, but he noted that this would have been impossible in the past. Suzumoto pointed out how most of the sex scenes in ''Kanon'' could be avoided, and although this is similar to how ''Air'' is structured, Suzumoto was one of the writers who made it so that at least two sex scenes in ''Air'' would be unavoidable. Itaru Hinoue is the chief artist and character designer for ''Air'', continuing from her position with ''Kanon''. Further computer graphics were split between three artists—Miracle Mikipon, Na-Ga, and Shinory—and background art was provided by Din and Torino. The game's soundtrack was composed by Maeda,
Shinji Orito is a Japanese musical composer originally from Hyōgo, Japan working for the visual novel brand Key under VisualArt's. Before forming Key, Orito worked for another software company named Leaf where he contributed to four games. After leaving Lea ...
and Magome Togoshi, who had started working with Key since before ''Kanon'' release.


Release history

''Air'' was released as an adult game on September 8, 2000, as a limited edition, playable on a
Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...
PC as a 2-disc
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set. The limited edition came bundled with the remix album '' Ornithopter'' remixing background music tracks featured in the visual novel. The regular edition was released on July 27, 2001. Key released on all ages version on July 27, 2001, for Windows. An updated adult version called the ''Air Standard Edition'' was released on April 8, 2005, with added support for Windows 2000/ XP as a DVD-ROM. An updated all ages version of ''Air'' compatible for Windows Vista PCs was released by Key on July 31, 2009, in a box set containing five other Key visual novels called Key 10th Memorial Box. Another updated all ages version compatible for Windows 7 PCs called ''Air Memorial Edition'' was released on May 28, 2010. The first consumer console port of the game was released for the
Dreamcast The is a home video game console released by Sega on November 27, 1998, in Japan; September 9, 1999, in North America; and October 14, 1999, in Europe. It was the first sixth-generation video game console, preceding Sony's PlayStation 2, N ...
(DC) on September 20, 2001, by
NEC Interchannel was a Japanese video game developer and publisher. History Interchannel was founded on October 2, 1995 as an NEC subsidiary named . Its founding was a result of divisions within NEC being spun off. NEC Interchannel took over NEC Avenue's music ...
. A
PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...
(PS2) version was released on August 8, 2002, also by NEC Interchannel. The PS2 version was re-released as a "
Best Best or The Best may refer to: People * Best (surname), people with the surname Best * Best (footballer, born 1968), retired Portuguese footballer Companies and organizations * Best & Co., an 1879–1971 clothing chain * Best Lock Corporation ...
" version on September 1, 2005. The PS2 version was bundled in a "Key 3-Part Work Premium Box" package together with the PS2 versions of ''Kanon'' and '' Clannad'' released on July 30, 2009. To compensate for the lack of erotic content in the consumer ports, extra scenes were added. A version playable on SoftBank 3G mobile phones was released by
Prototype A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and Software prototyping, software programming. A prototyp ...
through VisualArt's Motto on May 1, 2006. Prototype later released a
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edition produced by NTT DoCoMo playable on
FOMA Freedom of Mobile Multimedia Access (FOMA) is the brand name of the W-CDMA-based 3G telecommunications services being offered by the Japanese telecommunications service provider NTT DoCoMo. It is an implementation of the Universal Mobile Tel ...
phones on February 5, 2008. The version for the FOMA phones was split into two separate files: the Dream story arc comprised the first file, and the remaining Summer and Air arcs comprised the second file. A version of the Dream story arc playable on
Android Android may refer to: Science and technology * Android (robot), a humanoid robot or synthetic organism designed to imitate a human * Android (operating system), Google's mobile operating system ** Bugdroid, a Google mascot sometimes referred to ...
devices was released on July 27, 2012. A version containing the Summer and Air arcs for Android devices was released on August 15, 2012. A full version ''Air'' on Android devices was released on October 24, 2012, in two editions: one without voice acting, and one with voice acting, including Yukito. Two versions were released on May 2, 2013: an adult version for Android devices and an all ages version playable on iOS devices. A
PlayStation Portable The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in PAL regions on September 1, 2005, ...
(PSP) version of the game was released in Japan on November 22, 2007, by Prototype. A downloadable version of the PSP release via the PlayStation Store was released by Prototype on September 2, 2010. A
PlayStation Vita The PlayStation Vita (PS Vita, or Vita) is a handheld video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 17, 2011, and in North America, Europe, and other international territo ...
(PSV) version was released by Prototype on September 8, 2016. A
Nintendo Switch The is a hybrid video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. The console itself is a Tablet computer#Gaming tablet, tablet that can either be docking station, docked for use as a home video ...
version was released in Japan on September 9, 2021. Both the PSV and Switch versions contained a visual novel version of Yūichi Suzumoto's short story as a prequel to the Summer story arc about how Kanna and Uraha met. In the original release, there was no voice acting for the characters, though this was later changed for the DC version, which except for Yukito included full voice acting, and the PS2, PSP, PSV and Switch versions, which had full voice acting.


Adaptations


Print

A short story, titled and written by
Yūichi Suzumoto is a male Japanese novelist originally from Shimizu-ku, Shizuoka, Japan, though he now lives in Osaka, Japan. As of 2006, he works for Aquaplus, known for being the publishing company of Leaf. Before going to Leaf, Suzumoto worked at the publishin ...
, was published in the ''Kanowo'' appendix to
Kadokawa Corporation , formerly is a Japanese media conglomerate that was created as a result of the merger of the original Kadokawa Corporation and Dwango Co., Ltd. on October 1, 2014. History The holding company known today as Kadokawa Corporation was origi ...
's ''
Comptiq is a Japanese computer game magazine, first published in 1983, by Kadokawa Shoten. The name "Comptiq" came from combining the words "computer" and "boutique". Originally a PC magazine, its focus shifted from computers to computer games. As of S ...
'' magazine on December 1, 2000. Jive published two volumes of an
anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors. In genre fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically categ ...
titled ''Air Anthology Novel'' between September 1 and December 1, 2004. An ''Air''
manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...
was serialized in the Japanese
computer game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device to gener ...
magazine ''
Comptiq is a Japanese computer game magazine, first published in 1983, by Kadokawa Shoten. The name "Comptiq" came from combining the words "computer" and "boutique". Originally a PC magazine, its focus shifted from computers to computer games. As of S ...
'' between August 10, 2004, and February 10, 2006. The individual chapters were later collected into two separate volumes published by
Kadokawa Shoten , formerly , is a Japanese publisher and division of Kadokawa Future Publishing based in Tokyo, Japan. It became an internal division of Kadokawa Corporation on October 1, 2013. Kadokawa publishes manga, light novels, manga anthology magazines su ...
. The story was adapted from the visual novel version that preceded it, and was illustrated by Japanese
artist An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse refers to a practitioner in the visual arts only. However, th ...
Yukimaru Katsura is a Japanese manga artist. Most of her works are based on stories from other media, notably video games. She usually draws girls round-faced, and tends to use warm color tones. Works *''Air'' *''Ark'' (based on the song of the same name by the J ...
. Between the two volumes, there are 15 main chapters (nine in volume one and six in volume two), and two bonus chapters 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, Minagi's story is explained in the bonus installment at the end of volume two. There are also five sets of manga anthologies produced by different companies and drawn by a multitude of different artists. The first volume of the earliest anthology series, released by Ichijinsha under the title ''Air Comic Anthology'', was released on January 25, 2001, under their ''DNA Media Comics'' label. Volumes for this series continued to be released until December 25, 2001, with the seventh volume. The second anthology, ''Air Anthology Comic'', was released in a single volume by Softgarage on December 20, 2002. On April 17, 2004, Ohzora released an anthology composed of works based on both ''
Kanon Kanon may refer to: Buddhism * Kanon, a Japanese name for Guanyin, a Buddhist spiritual figure Media and literature * ''Kanon'' (video game), a Japanese visual novel by Key, later adapted into anime series * ''Kanon'' (manga), a manga by Chih ...
'' and ''Air'' titled ''Haru Urara: Kanon & Air''. Ohzora also released three other anthologies under the title ''Air'', the last of which came out on March 24, 2005. The last manga anthology was released as a single volume on April 2, 2005, by Jive titled ''Comic Anthology Air: Kimi no Iru Basho''. Each of the anthology series are written and drawn by an average of 20 people per volume.


Drama CDs

There were nine drama CDs released based on ''Air'' released by Lantis. 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 August 24, 2005. The next set of three was done the same way and 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.


Anime series

On November 17, 2004, a teaser DVD named "Air prelude" was produced containing interviews with the anime's cast, clean opening and ending theme video sequences, and promotional footage of the anime itself; it was a limited edition DVD, with only 20,000 copies produced. The
anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...
television series is produced by
Kyoto Animation , often abbreviated , is a Japanese animation studio and light novel publisher located in Uji, Kyoto Prefecture. Founded in 1985 by Yoko and Hideaki Hatta, it has produced anime works including ''The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya'' (2006), ''Cla ...
, directed by Tatsuya Ishihara, written by Fumihiko Shimo, and features character design by Tomoe Aratani who based the designs on Itaru Hinoue's original concept. Thirteen episodes were produced by Kyoto Animation: 12 regular episodes, and a final
recap Free Law Project is a United States federal 501(c)(3) an Oakland-based nonprofit that provides free access to primary legal materials, develops legal research tools, and supports academic research on legal corpora. Free Law Project has several i ...
episode which summarizes Misuzu's
story arc A story arc (also narrative arc) is the chronological construction of plot in a novel or story. It can also mean an extended or continuing storyline in episodic storytelling media such as television, comic books, comic strips, board games, vide ...
. The anime also follows the game by splitting the series into three parts; Dream (episodes one through seven), Summer (episodes eight and nine), and Air (episodes 10 through 12), with the recap episode (episode 13) following. The episodes aired between January 6 and March 31, 2005, on the BS-i Japanese television network. The theme songs from the ''Air'' visual novel are used for the anime's opening theme, ending theme and soundtrack. After the conclusion of the anime series, a mini-series which added to the Summer arc of the story called ''Air in Summer'' aired on August 28 and September 4, 2005, a week later on BS-i. ''Air in Summer'' consisted of two episodes and was produced by the same staff as the anime series. A DVD released on March 31, 2005, called "Air Memories" contained promotional commercials for the series, staff commentaries, and clean ending sequences from the 12th and 13th episodes, lasting 92 minutes. The episodes were released to Region 2 DVD between April 6 and September 7, 2005, by Pony Canyon in limited and regular editions containing two episodes per volume. The DVD for ''Air in Summer'' was later released on October 5, 2005, in Japan. Additionally, ''Air'' became one of the first anime series to be released in
Blu-ray Disc The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and c ...
format on December 22, 2006. A new version of the Blu-ray Disc box set was released on November 28, 2008, in Japan. On April 27, 2007,
ADV Films A.D. Vision Holdings, Inc. (known simply as ADV and also referred to as ADV Films) was an American multimedia entertainment distributor headquartered in Houston, Texas, and founded in 1992 by video game fan John Ledford and anime fans Matt Gre ...
co-founder and executive
Matt Greenfield Matthew Brian Greenfield (born January 12, 1965) is an American producer, scriptwriter, director and voice actor best known for his work in producing the English-language versions of many popular Japanese anime, most notably ''Neon Genesis Evang ...
announced the acquisition of both the anime series and the film during a panel at the anime convention
Anime Matsuri Anime Matsuri is an annual four-day anime convention traditionally held during spring at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas. The convention's name comes from the Japanese word 'matsuri' meaning festival. Programming The co ...
; it paid $145,000 for the TV series. The 12 main episodes and two ''Air in Summer'' episodes were licensed for North American distribution by ADV Films. The episodes were released on four DVD compilations between August 14 and November 27, 2007. The second DVD volume was sold in two editions, with the difference between the two being a series box all four DVDs could fit inside. In July 2008, the license for the anime series and film was transferred to
Funimation Crunchyroll, LLC, previously known as Funimation from 1994 to 2022, is an American entertainment company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony as a joint venture between Sony Pictures and Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Aniplex that specializes ...
, which continued to produce them in North America in English. Funimation released a three-disc series box set of the ''Air'' anime on April 21, 2009, which did not include the recap episode. MVM Entertainment announced a UK DVD release of ''Air'' with ''Air in Summer'' to be released on April 4, 2022.


Film

An ''Air''
animated film Animation is a method by which image, still figures are manipulated to appear as Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent cel, celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited ...
directed by Osamu Dezaki premiered in Japanese theaters on February 5, 2005. The film, animated by
Toei Animation () is a Japanese animation studio primarily controlled by its namesake Toei Company. It has produced numerous series, including ''Sally the Witch,'' ''GeGeGe no Kitarō,'' ''Mazinger Z'', ''Galaxy Express 999'', ''Cutie Honey'', ''Dr. Slump'', ' ...
, is a reinterpretation of the original ''Air'' storyline which centers on the
story arc A story arc (also narrative arc) is the chronological construction of plot in a novel or story. It can also mean an extended or continuing storyline in episodic storytelling media such as television, comic books, comic strips, board games, vide ...
of the female lead Misuzu Kamio. Yukito Kunisaki arrives in the town of Kami for a chance to earn money at the summer festival and meets Misuzu on his first day in town. They soon become friends and a story one thousand years old begins to unfold. The film was later sold on DVD and released in three editions: the Collector's Edition, the Special Edition, and the Regular Edition on August 5, 2005. The ''Air'' film was originally released on DVD by
ADV Films A.D. Vision Holdings, Inc. (known simply as ADV and also referred to as ADV Films) was an American multimedia entertainment distributor headquartered in Houston, Texas, and founded in 1992 by video game fan John Ledford and anime fans Matt Gre ...
in North America on December 11, 2007.
Funimation Crunchyroll, LLC, previously known as Funimation from 1994 to 2022, is an American entertainment company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony as a joint venture between Sony Pictures and Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Aniplex that specializes ...
continued the release of the film as of July 2008 when the license was transferred from ADV to Funimation; Funimation re-released the film on April 21, 2009.


Music

The visual novel has three main theme songs: the opening theme , the ending theme "Farewell song", and as an insert song. Each song is sung by
Lia Lia is a feminine given name. In the Spanish-speaking world, it is accented Lía. In America, the name may be a variant of Leah or Lea. Lia may be a diminutive of various names including Julia, Cecilia, Amelia, Talia, Cornelia, Ophelia, Rosal ...
of I've Sound and the lyrics were written by
Jun Maeda is a Japanese writer and co-founder of the visual novel brand Key under Visual Arts. He is considered a pioneer of nakige visual novels, and has mainly contributed as a scenario writer, lyricist, and musical composer for the games the company pr ...
. Five of the characters have
leitmotif A leitmotif or leitmotiv () is a "short, recurring musical phrase" associated with a particular person, place, or idea. It is closely related to the musical concepts of ''idée fixe'' or ''motto-theme''. The spelling ''leitmotif'' is an anglici ...
s, or background music theme songs—the three heroines, Kanna, and Michiru. Misuzu's theme is ; Kano's theme is ; Minagi's theme is ; Kanna's theme is ; lastly, Michiru's theme is . Of the six music tracks not used in the visual novel, but of which were included on the game's original soundtrack, the first two were failed attempts at creating a theme for Minagi. The first album, '' Ornithopter'', came bundled with the original release of ''Air'' in September 2000. The next album was released in August 2001 as a maxi single titled " Natsukage / Nostalgia" containing a vocal version of "Natsukage", and a
B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...
track; both songs were sung by Lia and the rest of the single was produced by Jun Maeda. The game's original soundtrack was released in September 2002 containing two discs with 31 different tracks along with remix and instrumental versions of the opening and ending themes. A piano arrange album was released in December 2003 called '' Re-feel'' which contained five tracks from ''Air'' and five from ''
Kanon Kanon may refer to: Buddhism * Kanon, a Japanese name for Guanyin, a Buddhist spiritual figure Media and literature * ''Kanon'' (video game), a Japanese visual novel by Key, later adapted into anime series * ''Kanon'' (manga), a manga by Chih ...
''. An EP containing original versions of the three theme songs and remixed versions of the opening and ending themes was released in May 2006 called '' Air Analog Collector's Edition: Tori no Uta / Farewell song''. Each of the albums released for the visual novel version were released on Key's record label Key Sounds Label. The film's original soundtrack was released in March 2005 by
Frontier Works is a Japanese company specializing in the creation and distribution of media related to anime, such as producing OVAs, radio dramas, drama CDs, anime soundtracks, or other related products. The company was established in August 1990. Projects i ...
. A bonus
symphony A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning com ...
CD titled '' Shinwa e no Izanai'' was released with the special edition ''Air'' film DVD on August 5, 2005. Overall, ''Air'' music has been well received, and the original soundtrack for the visual novel has met with high sales. The opening theme was involved in copyright infringement in 2005.


Reception and sales

According to a national ranking of how well
bishōjo game A or , is "a type of Japanese video game centered on interactions with attractive girls". ''Bishōjo'' games are similar to ''Choose Your Own Adventure'' books in the way of narrative, in which the game tells a story but the player may make ...
s sold nationally in Japan, the original ''Air'' PC release premiered at number one in the rankings. The game ranked twice at 42 in November and December 2000, at 20 in January 2001, and twice more at 42 through February 2001. The original release appeared on the charts twice more: the first in late September to early October 2001 at 26, and again in the last two weeks of May 2002, ranking in at 43. The regular edition of the ''Air'' PC release premiered at number 13, ranked in at number 41 in the following ranking, and 42 in the ranking after that. The PC all ages version premiered at number seven in the rankings and had a final ranking at 30 in the next ranking. The ''Air Standard Edition'' premiered at number one in the rankings. The ''Air Standard Edition'' ranked in twice more, at 34 and at 28 in the next two rankings. ''Air'' was the highest selling game of 2000 selling 102,080 units, which was about 25,000 more units than the second highest game, ''Inagawa de Ikō!''. The Dreamcast version sold 42,445 units in its first week, and was the fourth highest selling console game in Japan that week. The video game magazine '' Famitsu'' scored this version a 30 out of 40, and it ultimately sold 50,406 units to rank as the 53rd highest selling Japanese Dreamcast game ever, as of 2007. NTT Publishing reported that over 300,000 units of ''Air'' have been sold. ''Air'' was described as a game that stands out, much like Key's first title ''
Kanon Kanon may refer to: Buddhism * Kanon, a Japanese name for Guanyin, a Buddhist spiritual figure Media and literature * ''Kanon'' (video game), a Japanese visual novel by Key, later adapted into anime series * ''Kanon'' (manga), a manga by Chih ...
'', due to an intricate plot that keeps the player interested, and has a good replay value as well. In an interview of
Jun Maeda is a Japanese writer and co-founder of the visual novel brand Key under Visual Arts. He is considered a pioneer of nakige visual novels, and has mainly contributed as a scenario writer, lyricist, and musical composer for the games the company pr ...
and
Yūichi Suzumoto is a male Japanese novelist originally from Shimizu-ku, Shizuoka, Japan, though he now lives in Osaka, Japan. As of 2006, he works for Aquaplus, known for being the publishing company of Leaf. Before going to Leaf, Suzumoto worked at the publishin ...
, they were both surprised to find out that the Japanese public (in March 2001) felt ''Air'' to be a soothing game, but Maeda and Suzumoto made it clear that this impression is completely at odds with their impression of the game, and they remark that there was not one person who worked on ''Air'' who thought that. Characters from ''Air'' have appeared in
dōjin In Japan, is a group of people who share an interest, activity, or hobby. The word is sometimes translated into English as "clique", "fandom", "coterie", "society", or "circle" (as in "sewing circle"). Self-published creative works produced b ...
works not directly based on the ''Air'' series. Games such as '' Eternal Fighter Zero -Blue Sky Edition-'' by
Twilight Frontier , known as Tasofro for short, is a Japanese ''dojin'' game developer. They are best known for their collaborations with Team Shanghai Alice (ZUN), which include seven official games in the '' Touhou Project'' series. Productions Games Music C ...
where most of the playable characters either came from ''Air'' or from the earlier
Key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...
games ''Kanon'' or ''
One 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
''. In the October 2007 issue of '' Dengeki G's Magazine'', poll results for the 50 best bishōjo games were released. Out of 249 titles, ''Air'' ranked eighth with 43 votes.


Notes


References


External links


Key's official ''Air'' website

''Air'' anime official website
* * * {{good article 2000 video games 2004 manga 2005 anime television series debuts ADV Films Android (operating system) games Bishōjo games Dreamcast games Eroge Fantasy video games Funimation Ichijinsha manga IOS games Japan-exclusive video games Kadokawa Shoten manga Key (company) games Kyoto Animation Lantis (company) Nintendo Switch games PlayStation 2 games PlayStation Portable games PlayStation Vita games Romance video games School life in anime and manga Single-player video games Video games developed in Japan Video games scored by Jun Maeda Video games scored by Magome Togoshi Visual novels Windows games Prototype (company) games