Air The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for ...

'' is a

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 ...

and published by

VisualArt's , formerly and previously spelled in English as VisualArt's, is a Japanese publishing company which specializes in publishing and distributing visual novels for a large list of game developers. Visual Arts has developed game engines their brands ...

in 2000. The story follows Yukito Kunisaki, a traveler who arrives in a quiet seaside town during summer who is on a search for the "girl in the sky" that his now-deceased mother told him about and was searching for too. In town, Yukito meets three strange girls and Yukito begins to suspect that one of them may in fact be the girl he has been searching for. It was adapted 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'', ' ...

into an animated film in 2005 directed by

Osamu Dezaki , also known as , , or , was a Japanese anime director and screenwriter.

with music direction by

Yoshikazu Suo is a Japanese musician from Tokyo, Japan. He has composed and arranged music for films and dramas, among others. Filmography Films *''Fancy Dance'' (1989) *'' Shiko Fun Jatta'' (1992) *'' Shall We Dance?'' (1996) *''Tsuribaka Nisshi Eleven'' ( ...

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 ...

also adapted it into a 13-episode

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 broadcast in 2005, along with an additional two episodes also broadcast in 2005, directed by

Tatsuya Ishihara is a Japanese animator, television and film director. Working for Kyoto Animation, he directed ''The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya'', ''Clannad'', ''Nichijou'', ''Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions'' and ''Sound! Euphonium''. Early life and educ ...

with music direction by

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 ...

. The discography of ''Air'' and its anime adaptations consists of one EP, one

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

, two

soundtracks A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of ...

, and three

remix album A remix album is an album consisting of remixes or rerecorded versions of an artist's earlier released material. The first act who employed the format was American singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson (''Aerial Pandemonium Ballet'', 1971). As of 2007 ...

s. The core of the discography is the two original soundtrack albums. The visual novel's soundtrack, which was also used for the anime series, was produced by

Key Sounds Label Key Sounds Label is a Japanese independent record label formed in 2001 as a brand of the publishing company VisualArt's. Key Sounds Label was formed to catalog and release music related to visual novels produced by the brand Key, also under Visu ...

and released in 2002. The music on the soundtrack was composed and arranged 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 ...

, Shinji Orito and

Magome Togoshi is a Japanese video game composer for visual novel studios. He began work as a music arranger in 1999, where he started working for the visual novel studio Key under VisualArt's to produce music for '' Kanon''. Between then and 2006, Togoshi compo ...

. A soundtrack for the animated film was released in 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 ...

. The music on the film soundtrack was mainly composed and arranged by Yoshikazu Suo. Three remix albums were released for the visual novel in 2000, 2003 and 2020, and a remix album was released for the film in 2005. A single for the visual novel was released in 2001 containing a vocal version of a

background music Background music (British English: piped music) is a mode of musical performance in which the music is not intended to be a primary focus of potential listeners, but its content, character, and volume level are deliberately chosen to affect behav ...

track from the game. An EP for the visual novel was released in 2006 covering the three pieces of

theme music Theme music is a musical composition that is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at so ...

used in the game as well as two remix versions of the opening and ending themes.

Albums

''Ornithopter''

''Ornithopter'' is an

arrange Arrange is a mythological figure from the Australian aboriginal creation myth of the Alyawarre people for Karlu Karlu. In the myth, the figure Arrange, who is also referred to as the devil man, comes from Ayleparrarntenhe. Arrange was making a ...

album released by

for the ''Air'' visual novel, and was packaged with the first edition of the ''Air'' visual novel released on September 8, 2000 bearing the catalog number ''KYCD-0303''. Seven of the ten tracks on the album are arrange versions of

featured in the visual novel, with the last three being the original versions of the game's three main theme songs "

Tori no Uta is a Japanese trance song sung by Lia, written by Jun Maeda, composed by Shinji Orito, and arranged by Kazuya Takase. The song was recorded at Paramount Studio in Los Angeles by the visual novel studio Key through their record label Key Sounds ...

", "Farewell song", and "Aozora". The seven tracks were arranged by several people including

OdiakeS OdiakeS (born March 22) is a Japanese composer from Tokyo, Japan who has worked for a variety of visual novel companies. His first work was on the game '' One: Kagayaku Kisetsu e'' under Tactics. When the staff of ''One'' left Tactics to create the ...

, and Kazuya Takase of

I've Sound I've Sound, or simply called , is a Japanese techno/trance music production group based in Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan. Led by Kazuya Takase, it features the talents of seasoned "sound creators" and many different vocalists, known as to their fa ...

. The title of the album comes from

ornithopter An ornithopter (from Greek ''ornis, ornith-'' "bird" and ''pteron'' "wing") is an aircraft that flies by flapping its wings. Designers sought to imitate the flapping-wing flight of birds, bats, and insects. Though machines may differ in form, th ...

, an aircraft that flies by flapping its wings.

''Air Original Soundtrack''

The ''Air Original Soundtrack'', from the

''Air'', was first released on September 27, 2002 in Japan by

bearing the catalog numbers ''KSLA-0004—0005''. The soundtrack contains two discs totaling thirty-seven songs

composed Composition or Compositions may refer to: Arts and literature *Composition (dance), practice and teaching of choreography *Composition (language), in literature and rhetoric, producing a work in spoken tradition and written discourse, to include v ...

arranged In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestra ...

, and produced by

, and Kazuya Takase of

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 ...

provides vocals for three songs, "

", "Farewell song", and "Aozora".

''Re-feel''

''Re-feel'' is a

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

album with songs taken from the '' Kanon'' and ''Air'' visual novels and arranged into piano versions. It was first released on December 28, 2003 at Comiket 65 in Japan by

bearing the catalog number ''KSLA-0010''. The album contains one disc with ten tracks; the first five songs are from ''Kanon'' while the last five are from ''Air''. With the exception of track two which is arranged by

Riya Riya is an feminine given name. Notable people with the name include: * Riya, Japanese singer * Riya Bamniyal, Indian actress * Riya Deepsi, Indian actress and model *Riya Sen (born 1981), Indian actress *Riya Suman Riya Suman is an Indian a ...

Eufonius Eufonius is a Japanese progressive pop rock music group which debuted on October 11, 2003 with the release of their first album ''Eufonius'' which was also an independent release. The band has produced songs for various anime and video games, suc ...

, all the tracks are arranged by Ryō Mizutsuki, who is credited as Kiyo on the album.

''Air Analog Collector's Edition''

is an EP released on a

gramophone record A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English), or simply a record, is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The groove usually starts nea ...

for the ''Air'' visual novel, which went on sale on May 3, 2006 in Japan by

bearing the catalog number ''KSLA-0022''. The EP features the three theme songs from the visual novel in regular versions on the

A-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 company ...

, and remix versions of "

" and "Farewell song" on the B-side. The B-side tracks were later featured on the ''OTSU Club Music Compilation Vol.1'' album by Key Sounds Label. All songs on the EP are performed by

''Air Film Soundtrack''

The ''Air Film Soundtrack'' is the soundtrack for the ''Air'' film released by

on March 25, 2005 bearing the catalog number ''FCCM-0066''. The album spans one disc with twenty-three tracks featuring music

. The last song on the soundtrack, "If Dreams Came True", is sung by

Eri Kawai was a Japanese singer from Tokyo, Japan. She graduated from the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music and both composed and sang not only classic but also pop and world music. She was also friends with well-known video game composer Ya ...

, and takes its tune from the

track , originally composed by

, featured in the ''Air'' visual novel.

''Shinwa e no Izanai''

is an album for the ''Air'' film released by

on August 5, 2005 bearing the catalog number ''AIR-0005'', and was only released bundled with the special edition ''Air'' film DVD. The album contains one disc with a four-

movement Movement may refer to: Common uses * Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece * Motion, commonly referred to as movement Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * "Movement" (short story), a short story by Nancy Fu ...

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 ...

sampling from four of the themes featured on the ''Air Film Soundtrack''. The pieces were originally

, and Kei Haneoka, and were

Yuji Nomi is a Japanese composer. His work includes the Studio Ghibli films ''Whisper of the Heart'' (1995) and ''The Cat Returns'' (2002), as well as the Kyoto Animation television series ''Nichijou'' (2011). His mentor was Ryuichi Sakamoto, whom he helpe ...

. The symphony was played by the

Czech Philharmonic The Česká filharmonie (Czech Philharmonic) is a symphony orchestra based in Prague. The orchestra's principal concert venue is the Rudolfinum. History The name "Czech Philharmonic Orchestra" appeared for the first time in 1894, as the title ...

and conducted by Mario Klemens.

''Summer Chronicle''

''Summer Chronicle'' is a

with music tracks taken from the ''Air'', ''

Kud Wafter is a Japanese adult visual novel developed by Key, released on June 25, 2010, for Windows. ''Kud Wafter'' is Key's eighth game, along with other titles such as '' Kanon'', ''Air'', and ''Clannad''. Key released a version of ''Kud Wafter'' withou ...

'' and ''

Summer Pockets ''Summer Pockets'' is a Japanese visual novel developed by Key, a brand of Visual Arts. It was released on June 29, 2018 for Windows and is rated for all ages. ''Summer Pockets'' is Key's 13th game, following its previous games such as '' Kanon'', ...

'' visual novels and arranged into violin and piano versions by Hironori Anazawa. The album is otherwise

, Jun'ichi Shimizu and Donmaru. It was released on August 22, 2020 in Japan by

bearing the catalog number ''KSLA-0170''. The album contains one disc with ten tracks; tracks 1–4 are from ''Air'', tracks 5 and 6 are from ''Kud Wafter'', and tracks 7–10 are from ''Summer Pockets''.

Natsukage / Nostalgia

"Natsukage / Nostalgia" is a

containing songs sung by

first released on August 10, 2001 at Comiket 60 in Japan by

bearing the catalog number ''KSLA-0002''. The single contains the

track which was originally composed as a

track for the ''Air'' visual novel. Depicted on the cover is

Nagisa Furukawa This is a list of characters from the ''Clannad'' universe, including the visual novel, manga, and anime of the same name. Main characters ; :''Voiced by:'' Kentaro Ito (DVD bundled with PS2 game), Yūichi Nitta ('' Tomoyo After: It's a Wond ...

from Key's later game ''

Clannad Clannad () is an Irish band formed in 1970 in Gweedore, County Donegal by siblings Ciarán, Pól, and Moya Brennan and their twin uncles Noel and Pádraig Duggan. They have adopted various musical styles throughout their history, including f ...

''.

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Air

Soundtracks A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of ...

Anime soundtracks Film soundtracks Discographies of Japanese artists Key Sounds Label Lists of albums Video game soundtracks