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Air
Demographic	Seinen
Genre	Drama, Fantasy, Romance
Game
Developer	Key
Publisher	Visual Art's (PC) NEC Interchannel (DC/PS2) Prototype (SoftBank 3G/PSP)
Genre	Eroge, 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) November 22, 2007 (PSP)
Manga
Author	Key (story), Yukimaru Katsura (art)
Publisher	Kadokawa Shoten
Serialized in	Comptiq
Original run	August 10, 2004 – February 10, 2006
Volumes	2
TV anime
Director	Tatsuya Ishihara
Studio	Kyoto Animation
Licensor	ADV Films
Network	BS-i Anime Network
Original run	January 6, 2005 – March 31, 2005
Episodes	13
Movie
Director	Osamu Dezaki
Producer	Iriya Azuma, Mamoru Yokota
Composer	Yoshikazu Suo
Studio	Toei Animation
Licensor	ADV Films
Released	February 5, 2005
Runtime	91 minutes
TV anime: 'Air in Summer'
Director	Tatsuya Ishihara
Studio	Kyoto Animation
Network	BS-i
Original run	August 28, 2005 – September 4, 2005
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.^[1][2]

The gameplay in Air follows a linear plot line 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 Gameplay 2 Plot 2.1 Setting and themes 2.2 Principal characters 2.3 Story 2.3.1 Story arcs 3 Development 3.1 Release history 4 Adaptations 4.1 Manga 4.2 Drama CDs 4.3 Anime 4.4 Movie 5 Music 6 Reception and sales 7 References 8 External links

Air is comprised of 49,603 lines and contains 119 individual CG images. 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 take place a thousand years before the Dream arc, in the Heian period.^[3] The Air arc, which centers on Misuzu, is the finale 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.

Air's gameplay requires little interaction from the player as most of the duration of the game is spent simply reading the dialogue that appears on the screen. Every so often, the player will come to a "decision point" where he or she is given the chance to choose from multiple options. During these times gameplay pauses, and, depending on which choice the player makes, furthers the plot 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, 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.^[4] There are three main plot lines that the player will have the chance to experience, one for each of the heroines in the story. To view all three plot lines, the player will have to replay the game multiple times and chose different choices during the decision points to progress 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.

There are important locations featured in Air that are based on those of the Kami city in Hyōgo 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.^[5] 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."^[6]

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, as well as Yukito's, 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.

Main article: List of Air 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 (Japanese - game, movie), Daisuke Ono (Japanese - anime), Vic Mignogna (English)

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 (Japanese), Monica Rial (English)

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 (Japanese), Stephanie Wittels (English)

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 (Japanese), Kira Vincent-Davis (English)

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.

Dream

The story opens on July 17, 2000, with Yukito Kunisaki, a freeloader who arrives in the town Air is set in. Yukito meets a young girl the following day named Misuzu Kamio and eventually comes to live at her home with her aunt Haruko Kamio while he works to earn enough money to continue on his journey. He is trying to find the "girl in the sky" like his mother before him and is traveling around Japan searching for her. The next day, Yukito meets another girl named Kano Kirishima and a stray dog she knows named Potato; Kano and Misuzu go to the same high school. Later that day, Yukito meets a third girl named Minagi Tohno, Misuzu's classmate, and her friend Michiru.

The cursed "girl in the sky" Yukito has been searching for could be Misuzu, Kano, or Minagi. Eventually, he discovers who it is, but by that time, she has already learned to love him and passed her fifteenth birthday. Once these things have come to pass, the "girl in the sky" is cursed to die. The remainder of this arc is dedicated to Yukito's attempt to save her.

Summer

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

Air

Yukito's final wish to save Misuzu's life is heard. The series starts over from the Dream arc, although it is seen through the view point of a crow Misuzu finds and names Sora. New things are revealed that the viewer did not see following Yukito in the Dream arc. After Misuzu finds the crow and brings him back home, her condition worsens and eventually she forgets even who Haruko is. Misuzu's father shows up during this arc wanting to take Misuzu back to his home, but Haruko pleads with him to grant her more time, and they agree on extending the time for three more days. The remainder of this arc has Misuzu and Haruko spending time together like mother and daughter.

After the completion of Kanon, the Key staff started production on Air and expanded the number of people involved in this project compared to Kanon. The executive producer for Air was Takahiro Baba from Visual Art's, the publishing company that Key is under.^[7] The planning for Air was headed by Jun Maeda who was also one of two main scenario writers, the other being Takashi Ishikawa.^[8] Scenario assistance was provided by four more people: Tomotaka Fujii, Kai, Tōya Okano, and Yūichi Suzumoto.^[7] Art direction was headed by Key's well-known artist Itaru Hinoue who worked on the character design. Further computer graphics were split between three people — Miracle ☆ Mikipon, Na-Ga, and Shinory — and background art was provided by Din and Torino.^[7] The music in the game was composed primarily by Shinji Orito, and Magome Togoshi, who had started working with Key since Air.^[8] After the completion of Air, two of the staff — Tomotaka Fujii, and Takashi Ishikawa — left Key.^[9]

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.^[4] It retailed for 8,800 yen (~US$74.18) prior to tax.^[10] 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).^[11] To compensate for the lack of erotic content in the consumer ports, extra scenes were added.^[12]

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.^[13] Lastly, a portable versions playable on the PlayStation Portable and the SoftBank 3G cell phone were published by Prototype. The SoftBank 3G version was released on May 1, 2007, and the PSP version was released on November 22, 2007.^[1][2]

An Air manga was serialized in the Japanese computer game magazine Comptiq between August 10, 2004 and February 10, 2006.^[14] 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.^[15][16]

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.^[16]

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.^[17]

See also: List of Air episodes

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.

On December 22, 2006, Air became one of the first anime series to be released in Blu-ray Disc format. The release came in a four disc box set containing the twelve main episodes and the two Air in Summer episodes.^[18] The box set retails for 29,800 yen (~US$247.66), though this is still cheaper than buying the seven individual DVDs, including Air in Summer.^[18]

On April 27, 2007, ADV Films co-founder and executive Matt Greenfield announced the acquisition of both the anime series and the movie during a panel at Anime Matsuri, South Texas' anime convention. Volume one of the four-disc Air series hit store shelves on August 14, 2007, and the Air movie is slated for release in late 2007.^[19]

Main article: Air (film)

An Air animated film directed by Osamu Dezaki premiered in Japanese theaters on February 5, 2005.^[20] The film, animated by Toei Animation, is a reinterpretation of the original Air storyline which centers on the story arc 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.

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 twenty-six 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.^[12]

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.^[21] Two months after the original release, the game ranked at forty-two followed by the same ranking a month later in December 2000.^[21] This game stayed on the charts for a month and a half longer, ranking in at twenty, and forty-two.^[22][23] The original release appeared on the charts twice more: the first in late September-early October 2001 at twenty-six,^[24] and again in the last two weeks of May 2002, ranking in at forty-three.^[25] 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.^[26][27] The PC all-ages version premiered at number seven in the rankings and had a final ranking at thirty in the next ranking.^[26] The Air Standard Edition premiered at number one in the rankings.^[28] The Air Standard Edition ranked in twice more, at thirty-four and at twenty-eight in the next two rankings.^[29] The Dreamcast version sold 42,445 units in its first week, and was the fourth highest selling console game in Japan that week.^[4] The Dreamcast version ultimately sold 50,406 units and is ranked the fifty-third highest selling Japanese Dreamcast game ever, as of 2007.^[30]

"Air took the bishōjo gaming world by storm," as states a review of the Dreamcast game by MobyGames.^[31] 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."^[12] The PS2 version was reviewed by GameFAQs, 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."^[32] 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.^[3] Air was given a review at visual-novels.net, commenting: "So does this game live up to all the 9/10, 10/10 and S ranks that can be found on many Japanese websites? In my opinion, it is a yes....[F]rom my current experience in visual novel, the best parts usually happen around the end and you can’t judge a visual novel until you have completed the whole game. The same also applies for Air." Air was given an overall score of 9/10 by visual-novels.net.^[33] 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.^[34] In the October 2007 issue of Dengeki G's Magazine, poll results for the fifty best bishōjo games were released. Out of 249 titles, Air ranked eighth with forty-three votes.^[35]

• Key's official Air website (Japanese)
• Air anime official website (Japanese)
• ADV Films' Air anime official website
• Air movie official website (Japanese)
• Air at MobyGames
• Air (anime) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia

Key (under Visual Art's) v • d • e
Main staff	Jun Maeda | Shinji Orito | Itaru Hinoue | Na-Ga | Yūto Tonogawa
Notable former staff	Naoki Hisaya | Yūichi Suzumoto | Magome Togoshi | OdiakeS
Visual novels	Kanon | Air | Clannad | Planetarian: Chiisana Hoshi no Yume | Tomoyo After: It's a Wonderful Life | Little Busters!
Pre-Key visual novels	Dōsei | Moon. | One: Kagayaku Kisetsu e
Animation	One OVA episodes | Kanon anime episodes | Air anime episodes | Air movie | Clannad anime episodes | Clannad movie
Characters	Kanon characters (Ayu Tsukimiya) | Air characters | Clannad characters | Little Busters! characters
Soundtracks	Kanon | Air | Clannad | Planetarian: Chiisana Hoshi no Yume | Tomoyo After: It's a Wonderful Life | Little Busters!
Key Sounds Label	Humanity... | Birthday Song,Requiem | Spica/Hanabi/Moon | Ma-Na | Love Song | OTSU Club Music Compilation Vol.1