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Now in Japan
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Written by maehara
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Thursday, 03 February 2005 13:11 |
 Let me count the number of bishoujo-game-to-anime series I've
watched and loathed over the past few years.... Nope, too many of
'em. Air is the latest example of a genre of show
that's been increasingly common this past few years, and that some love
and some loathe - me, I'm sitting on the fence, although the good
examples are definitely in the minority. Air joins the list of good ones, so far at least...
1 - Breeze
There's a strange new man in town, Yukito Kunisaki, and all he can seem
to think of are ramen sets. Go figure. The first group of
kids he meets aren't very helpful in his quest, but it's not long
before he meets someone who may be more useful - a young girl, Misuzu
Kamio. A bit strange and definitely lonely, but since the offer of
food is too good to pass up, Yukito goes home with her, and somehow
manages to end up as the new lodger. Very trusting of strangers,
this family.. Later, there's trouble when Yukito's 'magic' puppet
is nabbed by a strange-looking dog. A long chase leads to the
dog's owner, Kano Kirishima, and more girls appear later (Minagi Tohno,
quiet head of the school astronomy club, and Michiru, annoying hyper
kid). Yukito's quickly reaching the conclusion that this town's
full of weirdos...
2 - Town
Yukito's 'puppet' routine doesn't seem to be going down too well in
this town - kids just don't seem to appreciate magic these days - but a
chance encounter with Kano's big sister (the town doctor, and seemingly
with a slight psychotic streak) leads to a part-time job, so at least
he's finally earning some money. If only his daily run-in with
the rest of the girls was as productive. Seems Misuzu's been
keeping a secret, too - it's her birthday, and her mom doesn't
appear to have remembered. Yukito at least spends some time
with her, but while they're out, they spot Kano - and something very
strange is happening to her...
Talk about new-character-overload - given that the usual routine for
introducing the girls in a show like this is to cover one or two an
episode for a while, getting them all in one go left me decidedly lost
as to who was who. The lesson from that experience: pay attention
during episode one. It kind of spoils that episode, too, as it
feels extremely rushed, and nothing else really happens in it.
Quite why I carried on watching into episode two after that, I'm not
too sure, but I'm glad I did...
Episode two takes on a much more relaxed feel. While again it
seems it's being used more for character development than anything really
significant, things start to happen that point to the show's darker,
less 'everyday life' feel. You're left with the distinct
impression that there's something about the town & the people in it
that's not normal - guess where Air's main story is going to come from.
A lot of the time, this type of show is aimed squarely at fans of the
game - it's a treat for them, an opportunity to see the characters come
to life in a way, but with very little appeal for people who don't know
the background. That doesn't seem to be the case here - I know
very little about Air's origins and background, but the
'feel' of the show grabbed my attention very quickly, even with its
faults. There's just 'something' about it, and I'm looking
forward to seeing more,
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