Air (computer game)
| Air | |
|---|---|
 | |
| genre | Drama , fantasy , romance , tragedy |
| Computer / video game | |
| Studio | Key |
| Publisher |
Visual Art’s (PC), NEC Interchannel (DC, PS2), Prototype (SoftBank, PSP) |
| Erstveröffent- lichung |
 September 8, 2000 |
| platform | Dreamcast , Microsoft Windows , PlayStation 2 , SoftBank-3G , PlayStation Portable |
| Game engine | AVG32 |
| genre | Ren'ai Adventure |
| Game mode | Single player |
| control | Mouse keyboard |
| system advantages preconditions |
100 MHz CPU , 16 MB RAM , 10 MB hard disk |
| medium | CD-ROM, DVD |
| language | Japanese |
| Manga | |
| country |
Japan
|
| author | Key |
| Illustrator | Yukimaru Katsura |
| publishing company | Kadokawa Shoten |
| magazine | Comptiq |
| First publication | August 10, 2004 - February 10, 2006 |
| expenditure | 2 |
| Anime television series | |
| Country of production |
Japan
|
| original language | Japanese |
| year | 2005 |
| Studio | Kyōto animation |
| length | 24 minutes |
| Episodes | 13 |
| Theme music | Briefing: Lia - Tori no Uta (鳥の詩) credits: Lia - Farewell song |
| Director | Tatsuya Ishihara |
| idea | Visual Art's / Key |
| production | Yoko Hatta |
| music | Jun Maeda, Magome Togoshi, Shinji Orito |
| First broadcast | January 7, 2005 on BS-i |
| Anime movie | |
| title | Air the Movie |
| Original title | 劇場版 AIR |
| transcription | Gekijouban Air |
| Country of production |
Japan
|
| original language | Japanese |
| Publishing year | 2005 |
| Studio | Tōei animation |
| length | 91 minutes |
| Director | Osamu Dezaki |
| script | Makoto Nakamura |
| production |
Iriya Azuma , Mamoru Yokota |
| music | Yoshikazu Suo |
| Original video animation | |
| title | Air in summer |
| Original title | AIR イ ン サ マ ー |
| Country of production |
Japan
|
| original language | Japanese |
| year | 2005 |
| Studio | Kyōto animation |
| length | 24 minutes |
| Episodes | 2 |
| Director | Tatsuya Ishihara |
Air is an eroge - Ren'ai adventure by Visual Art’s / Key from 2000. The game was later republished in a child-free version for PC as well as for Dreamcast , PlayStation 2 , for the SoftBank-3G mobile phone and for PlayStation Portable . Furthermore, it was filmed as a 13-part anime television series with two additional special episodes and as a cinema film. Further implementations followed as a manga and radio play series .
game
development
The development of Air started after the completion of Kanon . The executive producer was Takahiro Baba from Visual Art's. The planning was led by Jun Maeda, who was one of the two lead scenario writers alongside Takashi Ishikawa. Itaru Hinoue was responsible for the character design . The music was composed by Shinji Orito and Magome Togoshi .
Game mechanics
The game is divided into three sections: Dream , Summer and Air . The Summer section will be unlocked after completing the three good endings of Dream and Air after completing Summer .
In Dream the player as Yukito meets the three girls Misuzu Kamio, Kano Kirishima and Minagi Tohno one after the other. Depending on the decisions made by the player, you will learn the story of one of the three girls. The next section, buzzer , is linear with no choices. The narrator is Ryūya and the events take place 1000 years in the past during the Heian period . The final section, Air , the game's finale, is about Misuzu, while the protagonist is a crow named Sora. The events of the first section, Dream, are repeated from the crow's point of view and the interrupted action is continued. The other two girls, Kano and Minagi, only have brief appearances.
As usual for Japanese adventure games, the game requires little interaction from the player, who mainly only has to read through the dialogues on the screen. Only occasionally he has to choose from a number of possibilities at decision points in order to influence the further action of the game. Because of the long loading and saving times on consoles, the game automatically jumps back to console ports in the event of a wrong decision in order to be able to correct it, unless a bad end was reached.
Publications
Air was first released on September 8, 2000 for the PC as a limited version on 2 CDs together with the Ornithopter soundtrack for 8,800 yen. The regular version followed on July 19, 2001 and the adult version on July 27.
On September 20, NEC Interchannel provided a console port for the Sega Dreamcast and on August 8, 2002 for 7,140 yen for the PlayStation 2 . In contrast to the PC version, all characters except the protagonist in the Dreamcast version and all characters in the PlayStation 2 version have been set to music. Because of the good sales of the PlayStation 2 version followed on September 1, 2005, a cheaper new edition called Best Version for 2,980 yen. As usual, the sex scenes were removed for the console ports and additional other scenes were recorded.
On April 8th, it was re-released as Air Standard Edition for PC on DVD for 3,990 yen.
A port for the SoftBank 3G mobile phone followed on May 1, 2007 by Prototype and on November 22, 2007 for the PlayStation Portable .
A new release of the adult version under the title Air Memorial Edition ( AIR メ モ リ ア ル エ デ ィ シ ョ ン ) was released on May 28, 2010.
action
Dream
Yukito Kunisaki ( 国 崎 往 人 , Kunisaki Yukito ) travels the country and earns his living with a doll that he moves only with the power of his thoughts. Like his mother, he is looking for a girl who has been flying around in heaven for ages.
Arriving in a new city, he meets three very special girls: the clumsy, childish and innocent one Misuzu Kamio ( 神 尾 観 鈴 , Kamio Misuzu ), who reacts to inconvenience with a sad, quiet gao (dinosaur roar ), the cranked Kano Kirishima ( 霧 島 佳 乃 , Kirishima Kano ), who believes she will be able to do magic later, as well as the calm Minagi Tōno ( 遠 野 美 凪 , Tōno Minagi ), who always replies slowly and quietly with a delay and thanks with rice coupons.
Kano tells him about her bracelet, which she is not allowed to take off until she is of legal age to be able to do magic. At night, Yukito and Misuzu see Kano being wrapped in a glistening light at the shrine and then find themselves in a vision until Kano collapses. After Yukito has delivered Kano to her older sister Hijiri ( 霧 島 聖 , Kirishima Hijiri ), he overhears an "other" Kano saying to Hijiri that Kano belongs to her. After Kano disappeared a few days later, they find her talking in a trance at the shrine, where she tries to strangle Yukito. Hijiri says that Kano has been acting so strangely since she touched a glistening feather in the shrine years ago. At that time Kano also tried to cut his wrists. To prevent it from happening again, Hijiri put the bracelet on her and told her the story of magic. Kano overhears this unnoticed and disappears, leaving a note that she wants to follow her dead mother to heaven. They find Kano passed out at the shrine. Yukito places the glistening feather on Kano's chest, whereupon everyone sees a vision from a distant past of a woman and her toddler all at once on the wrist (in the same place as Kano's cut). In a subsequent vision, Kano says goodbye to her mother and the spring dissolves.
After spending time together with Minagi and her younger friend Michiru ( み ち る ), Yukito accompanies Minagi home. Once there, however, she is greeted by her mother as Michiru. The next day he wants to pick up Minagi, but her mother thinks she has no daughter. From Hijiri he learns that Minagi's mother compensated for the miscarriage of her youngest daughter Michiru by perceiving Minagi as Michiru. However, yesterday she dreamed of the miscarriage and accepted Michiru's non-existence without perceiving Minagi as Minagi again. Yukito eventually reunites Minagi and her mother. Michiru tells Yukito that she is a dream come true through a feather of the girl in heaven, born of the longing and sorrow of Minagi. Both say goodbye to each other and Michiru dissolves as a feather.
Yukito, moves in with Misuzu and her aunt Haruko ( 神 尾 晴子 , Kamio Haruko ). Misuzu doesn't seem to care and since Misuzu gets crying fits when she feels friendship / love, she has no friends either.
Yukito's mother once befriended a girl who, as soon as she met a loved one, first began to dream of another self in heaven. With each subsequent dream her condition worsened, she forgot this loved one and with the last dream both of them died. Since Yukito has been with Misuzu, this has been repeated with her. When she gets bedridden, he first wants to leave so that they can both live. After all, he wishes that with the wishes and powers of his ancestors inherent in his doll, he could be with her forever from the beginning. He then dissolves and Misuzu heals.
Buzzer
1000 years ago (994) the soldier Ryūya ( 柳 也 ) was commissioned to protect the winged messenger of the gods Kanna-bi no Mikoto ( 神 奈 備 命 ). Despite their quarrels, he befriends her and her servant, the magically gifted Uraha ( 裏 葉 ). Kanna really wants to see her mother but is a prisoner in the palace. Shortly before their annual change of palace, they flee and search for Kishu . When they enter a sacred place that is forbidden for women, they are attacked by warrior monks and finally find Kanna's mother in a dungeon: the Yao Bikuni . Shortly thereafter, they are attacked by soldiers of the emperor, where Kanna's mother is hit by an arrow and dies shortly afterwards. Kanna kisses Ryūya and flies in the sky. Hit by the arrows of the soldiers and banished by the curses / sutra recitations of the Buddhist monks, it dissolves. Ryūya and Uraha escape in a temple, the head of which tells them that the winged beings were used by the mighty because of their tremendous powers as tools of war. The imperial court wanted to wipe out the winged beings in order to unite the country and replace the old religion of Shinto with the new one of Buddhism. Kanna experiences constant nightmares in heaven through the curse of the monks. The curse will dissipate over time and Kanna will be reborn in a person. But by the greatness of their spirit as a winged being, man will perish. Since neither of them will be able to solve this problem during their lifetime, and Ryūya will die from another curse within a year, Uraha asks him to make a child for her so that her descendants can one day have it.
Air
Misuzu's story is told again from the beginning, this time from the perspective of the Sora ( そ ら , literally: "Heaven"). Haruko always distanced herself from Misuzu because she was afraid that Misuzu would one day be brought back by her father. When Misuzu is bedridden, she decides to be a good "mother" to her. According to Yukito's wish, the crow briefly remembers being him. When Haruko and Misuzu manage to have a normal "mother" -daughter relationship, Misuzu's condition worsens again and she forgets Haruko, who is now a stranger to her. Misuzu's father Keisuke Tachibana ( 橘 敬 介 , Tachibana Keisuke ) comes to get her back, but Haruko asks him for three more days. Misuzu remembers Haruko again and is allowed to stay with her. Haruko tries unsuccessfully not to let Misuzu sleep for fear of the last dream. The morning after her last dream, Misuzu tries to walk again. When she reaches Haruko, she says that she has achieved her goal of having a happy summer vacation and dies in Haruko's arms. The crow flies in the sky to look for the winged girl.
At the end, the series jumps back to the beginning, this time from the point of view of a little boy and a little girl, and closes with the boy's words: "For them [Yukito and Misuzu] cruel days, for us the beginning."
Adaptations
Anime
Television series
On November 17th, 2004 a teaser was produced on DVD called Air ~ prelude ~ . The DVD contained interviews, opening and closing credits without texts and scenes from the following series. 20,000 copies of the DVD were pressed.
The first episode of the anime by Kyōto Animation , directed by Tatsuya Ishihara , aired on January 7, 2005 on the TBS satellite channel BS-i . On the broadcast slot, it replaced Rozen Maiden and was in turn replaced by Kore ga Watashi no Goshujin-sama . The anime consists of 12 main episodes and a final summary episode. It also follows the division of the game into three sections: Dream (episodes 1-7), Summer (episodes 8-9) and Air (episodes 10-12). Episodes 3 and 4 cover Kanos, episodes 5 and 6 Minagis and episode 7 Misuzu's storyline of the game. The opening credits Tori no Uta and the closing credits Farewell song , each sung by Lia, were also taken from the game.
At the end of the 13th episode, two special episodes called Air in Summer Zenpen: Yamamichi - Mountain Path and Air in Summer Kohen: Ametsuchi - Universe were advertised as Air in Summer , which were broadcast on August 28 and September 4, 2005 on BS-i . A DVD was released on October 5, 2005.
On December 22, 2006, Air was released as one of the first anime series on Blu-ray Disc . This release contained the 12 main episodes and 2 special episodes on 4 BDs for 29,800 yen.
On August 14, 2007, the first DVD was released in the USA by ADV Films . After this ended their business activity in September 2009, the US licenses were transferred to Funimation .
Motion picture
On February 5, 2005, the film Air by director Osamu Dezaki was released in Japanese cinemas. This time the film was animated by Toei Animation . He retells the plot and focuses on Yukito and Misuzu. The film later appeared in three different DVD versions: a "normal" version, a Collector's Edition and a Special Edition . The credits, If Dreams Came True , were sung by Eri Kawai .
Manga
Between August 10, 2004 and February 10, 2006, a manga about Air appeared in the computer game magazine Comptiq . The individual chapters were later reissued as 2 Tankōbon (anthologies) by the publishing house Kadokawa Shoten . The plot follows the computer game and the illustrations come from the mangaka Yukimaru Katsura . The first volume consists of 9 and the second volume of 6 main chapters with additional bonus chapters at the end of each volume.
The manga covers the Dream and Air sections in detail, while Summer is only briefly touched upon. The focus is on Misuzu's story and Kano and Minagi only play supporting roles. In the final bonus chapter, however, Minagi's story is also explained.
Radio play series
Nine radio play CDs were produced for Air .
The first six radio play CDs deal with the game section Dream with 2 CDs each for each of the three female heroines. The first three CDs ( Kamio Misuzu - Dream Zempen ( 神 尾 観 鈴 ・ DREAM 前 編 ), Kirishima Kano - Dream Zempen ( 霧 島 佳 乃 ・ ・ DREAM 前 編 ) and Tōno Minagi - Dream Zempen ( 遠 野 美 凪 ・ DREAM 前 編 )) 2005 and the next three CDs ( Kamio Misuzu - Dream Kōhen ( 神 尾 観 鈴 ・ DREAM 後 編 ), Kirishima Kano - Dream Kōhen ( 霧 島 佳 乃 ・ ・ DREAM 後 編 ) and Tōno Minagi - Dream Kōhen ( 遠 野 美 凪 ・ DREAM 後 編 ) also together on 21. Published October 2005.
The 7th radio play CD Summer released on November 25, 2005 , the 8th radio play CD Air Zempen ( AIR 前 編 ) released on December 22, 2005 and the 9th radio play CD Air Kōhen ( AIR 後 編 ) deal with the other two game sections.
music
Between 2002 and 2005 6 albums for Air were released: 5 for the computer game ( Ornithopter , Natsukage / nostalgia , Air Original Soundtrack , Kanon Air Piano Arrange Album "Re-feel" and Air Analog Collector's Edition "Tori no Uta / Farewell" song ( Airア ナ ロ グ コ レ ク タ ー ズ エ デ ィ シ ョ ン 『鳥 の 詩 / Farewell song』 , Air Anarogu Korekutāzu Edishon “Tori no Uta / Farewell song” )) and one about the film ( Air Movie Soundtrack ). The albums for the game were released by Key's house record label Key Sounds Label and that for the movie by Frontier Works .
In 2005 it became known that the singer Shaun Yu plagiarized the theme song Tori no Uta . After a second song was suspected of plagiarism, his record company Sony BMG Taiwan publicly apologized and withdrew all copies of Yu's album.
Voice actor
| role | Japanese speaker ( seiyū ) |
|---|---|
| Yukito Kunisaki, Sora |
Hikaru Midorikawa (computer games, radio plays & feature film) Daisuke Ono (TV series) |
| Misuzu Kamio | Tomoko Kawakami |
| Kano Kirishima | Asami Okamoto |
| Minagi Tōno | Ryoka Yuzuki |
| Haruko Kamio | Aya Hisakawa |
| Hijiri Kirishima | Yumi Toma |
| Michiru | Yukari Tamura |
| Yukito's mother | Yūko Nagashima |
| Kanna-bi no Mikoto | Chinami Nishimura |
| Ryūya | Nobutoshi Canna |
| Uraha | Kikuko Inoue |
| Yao Bikuni | Keiko Han |
| Keisuke Tachibana |
Shin'ichirō Miki (computer games, radio plays & movies) Kenjirō Tsuda (TV series) |
reception
When it was released, Air was # 1 in the best-selling Bishōjo game . Even 20 months later (May 2002) it still ranks 43rd. The regular version released in 2001 started at 13th and the adult version at 7th. Air Standard Edition also entered first place like the original version.
The Dreamcast version sold 42,445 copies in the first week, making it the fourth-best-selling Dreamcast game in Japan. A total of 50,406 copies were sold.
Air characters appeared in dojin games such as Eternal Fighter Zero - Blue Sky Edition by Twilight Frontier .
In October 2007, Dengeki G's Magazine published a list of the 50 best bishōjo games. Here occupied Air 8th Place of 249 titles.
Web links
- Key's Air Standard Edition Official Website (Japanese)
- Official TBS TV Show Website (Japanese)
- Official website for the film ( Memento of October 28, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) (Japanese)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Air rod. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on March 22, 2008 ; Retrieved August 8, 2012 (Japanese).
- ↑ Rpgfan.com on the PlayStation 2 reissue. July 2, 2005, accessed January 12, 2007 .
- ↑ TV ア ニ メ 版 「AIR」 の Blu-ray Disc BOX が 11 月 1 日 発 売 . (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on March 10, 2007 ; Retrieved May 7, 2007 (Japanese).
- ↑ Comptiq: Publications for September 2004. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on January 31, 2010 ; Retrieved August 8, 2012 (Japanese).
- ^ Official website of Key. (No longer available online.) September 15, 2005, archived from the original on September 16, 2005 ; Retrieved November 19, 2007 (Japanese).
- ↑ Air plagiarization follow-up. In: AnimeNewsNetwork. September 21, 2005, accessed November 19, 2007 .
- ↑ PC News Bishōjo Game Ranking for December 2000. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on June 25, 2007 ; Retrieved November 20, 2007 (Japanese).
- ↑ PC News Bishōjo Game Ranking for the 2nd half of May 2002. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on December 27, 2005 ; Retrieved November 20, 2007 (Japanese).
- ↑ PC News Bishōjo Game Ranking for the 2nd half of July 2001. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on December 27, 2005 ; Retrieved November 20, 2007 (Japanese).
- ↑ PC News Bishōjo Game Ranking for the 1st half of April 2005. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on December 27, 2005 ; Retrieved November 20, 2007 (Japanese).
- ^ Air review. In: GameFAQs. Retrieved January 12, 2007 .
- ↑ Sega Dreamcast japanese ranking. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on December 11, 2006 ; accessed on January 11, 2007 .
- ↑ Dengeki G's Magazine top fifty bishōjo games. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on November 27, 2007 ; Retrieved April 9, 2016 (Japanese).