If Dreams Came True...

Summary -

A young traveler goes off on a journey to find '"The Girl in the Sky". This person is able to move puppets without touching them, which is what he does for a living to make money. A lot of people do not seem to be impressed with the performance, but despite this, he continues to live his life as a traveler.

However, he enters a town where he meets a young girl, and that is when his life changed forever. This girl tries her best to stay happy and strong, but is always alone because she doesn't have any friends. The traveler befriends the young girl, and stays at her house. Her mother doesn't come home very often, and seems to enjoy drinking often.

The traveler walks the young girl to school everyday, and starts to have a part time job. He is hired by a town doctor who has a younger sister. The young sister has a special power that she does not know about, but will eventually know the truth sooner or later. She has an amazing ability to understand her pet dog.

The traveler later meets another girl, who lack expression unlike the other two girls, but is warm and loving to those she meets. However, there is much more to her than meets the eye. As the traveler will soon realize, this summer has an old legend that takes place long ago. What events will await the traveler and the three young girls?

Current Info -

AIR was the second visual novel created by Key and VisualArt's released in 2001. Similar to Kanon, it was a highly successful game, selling over a million copies and earned the title "Game of the Year" in Japan for two straight years. In 2005, AIR became an animated series created by Kyoto Animation, and was well-received by fans of the game everywhere. The series contains 12 episodes with a side story titled AIR IN SUMMER, focusing more on the Summer arc. This, and the recap episode, makes up for a total of 15 episodes.

That same year, Toei Animation created the movie based on the visual novel, which was successful as well. Fans regarded the movie as an alternative version of the television series and the visual novel. It was directed by Osamu Dezaki, famous for the Black Jack series.

In 2006, Pony Canyon announced that a Blu-ray release for the TV series would be released at the year's end. While fans were extremely happy that AIR will finally have a release in high definition, it was later revealed that the series will only be upscaled as standard definition. Fans were greatly disappointed in this, since they have previously complained about the quality of the DVD release. After two delays, the box set was finally released, and fans were pleased with the box set, even if the differences are minimal.

Key re-released the game in 2005 to promote the animated series under the form of "Standard Edition". This version contains both the adult and the all ages version on one DVD. The game is still being released on other video game consoles, such as the Playstation Portable. It was previously released for the Sega Dreamcast and Playstation 2.

This story is not licensed in the US, and it is unlikely that it will ever be released here.

OP's Opinion -

Since my opinion and views on the series and movie are far too long and complex to post in this little section, you can click here to view them. It is recommended that you view my thoughts after watching the series or movie.

Observations -

People who are fans of the visual novel genre say that AIR defines visual novel gaming. The Japanese seem to agree, since it won Game of the Year two years in a row. Some fans have complained that the adult scenes were unnecessary, and did little to advance the story. Some say that VisualArt's pressured Key to make the adult images, but that is only a rumor at this time.

Fans have always wondered if a series such as this will ever make it across the pond. Reasons people believe it won't is because of Key's extremely high licensing fees. It is rumored that Key usually asks for a lot of money due to (partly) pride in their work. Even if the series did make it here, would it sell as well as the Japanese version did?

A lot of fans thought the movie wasn't as wonderful as the series was, due to the difference in animation style and the changes in the main story. This is usually the case when an enormous story gets crammed into a 90 minute movie. Like the series, this movie is unlikely to see a release in the US as well.

Other -

This thread is dedicated to the visual novel and animated series, AIR. The thread title is the ending theme for the motion picture. I really liked this song, and I wanted to use its title for this thread.

For those who have seen it, feel free to discuss your thoughts on the overall story, its characters, or anything else related to AIR that you have in mind. You can also discuss if you've enjoyed the series or not. Also, if you any problems understanding any part of the story or want to discuss what's beyond the story, this is also the place to discuss them. This thread is also a place to talk its side story, AIR IN SUMMER, and the motion picture as well.

For those who have yet to experience AIR, I ask you to at least give it a try, even if it's just a few episodes. The story may not be clear to you at first, and that's fine. I hope your experience with AIR will be a great one. If not, that's fine as well, as the series does not appeal to everyone. Don't be afraid to post your thoughts on AIR, and I hope the people new to the series have a great experience with it.

The Traveler of Summer -

Key/VisualArt's Home Page
Kyoto Animation's AIR Home Page
BS-i's AIR Home Page
AIR: The Motion Picture Home Page

AIR on TV! -

Download the story at Animesuki
Witness the tale at Dailymotion

The Dream of Summer -

Key Sound Label's Home Page [Home of the AIR composers, and other visual novel soundtracks]

AIR Parodies Are The S***! -

The mystery behind the final event and why you shouldn't care! [Spoiler]
She will really kick you in the BALLS!
He really wants that one...
Never try to do crack and voice acting at the same time...

Other Materials -

Wikipedia's AIR Page

Tales Told By Key -

Remnants of a Dream... [The Story of Kanon]
The Place Where Dreams Come True... [The Story of CLANNAD]

Resists the urge to pin this thread.

Yeah, yeah, I am biased, but I am not that biased. Anyhow, as my avatar and my signature (text) indicate, I absolutely adore AIR. I am very glad I took the time to check it out, because it is one of the most beautiful anime I have ever seen: visibly, musically, emotionally...

It definitely is not for everyone, but I certainly highly recommend it, if only for a taste.

The only question I really had about AIR (at least, during the first run-through: I imagine I will be watching the entire series again in the coming weeks when I have time) involved the ending:

spoiler (highlight to read):

Who were the two children supposed to be at the conclusion of the series? My first thought was that the girl was the latest reincarnation of Kanna/Misuzu, but...from what I was able to gather from poking around the internet, that theory was disproven in an interview. My second thought...well, I do not really have a second thought yet.

I am sure more questions (and answers) will arrive the next time I watch the series...I always do a lot more thinking and conjecturing the second time around; I always allow myself to be taken along for the ride the first time I watch a series.

In the meantime, here's to the Minagi love (my favorite character ):

quote:

Originally posted by The Fallen Phoenix The only question I really had about AIR (at least, during the first run-through: I imagine I will be watching the entire series again in the coming weeks when I have time) involved the ending: spoiler (highlight to read): Who were the two children supposed to be at the conclusion of the series? My first thought was that the girl was the latest reincarnation of Kanna/Misuzu, but...from what I was able to gather from poking around the internet, that theory was disproven in an interview. My second thought...well, I do not really have a second thought yet.

spoiler (highlight to read):

I need to see the ending again, but from what I thought, it seems that the two kids could the next generation of those who have to search for the girl in the sky. What I mean is, because Kanna cannot be reincarnated (only a fragment of her can be within a new being), the girl could be the next fragment, and the boy could be the next one destined to break Kanna's curse (I don't think the curse was broken, even at the very end). I don't think there's a definate answer to that question. We must drawn our own conclusions for that. It does make a rather interesting discussion, though.

quote:

In the meantime, here's to the Minagi love (my favorite character )

To the Minagi love! Minagi was probably the most interesting out of the three. I also liked Kano and Misuzu, but I was able to relate to her more than the other two.

I seem to be listening to more AIR music recently, especally since I've just gotten the wind symphony orchestra versions of songs from the movie. It's quite a nice soundtrack.

Anyway, anyone else seen a couple episodes or is interested in this series? I noticed that a couple members are interested in AIR.

[Please see recent posts for the latest in AIR Blu-ray]

Well generally I would say I’m the type of person who looks out for the more comedy-type anime and well Air was not (I must thank you members here at pcf for introducing me to air though!). However I don't bias animes because they are not comedy (Otherwise I wouldn't be able to watch so much and so many different kinds of anime). Air to me of all the anime I have seen has to be the saddest anime yet! However having said that its also the most compelling and touching/moving anime as well. It really lets you know your characters and really really lets you feel like your there with the two main characters experiencing what they experience.

spoiler (highlight to read):

I would say this is even more so when Misuzu dies.

As for the ending it may be rather optimistic but I would like to believe that

spoiler (highlight to read):

maybe just maybe Misuzu and Yukito can be spared their fate and be able to live together and have fun.

But then again I’m the kind of person who believes you should be able to control your fate and not have things happen to you just because you were some kind of chosen person. Between the movie and the series there are some pretty big differences which I thought were kind of strange. The fact that in the movie Misuzu likes Yukito as a boyfriend kind of threw me off from the series in which i had kind of looked at their relationship not really as boyfriend and girlfriend but hmm more kind of just like friends or rather close friends but not like that? Although in explaining their relationship I do believe the movie does a better job. At any rate both the anime series and movie were really well done in my opinion.

On a side note about the actual animation style of this anime it was quite interesting to watch. You see eyes in anime are generally made from two colors at the most basic point. One color usually lighter or darker than the other but both fairly close on a color scale. However in Air they still use two colors for the eyes only the colors are dramatically different. One color is a base darkened color and the other is an extremely highlighted or illuminated version of the base color. It really does make for a different kind of eye coloring style but it also seems to fit the characters well and personally I think the eyes look great.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: AIR is perfect for showing off the Blu-ray technology.

• The first anime series to arrive in Blu-ray format
  
• A completely different three minute opening designed for the Blu-ray format
  
• Over 130 minutes of extra features (more than AIR MEMORIES and AIR Prelude combined)
  
• LPCM5.1 surround sound (as compared to the LPCM 2.0 stereo sound in the normal DVD release, which will also be included)
  
• High quality upconverted SD footage (as compared to the normal DVD release)
  
• Comes in a box set with all 15 episodes (It has been comfirmed that AIR IN SUMMER will be included in the box set along with the recap episode)
  
• Will come in a total of four BD discs (each disc has 50GB of space, making it a dual layer BD Disc)
  
• New Illustration gallery
  

All this comes out on November 1st.

As of this writing, you can no longer preorder the box set at Amazon Japan. CDJapan is another option if you wish to preorder it.

Amazon Japan has the item up for preorder. If you missed your chance the first time, now's the time to preorder your copy. However, note that the series itself will be encoded in Standard Definition only. Consider that before ordering.

----------------

quote:

AIR to me of all the anime I have seen has to be the saddest anime yet! However having said that its also the most compelling and touching/moving anime as well. It really lets you know your characters and really really lets you feel like your there with the two main characters experiencing what they experience.

I agree. One of the main reasons I like this series is because of the characters themselves. I was able to relate to them well, and I also did feel I was actually there watching the whole story.

After looking for more information about the Blu-ray box set, I come across this:

Three Minute Opening will only be HD

Basically, the new three minute opening is going to the only footage that will take advantage of the Blu-ray technology. The actual series will only be slightly enhanced, but still in SD [Standard Definition] format.

This really sucks, because this version will not take full advantage of the Blu-ray technology (which I believe is HD 1080p resolution)

quote:

What they've announced they are doing with the AIR masters is taking a 480i/p image and upscaling it to (assumedly) 720p, that is encoding the master to a higher resolution than it was originally intended to be seen in. And they've said this will look great etc etc, but... it's still a 480i/p master. Basically, they're cheating and not actually providing real high definition video for this AIR set. Which is very disappointing, considering that Blu-ray is intended as a high definition format.

From Anime News Service:

quote:

8-18-06 (7:09PM EDT)---- AIR Blu-Ray Master Clarified As Standard Definition Following online questions and negative reviews last week on the visual quality of a High Defintion Blu-Ray demo version of the AIR TV animation running in Ginza, Pony Canyon has released some new official details regarding the specs of final version to be released in November. The video master being used to produce the set has been clarified as standard definition. It's said the image quality has been improved from the version of AIR that was broadcast on BS-i. There is also a quote on the site: "It is different from a usual improvement change, a special animation algorithm is used for the encoding." The latest image processing technology was said to be used. The average bit rate is said to be a steady 40 Mbps and a HD master was created for a new opening sequence to be inlcuded in the set.

quote:

8-11-06 (11:19AM EDT)---- Negative Advance Reviews For AIR On Blu-Ray Pending the November 1st release from Pony Canyon, some Japanese fans have gotten an advance peek at some of the test / demo versions of AIR TV on the Blu-Ray HD disc format. There have been some negative reviews, Japanese blog lolipuni took a couple of screen shots, mentions what he saw was unpleasant, looked liked SD (standard defintion) and hopes the final release will have a better visual quality. Likewise, Hddvddegogo saw a test screening in Ginza and says to compare the video against an advance BD version of Gonzo's Gin-iro no kami no Agito that he's seen would be "impolite".

I seriously wonder if the three minute opening is worth $200 right now. I already have all the volumes, so the only thing I really lose is that opening. I bet the "130 minutes of extra features" is actually contained in AIR MEMORIES and AIR Prelude. I guess the Blu-ray box set is just a marketing trap. I'll think about it a little more before I cancel my order, but that's upsetting news.

Just to clarify things, since I just learned of this recently, AIR never had a HD master, which means SD is the only choice for Pony Canyon. This is how BS-i provided the "High Definition" version of AIR

I officially hate Pony Canyon right now.

-----------------------

"HD" demo Images for the BD Box Set:

Misuzu & Haruko

AIR BD Box Set Delayed Until December 6th [Due to "technical" issues]



(Beta?) Picture of the single disc case.

It seems that 50GB dual format in Japan won't be out until winter, which could explain the delay.

quote:

Matsushita's storage device specalist who is the technical spokesman respresenting the group specifically said that dual layer ROM disk should appear on the market at around Christmas, this goes in direct conflict with the AIR BD box release date of November 1st. More interesting is that Yokujin Densyokai, the group which sponsers and produces AIR AND Pony Canyon were part of the conference but does not correct such a statement.

quote:

AIR broadcasted on BS-i (which is an HD broadcast) was absolutely amazing and blows the DVD away anyday, and if what the BR camp is claiming is true, then BD AIR should look just as good if not better. Yet it is not the case and it just looks barely better than DVD as reported by many Japanese fans and confirmed by myself personally. So one has to question why this is so if free-to-air BS-i running on terrestrial airwaves working on less bandwidth can get it to look absolutely amazing but why a supposedly commerical source to be put on BD can't get it right. Something has to be wrong somewhere and right now it looks like it's the tools for BD, whether it is authoring tools or the players or the manufacturing process, are the ones to blame, and this is exactly the sign of an immature format.

...I'm still not seeing any good news come out of this. Perhaps the delay will provide Pony Canyon with a HD master better SD upconversion method, although that is highly unlikely for the moment. They need to learn that more bitrates does not equal better quality. I hope they change their ways soon.

----------------------------

From Anime News Service -

quote:

8-29-06 (11:29AM EDT)---- Blu-Ray AIR BDBOX Release Pushed Back Pony Canyon announced it's Blu-Ray AIR release will be delayed from a Nov. 1 street (prior to Nov. 11 PS3 release) to a Dec. 6th street date. Resolving a technical issue was cited as the reason. The move comes in the wake of mass questioning and disccusion regarding the image quality of the set after demo versions had screened around Tokyo. This eventually prompted Pony Canyon release a statement clarifying many of the details. No word yet on those issues being related to this latest delay.

Pony Canyon will pull it off, right? ...right?

Due to authoring problems (according to Watch Impress), the AIR BD set will be delayed yet again to December 22th. I've already canceled my order, and will wait for reviews to come out around this time to see if the BD set is better than the DVD release.

quote:

Originally posted by Asirt Pony Canyon will pull it off, right? ...right? Due to authoring problems (according to Watch Impress), the AIR BD set will be delayed yet again to December 22th. I've already canceled my order, and will wait for reviews to come out around this time to see if the BD set is better than the DVD release.

Well that sucks, but honestly I think it may still be a bit to early for anime to be on this kind of medium. The price is just too high at the moment and to be honest I have heard that the hd-dvds can give better quality anyways. Although I guess that wouldn't matter since from what I have read it seems as though they won't be upgrading the quality to hd.

quote:

Originally posted by Ace378 Well that sucks, but honestly I think it may still be a bit to early for anime to be on this kind of medium.

Thanks to the PS3, that's not too much of a problem, since $600 is considered a "cheap" Blu-ray player if you think about it. Other companies have done a pretty good job with Blu-ray and HD DVD (Project PAPO and Brave Story are two examples), but it seems Pony Canyon still believes that higher bitrates = better quality, which is not always true. The DVD release have really high bitrates, and it doesn't look that great compared to the BS-i broadcast.

quote:

The price is just too high at the moment and to be honest I have heard that the hd-dvds can give better quality anyways.

Something tells me the AIR BD set should have been released much later when the companies have gotten the hang of the new tools for Blu-ray. HD DVD is not an option for Pony Canyon since they're backing up Blu-ray 100%.

quote:

Although I guess that wouldn't matter since from what I have read it seems as though they won't be upgrading the quality to hd.

You can't really blame Kyoto Animation, though. At the time AIR was still being made, the new HD technology was still in development. I'm as upset as you are about not having a HD master, but what can you do?

Ah your right I had almost forgotten about the ps3. As for the release of the AIR BD at a later time I agree. I mean I know this technology has to be tested with some anime but Air was an anime that did pretty well visually and it would be a shame if they didn't give it proper treatment. Though since it doesn't have an hd master then maybe there really isn't any point in waiting to put it on blu-ray. Here is the thing though. Air doesn't have an hd master right but it still has that 3 min opener in hd? Does that mean the animation for the opener was actually redone in hd then?

quote:

Originally posted by Ace378 Ah your right I had almost forgotten about the PS3. As for the release of the AIR BD set at a later time, I agree. I mean I know this technology has to be tested with some anime, but AIR was an anime that did pretty well visually and it would be a shame if they didn't give it proper treatment.

True, my friend. A shame that it's still not licensed in the US yet, but oh well.

quote:

Though since it doesn't have an hd master then maybe there really isn't any point in waiting to put it on blu-ray.

Other than the "new" three-minute opening, the 5.1 surround sound engineered by Ted Jensen, the upscaled footage (I'm guessing it's going to be 720p), and the new extras, it's not much different from the DVD release. Plus, the DVD release came in those nice limited edition cases, so I'm happy with my complete AIR TV collection, and with my region-free DVD player, I can finally watch AIR on my widescreen TV.

quote:

Here is the thing though. AIR doesn't have a HD master right? But it still has that 3 min opener in HD? Does that mean the animation for the opening was actually redone in hd then?

1) Yep. AIR didn't have a HD master. Otherwise, Pony Canyon would have just used that master instead of upscaling the original source.

2) The three-minute opening in still in HD, at a whooping 40Mbps.

3) No. This new opening is "new", as in it's going to contain new footage created by Kyoto Animation. What new footage will be in this opening is still to be determined, but I'm guessing it'll be somewhat similar to the original opening in the visual novel for the PC. Just a guess, though.

quote:

Originally posted by Asirt 3) No. This new opening is "new", as in it's going to contain new footage created by Kyoto Animation. What new footage will be in this opening is still to be determined, but I'm guessing it'll be somewhat similar to the original opening in the visual novel for the PC. Just a guess, though.

Nooooooooooo! Well I thought the original was pretty good so it would have been pretty great to see it in hd. But hopefully this new intro will be as well done or better.

OK. You guys know I decided to opt-out of the AIR BD Set this time, only because I already have the complete series. There are still many units in stock, so it's not like I'll completely miss out if I change my mind.

No one has reviewed the contents of the Blu-ray discs in terms of quality yet, but I did find some pictures of what you'll be expecting if you ordered a copy. This person was kind enough to show off his/her new BD box set.



First image shows the BD discs that has the 12 episodes plus AIR IN SUMMER and the recap episode. Each disc is 50 GB of data, which explains the reason for the small amount of discs. The booklet and the fold-out cover is also shown here.



Second image is the fold-out cover that stores the four discs. It is very similar to the limited edition releases I have. The big difference is that the cover is a lot smaller than the normal DVD ones. There is also a booklet. I'm guessing it explains about the extras and the episodes included.

When there's more info, I'll let you AIRheads know.

---------------------------

The Japanese seem to be impressed with the set so far, but because I lack the knowledge of the language, I cannot be certain. The new three minute opening is confirmed to be 720p HD resolution.

The new three minute opening has been spreading across the Internet, and I've got the latest scoop on it!

As mentioned earlier, the new HD opening has a resolution of 1280x720 pixels.

Enjoy the images; they're about as good as they're going to get. [Not safe for dial-up users]





But wait, I'm not done! You want to see the three-minute opening in action, don't you?

Just click here, NOW!

woot not badly done at all. Man so crisp and clear its to bad they can't do the whole thing like this. I wonder though, with each blu-ray disc being able to hold so much memory is this anime really taking advantage of that? I mean at 50gb of data per disc there is no way this anime could be maxing out each disc. So does each dvd have lots of extra space left over or are there enough extras to max out the disc or are they really using all of that memory do you think?

quote:

Originally posted by Ace378 woot not badly done at all. Man so crisp and clear its to bad they can't do the whole thing like this.

The entire series is upscaled to 1080i resolution. Few people who actually have the BD Set and a Blu-ray player have seen the show, and are impressed overall, though the difference between DVD and BD is minimal.

quote:

I wonder though, with each blu-ray disc being able to hold so much memory is this anime really taking advantage of that? I mean at 50gb of data per disc there is no way this anime could be maxing out each disc. So does each dvd have lots of extra space left over or are there enough extras to max out the disc or are they really using all of that memory do you think?

Consider the features included:

4 Different audio types (5.1ch Surround, LPCM 2.0ch, DD Pro Logic, LPCM 5.1ch Surround)
HD Opening at 40 Mbps
130 minutes of extras (1080i resolution)
15 episodes upscaled to 1080i resolution
New art gallery

Understand that Blu-ray and HD DVD are meant to be used to take advantage of HDTV's. I would think that Pony Canyon has tried their best to take advantage of the 50 GB technology, despite the fact that the series itself is not HD. If you ask me, the audio plays a huge role in memory, as well as the fact that this release uses MPEG-2 (which is a huge memory hog). Once more companies start using H.264 or VC-1, we'll start seeing more movies and series at higher resolutions (such as 1080p) for less space.

quote:

Originally posted by Asirt Consider the features included: 4 Different audio types (5.1 Surround, 2.0 Stereo, LPCM Stereo, LPCM 5.1 Surround) HD Opening at 40 Mbps 130 minutes of extras (assumed to be 720p as well) 15 episodes upscaled to 720p New art gallery Understand that Blu-ray and HD DVD are meant to be used to take advantage of HDTV's. I would think that Pony Canyon has tried their best to take advantage of the 50 GB technology, despite the fact that the series itself is not HD. If you ask me, the audio plays a huge role in memory, as well as the fact that this release uses MPEG-2 (which is a huge memory hog). Once more companies start using H.264 or VC-1, we'll start seeing more movies and series at higher resolutions (such as 1080p).

Hmm I could see where being in MPEG-2 would up the ante as far as memory consumption goes since I have worked with it and know it does indeed take up lots of memory and of course the same with the audio. But between 4 disc @ 50gb each im just not sure. I mean thats almost as much memory as im running my pc on. Seems like they could have done the whole thing in 2 disc but you know i wouldn't complain about them splurging and using 4 if they really are using all of the data on every disc, which if they are then thats pretty fantastic. At any rate im not putting down this box set was just wondering if they really are maxing out each dvd. Also has there been any word on whether or not this will be licensed in english?

quote:

Originally posted by Ace378 Hmm I could see where being in MPEG-2 would up the ante as far as memory consumption goes since I have worked with it and know it does indeed take up lots of memory and of course the same with the audio. But between 4 disc @ 50gb each im just not sure.

The only way to be sure is if I had the BD Discs, had a BD-ROM drive for my computer, and loaded up the disc. I could tell you for sure if it really takes 50 GB or not. Someone on the Internet did a calculation, and the total memory for 4 episodes was about 35 GB of data.

quote:

I mean thats almost as much memory as im running my pc on. Seems like they could have done the whole thing in 2 disc but you know i wouldn't complain about them splurging and using 4 if they really are using all of the data on every disc, which if they are then thats pretty fantastic.

Pony Canyon has more bitrates to work with in this release than on the DVD, hence the somewhat better quality. People want this release to be better than the DVD release because fans were not impressed with the first release. That said, I've seen AIR on my widescreen HDTV upscaled to 720p, and I'm very impressed.

quote:

At any rate im not putting down this box set was just wondering if they really are maxing out each dvd.

I know you aren't. I'm just clarifying some things on why 50 GB discs were needed.

quote:

Also has there been any word on whether or not this will be licensed in english?

No word.