Disturbed by Air TV.

[ninetynineproblems]

So, the whole time that I was watching this series (Air TV), I was thinking about the fact that it is based on an adult visual novel. I was constantly imagining this young-adult male (Yukito) creeping on naive middle-school girls, and I could not make sense of his interactions with them. I was wondering if anyone could provide some insight to me on these pairings as well as on the whole series in order to ease my mind. This is assuming that they didn't only make Air TV this way in order to follow the visual novel (which, from what I've read, isn't very closely related to the television series.)

Thanks, guys and girls! : )

I swear that I have looked for information regarding this show, but its simple name makes it hard to find.

 

[Abunai]

Just a few facts, not that I think that is going to make any impression on you, since you seem to have made your mind up:

1) While there is an erotic content in the original version of the game, the main focus (in both the erotic and non-erotic versions, and especially in the anime) is to evoke an emotional response. The category is nakige, "crying game". There may be a male protagonist, but he is peripheral to the actual stories, which concern themselves with the girls' individual tragedies.

2) The girls aren't "middle-schoolers", they are all in high school. You watched the entire anime, and you never realised this? In most countries in the world, including Japan, they are past the age of consent. So your implications of paedophiliac content are simply wrong.

There you go. Facts. Now do what FOX News does, and ignore them. I can always lock this thread.

- abunai

 

[ninetynineproblems]

I had no intentions of offending anyone, but I was just a bit curious as to why this guy who I assumed was older than he is was interacting with these girls who I assumed were younger than they are. I'll admit that I cried at the end and enjoyed the show for what it is, but the thoughts always lingered in the back of my mind. Anyway, my bias towards this show probably stems from my lack of knowledge regarding the ages of consent in other countries and experiences with statutory rape. Thanks for clearing that age-gap issue for me.

And I am sorry that I led you to assume that I'd be some annoying, rule-breaking troll, but I really was curious about this before you posted here. I'm not trying to degrade the quality of Air at all or to stop people from viewing it.

 

[frentymon]

It might also help to know that while Air TV is based off the original Air visual novel, they're still two different things. As my memory serves, there was nothing sexual or even romantic in the TV series. Yukito's interaction with the girls was more like something of an older brother figure, and to say that he was "creeping on" the girls in the TV show kinda misses the point. I'm not too clear on the original novel, but as far as I know its main purpose was also not to arouse the player, but to tell a story. This is further evidenced by the fact that Key eventually released an All Ages version of the game, removing all sexual content completely.

2) The girls aren't "middle-schoolers", they are all in high school.

Really? While I was under the impression before that Yukito was 20 and the girls were all 12, I searched the net a bit, and everything I read seemed to suggest that no age had ever been given for any character. The girls might be in high school, but it doesn't seem like anything has been said for certain, and it doesn't seem like Yukito is a high schooler, given that he looks older than high school age and he's on a journey somewhere.

 

[PetrifiedJello]

Disturbed by Air TV

I was constantly imagining this young-adult male (Yukito) creeping on naive middle-school girls...

:|

There's much more to think about, such as:
(note: it's been a while since I've seen it, so names are lost)

-The girl who "owned" the dog Potato. What's her relationship to the curse? If the story is about re-incarnation, no one else should be affected, but yet...

-Kanna. Um, so she's

Spoiler

filled with arrows

but this doesn't explain why the curse

Spoiler

has to kill those who get it

.

-The relationship between Kanna and Misuzu. Are we watching a girl cursed or re-incarnated? If it's the former, how did she get the curse? It it's re-incarnation, then who the hell cares about Misuzu, given we're really watching Kanna?
That's the one thing I despise about tales over re-incarnation: the immediate expendable nature of at least one person, generally the one viewers like the most.

-From boy to crow... W... T... F...! I guess the "Air for Dummies" insert wasn't included in my version. Yes, I get Yukito is a re-incarnated soul as well, but did he die? Where's the body? WTF?

-The little girl who ran around with Tohno all the time. Her purpose? Was the rooftop scene even necessary? Who the hell was she?

There's one important fact abunai didn't mention: Yukito himself dismisses Misuzu because of her age.

Thus, I'm confused over the OP statement being to focus. To each their own, I suppose.

 

[Abunai]

2) The girls aren't "middle-schoolers", they are all in high school.

Really? While I was under the impression before that Yukito was 20 and the girls were all 12, I searched the net a bit, and everything I read seemed to suggest that no age had ever been given for any character. The girls might be in high school, but it doesn't seem like anything has been said for certain, and it doesn't seem like Yukito is a high schooler, given that he looks older than high school age and he's on a journey somewhere.

While the Japanese Wikipedia page just has them "in school" (学校, the same term used inclusively for everything from elementary to senior high school), and Key's own page doesn't mention their ages, the English page places them all in 2nd year high school. Also, the Japanese pages clearly specify that Misuzu appears far younger than her age, due to her childish demeanour. I don't see any reason not to peg them at about 16 years of age -- not least due to physical development.

Regardless, how did you reach an age of 12? Granted, the "Key look" of exaggerated "anime faces" does make them appear young, but that's style, not content. Do you have a source you can point to?

- abunai

 

[Megiddo]

I hope you don't mind me answering your questions PJ, as they are all explained (or shown) in the TV series, but this is one of my favorites.

*THIS ENTIRE POST WILL BE SPOILERS. DO NOT READ ANYTHING IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN AIR TV*

Spoiler

-If you recall correctly, Kano (the girl who owned the dog) had been possessed by a mother from hundreds of years ago. We saw the past of this mother and it basically turns out that she was forced to kill her daughter because it was believed her daughter was cursed and would cause famine/whatever to the town. The feelings/soul/whatever of the mother was contained in a feather (one of Kanna's feathers) and when Kano touched that feather as a little girl she was possessed. Kano also fits the main theme of Air which is the importance of mothers. You'll recall that Kano's mother died directly after Kano was born, and so Kano blamed herself for her mother's death. Through Yukito's magic she was able to converse with her mother and find out that her mother was so happy to bring Kano into the world even if it meant that she had to die, so Kano shouldn't feel any guilt at all. Her "relationship" to the curse is that she was possessed via one of Kanna's feathers.

-Watch the scene with Kanna again. Not only is she shot with a ton of arrows, but she is literally bound by the chantings of those monks/priests/whatever by that curse. What is the curse? She is stuck forever watching Ryuuya and Uraha die over and over and over again. This "vision" which creates so much pain for Kanna is what causes the "pain" for Kanna's reincarnations/receivers-of-the-curse whenever they get too close to someone.

-We are watching one of Kanna's reincarnations. I won't pretend that I know all or even much at all of Buddhist' belief in reincarnation, but basically it's a person who inherits Kanna's curse. Over the "1000 summers" I'm sure there have been a lot of people just like Misuzu who were lonely and without a friend and just died alone.

-From what I could see, Yukito uses his magic to place all his 'feelings' in the doll that he carries, and then used magic again to take the form of a crow. Basically, even if you don't buy it, just understand that Yukito did not want to kill Misuzu by becoming closer to her, but he also did not want to leave her side. So he became a simple observer. Many people think that Yukito just entered entirely into the doll and that Ryuuya was actually the crow (since she see a lot of things from the recent past with Sora already there), but I'm not sure about that. As I said, the important thing is the decision that Yukito makes. And honestly, this is one of the reasons why I love Air so much. Because Yukito is a vagabond, a traveling performer, and he has never grown attached to anyone. He has always been on his trek to find the girl in the sky. So to me it makes perfect sense that when he encounters such a moral ultimatum as he faced, that he would choose to not get too involved. It completely shatters the standard romance formula where the guy ends up saving the girl and I love it so much for that.

-The little girl who ran around with Minagi was actually her deceased sister. That was her, as she would be if she had not died. She bumped into Kanna in the sky and used one of her feathers to come down to the surface to help Minagi after he mother went crazy and started denying Minagi's existence (by saying that she was Michiru, and even later that she had no daughter at all). However, eventually Michiru understood that she was just a crutch and that Minagi needed to help her mother on her own, which is why we got the rooftop scene.

So, earlier I noted the importance of mothers, particularly each shows what happens when there is a disconnect and a mother is separated from their daughter, and now I will choose to highlight how each story touches upon this. I already told you about Kano, but also Minagi's story explained just how important mothers are. Minagi was emotionally crushed when her mom did not recognize her as who she was. This shows how important just the simple recognition and day-to-day interaction between a child and his or her mother is. Kanna struggled mightily after finally rescuing her mother only to see her die in the end. And of course Misuzu had the issue of being raised in a home where her "mom" (her aunt actually) didn't love her. And, then we have the progression in her relationship to her "mom", culminating in the completion of her wish, to be at the beach with a true friend, her mom, which resulted in the curse being broken at the expense of Misuzu's life. So we finally see the pain of the "mother" as she is holding her dead "child". It's a powerful series with many motifs, but I feel this focus of motherhood is among the most prominent.

I'd invite you to watch Air TV again, perhaps with some of these things in mind, and maybe you can see how each story relates to eachother in a grand manner (in a way that neither Clannad or Kanon ever could, which is why Air is my favorite of the three animated Key series).

In regards to the actual topic (and I do apologize profusely for making such a large somewhat-off-topic-post), the original game did feature one sex scene for each the heroines at the end of their respective arc (Kano, Minagi, Misuzu, and Kanna). However the game was released later as an "All-Ages" version on the PC and consoles and mostly everyone agrees that this version is the best. Even otaku and Key themselves felt that the sex scenes somewhat destroyed the "purity" of the story of Air, but you must understand that in that time (2000) the market for visual novels always had H scenes. Making a visual novel without H scenes was an idea that had not been treaded yet, and it wouldn't really come into play until Key later released Clannad (2004).

 

[Spastic Minnow]

I sympathize with the OP. It's not that he/she saw improper relations depicted in the anime, it's that the knowledge that it was originally an adult visual novel novel distracted him from the anime. And the question is, how was Yukito depicted in the erotic aspects of the original version? Was he a creppy guy who has his way with each oif the girls?

I've actually had some of those same type of ponderings while watching the current Shufuku no Campanella anime, also originally an adult visual novel which is apparently now getting an all-ages version released. It such a sickeningly innocent and sweet story it constantly makes me wonder where the adult story fit.

I haven't seen either visual novel but I'm making the same assumption, I doubt either were the type of hentai game in which the male character gets his "turn" with each girl so much as a visual novel which has heavy and explicit fan-service with many bath scenes and maybe a "romantic" erotic story at some point. I'm guessing in the case of Campanella Leicester ends up choosing one of the girls and in the adult version consummates the relationship.

 

[PetrifiedJello]

I hope you don't mind me answering your questions PJ, as they are all explained (or shown) in the TV series, but this is one of my favorites.

Not at all!

Kano had been...

I understand how Kano was cursed, but I don't understand the why.

Spoiler

Kanna wasn't alive when the mother was forced into the choice. Therefore, with no Kanna, there could be no feather contamination, and thus, no curse on Kano

. Unless I missed something in this connection.

Watch the scene with Kanna again.

I'll keep an eye out for this scene in the future viewing. I didn't see this at all. Very disappointed in myself because of it.

We are watching one of...

I figured as much, especially given the seaside ending. Still don't like it though, because for me, this means

Spoiler

Misuzu doesn't truly exist, which is a bummer when you think about it.

just understand that Yukito did not want to...

Oh, I definitely got the reason for the crow but I don't like things being left open.

Spoiler

We're shown he looks to be leaving town, so did he? No one really knows. He could be eating ramen in Tokyo while Misuzu drops dead of a curse. I'd be happy with a split second scene of his body in the woods to close this gaping hole.

The little girl who ran around with Minagi was actually...

*bangs head on desk. Something so obvious and I completely missed it. Makes perfect sense... well, for Air anyway.

So, earlier I noted the importance of mothers...

With mothers

Spoiler

like these, we'd have no need for a Mother's Day, that's for sure, because we'd all be freakin' dead

. :|

In all seriousness though, I did get quite a bit of it, based on your version, so not all is lost. It just seems I'm not willing to accept the leaps of faith the series wants us to take regarding the premise. An unfortunate side affect when the series is only 12 episodes long and most of it was used to detail characters which were absolutely pointless to the overall story.

Oh well. They made up for it in Kanon, a much better series, IMO.

 

[Soundmonkey44]

I recently got around to watch this series, I found it more sad then disturbing.

I did keep asking myself though....why are all the gals he meets special ed? :lol:

mean I know.

anywho, this show had a very sad ending, nothing that cute should be that sad...its just....wrong. :lol:

 

[Annf]

I've actually had some of those same type of ponderings while watching the current Shufuku no Campanella anime, also originally an adult visual novel which is apparently now getting an all-ages version released. It such a sickeningly innocent and sweet story it constantly makes me wonder where the adult story fit.

It's a game by Windmill, so it's safe to assume they make love in a sickeningly innocent and sweet fashion. (See also Happiness!.)

 

[Sheleigha]

For reasons of

Spoiler

Yukito turning into a crow...

it just, somehow felt out of placed and ruined the TV series a bit for me... Then I saw the movie, which had that taken out, but I recall all the other essentials being in there, and even showing

Spoiler

a bit of an intimate scene with Ryuuya and Kanna

which seems to stand out enough to have it be one of the few things I remember from the movie.

If you are unsatisfied with the show, especially because of the part that I dissliked, I ask to check out the movie. Sure it's condensed some, but I actually enjoyed it a bit more than the show Not to mention it's a SUPER cheap buy now!

 

[Penguin_Factory]

The Air girls are 16? Seriously?

Maybe it shouldn't, but this really bugs me in anime. The instant a teenage character who looks and acts like a child comes on screen, my suspension of disbelief is pretty much broken.

And wierdly, anime seems to be the only medium where this gets a pass. If you had 16 year olds who look (from the neck up at least) and act like pre-teens in a movie or a book it would probably get criticized as poor writing. And yes, I know that the main girl acting childish is a plot point, but very often it's simply never explained.

On the subject of Air in general..... For a long time I had an opinion of this show based on images and people's descriptions of it, but it struck me that I might not be giving it a fair chance so recently I sat down and watched the first episode.

I am completely baffled by how anyone could sit through this for more than ten minutes. Seriously, it was 10 times worse than I could ever have imagined. I really don't get the appeal at all. Help me out here people :?

 

[DKL]

And wierdly, anime seems to be the only medium where this gets a pass. If you had 16 year olds who look (from the neck up at least) and act like pre-teens in a movie or a book it would probably get criticized as poor writing. And yes, I know that the main girl acting childish is a plot point, but very often it's simply never explained.

I remember the mother character from Hirokazu Koreeda's Nobody Knows acting a lot like a child, despite being, horrors upon horrors, the only adult in the household...

But that was actually a very good movie.

As for this, this is probably why I considered Osamu Dezaki's take on the subject-matter more sensible: you get the impression that Misuzu is pretty childish, but it doesn't seem so mind-numbingly stupid given that she exhibits some [non-physical] traits of girls that are around her age (she's actually the one putting moves on Yukito, interestingly enough).

It's not a super-excellent film (though I find it better than Ishihara's TV series, despite the artistry not being nearly as good as Kyoto Animation's effort), but I found it interesting how little changes here and there could pretty much remove it from the realm of complete pander-tastic otaku sensibility.

Anyway, I don't know: there's a lot of animu/manga out there where they have late teens acting like children and I can only assume that this is the case mainly because it's appealing to see people who don't act their age.

(that said, it (the age and otaku audience thing) isn't always bad: I remember the robot-building discussion in the 20th Century Boys manga and it was essentially [and amusingly] a bunch of middle-aged men sitting around a table and acting like a bunch of 10-year-olds... in fact, I'm actually a big fan of Tetsuro Araki's High School of the Dead, despite how trashy it is; Hollywood isn't actually in possession of what I consider to be this summer's hottest big-budget action extravaganza)

That said, despite being completely aware of how dumb the thing is, I still am sort of a fan of Ishihara's work...

You look at that sequence where Haruko gives Misuzu back to her real dad on the beach and it's hard not be at least interested in how well its staged; Ishihara and co are clearly pretty competent filmmakers, despite what it is that they're dabbling in...

 

[Megiddo]

I am completely baffled by how anyone could sit through this for more than ten minutes. Seriously, it was 10 times worse than I could ever have imagined. I really don't get the appeal at all. Help me out here people :?

I guess the lack of fanservice offended you? Or maybe you don't like big eyes? That's about the only thing I can think of. For me, I honestly don't like fanservice, particularly overbearing fanservice, and I've been watching "big eye" anime since Astro Boy, so neither of those two things bother me.

EDIT: As far as Misuzu's... err, let's say childness, it is explained in the series. And if you saw the series and didn't quite figure it out, she's like that way because

Spoiler

she has had next to nothing in regard to social interaction. At school she remains quiet and has no friends and at home Haruko just lets her lie in her bed and rarely talks to her. She behaves like a child in a social context because she has no experience with anything else. As the curse strikes her harder as well it takes away some mental capacity as can be seen by the loss of her motor skills (and thus needing a wheelchair).