Shifting its focus onto Minagi before throwing a sizeable curve into the past, Air mixes more surreal moments into a slice of life format.
What They Say:
The search for the winged girl behind the sky continues. As Yukitoâ’s relationship with Misuzu grows, new complications surface. Whereas Misuzu yearns for a companion closer than ever before, Yukito is forced to choose between what the heart wants and what the heart needs. Meanwhile, the strain on Minagi’s life at home is bought to light. She lives with her mother, yet remains alone. Only great loss may bring the two of them together. Also, a glimpse of the past answers the queries of the present – but with it, new questions arise; deeper, darker, and more dangerous.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
The series hits the halfway mark with this batch of episodes as it finishes out the “Dream” portion of what’s come so far and settles into the “Summer” arc. The opening episodes presented a show that was very laid back, curious, and lightly touching on the surreal elements that surround it all. With this batch, we get a bit more of that before it gets a bit more obvious and then shifts to something out of the left-field with a trip back in time about a thousand years.
The “Dream” arc has been good for introducing us to the various characters and their situations bit by bit. Yukito’s pursuit of a girl who can fly has him wandering from town to town and his arrival in this particular one has introduced him to some very interesting young women. Misuzu was a good part of the focus early on but it shifted to the other characters rather quickly and gave her a back seat role for awhile that continues on even in this volume. The opening episodes focus more on Minagi and Michiru as Yukito finds himself spending more and more time with them. The trio forms a bit of a bond when Minagi invites Yukito to come along to her Astronomy Club, of which she is the president and sole member of. It also expands nicely when the three of them share some sand crystals that are very precious to her as it came from her father before he left.
Where it becomes fascinating is when we start to understand more of Minagi’s home life. The death of her younger sister caused problems that led to her parent’s divorce but it also caused psychological issues for her mother. So much so that she has shifted between not believing her daughter was dead to believing it was Minagi who had died. There have even been instances where Minagi was treated as the daughter that lived which is something that she did in order to ease her mothers mind. We don’t see a lot of what went on but it is inferred quite heavily and what little is said really paints a said and tragic picture. Yukito serves well as a character that helps characters through changes and becomes a catalyst for their lives. The surreal aspect of all of this with the trio that is used here is plainly obvious almost from the start but the way it’s presented keeps it intriguing throughout.
The focus does return to Misuzu for a bit thankfully as I find her to be the most interesting character of the bunch. Something about her just isn’t normal and that’s going beyond the issues that she has in her life. Her outlook on things and the way she looks at the world is very interesting to watch since it can get you to look at how you view things. Her past isn’t explained much here but we get a clearer picture of her relationship with her mother but also in how she handles relationships in general. Yukito was allowed to stay in the house since she seemed so comfortable with him but that’s starting to fall off as she’s having attacks from being so close to him. Yukito has actually been away from her more due to the Minagi story arc which may be affecting her feelings as well. Misuzu has so many trust issues with people that they seem to manifest in a number of ways that invariably end in her losing whatever friends she has. So much so that even her parents didn’t want her.
Where the Air series really throws me for a loop is that just when it looks like we’re going to get some really fascinating material with Yukito and Misuzu, it decides to shift back to the year 994. No, not 1994, 994. Introducing us to a young woman named Kanna who is considered a winged angel of sorts, she’s protected and kept secure by moving about the country to different locations so that she can fulfill her destiny someday. The place she’s currently at has led her to make friends with a young woman named Uraha and a young man named Ryuya. The trio has a fun relationship with each other as there as a casualness to it that lets them tease and have fun in what would otherwise be difficult times. When it’s discovered that Kanna is being readied to move again, they decide to work together to escape so that Kanna can go find her mother and explain to her why she has these beautiful wings.
There are plenty of obvious parallels drawn here, as Ryuya is an incarnation of Yukito, right down to the scar that they now share on their backs. Uraha feels like Minagi and Kanna is plainly Misuzu in a different form. The events in all of this are certainly related to what’s happening in the present, but its placement after the dream arc comes as such a twist that you’re almost unsure you want to see this part just yet. Misuzu had gotten to be an interesting character now that Yukito was focused on her again as well as discovering what it is that he really needs to do. The understanding of his own past with his mother and how she has guided him gives a strong indication of his path to the future. Shifting the focus to the past in order to tell the future isn’t bad, but the timing of it feels like it may not have come at the best place just yet.
In Summary:
Air has garnered plenty of fan attention during its original run and watching these episodes play out years later has shown it to be a fascinating show both in visual quality and the way it handles the lives of these young women. There hasn’t been anything that screams that it’s a show you will remember for the length of your life but it has a very pleasant and laid-back atmosphere that can suck you in without realizing just how strongly it has you. This part of the series has some very different focuses on it and the lack of direct attention on the present-day Misuzu has me a bit concerned about where it’s all going. Frankly, if not for the last episode I’d probably be more optimistic about it but right now it’s just a cautious optimism.
