Air Movie - Reviews

The STORY of AIR Movie varies from the story of the actual anime, and personally, I prefer the anime.  That being said, I didn't hate the movie - it just wasn't what I was expecting.  I think I was just expecting a re-telling of the anime and felt let down; so go in with an open mind and realize this is drastically different from the anime and you'll probably end up enjoying it more.  It's a bit more realistic, which I initially liked as well.  And (spoiler) Yukito and Misuzu actually kiss, finally.  I also rather liked the mythology aspect of it, and how it tied into the real world through Misuzu.

I didn't like the ANIMATION as much as I did in the series.  It wasn't bad, per say, but I didn't like the rounded effect and the translucent effect around all of the characters.  I understand that it is trying to create a dream-y atmosphere, but I found the anime to be even more compelling without that quality.  I think I'm beginning to compare it to the anime, so let me see it as a separate entity.  For me, the dream-y atmosphere it gives leads me to believe there is going to be a lot more of the supernatural than there is.

The SOUND was fine for me.  I enjoyed all of the voice actors (I saw this in English dub) and I liked their work previously, so I knew I'd like it again.  I also love all of the music.  It is so soft and melodic and I found that to be very nice.

The CHARACTERS are gold for me.  I loved Misuzu's dream-y personality and Yukito's sarcastic tones that always seemed to mix perfectly.  I thought the supporting characters in this movie seemed to just be add-ons, however, and I wished there could have been more interaction and character development - although I did love watching Mizusu and Haruka's relationship grow.

My PERSONAL ENJOYMENT for this movie was quite high and I believe I've seen the movie more than a few times.  I especially loved that she was very into the Mythology.  I believe, however, that a lot of my like for AIR and the AIR movie comes from the fact that I see a lot of myself in Mizusu and Kano - so I may be biased.

OVERALL, I quite enjoyed this re-telling.  I would recommend it to probably anyone, as long as they don't have a strong dislike for things being a bit too cheesy sometimes (which this movie had a tendency to do).

When I was preparing to watch Air Movie, I made a discovery which I observed in viewing the opening seconds of this 95-minute presentation.  The movie version was produced by Toei Animation, while the TV and special episodes by Kyoto Animation for the same year (2004-5).  I noticed this same phenomenon when I was watching Clannad.  Toei did the movie version (2007) and Kyoto the series (2007-8).  I have a great deal of admiration for both these production companies and their approaches to anime.  How would both do in their respective telling of the tale of the girl in the sky and the corresponding account of a girl who lived 1000 years later? This was the first thing I watched for, differences in technique in the story-telling.  This and the treatment of the subject.

I had also hoped that Air Movie would do much to clarify the plot line which seemed to limp towards a solid resolution as Air: The Series.  On that score, mission accomplished.  While I have high praises for the brilliant and vivid animation style of Kyoto, it was the more somber and detached approach of Toei which allowed to bring home the sad story which Air tried to offer in three separate arcs reinforced with a recap episode at the end which only reviewed what was muddled up in the first place.

Toei did well to simplify the storyline, and this through limiting the number of key characters, though, with a little careful observation (and some quick rewinds to catch some minor characters that were sneaking past) you could see all the characters of the anime series take part.  Yeah, even that pooch Potato got a cameo appearance.  But for Air Movie, you could focus on the five characters that mattered: Misuzu, Yukito, Haruko, Kanno, and Ryuya.

Air Movie did a marvelous job of blending the two main story arcs of Air into a homogenous whole.  Yukito, a reclusive wanderer, sees no need for friends as he searches for that elusive something in life.  He comes to a fishing village and meets Misuzu, a girl who, due to a mysterious illness, has missed so much school and has no real friends.  She asks for a summer project and is assigned a local legend of the town, the girl in the sky.  It is while doing the research on this Princess Kanno that we see parallels between Misuzu and Kanno.  Both are confined in their own situations without friends.  But with the entrance of Yukito into Misuzu's life and the samurai guard Ryuya in Kanno's, hopes for love kindle in both women.  Plus, Kanno knows of the curse that will cause her death if she falls in love.  Misuzu, doomed from the start, wishes to have that friend ... and, in Yukito, may have more than a friend.

In all this time, Haruko slaves away at three separate jobs to earn the means for medication and hospitalization that could save Misuzu's life.  The only alternative is to call upon Misuzu's absentee father who has the means, but perhaps not the inclination (much less the compassion) to save the daughter he has washed his hands of.  At the same time, Yukito is pushed by his loner compulsions to move on and abandon Misuzu, lest he endures the heartache from which he so desperately tries to remain detached.  Misuzu knows she will die, but she wishes not to die alone.

Toei's technique was the best for rendering the Air saga.  Darker, bleaker colors severed by frequent fades to black pieced the story together.  Static shots of the depiction of Kanno and Ryuya's tale drawn upon the town shrine’s walls told in dashes of gray are matched by similar stills of Misuzu and Yukito drawn in muted colors.  The graphic stylings were perfect in relating Yukito's struggle to run versus his developing feelings for the dying Misuzu; such artistic touches are carefully crafted.  Much like Ryuya's courage to battle a regiment of soldiers to give Kanno her chance at desperate flight into the skies.  Much like Misuzu's last walk toward Haruko and Yukito as she walks to her 'finish line,' welcomed by the sound of the flurry of wings battling to reach the heavens.

And the music which one would associate with the Kyoto Animation production is remastered for the opening and closing credits, to which a final piece in English speaks of seeking the heavens.  All these melodic pieces had a real fit to the story’s theme.

While Air Movie still preserved a lot of the 'huh?' sensations of Air, it did do much to explain the essence of what may have easily been missed in the 13-episode/2 specials version of Air.  This is the difference, really, between confusing and thought-provoking.

Base in the Bishoujo game release in PC, DC and PS2, later on turned into a wonderful anime of 12 episodes, but now unfortunately the movie lacks what the Anime had, but it also gives some moments that the Anime lacked as well, so lets see the different aspects of this Movie.

Story: (8/10)
The story is basically the same, but only focusing in Misuzu story, so the other characters like Kano, Hijiri, Minagi and Michiru are out and they don't have an important role, or you could said that none at some point, which is good in a way since after seeing the anime you thought that Misuzu Story was not fully developed then this movie will fill that lack from the anime. Although the story change in a way ( I'm not saying spoilers ), it change in a good way up to some point, you manage to see lots of scenes you should had wanted to see in the Anime, so i strongly recommend to see the anime before the movie in the story matter.

Animation: (7/10)
I was expecting something of a high quality presentation in this movie, but my hopes were too high for the matter, the characters designs are a little less detailed than the anime, the animation work its not as smooth and detailed as the anime series. The backgrounds are good, but they don't have the beautiful sky animations of the Anime series, so nothing to be amaze in here.

Sound: (8/10)
Its the same sound of the Anime, the same Voice Acting, the same music, so nothing new here, maybe the ending song is new, but I'm not 100% sure, still even if it was the same i enjoyed it since the OP song is just a great song a really catchy, also the Voice Acting fits the characters really well and makes you feel more in touch with their feelings, so its ok.

Characters: (7/10)
The characters personality changed a little, i don't want to tell unnecessary informations, but they are all lovable characters, they change thought the movie and manage to keep the charm from the anime, plus you see some new emotions that were out of the anime that might give the fans some good moments. So since the story only focus in Misuzu you will miss some of the other memorable characters, which that is quite sad, but thats was the point of the movie.

Overall Rating: (7.5/10)

Thanks for reading, and sorry for not giving a strongly detailed review, i just don't want to spoil your experience, so enjoy the Movie if you are going to watch it!

When you compare it to the full version the movie just feels wrong. Everything you know and expect from the characters just goes down the drain but if you haven't seen the 13 ep series then the movie as a stand alone is pretty watchable and would get a solid 8 out of 10 but unfortunately i have seen the series and i loved it to the core so when i saw the movie all i can say is it is garbage.

I don't know if I am right or not but the movie just seems to be a compact compilation of how a individual person may persive the series and that too is not very accurate.