Air Gear

I think I have a newfound respect for anybody that enjoys this show. Not because it's a bad show, but because it's a bad show that somehow gathers a respectable amount of fans. Air Gear is bad. It's not just bad, it's probably the worst show I've ever seen. Have you ever seen a review with big bold caps streaming the headline blatantly screaming to you "WORST SHOW EVER"? Everybody that writes a bad review often tells it that way, but it means there are about a hundred other "WORST SHOWS EVER". I admit to watching plenty of shows within the span of my daily life,and it takes me a while to rethink a show and decide whether or not I like it. Some for better, some for worse, but the truth is, I've never seen an anime show that I've truly regret watching, not even those I would want to watch again. Air Gear is radically different. Story: I rated the story 7/10. This is well-deserved and dignified, because let's face it, how often do you see an anime show about rollerblades? In Air Gear's defense, it may be the only one of its kind. The issue I had with the story is the really quick pickup towards the last couple episodes, where suddenly the plot dove full-throttle into a wall, as if this was a show wishing for itself to end. What can I say to that, aside from calm down and flow a little more naturally? Nothing much, especially when the first couple of episodes emphasized falling over and over again. It was nice to see him falling without the slightest clue as to what he was doing the first times, but how about an episode where he DOESN'T fall from something every so often? You're not a factory, so please stop your blatant repetition. Art: The animation is world-class, similar to how you would say Shingeki no Kyojin has some of the best art direction in an anime show, but for the first couple of episodes, I had to readjust my preferences until the art style sank in, unlike Shingeki no Kyojin which doesn't borrow elements from the "common" anime yet still managed to draw me in the moment it began (without regards to what was actually happening). The look as a whole did remind me of Samurai Champloo, especially with the presence of Minami Itsuki who vaguely resembled Mugen, and given the setting in a modern-day urban environment, I was pretty much sold. It looks good and the story is nice, that should give me an incentive to stick around. Sound: Another anime with a badass soundtrack, a sick opening theme, and better sprites and sound effects than can be produced with a Korg synthesizer (of course I'm exaggerating), the music is something to behold for sure. If I could say so myself, Air Gear has one of the best soundtracks out there, behind a musical, in which music is the main focus. Based on Story, Art, and Sound, I was almost convinced that I would be watching another masterpiece. ALMOST convinced. Characters: I was thoroughly disappointed with the characters. Minami Itsuki lives in a world where he happens to be the main protagonist of a sports show, so what's up with this guy? He has no shame and even used the "public restroom" during one of the battles, and just like all the other guys in this show, they're ALL perverts. That brings me to the case of Noyamano Ringo, a girl that Itsuki lives with. She must have some insane type of unrequited love, especially to fall in love with a guy like Itsuki. In fact, what about Simca, who is supposedly "in love" with Itsuki? She obviously takes kindly to being the whore of the AT world, especially when it becomes a hobby to show up nude in front of a guy that you didn't like at the very beginning.These characters have a lack of common sense, and unlike a comedy that recognizes stupid characters, Air Gear simply allows them to happen, and to this day, I believe they're dead serious about it. Enjoyment: What's the genre for Air Gear, sports? I also believe that they've thrown in a couple of other genres in there, like Comedy, Action, Romance, all the typical anime genres. That's the thing I found strange about Air Gear. Its genre is so confused, if Air Gear were human and you ran a sexuality test on it, the reading would come out as "inconclusive". Air Gear FAILS to recognize its own genre, and instead of giving it the right amount of comedy, action, and romance, Air Gear throws all of them into a blender, minces it, and hopes it tastes good. By this time, the formula is bitter, and you can't even taste what it was supposed to be to begin with. And Air Gear doesn't stop at trying to mix the genres above. It also adds more to a formula that it can't get correctly. Instead of identifying what it's supposed to be and allowing them to exist without twisting them into a quite unpleasant experience, it's also trying to tell you, "oh yeah, did we mention we're also an Ecchi?" If you did not understand any bit of my analogy, this is what it means: Air Gear tries to blend Comedy, Action, and Romance, and also tries to get by on adding an ecchi scene "here and there". It's the reverse order, in reality. Air Gear is an Ecchi show before anything. THEN it gets to be a Romantic Action Comedy that doesn't happen to be funny, nor romantic, and it just happens to have action in it. Air Gear's genre is so confused that it allows serious events to be complemented with a terrible sense of humor, comedy that's hardly impressive and so lackluster that you could watch with a straight face. Overall: The art is appealing, the sound is studded with quality, and the story is decent minus that enormous quirk at the very end, but the characters are hardly notable and trying to find the non-Ecchi parts of Air Gear is like searching for a needle in a haystack: you need to be searching actively to find those parts. Don't get me wrong. The show has its incredible moments. High-velocity action sequences, a badass soundtrack, and some of the best art direction to ever be found in an anime show, but take it down to the other elements and there's no redeeming qualities in the fields of characters, enjoyment, and content. There's simply nothing about those three categories that could pick this show up off its feet and allow it to compete with even the most generic of shows. Air Gear seriously has the potential to be something amazing, taking something generally "uncool" and giving it a reboot into something much easier to appreciate, but the very fact that it can't mix genres well and can't even identify what it is to begin with leaves it much to be desired. I know it has the potential to be amazing, but it can't be unless it throws out the Ecchi, the horrid Comedy, the forgettable characters, and learns to blend its own elements correctly. However, I've just come to the realization that I described the entire show. I guess there's simply no way I will ever like this show.

A quick read through the plot summaries available for the anime on the internet would probably make one think that "Air Gear" is yet another shounen anime about a bunch of kids discovering values through some sport. While "Air Gear" is indeed a shounen anime, I think it is one of it's kind. A key aspect of "Air gear" that makes it stand out among other shounen anime is its seemingly "underground" aesthetic. The AT is essentially roller skates with some very novel upgrades, to the effect that, depending one one's training and skills, skating up buildings, jumping across rooftops and who knows what else, becomepossible. Perhaps fittingly, riding the AT is a somewhat discreet affair and most activities involving the AT, such as turf wars, are "underground". The AT world can be accessed only on the internet. Getting hold of an AT, learning tricks, upgrading your device, etc: - all is very DIY in spirit. Have we seen anything like this before? - Yes. Last Exile, for instance. One could even make a cyberpunk anime out of this! But we have a shounen, which means that we have a protagonist who is a polar opposite of Ikari Shinji but perhaps refreshingly, not like Naruto. If anything, our protagonist is like Kurosaki Ichigo. We do have a nice set of characters in this show. You've got women with all sorts of personalities and brazen youths who want to find their freedom in the AT world. The ecchi in this show plays really well with this aesthetic. It is used often in a provocative manner and makes the show very "punk" in nature. Having said all that, perhaps the largest driving force behind maintaining this aesthetic is the music. Coupled with slick hip-hop BGM and rap rock OP/ED, the music in the show sets in the right mood each time. Alas, with so much potential, what we have is a shounen. So there are unnecessary exaggerations and forced values but nevertheless, "Air Gear" is an extremely enjoyable watch. There are some issues with the pace and animation of the show, but I think one can safely ignore them.

Story: 8/10 Not too bad all things considered. When I started up the first episode of Air Gear I was pretty skeptical. I almost let this one pass by just on the basis that it was based on kids with motorized roller blades. However by the third episode I was completely hooked. I then proceeded to cram 25 episodes in over the span of the night. I must say given the fact that this is based on roller blading I was very impressed with the story presentation, and by the end of the 25th episode I was left begging for a second season. I can onlyhope that the anime gods are working on granting me this wish right now. Along with Berserk that is. Animation: 10/10 Gotta love the fan service. Everything looks great. Women are well endowed as it should be, and a couple of them don't mind being slutty. Giggity giggity goo. Hell Ikki even busts out some master Roshi style nose bleeds. The scenes where they are racing or battling are truly amazing. It makes you yearn to be in their shoes as they race from rooftop to rooftop flying through the whole city, or how about kicking your worst enemy in the face going about 60 m.p.h? It does suffer from some pauses during the middle of battles, but it isn't enough to deter you as it really helps with character development. Sound: 9/10 The music really helps set the pace of the series, especially during the action sequences. My only problem with it is sometimes it gives away what is about to happen. By that I mean they key it in during the end of a battle or when someone is about to make a big accomplishment. Still it helps to keep you on the edge of your seat waiting in suspense. Character, Enjoyment: 10/10 Hand-in-hand. An excellent job. The focus on character development is truly what makes the world of Air Treks enjoyable. I'll admit some of the characters are pretty anime cliche, but Air Gear goes a lot further by flushing them out well. Characters are easy to understand, and feel. Almost everyone in the series has their humorous moments whether it's being perverted, clumsy, or just plain sleazy you'll love it. Overall my main enjoyment came from all the characters. Al though sometimes their actions are enough to make you wince, you'll still fall in love with them all.

Air Gear is one of those anime shows that you will either love to death or be turned away from it by its weird style. Its very....how should I put it, "open," in a way like Tenjou Tenje is. The girls are revealing, the main character, Ikki, has no shame (as this is shown by him taking a dump in front of EVERYONE while a skating match is going on). Nevertheless, if you enjoy this kind of humor or can get by it, Air Gear shapes up to be a good introduction anime from its manga counterpart. The story is relatively thesame, as with many other sport anime shows. Ikki wants to be an amazing Air Trek rider (that is what they call themselves) and what he does not know is that the people he lives with are part of the legendary Sleeping Forest Air Trek team. They try to persuade Ikki from rollerblading because they do not want him to be involved with the drama that comes along with it, but of course, they fail. Otherwise, this anime would have ended at episode 2. Basically, each Trek team has the goal of reaching the top of the pyramid, to the A class - to be the best team and trekkers in the world. And in order for them to do so, they must compete in various kinds of competitions to win the badge of the other team. Animation is top-notch, clean, smooth and colorful. They have done a great job and many of the characters and their details. The women in the show all look gorgeous, to say the least. Since its been awhile since I have seen this show, I honestly don't remember how good the music is. However, as I listen to some of the songs that I have on my computer, I find it being so-so, so I gave it a rating accordingly. But don't trust me too much on this topic. Hehe. ^_^. As I have already mentioned, all of the characters are drawn well and have somewhat different personalities. However, nobody is unique in the sense that you'll be like "Whoa! I have never seen that in any other anime before." As you will find that a lot of the personalties people have can be compared to other characters in other anime shows. Again, character development is mainly measured by development in their Air Trekking skills. There really isn't too much of a change in personality in each character to give it much distinction. Overall, if you are looking for an intense, action-packed sport, look no further than Air Gear. The big disappointing thing I have with this show is that the first 25 episodes cover only a very small portion of the manga and I have yet to see any updates in a season 2 of the show. So I don't know the status of the future of Air Gear at the moment. I haven't read the manga yet, but I heard from many people that it is amazing and a must-read if you have the time. So once you are introduced to the world of Air Gear with the anime, I would advise to pick up the manga and become even further immersed with the story.

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