Air TV Vol. 3 Review

            In the final four episodes, the volume will begin with the conclusion of the Kanna story arc. Kanna and her attendants have found her mother but the legend will end soon after leaving Ryuya and Uraha on an endless quest to find the winged girl in the sky once again.

            Shifting back to the present though, the story of the final three episodes will focus entirely on Misuzu and her illness. After the audience gets completely caught up on the story through a retelling by a crowd named Sky, Haruko has finally decided to break the barrier and adopt Misuzu as her actual daughter. But soon Yukito’s predictions start to come true and Haruko is in a race against time to create all the happy memories with her daughter that she always wanted.

Good and the Bad

            In these final episodes of the TV series, Air takes some very interesting liberties with their story telling. The introduction of the Kanna legend seems to serve its purpose well as a bridge. With the hero of the series, Yukito, making his exit last volume the staff needed something to fill time until they were ready to tell the final story. The legend is placed well within the series when nothing big is happening so its purpose is well served.

            The stories in these episodes aren’t perfect however.  In the end of the Kanna legend, some of the dialogue really comes across as weak. When Ryuya and Uraha are sitting together and come up with their plan for the future, it has to be one of the most chivalrous sex buddy agreements ever uttered. The series does a great job later of covering its tracks by making sure the audience knows that they really do love each other but in the beginning it’s really pretty hard to distinguish between the two.  

            The other issue that Air runs into with these final episodes is the exclusion of nearly the entire cast. While most of the other girls introduced throughout the series will get small cameos as they meet Sky, none of them will get more than a few seconds of screen time. Again, this makes them feel completely irrelevant and any time the audience spent getting to know them as just a way to kill time. Some of these characters told some very interesting stories throughout the series and to not get to see any real resolution for them is troubling.

            In the end though, none of these factors took away from my enjoyment of these episodes. Misuzu has been a strong and absolutely adorable character since the start of the series. Her illness has provided the audience a strong story hook to get maximum sympathy for the character. To watch this volume and not be moved simply cannot be possible for anyone who has felt even the slightest bit of affection for her.

Music

            The string and piano score that make up the majority of this series’ music is wonderfully crafted and inserted into these final episodes. Some of the slower arrangements that are played throughout the final episode are enough to seal any lingering emotional doubts about what you’re seeing. Also included in the final episode is an insert song titled ‘Aozora’ by Lia. The song is a beautiful soft ballad that plays great with the scenes between Misuzu and Haruko. 

Dub vs. Sub

            Monica Rial as Misuzu and Luci Christian as Haruko were as heartbreaking of performances as these two actors have delivered in the voice booth. The performances must have left the throats of these talented actors raw but the tears felt and sounded real with every single word. This applies just as much to Aya Hisakawa and Tomoko Kawakami as Haruko and Misuzu in the Japanese cast respectively.

Extras

            Besides the clean animations, the only extra included on this volume is a preview titled ‘Memories: Misuzu’s Story’. The 30 second trailer shows a scene with Misuzu and Yukito talking about the sky while along the beach. 

Overall

            While there are certainly things that I would have liked to see inserted as an audience member (such as some inclusion of the supporting cast) I can’t complain about the presentation here. The characters have told a remarkably rich story from the beginning and the emotional impact that these characters and story are capable of delivering make this series a must see for audiences. Not everyone is going to get into the soft melodrama of the series but there’s a great chance that this series could catch the eye of more than a few people who wouldn’t normally watch a series like this.