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Air Master (エアマスター, Ea Masutā
?) is a seinen manga created by Yokusaru Shibata and serialized
in Hakusensha's Young Animal. The
story focuses on Maki Aikawa, an ex-gymnast turned street fighter.
A 27-episode anime adaptation
was produced by Toei Animation. The manga ended in 2006
after a 28 volume run.
Geneon
had signed an agreement with Toei to release the anime series on DVD in
the United States and Canada. But as of August 2006 only four discs
have been released, as the deal with Geneon had been terminated; no
further releases have been announced.
Its main character is a 16 year old redheaded schoolgirl who,
rather than fighting the typical anime martial artist mold popular
with many otaku, is enormously
tall and fairly muscular. In addition, the art style has been
described as anything from charmingly rough to crude, resembling
the more old
school fighting manga style rather than similarly themed
(but even more fanservice oriented) works, like Tenjho Tenge or
Ikki Tousen. In addition, the series
itself is a homage/parody of the fighting genre, as well as other
genres, which are well hidden within the entire series.
The series title comes from Maki's nickname as a street fighter,
a reference to her acrobatic skills. Maki has climbed buildings,
executed death-defying leaps, changed course in mid-air, and pulled
off multiple aerial attacks.
Plot
Behind the scenes of the hustle and bustle of every-day life in
Tokyo, there exist many people who strive to become stronger by
competing against each other in street fights. The main protagonist
is Maki Aikawa, a 16 year-old high school student. A former
gymnast, Maki adapts her skills to a different way of life — street
fighting. The only thing that truly makes her feel alive is the
rush and pressure experienced while fighting. With amazing power
and grace, she fights opponent after opponent, repeatedly
demonstrating the gymnastic talent that earns her her street name,
"Airmaster". Eventually, Maki is exposed to a fighting league of
sorts, known as the Fukamichi Rankings.
The Fukamichi Rankings consist of the world's greatest street
fighters and martial artists. The Fukamichi Ranking fights are held
for various reasons. Firstly, many fighters wish to test
themselves, achieving the highest rank possible and stretching
themselves to their physical limits. However, there is also a
corporate side to the Fukamichi rankings, with many viewers around
the world eager to watch the brutal yet awe-inspiring showdowns.
Each Fukamichi ranker is paid a respective amount for winning
within their fight. Maki, seeking to quench her thirst for that
pressure or buzz she experiences only through fighting and to find
her place within this world, scales the Fukamichi Rankings,
clashing with the world's greatest fighting prodigies.
Characters
- Maki Aikawa (相川 摩季, Aikawa Maki
?) Formerly a gymnast who trained under
her now-deceased mother, Maki uses her acrobatic skills in her
fighting style to increase her freedom of movement. Maki has the
ability to replicate nearly any move she gets hit with or sees.
Since her relationship with her father is conflicted, she lives
alone. Maki seems to enjoy street fighting for the 'rush' rather
than any sense of revenge or honor. When not fighting, Maki tends
to stick out in a crowd due to her unusual height (6 feet, which is
very tall for a teen Japanese girl) and appearance, preferring to
follow her quartet of friends quietly. Her younger sister comments
that Maki is somewhat simple minded. Maki is reluctant to deal with
several people obsessed with her. She becomes vulnerable to attack,
for a moment, when she gets approached in any romantic way,
especially with Julietta Sakamoto. Her signature moves are the "Air Spin
Driver" and the " Air Cutter"; she is later shown to master the art
of Air Flow. Voiced by:
Romi Paku
- Yuu Takigawa (滝川 ユウ, Takigawa Yū
?) Yuu is a friend of Maki and shares
some of the same interest as Renge. She is a fan of the singer
Uzumi Mika. She is taking karate lessons and also has a crush on
Shinnosuke, and sometimes she fights with Michiru about Shinnosuke.
Voiced by: Mariko
Suzuki
- Michiru Kawamoto (川本 みちる, Kawamoto Michiru
?) Michiru is a friend of Maki. She also
has a crush on Shinnosuke, but becomes upset when he admits his
love for Maki. She is a fan of the model Nono Rakuko. Yuu and
Michiru make a great duo and are seldom seen apart. Voiced by: Masumi
Asano
- Mina Nakanotani (中ノ谷 美奈, Nakanotani Mina
?) One of Maki's shier friends, she goes
to a presumably rich, private school. Mina has ridiculously
exaggerated breasts used normally as a source of humor rather than
fan-service, and she is extremely self-conscious about it. In
addition to this, Mina is hopelessly in love with Maki (who is not
sure how to handle the matter), making this the main reason her
friends make fun of her. Voiced by: Yukana
- Renge Inui (乾 蓮華, Inui Renge
?) The group's extremely short friend.
Renge has a penchant for eating obsessively, yet she is always thin
(sometimes when she eats a lot, she is shown to have a belly).
Renge is the stereotypical overexcited kid with a tendency to
whine, but she serves as a cheering squad. She later acquires a
kitten that she carries with her most of the time. She also has
"psychic" powers. Voiced
by: Tomoko Kaneda
- Shiro Saeki (佐伯 四郎, Saeki Shiro
?) Maki's estranged father. Maki was
born when he was fifteen, which would make him around thirty-one
years old. He's a four-time pro-fighting champion. He runs a dojo
and raises Maki's half-sister, Miori. He gets beaten by Sakamoto,
but they become friends later on. Voiced by: Toshio
Furukawa
- Miori Saeki (佐伯 みおり, Saeki Miori
?) Maki's somewhat bratty younger
half-sister. Her martial-artist father is the same as Maki's, so
she shares some of her older sister's fighting ability, but none of
her gravity-defying gymnastic skill, which Maki evidently got from
her mother. In her first appearance, she suddenly attacks Maki. She
is about the same height as Renge, though she is younger. She
decides to move in with Maki. She later idolizes Sanpaguita Kai.
Voiced by: Yukiko
Hirotsu
- Kaori Sakiyama (崎山 香織, Sakiyama Kaori
?) A wanna-be future model (later a
female wrestler) with an obsessive one-sided rivalry with Maki. She
later becomes a moderately good fighter, and accomplishes things by
sheer force of will and determination. She is loud and over
dramatic, and during extended fights is essentially a Berserker
powered by her own rage, and she will not admit defeat unless
violently knocked out. A running gag in the show is how most
characters refer to her by her full name in a dramatic fashion,
probably due to her tendency to do the same. When enraged, her
appearance has been compared to the Devilman. Due to a childhood
"accident", she's deaf in her right ear. Voiced by: Mika
Doi
- Julietta Sakamoto (坂本 ジュリエッタ, Sakamoto
Jurietta
?) A scruffy but handsome ghost writer
who becomes obsessed with Maki (romantically), while the latter is
totally uninterested in him and finds his behavior very creepy. He
is a smooth talker but prone to overly aggressive declarations of
love, sometimes bordering on assault, towards Maki, who he calls
"My Jenny". He tends to always kiss her and declare his love for
her when they're together, even during their fights, throwing her
off balance. This is usually done for comedic effect. He has three
women who are head over heels for him: Uzumi Mika (a famous
singer), Nono Rakuko (a famous model), and Nanjou Remon (a famous
novelist). He ignores them all since he's fixed on marrying Maki
and making her move in with him. Maki is physically capable of
beating him down in his insane-like "distracted" state of mind
(Julietta rarely gets serious with anyone—he's got "Maki" on his
mind,if ya know what I mean); however, she did have a hard time
with him at first. If Julietta, who defeated the 3rd ranked
Yoshitoku Konishi (without going serious), were to get serious with
Maki, who lost to the 4th ranked Fukamichi fighter... it is in no
way clear who the "winner" would be. He can take a huge beating and
still be able to fight. In a fight with another opponent he once
had both his legs and one of his arms broken but he was still able
to fight. Sakamoto usually only fights with extremely fast and
devastating kicks. He usually leaves his hands in his pockets while
fighting even though he has a powerful punch. It's said his
strength is legendary on the street. He becomes rank seven in the
Fukamichi Rankings after defeating Nobuhiko Fukamichi in a single
kick, though Julietta's rank does not do justice to his fighting
ability, as he defeats Yoshitoku Konishi, the third place holder,
without going serious. Voiced
by: Kenyuu Horiuchi
- Kinjiro Kitaeda (北枝 金次郎, Kitaeda Kinjirō
?) Leader of the League of Black-suited
Gentlemen. He claims to hate women yet he likes Maki because he
thinks she's different. He's a good fighter and has great punching
power. He once took down a bear with one punch. He has a technique
where he can create an afterimage of himself attacking so the
opponent will be fooled into acting prematurely. He had his first
kiss stolen by one of his male subordinates. Kinjiro is ranked
ninth within the Fukamichi rankings. Voiced by: Kentarou
Itou
- Kai Sampaguita (サンパギータ・カイ, Sampagīta
Kai
?) Though she is not initially involved
in the street-fighting tournament Maki joins, Sampaguita Kai was
one of her most difficult opponents. Using a similar fighting style
to Maki, Kai faces her in a tag-team match during a women's
wrestling tournament. She becomes obsessed, like a number of Maki's
earlier opponents, with beating Maki. She's the younger sister of
Lucha Master, who taught her how to fight ever since she was young.
Kai gained the ninth rank within the Fukamichi Rankings after
beating Shun Yashiki, however she is narrowly defeated by Kinjiro
Kitaeda, which leaves her ranked ten. Kai's signature move is the
"Izukaya Bomber", which involves a clothesline takedown; she learns
this move from her former mentor/wrestling partner Hayase Mio.Voiced by: Michie
Ishizuka
- Shinnosuke Tokita (時田 伸之助, Tokita Shinnosuke
?) A guy who challenges Maki early on,
but later temporarily joins the group. He seems to have a crush on
Maki. He fights with a long staff that can separate into three
parts connected with a chain. He seems to know the art of the
Drunken Fist.
- Lucha Master (ルチャマスター, Rucha Masutā?
?) Lucha Master is, as the name implies,
a masterful wrestler, styled after Mexican Luchadores. He always
wears a mask, and he is the first major challenge Maki faces. He is
one of only three characters who can use a similar sort of aerial
combat to Maki. He is the older brother of Sanpaguita Kai, another
character with a similar fighting style. Lucha Master is ranked
twenty-first within the Fukamichi Rankings. Voiced by: Unshou
Ishizuka
- Tsukio Taketsugu (武 月雄, Taketsugu Tsukio?
?) Another early opponent. He has a
furious punch( similar to a jackhammer), but is not as fast as some
of the other street fighters. Maki often overlooks him, especially
since, after his first appearance, Lucha Master quickly showed up,
and this makes him furious. Tsukio is ranked twenty-second within
the Fukamichi rankings.. Voiced by: Kihachiro
Uemura
- Reiichi Mishima (三島麗一, Mishima Reiichi
?) A sort of hanger-on to Tsukio
Taketsugu, Reiichi is both a coward and a klutz. Though he could
only fight well with a bike, using it like it's part of his own
body, he's still only a moderately skilled street fighter. Voiced by: Daisuke
Sakugachi
- Fukamichi (Fukamichi) The man who
runs the street fighting tournament, and who gave his name to the
ranking system (Fukamichi Rankings). He decides who is qualified to
be in the Tournament rankings. He watches the fights and have
videos of them streamed to his laptop, which he then broadcasts all
over the world on the internet. He does not participate in the
fights but, he's been shown to be extremely strong and fast. He has
a younger brother (Nobuhiko Fukamichi), who participates in the
competition. He has a hobby of critiquing restaurants and posting
the results on the internet.
- Shun Yashiki (屋敷 俊, Yashiki Shun?
?) Tsukio's younger cousin. Originally
9th place in the Fukamichi Tournament but, after losing his rank to
Kai, he decided to beat the 8th place holder. He's a ki
manipulator. He has a technique where he uses his ki to create an
osmotic punch, which strongly pressures the insides of an
opponent's body resulting in a loss of a massive amount of liquid
within their body, rendering them incapacitated. Since he uses his
ki for this technique, he can only use it a certain amount of times
until he rests to build up his ki again. He teaches this technique
to Kaori Sakiyama.
- Yuki Minaguchi (Minaguchi Yuki?) is
ranked number four, and the only one to defeat Maki. Her full
fighting style emphasizes on counter attacks as well as cutting and
stabbing techniques with her hands. She starts her fight as a calm
and collected individual. Though Maki sees through her and knows
that she likes to fight.
- Yoshitoku Konishi (Konishi Yoshitoku?)
The 3rd place holder in the Fukamichi Rankings. Konishi believes he
has attained perfection and specializes in grappling and submission
techniques. He is shown to easily beat Shiro Saeki who is also
proficient in submission techniques, and fight on par with and
eventually defeat Sakamoto Julietta (who, sadly, rejects the notion
of practice, training, or "going serious").
References
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