BayAnime.com

“There’s nothing sadder than a thing of beauty left unseen.”

So, I was stumbling about the internet, when I came across this description for some anime I never heard of:

“Aikawa Maki, a high school student (with a reputation of being an exceptional street fighter), is known on the streets as Air Master. Standing at 7 ft, she has the ability to seemingly fly through the air. Trying to attain the highest level of excitement and tension, she searches for stronger opponents.”

I think I stopped reading at “standing at 7 ft”, and started looking for footage of this nonsense. Little did I realize that I was about to discover ONE OF MY FAVORITE CARTOONS OF ALL TIME. Right up there with Tom and Jerry, Looney Toons, Popeye, and Pokemon…now stands Air Master. No joke.

It scares me to think that a random sequence of events was the only thing leading me to something so extraordinary.

Here are 10 reasons why Air Master is one of my favorite works of animation ever.

1. The Air Master

Maki, the show’s namesake, gets my vote for the greatest animated female character ever. Respectable. Strong. Unique. Awesome.

Though, this might be difficult to believe considering the amounts of fan service strewn throughout the series. During the first moments of the first episode, we’re greeted by a group of uniformed high school girls in remarkably short skirts, one with an impossibly large chest.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0qKH8VyWzo

“Oh, I see…it’s one of ‘those’ anime.” you start to say to yourself.

But, wait a second…something isn’t quite right here. Are those high school girls playing…VIRTUA FIGHTER?! This is the first subtle clue that, no, this cartoon isn’t quite like the others…

The second clue isn’t so subtle. Enter Maki, the Air Master.

Iori Yagami. Put him in a skirt. Make him about 6′5″. Make him female. Now you have Maki.

Suddenly, the fan service actually starts to serve a FUNCTIONAL PURPOSE…as a reminder that Maki is indeed female. Because, beyond the skirt, Maki spits all over the stereotypical traits of “traditional female characters”. She’s tall. She’s muscular. She owns people left and right. She can take a hit. She’s not portrayed as “emotional” or “childish”. She’s not cute (not in the traditional anime sense, at least). She’s not ugly. She’s a slob. She NEVER HAS A LOVE INTEREST (though many love her). She’s the main character. Un-frickin-heard of.

Maki is a slightly more charming, lazier, female version of Ryu. She asks herself the big philosophical questions…she ponders the meaning of the fight…she seeks her true purpose in life…

And, yet, she’s actually a bit of an idiot. Not a giggling, “tee-hee-hee”, air head, type of stupid. But, legitimately stupid. In the middle of one fight, she actually forgets what her special move is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZjTI2YC0Qo (at 1:09)

An engaging character.

2. Sakiyama Kaori

…is the shiznit. If Maki is the greatest animated female character ever, Kaori may be 2nd.

Kaori is the Vegeta to Maki’s Goku…constantly trying to compete with Maki, but always destined to inferiority. She is loud, obnoxious, creeezy, and a bit tragic.

Episode 12 demonstrates her awesomeness perfectly:

(part 2) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwj3nrxAsGQ
(part 3) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9iKyzC3IvM

Nothing more needs to be said.

3. Characters in general

In addition to Maki and Kaori, the rest of the cast has its charms. Two more awesome female characters appear Kai and Yuki…plus some cool male fighters, as well, like Kinjirou and Tsukio. The volatile personalities of all these characters interact and drive the story forward.

Renge, the loud mouthed, large headed little girl is hilarious. I don’t care what anyone says.

4. Excellent control of perspective

The series is very good at making you root for different characters depending on the context. The best example is a guy named Julietta…a.k.a. grand master bishonen man. Wears purple. Has a swagger. Hands in pockets. Deep voice. Kicks people into ceilings. Has “hidden strength”. Yeah.

On one hand, Julietta does despicable things like attempting to take advantage of Maki (twice), or launching innocent people down the street with his foot (i.e. girls who are hitting on him, random middle aged men, people that just try to talk to him).

Yet, somehow you find yourself sympathizing with him during certain fights or scenarios. It’s amazing.

The same is true with other characters. Kaori debuts as Maki’s malicious rival…but later on in the series, when Kaori fights Maki again, you actually find yourself rooting AGAINST Maki…the main character of the entire cartoon.

Dynamic characters = good.

5. Closing credits are awesome

Yup.

6. Video game references

The entire premise of the show proves that the creator must be a fighting game fan, especially after episode 16. Plus, certain characters bear striking resemblances to people we know…

Maki ~ Iori Yagami
Kinjirou ~ Kyo Kusanagi

It’s Kyo v Iori!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dr2gqnlyZcY

Tsukio ~ MOTW Terry Bogard
Sky Star ~ Blue Mary
Yashiki ~ Ken Masters
Shinnousuke - Kilik

Perhaps the most blatant is Shigeo, who is literally an Akira cosplayer. The dude played Virtua Fighter so much that he decided to BECOME Akira:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxTzU1LgVZU

7. Awesome fight scenes

I approve. Check the above Kyo v Iori vid from 1:30 to 1:53 for maximum dirtiness.

8. Looks purdy

It’s well drawn and well animated for a 27 episode seires.

9. No audience

I can’t tell who the target audience is. I mean, it’s a fighting anime, so…teenage males, maybe? But, it stars a big, muscular, independent woman…

Plus, there are some mature moments…like when Julietta attempts to take advantage of Maki, and receives a kick to the face for his troubles…

There’s lots of blood…no gore, though.

A lot of fan service…for males, I suppose? But, the fan service is hardly central…

But, then there are scenes that I can’t see most males enjoying…like the time where Maki, her friends, and some older women are sitting around a table at a restaurant, talking. The scene lasts for more than 4 minutes. I can’t imagine male audiences lining up for that…

Not to mention the scene where the Kyo Kusanagi look-a-like kisses another man…

With no particular audience in mind, Air Master really freed itself to do whatever the heck it wanted. The result is familiar to everyone, and shocking to everyone at the same time.

10. Equality

There’s an underlying theme of equality that I really appreciate. Women fight women, women fight men, men fight men. We could argue about how realistic this may or may not be, but I don’t care. I find it refreshing.

This sense of equality even extends beyond the ring…as women fall in love with women, women with men, men with women, and men with men. Apparently, anything goes in Air Master.

If you’ve got a theme, you’ve got to carry it through, right?

In closing, Air Master is for people who appreciate really strong female characters, interesting male characters, good fightin’, lots of humor, a few uncomfortable moments (just to keep you on your toes), and a general lighthearted mood, and the occasional profound moment. A lot of fan service thrown in, but it gets absorbed by the undeniable strength of the female characters.

They help me forget the horrible aftertaste of the Sakuras and Kagomes of the world.

Particularly noteworthy episodes:
Episode 9 - I don’t know where to start…
http://www.veoh.com/videos/v38970907cZqjKFs

Episodes 12, 13, 14 - the wrestling episodes are hotness
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Qajpyaz_-s

Episode 15 - Maki and Kaori destroy the Power Rangers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_h5NRiU2m8

Episode 20 - Kyo Kusanagi vs Blue Mary- awesome fight
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1LdVN5KBeM

Epsiode 23 - awesome fight
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01sJ2I5FhBs

But, for best results watch it straight through!