Air Master


Air Master is a seinen manga written and illustrated by Yokusaru Shibata. The story focuses on Maki Aikawa, an ex-gymnast turned street fighter. The manga was serialized in the Hakusensha magazine Young Animal from 1997 to 2006 and has been collected into 28 tankōbon.
A 27-episode anime adaptation of the manga's 16 volumes was directed by Daisuke Nishio and produced by Toei Animation, Nippon TV and VAP. The anime was licensed in North America through a partnership between Toei and Geneon USA. However, only a few episodes of the series were released in the region before the cancellation of the deal, which was due to the poor quality and large number of DVD returns to Geneon.

Plot

Behind the scenes of the hustle and bustle of everyday 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 lifestreet 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

Manga

Air Master was serialized in the Hakusensha magazine Young Animal from 1997 to 2006. The individual chapters have been collected into 28 tankōbon, which were published between July 29, 1997, to May 29, 2006.

Anime

An anime adaptation of Air Master was produced by Nippon Television, VAP and Toei Animation, and originally aired on NTV from April 1 to September 23, 2003. It was directed by Daisuke Nishio, with Michiko Yokote handling series composition, Yoshihiko Umakoshi designing the characters and Yoshihisa Hirano composing the music. At the time the adaptation was produced, the original story had not yet been finished, so it has its own unique twists, including changes to the endgame storyline. The episodes were compiled onto nine separate DVDs, which were released in Japan by VAP between July 24, 2003, and March 24, 2004. Each DVD contains three episodes and a bonus yonkoma by manga author Yokusaru Shibata.
Geneon Entertainment had signed an agreement with Toei to license an English-dubbed version of the anime in the United States and Canada. It was also announced that the series would air on the Canadian cable channel Razer, though it never earned a timeslot and was cancelled before broadcast. Ultimately only three DVDs of Air Master were released in North America, with the fourth and fifth being solicited but cancelled due to an abrupt termination of partnership between the two companies. Region 1 DVDs for the anime, along with two other Toei titles, received very little advertising and suffered from poor quality, resulting in dismal sales and a large number of returns to Geneon. In 2009, Funimation gained the rights to Air Master and began streaming it on the company's official website. The anime was also streamed on Joost.

Episodes