It was just really rushed
AIR has a lot of story (granted, not nearly as much as Clannad or Little Busters!) but still a lot of story
And it’s a story that isn’t exactly straightforward and needs to be pieced together as you go along
And the 12 episodes KyoAni had just wasn’t enough to do the story justice
Now that my preparations are complete, it’s time to dish out my walls of text on the common route of Air.
This is my first time playing the Air VN, so the game itself is new to me. I am, however, familiar with the story from watching the anime and the movie. Also please note that I have yet to read the posts in this forum because I’m trying to keep my impression of the common route as clean as possible before writing this post. But I promise to catch up and fully join the discussion once this post is completed ^^
A young man on a journey.
He carries two pieces of luggage with him.
One is an old puppet he can move without touching.
The other is an ancient promise, passed down through generations.
The story begins as our main character, Kunisaki Yukito, arrives in a small town in the countryside. He is a traveling puppeteer who lives off his street performances. The setting itself is a bit unusual. Yukito doesn’t have a single acquaintance in the town and he’s staying with a stranger’s, a weird girl’s family that was kind enough to invite him. In order to move on, Yukito has to earn some money, which turns out to be quite difficult. His journey has a certain purpose: Yukito is looking for a girl he knows very little about.
It is the 17th of July, in the middle of summer. It’s very hot. Just being outside tires you out. But summer is also the time for children to play outside all day. Summer holidays will start soon. You can already see a strong contrast to Key’s previous work, Kanon. Kanon is set in a cold winter. Cold. Frozen time. Memories buried under the snow. By a bigger stretch, you can associate the cold with death, but I digress.
The choices presented to the player are numerous, but mostly insignificant. What’s most important here, to my mind, is how will he make Yukito behave? Will Yukito remain desinterested and stay out of poeple’s business, thus barely get to know anyone and leave the town in a week after getting fed up by the town? Or will our protagonist show his kind side, unleash the prankster within and open up to the people around him, thus getting to know them and their problems?
The main focus of the common route is the Kamio family Yukito is staying with. He’s getting along pretty well with both the mother (Haruko) and the daughter (Misuzu).
While being with Misuzu is quite taxing on Yukito’s patience, he’s fully capable of handling her just fine. Misuzu is a good girl, merely looking for someone to play with. The problem here is that, for some reason, Misuzu is always alone. Especially attentive readers might notice that the great majority of kids appearing in random scenes here and there do so in groups of two or three. But the bright and friendly girl Misuzu doesn’t have any friends. Nobody would notice her being absent, so she can be late to school and sneak in whenever. Nobody’s worried about her. She’s by no means antisocial, so why is she so lonely?
“The sky’s always been on my mind, ever since I was little. I don’t know [why]. It’s just that… Another me is up there.”
“In that case, the person I’m looking for is your other self.”
Misuzu might or might not be the girl Yukito is looking for, but doesn’t give it much thought. His mind is preoccupied with finding ways of earning money.
Haruko mostly uses Yukito as a drinking buddy and someone she can relieve some stress with. The Yukito-Haruko dynamic works pretty well and they’re quite funny to watch when they’re together. They have a similar sense of humor and overall, you could say they are a good match. Nothing bad ever happens even if they go all-out with their jokes. Haruko drinks a lot but upon closer inspection, she merely does so to stave off boredom.
After a while, you start noticing that something’s off about the Kamio family. The father is nowhere in sight and it’s unclear whether or not he even exists. Haruko is working during the day and only returns home by night while drunk. Misuzu doesn’t get to spend much time with her that way, since she has to go to sleep shortly after her mother’s arrival. The relationship between mother and daughter is strange indeed. They get a long ok, but at the same time, they seem to be disconnected from each-other. Haruko won’t spend quality time with her daughter, but she does order Yukito to watch over her.
“She never opens up teh me or anythin’ I’m too useless. I’m not cut out teh be a mother.”
“The likes o’ me aren’ fit to be with her”
Do mother and daughter simply lack mutual understanding? Did they give up on trying to improve their relationship?
Other characters do make an appearance, but they don’t get a lot of screen time.
There’s Kano, a childish, somewhat delusional girl, accompanied by her weird dog, Potato.
Hijiri, the town’s doctor, a strong-willed and independent woman.
Last but not least, Michiru and Minagi. They seem to be having fun, despite their mismatched personalities. Not much is known about either of them.
Despite the numerous glimpses at various problems, here and there, the overall mood of the common route is relaxed and easy-going. Yukito is stranded and broke, but not actually in a dangerous situation. Misuzu has nobody to play with, but she keeps smiling. Her family situation is not the best, but actual problems have yet to present themselves. Kano’s only friend is a dog, but so what? Everyone’s lives go on more or less smoothly as they carry on while smiling and playing around. Every day is full of laughter and fun that minor setbacks can’t ruin. Even the always-lonely Misuzu has Yukito to keep her company now.
The common route is full of funny events. Yukito’s everyday quest to earn money isn’t completely hopeless if he teams up with Misuzu. His map will improve (RPG-style) on a regular basis, and so will his relationships with other townspeople. If he does well with his puppeteering, a complete stranger just might give Yukito a sponge cake out of nowhere. The stranger actually has a sprite, so the readers are free to start speculating about his identity.
If Yukito fails to make a connection with any of the characters, the bad end will occur on January 24th. Fed up with his lack of progress and the town and unwilling to mooch off of the Kamio family any longer, Yukito leaves the town as he and Misuzu symbolically go their separate ways. It’s not that Yukito hasn’t been given enough information. He’s seen the problems and he’s gotten important hints, but he simply chose to not involve himself and look the other way.
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Youre entire post was lovely.
I just wanted to comment on (AIR ROUTE SPOILERS)this character, Misuzu’s father having a sprite.
It instantly lets the reader know that this character is important and needs to be remembered instead of being a random side character who has a few lines but isn’t shown.
I feel like it would provide more of a “shock factor” later on when that character reppears during the Air arcif he wasn’t explicitly shown during the common route.
Impression? Is that important with this kind of post? You don’t really state anything impression-based beyond the third paragraph… It’s a summary.
I don’t think it can have shock factor. You either add the sprite, and then later make the connection leaving the reaction as an “Oh, okay…” Or you can not show the sprite, do a flashback to a scene most will have forgotten, and bring upon the reaction “Oh, okay…”
For example, I might’ve been influenced by your post about economy trouble and single parents in japan, leading to the impression that Haruko and Misuzu don’t spend much time with each other due to Haruko’s working hours. However, my personal impression was that Misuzu and Haruko CHOSE not to be closer for a different reason and the working hours are merely an excuse:
Also, my post isn’t a pure summary, but I do need to establish the context in order to make clear what exactly I’m talking about and which events I’m basing my conclusions on. For example, the “something is off about the Kamio family” is an impression that a reader might or might not get while reading the VN, mostly because all the ‘problematic’ stuff gets downplayed in the common route quite a lot.
[quote=“Misuzu, post:56, topic:902”]
One scene that always breaks my heart that took place in the common route (and will also take place in both Kano and Minagi’s routes) is when Yukito tells Misuzu that he isn’t going to be staying at her house anymore. She puts up such a strong front but it breaks my heart cause I just know she went home and probably just cried and cried.[/quote]
Indeed, it’s kind of hidden, non-obvious drama. Since Misuzu’s loneliness isn’t portrayed as a huge problem, but rather something happening silently in the background, the impact of this farewell to Misuzu isn’t clear to you unless you stop and think about it for a bit.
I’m in this camp sure money may have had a bit to do with it but I don’t think its the only (or even the biggest) reason. And I feel like there is evidence enough in common to support this theory.
[quote=“Naoki_Saten, post:101, topic:902”]
If he does well with his puppeteering, a complete stranger just might give Yukito a sponge cake out of nowhere. The stranger actually has a sprite, so the readers are free to start speculating about his identity.
[/quote] Add another log to the walk-through problems I followed the recommended route and never got this scene so when everyone started talking about mysterious stranger I had no clue what they were talking about.
[quote=“Misuzu, post:100, topic:902”]
And the 12 episodes KyoAni had just wasn’t enough to do the story justice
[/quote]This seems to always creep up as a problem, I get the idea of wanting it as an anime (big part being increased exposure) but its a balancing act of story vs time and most of the time the scales don’t just tip they topple over and it turns out bad. See the Grisaia anime adaptation if you want to see how upping the pacing can kill an adaptation.
I played a bit more! Not quite done yet. I wrote this as I was experiencing the story. Sorry about its quality.
When Misuzu said 『My true self is in the sky. It sounds really nice.』 the first time I read that, I had overanalyzed it. (Kanon/AIR ending spoilers) My thoughts were “this is foreshadowing… is Misuzu not actually alive at all? Is she a ghost? Or maybe she’s like Makoto or Ayu, where she’s actually a “miracle” of some kind. Maybe she’s really attached to Yukito for a similar reason.” Playing it again, now, and seeing the connection to what Misuzu really is, it feels much more impactful. Her lines after that really reinforce her character for me, but I might be reading more meaning from them than is actually there. (AIR: Unnecessary quote that made me laugh) 【Misuzu】『I knew it. You can’t fly without wings.』
Misuzu’s lack of attention-span is “cute” but not if it was in reality. Going out of my way to do something only to be ignored by the person who asked me to do it is a very frustrating experience that I’d rather not have any more of. (I have a friend who does this.) Yukito’s generally mild reactions to that, considering his general disposition, are rather amazing.
Yukito’s description of “what it means to study” (if you chose Give her a straight answer on the 19th) was better than I expected it to be. (I forgot about that from the last time I played.)
The next day, Thursday the 20th. I’m walking around aimlessly when a wild Potato appears! (He was not foretold on the map of the ancients. I feel cheated.) Anyway, I’m reminded of something I noticed in Lucky Star: The voice actors for Yukito and Potato immitated their characters in an episode of Lucky Star, at the end of the Lucky Channel segment. I appreciate all the Key references in Lucky Star. (Sorry, that’s unrelated to the discussion, but trivia is fun sometimes.)
『Maybe it’ll give me a cloth weaved out of its own hair every night.』 ← That’s probably the creepiest part of the common route.
I find it odd that when Yukito first meets Kano he tells her about the puppet immediately even though he was so hesitant about it with Misuzu and Haruko. (And he even suffered a light trauma from performing the show for them!) I’m interpreting that as “exhausted; don’t care” on Yukito’s part.
Yukito’s meeting with Hijiri was very entertaining. My favorite part was: 【Woman】「Do I look like someone who’d extort money from you?」【Yukito】「You do.」 then a little after that 【Yukito】「Are you taking advantage of me?」【Woman】「To put it simply, yes.」. Their interactions are great. I almost want a route dedicated to just her.
Back with Misuzu, the key girl (ha, ha, ha), Yukito says some cool lines (“Besides, it’s memorable because the seasons move on. It won’t leave an impression if you’re in the same place all the time.”) The stuff immediately following that is foreshadowing. Seeing Yukito’s interactions with Misuzu’s mother has made me wonder whether Yukito would even bother with the puppet show if he suddenly became wealthy. Part of me thinks he might but I’m not sure. Either way I want him to play with Misuzu more.
The job description Haruko gives Yukito that night is actually pretty appealing, honestly. That might be a side effect of the music and her solemn expression.
And with that there are only three days left! (21st - 23rd)
The 21st, Friday. Yukito awakens to his inner Masato. (Or wait, I selected “Show them my muscles,” so maybe I awakened to my inner Masato? But I’m playing as Yukito, so maybe his inner Masato was influencing me? Very mysterious.) Kawarazaki gets creeped out… That’s okay, Misuzu still loves me! Right Misuzu? … Misuzu? Anyway.
After arriving at the train station I find Michiru blowing trying to blow bubbles. I’m not particularly fond of Michiru, but I don’t dislike her either. She kind of balances out, for me at least. 『Uuu… What should I do…? The devil kidnapper spoke to me…』 I interpret a “devil kidnapper” as someone who kidnaps devils. Assuming that translation is accurate, she unwittingly implied she is a devil. xP (Yes, I know that’s not what she meant.)
If I was the one to answer the door to Yukito, even if I didn’t have any sort of electronics or whatever for recycling, I’d probably offer some water at least.
A wild Minagi has appeared! (Harem route, anyone?) Good mornafterning, Minagi. I like her sense of humor: 『…I’m sunbathing.』『Just kidding… it’s night right now.』 The first time I read that I literally laughed out loud. It was also the dead of night, so that was probably pretty creepy to outsiders. I chuckled this time. Simple humor is the best.
Sedulous. I had to look that up. (Means “diligent” or “industrious.” (Minagi route pseudo spoiler) For effect, I looked it up in an old paperback dictionary I happened to have lying around.)
The way Yukito acts around Minagi makes it seem like he fell in love with her immediately. He didn’t have as positive of a reaction to any of the other characters, at least. (He found Misuzu annoying and Kano to be somewhat weird. His first sight of Minagi was “like a fairytale,” and he was notably happy when she praised him for something insignificant.)
Another Minagi quote! 『Why… did you choose to commit your crimes here?』 By itself it’s not that impressive, but in the context of the scene it was hilarious. I like the following conversation between Misuzu and Minagi: 【Misuzu】「Yukito-san isn’t a pervert.」【Yukito】（Crap, she’s explaining that part!?）【Minagi】「…」「…Is he a devil kidnapper then?」…No.【Misuzu】「Unfortunately he’s not that either.」
The brief interlude with Misuzu and Haruko concludes that day and then I’m at the 22nd.
That’s all for now! Two more days…
EDIT - Played through the 22nd after a short break.
That song that plays on the 22nd… I love it. (“Nocturne” I think it was.) Additionally, “Stratos” is a great song too. This day is a good day.
Kano’s “time wasterian” thing was funny, but I’m not really connecting with her character yet. I did like how she and Hijiri both suspected there was some trick to
Yukito’s puppet show. (Though wouldn’t anybody? Well, compared to the other girls, they were the only to voice that thought, iirc.)
The interaction between Yukito, Potato, and Michiru, in front of the clinic was a funny scene. Michuru’s reaction to Yukito was completely justified.
Minagi is great. The “consolation prize” thing was hilarious. (Check out [Purple’s post](https://forum.kazamatsuri.org/t/air-common-route-discussion-bookclub-
discussion-here/902/55?u=notkyon).)
Kano’s “other personality” (Little Busters! spoiler) reminds me of Mio, even though they’re nowhere near the same. I guess because of that, her
route is somewhat more interesting. Her explanation to Hijiri and its nonchalant implications are great. As Yukito says 『The girl’s story is completely true.』『But
for some reason, I feel like it’s turned me into a horrible excuse for a human being.』 Yukito’s followup was great too.
And that’s it for my reactions to the 22nd. Next is the 23rd and the bad ending…
EDIT 2 - The 23rd day was shorter than I expected! Here are my reactions.
Gao gao. It’s the 23rd and the rise of the Stegosaurus T-shirt. Haruko’s appearance while Yukito was posing alone actually surprised me. I should’ve expected that, what with having already played through this scene a few times.
Misuzu’s new map is awesome.
【Minagi】『…Po.』
Yup, arrow to the heart.
And so, as per the bad end, we float away carried by the wind. (Well, we just walk in separate directions, but still.) I thought the bad end, which I hadn’t experienced before, would be more tearjerking but it didn’t bother me too much. It was sad, but I couldn’t see myself realistically taking the same actions Yukito did to reach the bad end. (Although I admit, it would be odd just being in that position in the first place.)
Thus concludes my reaction to the 23rd day!
As for the common route (bad end) it was enjoyable to play through again. Some jokes and minor details had been forgotten, and remembering them was worth it. Playing it felt a little bit like a chore, at times, but that was my own fault for trying to rush it. (Obviously it won’t be as enjoyable if you’re in a hurry, right?) In the general music thread I posted Dress by Buck-Tick. I still feel that the themes match up here.
I’m looking forward to Minagi’s route next! Woo!
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Now that I think about it, you raise a good point. Riki was probably the kindest out of all of Key’s protagonists. Otonashi was also fairly nice. Still, the way he treats Misuzu early on and his general attitude aren’t (usually considered) admirable either way, IMO.
I would say the same but then I remembered Shimako from Rewrite lol
There’s a thin line between “stating the fact” and “stating the obvious.” I do agree that Naoki’s post was an impression, but he does point out some obvious things which, to us, may feel like a fact, and thus, a summary.
But yeah, I like your thoughts @Naoki_Saten and they’re very down-to-earth in terms of AIR. Though some stuff might seem obvious, they are worth noting in the long run!
And thanks for the thoughts @NotKyon! I quite liked reading your thoughts and there are a few things that I think I’ll put on the podcast with those observations 
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It’s interesting that both have the same thought-process when it comes to the sky, and that rarely happens between the two of them XD. I loved this intimate connection of theirs even when they just met. It’s quite the same atmosphere in Clannad when Tomoya first met Nagisa, but funnier.
To be fair, Misuzu quickly learns to adapt with Yukito’s odd antics (luring him to food, the milk scene and even finding him a job despite Yukito being, well, Yukito). They’re quite similar. And Misuzu is pretty sensible at certain points where Yukito isn’t.
Yeah. It does seem like Yukito has a softer spot for Minagi. And I don’t remember any choices where Yukito has to ignore or make fun of her. With Minagi, you have to actively pursue her (even it means having to meet Michiru again) since she doesn’t pop out often like Kano, Potato or Misuzu. Adds a flair of mystery on her part.
common route spoiler: I remember there was this scene (if you choose to perform at the high street) where Hijiri tells Yukito not to be too friendly with Minagi around Kano. I think there’s a hint there of what Kano feels for Yukito and what Yukito’s interactions with Minagi seemed to others. It’s an interesting conflict whatsoever.
The common route foreshadows Kano’s route a lot (depending on your choices). I really enjoyed her scenes because her story is scattered everywhere. Fits well with her personality.
I enjoyed reading your thoughts! Hope to read more from you.
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While this is true to a point there are also times when it doesn’t hold up. I’m thinking in particular of getting a Skipping Rope for breakfast.
[quote=“chesca, post:109, topic:902”]
It’s interesting that both have the same thought-process when it comes to the sky, and that rarely happens between the two of them
[/quote]All of the heroines have some connection to the sky, Misuzu’s other self, Minagi’s astronomy club, and (Kano spoiler) Kano’s wish to have wings so she could fly. I felt like they missed an opportunity a bit when they decided to (Overall AIR story spoiler) go ahead and have Yukito point out that Misuzu was the girl with wings he was looking for. With all the heroines having a connection to the sky in some way, shape, or form it could have been interesting going into the story wondering which, if any, were Yukito’s girl in the sky he had been searching for.
[quote=“Pepe, post:108, topic:902”]
I would say the same but then I remembered Shimako from Rewrite lol
[/quote]The opposite also holds true sticking with Rewrite, Inoue
[quote=“NotKyon, post:107, topic:902”]
Still, the way he treats Misuzu early on and his general attitude aren’t (usually considered) admirable either way, IMO.
[/quote]Well this is debatable depending on two things (Air late game lite-spoilers maybe/just to be safe) how much you know about the story and how much Yukito knew at that point in time. Depending on his level of knowledge at that time there may have been a good point to keep her at arms length.
[quote=“NotKyon, post:106, topic:902”]
It was sad, but I couldn’t see myself realistically taking the same actions Yukito did to reach the bad end. (Although I admit, it would be odd just being in that position in the first place.)
[/quote]You have to take into account who and what Yukito is at this point. He is a drifter he isn’t used to staying in one place, much less staying in one place and accomplishing nothing. Don’t forget that from the time he arrived he was thinking of making money so he could move on so his actions aren’t that far fetched.
.
[quote=“Bowiie, post:110, topic:902”]
Well this is debatable depending on two things (Air late game lite-spoilers maybe/just to be safe) how much you know about the story and how much Yukito knew at that point in time. Depending on his level of knowledge at that time there may have been a good point to keep her at arms length.
[/quote]That raises a good point – going into the story I know more about it than the protagonist does. (This is true from the first play-through on.) Still, destroying the juice that she bought for him? Even though he seemed to initially think it was a joke, there was no apparent malice whatsoever in her actions. Though considering his disposition, now, it’s not as bad as it first seemed.
[quote=“Bowiie, post:110, topic:902”]
You have to take into account who and what Yukito is at this point. He is a drifter he isn’t used to staying in one place, much less staying in one place and accomplishing nothing. Don’t forget that from the time he arrived he was thinking of making money so he could move on so his actions aren’t that far fetched.
[/quote]Sorry, I was merely trying to state that I had difficulty relating at that point. Could be partly due to knowing it was a bad end as well. His actions are understandable given his character.
Recording for the podcast is done! Now to spend the next 24 hours editing.
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They call it bad end, but it wasn’t really bad. I actually kind of liked it for what it was, though obviously there’s not much to it. But that’s fine, too.
I actually like all three of the main heroines so far, which is unusual but refreshing. Usually there’s at least one that I don’t like until I start down her route, but all three are pretty likeable so far. If anything, it’s the protagonist I don’t really care for, but then that leaves room for development, so that’s not bad on its own.
Anyway, that was a lot shorter than I expected, having read nearly every other main story KEY VN that’s been translated. Even if the character routes are double or triple the length of the common route, this would still probably be the shortest one after Planetarian. I was expecting something roughly as long as Kanon, but it seems this will be considerably shorter.
Also, I finally get this reference now.
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The Common Route block of the AIR Bookclub has ended. I ask that you now direct your attention to the Minagi discussion topic!
Feel free to use this topic to reflect on the common route whenever you feel the need, but keep in mind that the Minagi topic will be the focus for the next two weeks.
So, my final thoughts on the common route? I thought it was freaking hilarious, but it also gave amazing insight into the central characters, especially Yukito. It’s definitely not a traditional slice of life setting (they avoid the high school for one thing), which is very welcome. As for the format and how it branches into different routes, it definitely could’ve been handled better, but it also feels very… Realistic? It gives the player a lot of agency to decide where Yukito ends up. Even the bad end was really good. It’s not about to beat Little Busters! or Rewrite’s common route any time soon, but I would read it again in a heartbeat.
RIP Tabuchi.
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Final thoughts on common route: A great balance of entertaining and serious. It’s a bit tricky to say what is common route and what is character route though since it branches off at different points.
I enjoyed it quite a bit. There were parts that didn’t stand out that much, but the route as a whole was great.
Yes. In that sense, it’s very organic.
And do not forget those cicada SFX. It adds a lot to the atmosphere
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