Karifean's Blog of Visual Novels

AIR's common route is quite entertaining, I must say. So far it has done a good job creating a potentially interesting setting for the character routes.

First off, the soundtrack is amazing. Need I mention Natsukage? So damn good. Or the opening Tori no Uta, IMO one of Key's best openings, music-wise at least? Yeah, it's great.

Yukito is a great protagonist. It's not often that Key protagonists actually have an intriguing unknown backstory of their own, but Yukito sure does, what with the 'quest to find the girl with wings'. I also love how he interacts very differently with everyone he meets. The dynamics between him and Misuzu, him and Haruko, him and Kano, him and Hiijiri, and him and Minagi are all quite different from one another.

It's easy to see or rather guess that Misuzu is actually pretty lonely, trying her hardest to make friends with Yukito who she doesn't even know. Her maps are the best. Drawing herself playing cards, or rather the card game Bridge, to indicate a bridge on a map? Now that's Misuzu for you. Gao~ gao~ Stegosaurus~

Haruko knows how bad of a mother she is, but it's still really hard to be mad at her for it. Her interactions with Yukito are interesting in many ways. As happy as she probably is to have someone to talk to in the evenings, she also tries to make him get a job, in her own special way.

Some may call Kano plain, but honestly I find her to be rather refreshing, as she is rather unique in the context of AIR's setting. While Yukito's teasing of Misuzu is totally one-sided, it goes both ways in Kano's case. Potato is adorable, by the way.

And then there's Minagi, probably the only character Yukito doesn't lose interest in immediatly. She doesn't talk much, and her and Yukito communicate in completely different wavelengths, so their scenes together are quite uneventful for the most part. Still, I appreciate her calm aura. Especially in contrast to...

...Michiru. She... exists. Yeah, I don't really like her. She spends most of her screentime being annoying.

Listening to the Kazamatsuri.org Podcast for the AIR Common Route was pretty enjoyable and interesting. I do love such in-depth looks at Key visual novels, because Key is, after all, my favorite storywriting developer.

Now to go into the character routes, starting with Minagi's...