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Dated 14 January 2005: Air

Against my better judgment, I watched the first episode of Air. I wasn't at all interested in this show, since the promo looked terrible, but it is one of the most hyped shows this season. Apparently it is based on a very popular hentai game, which accounts for much of the excitement over the anime, and helps explain why something like half a dozen fansubbing groups are all putting out their own releases.

Air was not as bad as I was expecting. The pacing is very good, so the story moves well. The animation is also surprisingly good, although I find the art very unattractive. Also, the character I thought sounded like Aya Hisakawa on a bad day turned out to actually be Aya Hisakawa, so it's got that going for it.

Misuzu
Seriously, she has a fish's face.

However, I feel no need to continue watching it, as I had no real interest in the show itself except for its technical curiosities. I guess I'll keep an eye out for it in case I hear it becomes awesome later, much as Popotan turned out to be much better than its first episodes led me to believe.

One final note: I am not at all enamoured by Air's "GAO" catchphrase. It is too obviously an attempt to create a catchphrase. That's a level of pandering I can't stomach from a show that doesn't have enough charisma going for it. Now, Mahoromatic's obvious attempt to create a catchphrase—that's different.