Air Gear

Air Gear (エア・ギア) is a shōnen manga and anime by the mangaka Oh! great.

Air Gear is about the life of Itsuki Minami "Ikki", also known as "Baby face" and "Lil (and Little) Crow". The name "Crow" came from the fact that there is currently a real living baby crow in his hair sometimes who he does not seem to mind, and his friends along with the latest in-universe trend, Air Trecks. The early parts of the story carry out the introduction of characters that eventually join Ikki, and as the story progresses, it focuses on their roles as Storm Riders and their quest to be on the top of the Trophaeum Tower. It won the 2006 Kodansha Manga Award in the shōnen category.

Story
Itsuki "Ikki" Minami, is a student and a delinquent. Also known as the "Unbeatable Babyface". Ikki is the leader of the youth gang by the name of "East Side Gunz" (Hikatsuganzu). Upon his return home after being humiliated by a Storm Rider team called the Skull Saders, Ikki discovers a secret hidden from him by his benefactors, the Noyamano sisters. The sisters belong to a group of Storm Riders who go by the team name of Sleeping Forest. In the anime, learning the sisters' secret angers him and he steals a pair of Air Trecks, abbreviated as "AT". (In the manga, the sisters give a pair of ATs to him and invite him to skate with them.) Ikki eventually settles his grudge with the Skull Saders, but in the process he receives more than the simple satisfaction of revenge. Determined to experience the sensation of "flight" for as long as he can, Ikki is quickly engaged in the mysterious, irresistible world of Air Treks.

Main characters

 * See also: List of characters in Air Gear

Itsuki "Ikki" Minami
 * The main protagonist of the story, he was given Air Trecks (in the anime, he took them himself) and soon delved into the world of Storm Riders. Eventually he creates a team, Kogarasumaru. Originally trained to become the Sky King by Sora, he soon finds himself betrayed by Sora himself and Nike (Sora's twin brother) steals his Regalia. Shortly thereafter, Ikki becomes the Storm King and follows the "Hurricane Road."

Kazuma "Kazu" Mikura
 * A long-time friend of Ikki, who's always by his side. He is a speed-type rider who has recently inherited the title of Flame King following the path of the flame road along with Spitfires old AT's. Due to his speed he got the nickname Stealth.

Onigiri
 * Also a long-time friend of Ikki, he is a "perverted pig" as called by most. He has an unorthodox riding style, wearing his Air Trecks on his head and riding it upside-down. He has his own unique Road called the Smell Road, which uses an opponents senses against them.

Issa Mihotoke "Fats Buccha"
 * Formerly of the Team Yaou (Night Kings), he was defeated by Ikki and his team was forced to disband. Eventually, he joins Ikki's team as one of the main power riders, making use of his extremely large build and strength.

Akito/Agito/Lind Wanijima
 * The Fang King with a split-personality. Akito is the "light" side while Agito is the "dark" side. They used to work for the police team of "WIND" until inspired by Ikki to leave and join Kogarasumaru after being rescued. Their split-personality changes depending on the side their eye patch is worn.  Agito wears his patch on his left eye, Akito on his right. Lind is also a split personality of the Fang King. Lind is some what like a "big brother" personality. He is the first person(owner) of the body.

Media info
Air Gear has been serialized in Weekly Shōnen Magazine since 2002. Currently, 20 tankōbon have been released in Japan by Shōnen Magazine Comics.

The Air Gear manga was licensed for release in the United States by Del Rey Manga and the first volume was released on July 25, 2006. Subsequent volumes will be released every three months.

ADV Films announced over the October 20, 2006 weekend at Oni-Con, that they had licensed the Air Gear anime for release in the USA. The first volume was released on February 6, 2007. ADV is releasing the uncensored Japanese home video version, rather than the broadcast version. On January 3, 2007, IGN released a special sneak peek of Episode 1 of the English Dub.

The series has also been made into a musical called Musical Air Gear, which made its debut on January 7, 2007 and ran until January 21, 2007. The musical is loosely adapted from the manga and all female roles are eliminated from the plot. The cast featured Kenta Kamakari, KENN, and Kenjiro Tsuda reprising their roles from the anime respectively as Ikki, Kazu, and Spitfire with Masaki Kaji (who had also starred with Kenta and KENN in the Prince of Tennis musicals), RUN＆GUN, etc. as their co-stars.

Due to the success and popularity of the musical's first run, the musical has had a rerun in May 2007 titled, Musical Air Gear vs. Bacchus Super Range Remix (ミュージカル「エア・ギア」vs.バッカス Super Range Remix) with the entire cast, except for Kenta Kamakari due to illness, reprising their roles.

Also, a greyed out 'movie' button on the TV Tokyo Japanese Air Gear website indicates that Air Gear the movie may be in the works.

Reception
Both the anime and manga have gained a lot of popularity, both in the east and the west, now having quite a large fan base. BlogCritics said "It mixes this action and comedy quite well with a storyline that doesn’t fail to leave a reader wanting more." . The anime has often been criticized for not remaining true to the manga, and skipping parts out, but praised for its soundtrack. The English Dub has received positive reviews since its release. AnimeOnDVD said "The concept of the show is one that is pure anime though and something that visually can be done very well"