Part 1 of our Kyoto Vacation kicks off with ‘Crying is the Key to Happiness,’ a series of episodes on Kyoto Animation’s adaptations of the acclaimed visual novels by Key VisualArts. We begin with 2005’s Air, the strange, sad, and surprising tale of a wandering boy, a girl obsessed with dinosaurs, an empathetic crow, and a winged girl in the sky. Air is a hard show to describe, but it’s a powerful watch, adapting the hit visual novel into 12 episodes (and 2 OVAs) that put Kyoto Animation firmly on the map. We discuss the history of Key VisualArts leading up to the creation of Air and tell you all about the KyoAni staff that created the show before diving deep into one of the weirdest, most beautiful, and most devastating shows we’ve ever reviewed. 

Enjoy, and come back next week as we review Kanon, the 24-episode series based on Key’s first visual novel!

Time Chart:

Theme Song: 0:00:00 – 0:01:30

Intro and History: 0:01:30 – 

Eyecatch Break: 0:56:43 – 0:57:19 

Air Review: 0:57:19 – 3:08:40 

End Theme: 3:08:40 – 3:09:42 

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“re:CAPTURE” and “Happily Ever After” – Original Music & Lyrics by Thomas Lack, featuring Hatsune Miku. https://www.thomaslack.com