Air Master
Air Master is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yokusaru Shibata. It was serialized in Hakusensha's manga magazine Young Animal from 1996 to 2006, with its chapters collected in 28 volumes. The story focuses on Maki Aikawa, an ex-gymnast turned street fighter.
A 27-episode anime television series adaptation animated by Toei Animation was broadcast on Nippon Television from April to October 2003. Originally licensed in North America by Geneon USA, the series saw only partial DVD releases before poor sales canceled the deal. It later became available for streaming on Crunchyroll.
Plot
Beneath Tokyo's everyday rhythms lies a hidden world of street fighters pushing their limits through brutal combat. Among them is Maki Aikawa, a 16-year-old former gymnast who channels her acrobatic prowess into underground fighting. For Maki, only the adrenaline of battle makes her feel truly alive. Her extraordinary athleticism and power earn her the moniker "Air Master" as she dominates opponent after opponent. Her skills eventually draw her into the Fukamichi Rankings—an elite league featuring 44 of the world's most dangerous fighters.The Rankings serve dual purposes: a proving ground for warriors seeking to test their limits, and a global spectacle with corporate backing, where victors earn prize money. For Maki, it represents the ultimate challenge—a chance to chase the exhilaration of combat while facing the world's most formidable fighters.
Characters
;Maki Aikawa;Yuu Takigawa
;Michiru Kawamoto
;Mina Nakanotani
;Renge Inui
;Shiro Saeki
;Miori Saeki
;Kaori Sakiyama
;Julietta Sakamoto
;Kinjiro Kitaeda
;Kai Sanpagita
;Shinnosuke Tokita
;Lucha Master
;Tsukio Taketsugu
;Reiichi Mishima
;Fukamichi
;Shun Yashiki
;Yuki Minaguchi
;Yoshinori Konishi
;Eternal
Media
Manga
Written and illustrated by Yokusaru Shibata, Air Master was serialized in Hakusensha's manga magazine Young Animal from 1996 to 2006. The chapters were collected in 28 volumes released from July 29, 1997, to May 29, 2006.Anime
A 27-episode anime television series adaptation, produced by Nippon Television, VAP and Toei Animation, was broadcast on Nippon TV from April 2 to October 1, 2003. The series was directed by Daisuke Nishio, with Michiko Yokote handling series composition, Yoshihiko Umakoshi designing the characters and Yoshihisa Hirano composing the music. The opening theme is "Retsu no Matataki", performed by Japaharinet, and the ending theme is "Rolling1000toon", performed by Maximum the Hormone. VAP collected its episodes onto nine DVDs, released from July 24, 2003, and March 24, 2004; each DVD contained three episodes and a bonus yonkoma by manga author Yokusaru Shibata.In 2004, Geneon Entertainment signed an agreement with Toei to distribute the series in North America. It was also announced that the series would air on the Canadian cable channel Razer, though it never earned a timeslot and was cancelled before broadcast. Ultimately only three DVDs of the series were released in North America, with the fourth and fifth being solicited but cancelled due to an abrupt termination of partnership between the two companies. The DVDs for the series, along with two other Toei titles, received very little advertising and suffered from poor quality, resulting in dismal sales and a large number of returns to Geneon. In 2009, Funimation gained the rights to Air Master and began streaming it on the company's official website, and on Crunchyroll; it was also streamed on Joost.