Air Gear

Itsuki Minami is a hotheaded schoolkid who lives for street fights with his buddies Kazuma Mikura and Onigiri. One day he stumbles on a pair of Air Trecks, unique motorized inline skates, and everything shifts. The skates open up a subculture of high-flying races, team rivalries, and extreme stunts. Itsuki's reckless confidence turns into an appetite for aerial dominance, and he dives into chaotic competitions, learning tricks, building alliances, and testing limits. The show keeps the tone light and often funny while delivering fast action, youthful rivalry, and the thrill of speed without revealing later plot twists or endings.

First broadcast in 2006, Air Gear adapts the manga by Oh! great into an animated TV series, translating the source's exaggerated character design and kinetic sequences into television form and preserving the creator's distinctive stylistic flair.

The series didn't collect major mainstream awards. Still, reviewers and fans often praised its visual inventiveness, kinetic action choreography, and the voice work by Kenta Kamakari and Mariya Ise. Those elements helped Air Gear sustain a devoted international audience, even without a big awards presence.

Air Gear left a clear mark on niche anime culture in the mid 2000s. Its flashy costumes, stylized skating moves, and skyline battles inspired fan art, cosplay, and online discussion. For viewers who liked extreme-sports aesthetics, the show became a frequent reference point and a source of creative fan activity.

On user-driven rating sites Air Gear averages about 7.15/10 from 54 votes, signaling mixed to generally positive reactions. Fans praise its themes of youth, freedom, competition, and camaraderie, plus the show’s focus on teamwork and personal style. Critics sometimes point to uneven plotting, but most agree the action sequences and energetic tone are the series' main attractions.