The Air Master Anime was Awesome!

In the early oughts, I was on a mission to watch all the martial arts #anime I could find, and believe me, that was a lot harder in the early 2000s than it is now. The discoveries I really enjoyed were titles like “Fist of the North Star”, “Shadow Skill”, and the OG “Baki The Grappler” that fortunately debuted before 3D slop infected anime like the bubonic plague. Overall though, there is one anime that stuck in my memory because of its wacky humor, it’s zany atypical characters, and even some deep moments that truly spoke to me. This anime is dubbed “Air Master”, and it is probably one of my favorite anime. I watch it at least once a year.

#Airmaster is a series created by Yokusaru Shibata known recently for “Tojima Wants to Be a Kamen Rider” fame.

The main character of the anime, Maki Aikawa, is a 6-foot-tall, redhead high school student who radiates what young people today call “aura.” A former gymnast, Maki stumbled into street-fighting as the closest thing to re-create the sensation she felt when she practiced gymnastics. After transferring to Tomato High School, Maki meets a group of girls who quickly become her friends. The story follows their adventures with Maki as she uses the amazing body her parents gave her to cut down Tokyo’s street fighters one by one in an attempt to capture that feeling of intense pressure.

The comedy in the show truly aligned with my sense of humor, and the opening theme song was an energetic roller-coaster that always got me amped for the next episode. Dare I say, it’s the best Anime opening theme ever? Much of the action in the show was well animated and quite different to most of what I was seeing at the time.

Air Master is not a perfect series by far. The quality of animation for the fight scenes dips near the middle of the show but does pick back up in the last episode, and some of the side stories I could have done without. All that being said, I think its flaws sort of gives it an endearing quality. I don’t know the story behind the production of the Anime, but, to me, it comes off as more of a labor of love compared to todays high-budget and highly polished anime. There is something about the effort put forth with limited resources that I can admire, especially if a jewel is the creation, however flawed it may be. There is something about its ugliness that I find beautiful, and I always have a blast watching it. Maki, in particular, is such an interesting character, and If I had to describe her, I’d say she’s a mix between #Goku, #GymKata, and #ChunLi

Not long ago, I started reading the Air Master Manga, but I can’t find the English translations beyond volume 5. :( Even from what I've read thus far, there is much more that happens that the Anime had to condense down into 27 episodes. I’d like to know how the complete story plays out, but unfortunately I’ll have to figure out a way to translate the other volumes myself. If anyone knows where I and find the Manga completely translated, let me know and I will be eternally grateful.

My Air Master Fan Fiction Concept

I always wondered what a sequel to Air Master would be like. What becomes of Maki and her friends after high-school? That notion inspired me to sketch an older Maki. Below is the statuesque Air Master aged up to 23 years, about 8 years after the original series.

In my fan fiction concept, the events leading up to the actual story have Maki graduating with low test scores. This is due to all her street-fighting that causes her to miss class and also because of her inability to concentrate while studying. This is actually explored a bit in the manga, and I thought it was pretty funny but also quite cute.

This is why she reminds me of Goku, for we all know the leader of the Z-Fighters isn’t exactly known for his scholarship. Though, when it comes to bodily-kinesthetics and fighting, he’s a genius. Both Goku and Maki have what they call, body-smarts. Maki even has a Vegeta like rival, the great Sakiyama Kaoriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!

Anyhoo, in my fan-fic, after Maki graduates high school, she ends up working construction for about six months with Tsukio Taketsugu, a former street-fighting rival whom she and the others befriend. Given her low test schores, athletic body, and physical strength, her advisor recommends the construction career field, and Taketsugu gladly hooks her up.

Tokyo’s authorities have cracked down on street fighting, and all of Maki’s friends have moved on to different universities across Japan. She feels her life lacks purpose and succumbs to what she, in the show, refers to as “brain rot” as she goes about her daily grind. She often wonders if her life peaked in high school — until one day, a mysterious old man attacks her while she’s working her construction job. They have a brief fight in which the nimble old man proves to be quite adept at countering her moves using a strange form of martial arts he calls Typhoon Fury. From their encounter, Maki infers that the old man’s strength is nearly on par with the Eternal she fights at the end of the show. In fact, she realizes that the only thing that makes him slightly weaker is his advanced age. She’s both intrigued and riled up as she imagines how powerful he must have been in his prime.

After the old man tests Maki’s abilities, he explains that he has seen her recorded fights from the Fukamichi Rankings and is impressed by her remarkable natural talent. In fact, he says she’s become something of a celebrity in the underground fighting scene. The old man is most impressed by her creation of her own fighting style, developed through natural instinct and unique physical characteristics, which he describes as the height of martial arts — that is, true self-expression. He offers her the opportunity to train at his elite martial arts school, located on secret islands in the former Ryukyu Kingdom. He only accepts students who possess unique qualities and skills that can contribute to the martial arts world. If she accepts, she will join several other powerful martial artists — some even stronger than her, and perhaps even himself. Without hesitation, Maki jumps at the chance.

The new series begins eight years later, with Maki returning to Tokyo in the dead of winter, dressed as she is in the sketch below and seemingly unaffected by the cold.

She travels to the house of her friend, Yu, who is totally shocked when she opens the door and sees her old chum towering over her with a gentle smile.

Why has she returned? Where has she been? And what new adventure awaits Maki, the Air Master? Much of what happened on the islands will be revealed through flashbacks that help explain Maki’s new motivation to fight. I’m toying with title ideas for the fanfic — it’s either going to be called Air Master: World Tour or Air Master: Typhoon Destiny. I’m leaning toward the latter, because even though the plot will follow Maki as she travels the world competing in a global underground martial arts tournament, the story will ultimately focus on forging one’s own destiny and finding meaning in life as an adult after high school.

Anyhoo, I’ve been inking the sketch I made. I’m experimenting with a thinner ink line so the colors really pop once I lay them down. When I’m done, I’ll upload it to my deviant art gallery https://www.deviantart.com/g-flux.

Let me know if any of you would be interested in reading the fanfic! I don’t know if I’ll have time to illustrate the entire story, but I can definitely write it and illustrate key scenes and characters. I’ve even been thinking about turning it into a visual novel.

Thanks for reading and joining me on my journey down memory lane with Air Master. If you’re a fan of the show or manga, let me know who your favorite character is in the comments! Obviously, my favorite character is Maki, but if I had to choose someone other than her, I’d pick Renge-chan. Her voice in the anime is super annoying, but she can be pretty funny at times — especially with her hilarious form of martial arts.

:D

UPADATE 11/15/2025

I laid down some colors and inks on the sketch I did. I also did some title art for the Fan Fic. I’m really thinking about doing a visual novel based on my Fan Fic idea.