Air Gear is a
Japanese Manga written by the mangaka
Oh Great!. (OG! also wrote
Tenjo Tenge.) Currently (as of the time of this posting--newest chapter was released about two hours ago) the series has reached 175 chapters, and OG! is still writing a chapter every week.
The basic premise of the manga is the use of "Air Treks" -- futuristic
roller blades which defy the laws of gravity through the usage of .. well,
creative physics. Street
punks,
nerds,
vixen babes, everyone who's alternative has a pair, turning the game into a sort of underground
cult phenomena.
In the traditional
shonen manga style, the characters continuously gain new powers to let them conquer new baddies throughout the series, but this one stands out due to its high level of
comedy mixed with serious action. And, as is also common in shonen manga, lots and lots of
boobs (which OG! is known for doing quite well).
OG! is best known for his vivid artistry, exciting action, and crazy, complex, "
WTF IS GOING ON" plot lines. The same holds true for Air Gear. There was a twenty-five episode run of an
anime version of Air Gear, which resulted in ruining the line of plot due to taking too many jumps, ignoring characters, lame
voice acting, horrible theme music, and sub-par graphics. It's unknown if they're going to produce anymore, they haven't in over a year.
Of course, the manga revolves around one central character's journey into the world of
Air Trek, Itsuki (Ikki) Minami. Known to most as "Ikki" or "Crow," (due to the fact that a crow LIVES in his hair.. strange..), he quickly surpasses each obstacle that he comes against, while being berated and betrayed by those he looks up to at various points in the manga.
As far as shonen manga is concerned, this is one of the better ones out there. Enough action to keep one entertained, enough plot twists to make up for the fact that the plot is, ultimately, contrived, and enough comedy to make one laugh from time to time.
There are two major
scanlation groups who work on
Air Gear -- Kuu-scans.info and Sorascans.com, if you're interested.