Mai Agare! (2022)

A beautiful journey between dreams and reality.

I had no expectations when I watched this asadora because I read some bad reviews and saw the low ratings when it was still airing. BUT, I surprisingly really liked Mai Agare. I cried with a big smile on my face when I watched the last episode, the ending was really satisfying for me ♡

Honestly, some asadoras are like a chore to complete, but for me Mai Agare was very light and easy to watch. of course there were times when I didn't like the heroine's decisions, but when I followed her journey until the end, I could see the point of the story why it was made that way.

WHAT I DON’T LIKE:
1. the first half and second half are like different stories, too different. it's a shame because the scene where the heroine learns to become a pilot is very well made, but it just stopped in the second half. I’m sure there will be many viewers who will drop this asadora here, but luckily all the differences will be one complete story when you watch this until the last episode.
2. seems like they ran out of funds in the second half because it was maximized in the flight scenes. they used the same place continuously and it really felt like in a studio. however, Mai Agare is still much better than Hiyokko in this regard.
3. like other asadoras, they will bring up a little more problems in the last 20 episodes, but fortunately it is finished well.
4. the bond between family relationships is quite good, but it still feels like there is a wall between them.

WHAT I LIKE:
1. although the heroine has some flaws in her character, I quite like her because she is always considerate about other people’s feelings, values teamwork highly, she is always able to see the good in people and passionate about whatever she does.
2. her family relationships. not the best, but I like how all her family members are willing to learn to help. although theres love-hate relationship with heroine's older brother, everything ends well.
3. her father is a hard worker and really loves his family, this is one of things that is quite rare in other asadora.
4. i really like when the heroine is learning to be a pilot at aviation school. the scenes here changed my perspective on pilots and the world of aviation.
5. i like the relationship between the heroine and the instructor during aviation school. how the instructor is shown as a tough character, turns out to be warm and well-intentioned.
6. teamwork! especially when the heroine is in the college club and aviation school. i really like the friendship between the female lead and her friends.
7. hero. yes, he has flaws and seems gloomy, but he is one of the best heroes. the thing I like the most because he is always gentle to the heroine.
8. the relationship between heroine and hero. i like how their relationship is two-way, discussing with each other every time they make a decision, compromising with each other's work, working together to take care of their daughter, and trying to always make time for each other while still giving space for themselves.
9. glad in the last few episodes the heroine begins to explore her initial dream, which is in the world of aviation. I like how she begins to explore again not as a cure for regret, but as an addition to the various chosen dreams that she has done and perfects them all.
10. i like how this story ends! for me Mai Agare is an asadora that ended very beautifully. I am really satisfied with the ending. the thing I’m most happy about is that all of the heroine's friends came to witness how the heroine fulfills her dream. the final scene is so beautiful and heartwarming.

Overall, even though this asadora has some bad reviews, i would still recommend you to watch Mai Agare! i remind you, if you want to be satisfied watching this, you have to watch it until the very last episode! the last 3 episodes are like keys that must be used to unlock in order to perfect the heroine's journey. I hope my review can help a little, happy watching!

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"...until the skies clear."

"Mai Agare" is the 23rd asadora I've completed. Like a lot of people, the negative comments about this asadora made me hesitate to watch it. I don't think the comments are unwarranted. "Mai Agare" actually really reminds me of "Mare" and "Hanbun, Aoi," which both have similar storylines (and caused me frustration at times). However, both of these asadoras are beloved in this community so I think "Mai Agare" should also be given some slack. Major spoilers follow!

The first two weeks of "Mai Agare" featuring the childhood of our heroine, Mai, are hands down my favorite part. I really loved the child actress who played Mai and I was very happy that they brought her back briefly to play Mai's daughter in the final episode. The first half of the asadora I think is very strong. It shows Mai developing a passion for airplanes and then deciding to go to flight school. It starts to go down for me when Mai decides to help her family's factory instead of becoming a pilot. I personally wasn't particularly fascinated with the 'look how screws are made' thing at first, though I started to like the factory part later on. Thankfully, the plot starts to pick up when Mai and her second love interest, Takashi (Akaso Eiji), get together. From there, I really liked the asadora again. Mai discovers her real passion and even gets to complete her original dream.

I saw some comments about people not liking the actress, Fukuhara Haruka, who played Mai. Of course, that's their opinion. But I personally really liked Fukuhara as Mai. She played a bright, almost too positive character perfectly. Anytime she was slightly annoying was really the plot's fault not hers (lol). I also just really liked Mai's personality, which made me want to continue watching even when I was getting frustrated.

Sadly, the side characters don't really stick out for me besides Mai's family and some of her friends, particularly childhood friend Kurumi (Yamashita Mizuki). I wasn't fan of her brother's, Haruto (Yokoyama Yu), "arc." I did really like Mai's flight school friends, Rinko (Yamazaki Hirona) and Kashiwagi (Meguro Ren). The latter being her first boyfriend as well. However, once flight school is over, you maybe see them a handful of times. I think this is another big problem of "Mai Agare." Only Mai herself, Kurumi, and Takashi (and to a certain extent her family) have satisfying arcs. No one else really does, which is a shame. I will say that my favorite character is definitely Mai's grandmother Shoko (Takahata Atsuko). I love her so much.

In conclusion, "Mai Agare" is not a masterpiece asadora but I still enjoyed it. It had a solid first half. I'm sure everyone who watches it will love the flight school part in particular. And it has a very solid, full-circle ending, which made me cry. Though some parts were frustrating, I realized that "Mai Agare" never got away from its theme of taking flight. I even ended up liking the secondary focuses on small-town factories and Takashi's tanka poems. (Honestly, the poems were so pretty). I'm really happy I completed this asadora after all and it helped me through a difficult loss in my life.

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