Between the Sky and Sea

Between the Sky and Sea (ソラとウミのアイダ) is a Japanese media franchise created by Oji Hiroi and owned by ForwardWorks, at the time a subsidiary of Sony Interactive Entertainment. It primarily consists of a smartphone game, released for Android and iOS on September 28, 2017. A Microsoft Windows version by DMM was originally announced to be released in Q2 2018,[1] but was ultimately never launched. The game's service ended on May 7, 2019.[2] An anime television series adaptation by TMS Entertainment aired from October 4 to December 20, 2018. Sentai Filmworks have licensed the series.

Characters

  • Haru Soramachi (空町 春)
  • [3]
  • A 17-year-old girl from Tokyo who went to the city of Onomichi to pursue her dream of becoming a space fisherman. She is very fond of her grandmother, who had raised her as her parents had separated when she was young, as well as cute things such as cats.
  • Namino Murakami (村上 波乃)
  • [3]
  • A 17-year-old girl from Onomichi who is the most experienced of the group. She initially dislikes Haru due to Haru failing in her first fishing mission. Her favorite food is pancakes. She is descended from the Murakami Navy, a 16th-century navy of seafaring pirates who were active in the Seto Inland Sea.
  • Ruby Azumi (ルビー・安曇)
  • [3]
  • A 16-year-old Japanese-American kikokushijo girl from California who joins the group after saving them when a training session went wrong. She calls herself a "spy" and came to Japan in order to find out about Japan's space fishing technology.
  • Maiko Sakura (櫻 舞湖)
  • [3]
  • A 17-year-old girl from Akita Prefecture who has a shy personality. It is revealed that she decided to become a space fisherman in order to find information on her older brother, who had disappeared in a fishing expedition years before. She is also initially afraid of water due to an incident during her childhood, but later overcomes this fear.
  • Makiko Maki (薪 真紀子)
  • [3]
  • A 17-year-old girl from Kumamoto Prefecture who joined the group at the same time as Haru. She is fond of outdoor activities such as cycling. She also used to date older men as a result of her father, who works in the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, frequently being away from home. It is later revealed that her father had covered up the disappearance of Maiko's brother during the first space fishing expedition.
  • Makoto Mitsurugi (美剣 真)
  • [3]
  • A 16-year-old girl from Kyoto who is descended from a line of swordsmiths. She decided to become a space fisherman despite having a fear of water because she wanted to prove her abilities to her family.

Media

Manga

A manga adaptation was serialized by ASCII Media Works in their Dengeki Daioh magazine between September 2017 and November 2018. The series was compiled into two tankōbon volumes.[4]

Anime

An anime television series adaptation was announced on July 25, 2017.[7] Atsushi Nigorikawa directed the anime at TMS Entertainment, and Takashi Yamada is in charge of series composition. Shūhei Yamamoto drawn the character designs.[3] The series aired from October 4 to December 20, 2018, on Tokyo MX and other channels.[8] The opening theme is "Sora to Umi no Aida" (ソラとウミのアイダ) by Karin Takahashi, Honoka Inoue, and Momoko Suzuki under their character names, and the ending theme is "Ao no Kanata" (蒼の彼方) by Konomi Suzuki.[9][10][11] The series ran for 12 episodes.[12] Crunchyroll streamed the series,[13] while Sentai Filmworks have licensed the series.[14]

References

  1. Sora to Umi no Aida for smartphones launches September 28 in Japan Gematsu, September 25, 2017, retrieved December 31, 2017^
  2. Between the Sky and Sea Game App Ends Service in May Anime News Network, February 7, 2019, retrieved February 17, 2019^
  3. Sora to Umi no Aida Anime's Staff, Cast, October Premiere Revealed Anime News Network, March 26, 2018, retrieved March 26, 2018^
  4. Between the Sky and Sea Manga Ends Anime News Network, November 25, 2018, retrieved December 2, 2018^
  5. ソラとウミのアイダ (1) Kodansha, Kadokawa Corporation, retrieved December 12, 2018^
  6. ソラとウミのアイダ (2) Kodansha, Kadokawa Corporation, retrieved December 12, 2018^
  7. ForwardWorks' Sora to Umi no Aida Smartphone Game Gets Anime in 2018 Anime News Network, July 25, 2017, retrieved December 31, 2017^
  8. Sora to Umi no Aida TV Anime's 2nd Promo Video Reveals October 3 Premiere Anime News Network, September 10, 2018, retrieved September 10, 2018^
  9. Sora to Umi no Aida Anime Reveals Theme Song Artists, New Visual Anime News Network, August 2, 2018, retrieved August 9, 2018^
  10. ソラウミアニメ オープニングテーマはこの曲 Twitter, August 1, 2018, retrieved August 2, 2018^
  11. ソラウミアニメ エンディング曲決定! Twitter, August 1, 2018, retrieved August 1, 2018^
  12. Sora to Umi no Aida Anime Listed With 12 Episodes Anime News Network, October 1, 2018, retrieved October 1, 2018^
  13. Crunchyroll Streams Between the Sky and Sea, Run with the Wind Anime News Network, October 2, 2018, retrieved October 2, 2018^
  14. Sentai Filmworks Licenses Between the Sky and Sea Anime Anime News Network, November 14, 2018, retrieved November 14, 2018^
  15. Story retrieved November 28, 2018^
  16. ソラとウミのアイダ Tokyo MX, retrieved October 31, 2018^