# Ao no Orchestra

Ao no Orchestra (Japanese: 青のオーケストラ, Hepburn: Ao no Ōkesutora, lit. "Blue Orchestra") is a Japanese web manga series written and illustrated by Makoto Akui [ja]. It has been serialized in Shogakukan's Ura Sunday [ja] website and MangaONE [ja] app since April 2017. An anime television series adaptation produced by Nippon Animation aired from April to October 2023. A second season is set to premiere in Q4 2025.
By December 2021, Ao no Orchestra had over 3.3 million copies in circulation. In 2023, the manga won the 68th Shogakukan Manga Award for the shōnen category.

## Plot

Hajime Aono, a boy who loved to play his violin and one who used to win many prizes in violin competitions, had greatly admired his father a professional violinist. After a bittersweet divorce of his parents, caused by headlines of his father's scandalous affair, Aono swears to never touch the violin again. In his last year of middle school, Aono comes across an aspiring violinist Ritsko Akine, who loves to play in the infirmary. After meeting a few times, and Aono showing interest in her 'horrible' playing skills, he is set up to teach her by a teacher. This teacher later pushes him to regain his talent by joining the orchestra club at a prestigious high school, which have won national competitions eight years in a row. Once persuaded, Aono and Akine manage to get accepted to this prestigious school after diligently studying. After his opening ceremony into high school where the orchestra club gave a performance, he has a look around the orchestra club along with Akine where he meets Nao Saeki, a violin genius who has achieved the top score in many competitions and was admitted to the school purely on musical talent. From there on, they compete in their violin skills within the orchestra club.

## Characters
### Hajime Aono (青野 一, Aono Hajime)

    Voiced by: Shōya Chiba
    Hajime's violin performances are performed by Ryota Higashi.

### Ritsuko Akine (秋音 律子, Akine Ritsuko)

    Voiced by: Ai Kakuma
    Ritsuko's violin performances are performed by Yurie Yamada.

### Nao Saeki (佐伯 直, Saeki Nao)

    Voiced by: Shimba Tsuchiya
    Nao's violin performances are performed by Takuto Owari.

### Haru Kozakura (小桜 ハル, Kozakura Haru)

    Voiced by: Minako Satō
    Haru's violin performances are performed by Kyoko Ogawa.

### Ichirō Yamada (山田 一郎, Yamada Ichirō)

    Voiced by: Makoto Furukawa
    Ichirō's violin performances are performed by Harumi Sato.

### Shizuka Tachibana (立花 静, Tachibana Shizuka)

    Voiced by: Lynn
    Shizuka's violin performances are performed by Karen Kido.

### Yō Hatori (羽鳥 葉, Hatori Yō)

    Voiced by: Shintarō Asanuma
    Yō's violin performances are performed by Tomotaka Seki.

### Sō Harada (原田 蒼, Harada Sō)

    Voiced by: Junya Enoki
    Sō's violin performances are performed by María Dueñas.

### Ryūjin Aono (青野 龍仁, Aono Ryūjin)

    Voiced by: Ryōtarō Okiayu
    Ryūjin's violin performances are performed by Hilary Hahn.

### Mari Tateishi (立石 真理, Tateishi Mari)

    Voiced by: Konomi Kohara

### Chika Yonezawa (米沢 千佳, Yonezawa Chika)

    Voiced by: Kaori Maeda

### Osamu Shibata (柴田 修, Shibata Osamu)

    Voiced by: Jun Fukushima

### Hajime's mother (青野の母, Aono no Haha)

    Voiced by: Chiwa Saitō

### Takeda-sensei (武田先生)

    Voiced by: Hayato Kaneko

### Hiroaki Ayukawa (鮎川 広明, Ayukawa Hiroaki)

    Voiced by: Daisuke Ono

### Mizuki Machii (町井 美月, Machii Mizuki)

    Voiced by: Chika Anzai

### Tsubasa Takahashi (高橋 翼, Takahashi Tsubasa)

    Voiced by: Ruriko Aoki

### Takami Kimura (木村 隆美, Kimura Takami)

    Voiced by: Hisako Kanemoto

### Himeko Susono (裾野 姫子, Susono Himeko)

    Voiced by: Mai Kanazawa

### Kayo Takimoto (滝本 かよ, Takimoto Kayo)

    Voiced by: Mai Fuchigami

### Sanae Iida (飯田 早苗, Iida Sanae)

    Voiced by: Rumi Okubo

### Tsutomu Kikuchi (菊池 努, Kikuchi Tsutomu)

    Voiced by: Takahiro Mizushima

## Media
### Manga

Written and illustrated by Makoto Akui [ja], Ao no Orchestra started in Shogakukan's MangaONE [ja] app on April 25, 2017; it also started in Shogakukan's Ura Sunday [ja] website a week later on May 2. Shogakukan has collected its chapters into individual tankōbon volumes. The first volume was released on July 19, 2017. As of March 12, 2025, 12 volumes have been released.
Elex Media Komputindo has licensed the manga in Indonesia since 2019.

#### Volumes

| No. | Release date | ISBN |
| 1 | July 19, 2017 | 978-4-09-127744-2 |
| 2 | November 10, 2017 | 978-4-09-128019-0 |
| 3 | May 11, 2018 | 978-4-09-128295-8 |
| 4 | September 12, 2018 | 978-4-09-128517-1 |
| 5 | January 18, 2019 | 978-4-09-128757-1 |
| 6 | August 8, 2019 | 978-4-09-129378-7 |
| 7 | May 12, 2020 | 978-4-09-850113-7 |
| 8 | September 11, 2020 | 978-4-09-850239-4 |
| 9 | April 19, 2021 | 978-4-09-850506-7 |
| 10 | April 19, 2022 | 978-4-09-851078-8 |
| 11 | March 31, 2023 | 978-4-09-851759-6 |
| 12 | March 12, 2025 | 978-4-09-854033-4 |

### Anime

In April 2022, it was announced that the series would receive an anime television series adaptation. The series is produced by Nippon Animation and directed by Seiji Kishi, with scripts written by Yūko Kakihara, character designs handled by Kazuaki Morita, and violinist performances for the character Hajime Aono by Ryota Higashi. It aired from April 9 to October 8, 2023, on NHK Educational TV, with Plus Media Networks Asia handled Southeast Asia release for simulcast premiere on Aniplus Asia. The opening theme is "Cantabile", performed by Novelbright, while the ending theme is "Yūsari no Canon" (夕さりのカノン), performed by Yuika.
After the final episode of the first season, a second season was announced to be in production. The season is set to premiere in Q4 2025 and will consist of 21 episodes.

#### Episodes

| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Storyboarded by | Original release date |
| 1 | "Hajime Aono" Transliteration: "Aono Hajime" (Japanese: 青野ハジメ) | Jinya Ichimura | Yūko Kakihara | Seiji Kishi, Kunpei Maeda, Takahiro Tanaka | April 9, 2023 (2023-4-9) |
| 2 | "Ritsuko Akine" Transliteration: "Akine Ritsuko" (Japanese: 秋音律子) | Kunpei Maeda | Yūko Kakihara | Kunpei Maeda | April 16, 2023 (2023-4-16) |
| 3 | "Umimaku High School Orchestra Club" Transliteration: "Umimaku Kōkō Ōkesutora-bu" (Japanese: 海幕高校オーケストラ部) | Shigeki Awai | Yūko Kakihara | Jun Kamiya | April 23, 2023 (2023-4-23) |
| 4 | "Nao Saeki" Transliteration: "Saeki Nao" (Japanese: 佐伯直) | Masanori Miyata | Yūko Kakihara | Takahiro Tanaka | April 30, 2023 (2023-4-30) |
| 5 | "Sou Harada" Transliteration: "Harada Sō" (Japanese: 原田蒼) | Unknown | Unknown | TBA | May 7, 2023 (2023-5-7) |
| 6 | "Rainy Day" Transliteration: "Ame no Hi" (Japanese: 雨の日) | Unknown | Unknown | TBA | May 14, 2023 (2023-5-14) |
| 7 | "Haru Kozakura" Transliteration: "Kozakura Haru" (Japanese: 小桜ハル) | Unknown | Unknown | TBA | May 21, 2023 (2023-5-21) |
| 8 | "Air on the G String" Transliteration: "G-senjō no Aria" (Japanese: G線上のアリア) | Unknown | Unknown | TBA | May 28, 2023 (2023-5-28) |
| 9 | "Senpai" Transliteration: "Senpai" (Japanese: 先輩) | Unknown | Unknown | TBA | June 4, 2023 (2023-6-4) |
| 10 | "The Novices and the Experienced" Transliteration: "Shoshinsha to Keikensha" (Japanese: 初心者と経験者) | Unknown | Unknown | TBA | June 11, 2023 (2023-6-11) |
| 11 | "The Night Before the Decisive Battle" Transliteration: "Kessen Zenya" (Japanese: 決戦前夜) | Unknown | Unknown | TBA | June 18, 2023 (2023-6-18) |
| 12 | "Audition" Transliteration: "Odishon" (Japanese: オーディション) | Unknown | Unknown | TBA | June 25, 2023 (2023-6-25) |
| 13 | "My Own Timbre" Transliteration: "Jibun no Neiro" (Japanese: 自分の音色) | Unknown | Unknown | TBA | July 2, 2023 (2023-7-2) |
| 14 | "Compromise" Transliteration: "Ayumiyoru" (Japanese: 歩み寄る) | Unknown | Unknown | TBA | July 9, 2023 (2023-7-9) |
| 15 | "True Feelings" Transliteration: "Honne" (Japanese: 本音) | Unknown | Unknown | TBA | July 16, 2023 (2023-7-16) |
| 16 | "Concern" Transliteration: "Shinpai" (Japanese: 心配) | Unknown | Unknown | TBA | July 23, 2023 (2023-7-23) |
| 17 | "Another Truth" Transliteration: "Mō Hitotsu no Honne" (Japanese: もう一つの本音) | Unknown | Unknown | TBA | July 30, 2023 (2023-7-30) |
| 18 | "The Truth" Transliteration: "Shinjitsu" (Japanese: 真実) | Unknown | Unknown | TBA | August 27, 2023 (2023-8-27) |
| 19 | "As Yourself" Transliteration: "Kimi to Shite" (Japanese: 君として) | Unknown | Unknown | TBA | September 3, 2023 (2023-9-3) |
| 20 | "Summer Location" Transliteration: "Natsu no Ibasho" (Japanese: 夏の居場所) | Unknown | Unknown | TBA | September 10, 2023 (2023-9-10) |
| 21 | "Humoresque" Transliteration: "Yūmoresuku" (Japanese: ユーモレスク) | Unknown | Unknown | TBA | September 17, 2023 (2023-9-17) |
| 22 | "Words to Give" Transliteration: "Okuru Kotoba" (Japanese: 贈る言葉) | Unknown | Unknown | TBA | September 24, 2023 (2023-9-24) |
| 23 | "The Regular Concert" Transliteration: "Teiki Ensōkai" (Japanese: 定期演奏会) | Unknown | Unknown | TBA | October 1, 2023 (2023-10-1) |
| 24 | "From the New World" Transliteration: "Shin Sekai Yori" (Japanese: 新世界より) | Unknown | Unknown | TBA | October 8, 2023 (2023-10-8) |

### Other media

A promotional video featuring Star Wars musical theme "The Imperial March", composed by John Williams, and including illustrations from the manga, was uploaded by Deutsche Grammophon's YouTube channel on May 4, 2022, to celebrate Star Wars Day and Williams' 90th birthday.

## Reception

By December 2021, the manga had over 3.3 million copies in circulation. In 2023, Ao no Orchestra won the 68th Shogakukan Manga Award in the shōnen category, along with Call of the Night.