Sound of the Sky

Sound of the Sky (ソ・ラ・ノ・ヲ・ト, Sora no Woto) is a Japanese anime television series produced by A-1 Pictures and Aniplex and directed by Mamoru Kanbe. The 12-episode anime aired in Japan on the TV Tokyo television network between January 4, 2010 and March 22, 2010. The anime was also simulcast on Crunchyroll. Sound of the Sky was the debut project of Anime no Chikara. A manga adaptation illustrated by Yagi Shinba began serialization in the January 2010 issue of ASCII Media Works' Dengeki Daioh magazine. A visual novel developed by Compile Heart was released on the PlayStation Portable in May 2010.
Sound of the Sky revolves around a young girl named Kanata Sorami who is inspired to join the military after witnessing a rendition of "Amazing Grace" by a mysterious trumpeter of the Helvetian Army. Becoming a bugler, she is assigned to the 1121st Platoon stationed in the town of Seize (inspired by Cuenca, Spain) in Helvetia (another name for Switzerland), where she is taken into the care of 2nd Lt. Filicia Heideman, M/Sgt. Rio Kazumiya and the rest of the 1121st Platoon. The story takes place in a post-apocalyptic world after a great war regressed humanity's technological capabilities back to early-to-mid 20th century standards.
Before the anime's release, a manga adaptation illustrated by Yagi Shinba was serialized between the January 2010 and June 2011 issues of ASCII Media Works' Dengeki Daioh magazine. The story is written by Paradores who provided the original concept for Sound of the Sky. Two tankōbon volumes were released.
Sound of the Sky is the debut project of Anime no Chikara, a joint project of TV Tokyo's anime department and Aniplex aiming to assemble creators to develop original anime television series. The anime aired in Japan on TV Tokyo between January 5 and March 22, 2010, and it was also simulcast on Crunchyroll. The anime is produced by Aniplex, with animation produced handled by A-1 Pictures, and directed by Mamoru Kanbe. The screenplay is written by Hiroyuki Yoshino who based the story on Paradores' original concept. Character design is provided by Toshifumi Akai who based the designs on Mel Kishida's original concept. Music direction is led by Michiru Ōshima. The first BD/DVD compilation volume containing the first two episodes was released in Japan on March 24, 2010, distributed by Aniplex. Two original video animation episodes were released on the fourth and seventh BD/DVD volumes that were released in Japan on June 23 and September 22, 2010, respectively. At Anime Expo 2010, anime distributor Nozomi Entertainment had announced that they have licensed the series. They released the series in a series box set on July 5, 2011. At AmeCon 2010, European anime distributor Beez Entertainment announced that they have the distribution rights to the series.
Two pieces of theme music are used for the series: one opening theme and one ending theme. The opening theme is "Hikari no Senritsu" (光の旋律, lit. "Melody of Light") by Kalafina and the single was released on January 20, 2010 by Sony Music. The ending theme is "Girls, Be Ambitious." by Haruka Tomatsu and the single was released on January 27, 2010 by Music Ray'n. The anime's original soundtrack was released on March 24, 2010 by Aniplex.
A musical visual novel based on the anime titled Sound of the Sky: Maiden Quintet (ソ・ラ・ノ・ヲ・ト 乙女ノ五重奏, So Ra No Wo To Otome no Kuintetto) developed by Compile Heart for the PlayStation Portable was released in limited and regular editions on May 27, 2010. It introduces an original character, Kyrie Kuon (九音 綺莉重, Kuon Kirie) (voiced by Marina Inoue).