Her Blue Sky
Synopsis. In Chichibu, third-year high school student Akane Aioi is dating Shinnosuke Kanamuro (nicknamed Shinno), an aspiring guitarist. Shinno is also friendly with Akane's preschooler sister Aoi, and in turn the sisters support Shinno's band. Akane and Shinno plan to move to Tokyo after graduation, where Shinno will pursue a career in music. However, the girls' parents are killed in a car accident and Akane changes her plans, choosing to stay in Chichibu to raise Aoi. Thirteen years later, Aoi is an aspiring bassist who plans to move to Tokyo after high school, while  Akane works for the city hall. Masamichi Nakamura (nicknamed Michinko), the drummer of Shinno's former band, also works for the city hall. Michinko is planning to hold a music festival to boost the city's tourism, and the main performer is the famous "enka" singer Dankichi Nitobe. One afternoon, while practicing bass alone in the hall, Aoi encounters Shinno from thirteen years ago. Frightened, she runs home to Akane and awkwardly asks her about Shinno. Akane admits that she hasn't heard from Shinno since he left, and is not even sure if he is still alive. This leads  Aoi to believe she had seen Shinno's ghost. Later, the sisters reluctantly help Michinko in welcoming Dankichi Nitobe, and they are surprised to see a grown Shinnosuke as the guitarist of Nitobe's backup band. Aoi then returns to the hall with her friend Tsugu (Michinko's son), where they confirm that the young Shinno has a physical body but is unable to leave the hall. Tsugu hypothesizes that Shinno is an "ikiryō" (living ghost) born from Shinnosuke's strong unresolved feelings. Shinno then asks Aoi to help bring Akane and Shinnosuke together, believing that doing so will return  him to Shinnosuke's body. However, this proves to be difficult as Shinnosuke is rude, arrogant, and does not get along with the Aioi sisters—a different person from the Shinno that they once knew. Production. "Her Blue Sky" was announced by the Super Peace Busters creative team on March 21, 2019, consisting of director Tatsuyuki Nagai, screenwriter Mari Okada, and character designer Masayoshi Tanaka. The trio previously collaborated on "Toradora", "", and "The Anthem of the Heart", with the film set in Chichibu, Saitama, Okada's hometown and the setting of the two latter aforementioned anime, focusing on the relationship  between four individuals. The film is animated by CloverWorks, directed by Nagai and written by Okada, with Tanaka serving as character designer and chief animation director. Masaru Yokoyama is composing the film's soundtrack. Aniplex, Fuji TV, Toho and STORY are credited for production. The theme song titled after the film, , as well as the ending theme song are performed by Aimyon. Release. The film was distributed by Toho and it was released in Japan on October 11, 2019 in all Toho Cinemas in Japan. Reception. Box office. "Her Blue Sky" in its opening weekend ranked #4 in the Japanese  box office, earning in 3 days. As of October 28, 2019, the film has grossed a total of (approximately ). The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray in Japan on June 10, 2020. Other media. Two novels and three manga volumes were released. Novels. One of the novels was released in two different forms: The second novel was a spinoff told from the perspectives of other characters in the story: Manga. A three-volume manga series by Yaeko Ninagawa was released between 2019 and 2020 by Kadokawa Corporation after being serialized on their "Comic Newtype" website. Her Blue Sky