Manga creator Abi Umeda drafts story for OVAs shipping with Blu-ray boxes

The official website for the television anime of Abi Umeda's Children of the Whales (Kujira no Kora wa Sajō ni Utau) manga announced the anime's Blu-ray and DVD box releases on Tuesday. There will be two boxes in each media format, and each box will have six television episodes and a new original video anime. Umeda personally drafted the story concepts for the original video anime bonuses. The boxes will ship on January 26 and March 23 of next year.

Each box will also have an exclusive manga drawn by Umeda, a bonus CD, an exclusive booklet, audio commentary, and jacket covers with outer box, both illustrated by character designer Haruko Iizuka. The first box also has footage of the original dialogue recording, while the second box will have a music video for the theme song and its making-of video, clean opening and ending animation footage, and a collection of commercials and promotional videos.

The Animate store chain will offer each box with an A4-size art board, while Amazon.co.jp will offer a B2-size cloth poster. Participating Bunkyōdō and Animega stores will offer an A4-size acryllic art board.

The manga's story takes place in a world covered in sand. A boy named Chakuro lives on the giant vessel Mud Whale that drifts over the sea of sand. Chakuro and his friends have never seen anyone from the outside world, and they spend their days yearning to explore and learn about it. One day, a ruined ship suddenly drifts ashore, and Chakura meets a girl inside.

The anime will premiere on October 8 on Tokyo MX, KBS Kyoto, Sun TV, and on Netflix Japan. It will premiere on October 10 on BS11. Netflix will premiere the anime outside of Japan in 2018. Tokyo's Shinjuku Wald 9 theater will host a preview screening on September 22 with the three main voice cast members.

The cast includes:

Natsuki Hanae as Chakuro Manaka Iwami as Rikosu Yuichiro Umehara as Ōni Nobunaga Shimazaki as Suō Mikako Komatsu as Ginshu Daiki Yamashita as Ryodari Hiroshi Kamiya as Shuan

Kyōhei Ishiguro (Your Lie in April, Lance N' Masques, Occultic;Nine) is directing the anime at J.C. Staff, and Michiko Yokote (Shirobako, ReLIFE) is in charge of the series scripts. Haruko Iizuka (Umi Monogatari, Little Busters!, School-Live!) is designing the characters. Toshiharu Mizutani (Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Yuri!!! on Ice, Summer Wars) is the art director at Moon Flower. Hiroaki Tsutsumi (Kuromukuro, Orange, Blue Spring Ride) is composing the music. Miyuki Ishida (Gatchaman Crowds) is the color key artist. REAL-T's Masahiro Goto (Urara Meirochō) is the editor, and Yoshio Ookouchi (Taboo Tattoo) is the director of photography. Jin Aketagawa (Re:CREATORS) is the sound director.

Umeda launched the series in Akita Shoten's Monthly Mystery Bonita magazine in 2013 as her second shōjo manga. Akita Shoten released the ninth compiled book volume on March 16. Viz Media licensed the manga, and will begin releasing it in November. The series inspired a stage play adaptation that ran at AiiA 2.5 Theater Tokyo in April 2016, and it will get a new run in January 2018.

[Via Ota-suke]