Children of the Whales (Japanese: クジラの子らは砂上に歌う, Hepburn: Kujira no Kora wa Sajō ni Utau, lit. "Whale Calves Sing on the Sand") is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Abi Umeda. The manga is licensed in North America by Viz Media. An anime television series adaptation produced by J.C. Staff aired in Japan from October to December 2017, and was released globally on Netflix in March 2018.
Children of the Whales | |
クジラの子らは砂上に歌う (Kujira no Kora wa Sajō ni Utau) | |
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Genre | |
Manga | |
Written by | Abi Umeda |
Published by | Akita Shoten |
English publisher | |
Magazine | Monthly Mystery Bonita |
Demographic | Shōjo |
Original run | June 6, 2013 – January 6, 2023 |
Volumes | 23 |
Anime television series | |
Directed by | Kyōhei Ishiguro |
Produced by |
|
Written by | Michiko Yokote Kyōhei Ishiguro |
Music by | Hiroaki Tsutsumi |
Studio | J.C.Staff |
Licensed by | Netflix (streaming) |
Original network | Tokyo MX, SUN, KBS, BS11 |
Original run | October 8, 2017 – December 24, 2017 |
Episodes | 12 |
Manga | |
Kujira no Kora wa Sajō ni Manabu! | |
Written by | Abi Umeda |
Published by | Akita Shoten |
Magazine | Monthly Mystery Bonita |
Demographic | Shojo |
Original run | April 2018 – June 2021 |
The story focuses on a boy called Chakuro, who lives on a giant vessel called a Mud Whale that drifts over the sea of sand. In the Mud Whale, society is divided into two kinds of people: the Marked, who can move objects with their minds using a strange power called "thymia", at the expense of shortened lifespans, and the Unmarked, people who lack thymia but enjoy longer lifespans. Chakuro and his friends have never seen anyone from the outside world, and they spend their days yearning to explore and learn about it. In year 93 of the vessel's exile, the Mud Whale encounters a lonely island and Chakuro finds a girl inside, starting an adventure that changes the lives of everyone.
Abi Umeda launched the series in the July 2013 issue of Akita Shoten's shojo manga magazine Monthly Mystery Bonita on June 6, 2013.[4][5] The series has been collected into 23 volumes as of March 2023.[6] The series ended serialization on January 6, 2023.[7] Viz Media announced during their panel at Anime Boston 2017 that they have licensed the manga.[8]
A comedy spin-off manga series was serialized in Monthly Mystery Bonita magazine from April 2018 to June 5, 2021.[9]
No. | Original release date | Original ISBN | English release date | English ISBN |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | December 16, 2013[10] | 978-4-253-26101-2 | November 21, 2017[11] | 978-1-4215-9721-8 |
2 | April 16, 2014[12] | 978-4-253-26102-9 | January 16, 2018[13] | 978-1-4215-9722-5 |
3 | September 16, 2014[14] | 978-4-253-26103-6 | March 20, 2018[15] | 978-1-4215-9723-2 |
4 | February 16, 2015[16] | 978-4-253-26104-3 | May 15, 2018[17] | 978-1-4215-9724-9 |
5 | July 16, 2015[18] | 978-4-253-26105-0 | July 17, 2018[19] | 978-1-4215-9725-6 |
6 | December 16, 2015[20] | 978-4-253-26106-7 | September 18, 2018[21] | 978-1-4215-9727-0 |
7 | April 15, 2016[22] | 978-4-253-26107-4 | November 20, 2018[23] | 978-1-4215-9728-7 |
8 | October 14, 2016[24] | 978-4-253-26108-1 | January 15, 2019[25] | 978-1-4215-9729-4 |
9 | March 16, 2017[26] | 978-4-253-26379-5 | March 19, 2019[27] | 978-1-4215-9730-0 |
10 | September 15, 2017[28] | 978-4-253-26380-1 | May 21, 2019[29] | 978-1-9747-0369-2 |
11 | January 16, 2018[30] | 978-4-253-26381-8 | July 16, 2019[31] | 978-1-9747-0370-8 |
12 | June 14, 2018[32] | 978-4-253-26382-5 | September 17, 2019[33] | 978-1-9747-0705-8 |
13 | October 16, 2018[34] | 978-4-253-26383-2 | November 19, 2019[35] | 978-1-9747-0883-3 |
14 | March 14, 2019[36] | 978-4-253-26384-9 | January 21, 2020[37] | 978-1-9747-1079-9 |
15 | August 19, 2019[38] | 978-4-253-26385-6 | July 21, 2020[39] | 978-1-9747-1486-5 |
16 | March 16, 2020[40] | 978-4-253-26386-3 | January 19, 2021[41] | 978-1-9747-1983-9 |
17 | June 16, 2020[42] | 978-4-253-26387-0 | July 20, 2021[43] | 978-1-9747-2111-5 |
18 | November 16, 2020[44] | 978-4-253-26388-7 | November 16, 2021[45] | 978-1-9747-2459-8 |
19 | April 16, 2021[46] | 978-4-253-26389-4 | March 15, 2022[47] | 978-1-9747-2852-7 |
20 | September 16, 2021[48] | 978-4-253-26390-0 | October 18, 2022[49] | 978-1-9747-3246-3 |
21 | February 16, 2022[50] | 978-4-253-26391-7 | March 21, 2023[51] | 978-1-9747-3610-2 |
22 | August 16, 2022[52] | 978-4-253-26392-4 | August 15, 2023[53] | 978-1-9747-3886-1 |
23 | March 16, 2023[54] | 978-4-253-26393-1 | February 20, 2024[55] | 978-1-9747-4359-9 |
An anime adaptation of the series was announced in the February 2017 issue of Mystery Bonita on January 6, 2017.[5][56] The anime adaptation, which was later confirmed to be a television series, is directed by Kyōhei Ishiguro and written by Michiko Yokote, with animation by J.C.Staff, character designs by Haruko Iizuka and music by Hiroaki Tsutsumi. It aired from October 8[57][58] to December 24, 2017, on Tokyo MX and other channels. It ran for 12 episodes and will have two OVA.[59] It was released globally by Netflix in March 2018.[60] The opening theme song "Sono Saki e" (その未来へ) is performed by singer-songwriter RIRIKO, while the ending theme song "Hashitairo" (ハシタイロ) is performed by rionos.[58]
No. | Title[a] | Original air date |
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1 | "It was Our Entire World" Transliteration: "Watashitachi no daiji na sekai no subete datta" (Japanese: 私たちの大事な世界の全てだった) | October 8, 2017 |
2 | "Sinners of Falaina" Transliteration: "Kujira (Farena) no tsumibitotachi" (Japanese: 鯨の罪人たち) | October 15, 2017 |
3 | "I've Had Enough Of This World" Transliteration: "Konna sekai wa, mō dō demo ii" (Japanese: こんな世界は、もうどうでもいい) | October 22, 2017 |
4 | "Let's Suicide In The Sand With The Mud Whale" Transliteration: "Dorokujira to tomo ni suna ni mesareru no da yo" (Japanese: 泥クジラと共に砂に召されるのだよ) | October 29, 2017 |
5 | "I Don't Want to Run" Transliteration: "Nigeru no wa iyada" (Japanese: 逃げるのはイヤだ) | November 5, 2017 |
6 | "Tomorrow, I Might End Up Having To Kill Someone" Transliteration: "Ashita, hito o koroshi te shimau kamo shire nai" (Japanese: 明日、人を殺してしまうかもしれない) | November 12, 2017 |
7 | "I Want To See Your Future" Transliteration: "Omae tachi no mirai ga mitai" (Japanese: お前たちの未来が見たい) | November 19, 2017 |
8 | "Disappear From This World" Transliteration: "Konoyo kara kie te shimae" (Japanese: この世から消えてしまえ) | November 26, 2017 |
9 | "I Want To See Where Your Choice Leads" Transliteration: "Kimi no sentaku no, sono saki ga mitai" (Japanese: 君の選択の、その先が見たい) | December 3, 2017 |
10 | "I'm Setting Off On A New Journey" Transliteration: "Atarashī tabi ni deruwa" (Japanese: 新しい旅に出るわ) | December 10, 2017 |
11 | "It's Just A Dream" Transliteration: "Yume no Hanashi da" (Japanese: 夢の話だ) | December 17, 2017 |
12 | "I'm Glad I Was Born Here" Transliteration: "Koko ni umarete yokatta" (Japanese: ここに生まれてよかった) | December 24, 2017 |