The Sky Crawlers

The Sky Crawlers

The cover of The Sky Crawlers novel.
スカイ·クロラ
(Sukai Kurora)
Genre Drama, Philosophy
Novel series
Written by Hiroshi Mori
Illustrated by Kenji Tsuruta
Published by Chuōkōron-shinsha
Original run June 2001 – 2008
Anime film
Directed by Mamoru Oshii
Produced by Tomohiko Ishii
Written by Chihiro Itō
Music by Kenji Kawai
Studio Production I.G
Licensed by
Released August 2, 2008
Runtime 121 minutes
Game
The Sky Crawlers: Innocent Aces
Developer Namco (Project ACES)
Publisher Namco Bandai Games
Genre Flight simulator
Platform Wii
Released October 16, 2008

The Sky Crawlers (スカイ·クロラ, Sukai Kurora) is a Japanese novel series by Hiroshi Mori. First published by Chuōkōron-shinsha in June 2001 and spanning five books, it follows the journeys and tribulations of a group of young fighter pilots involved in dogfight warfare, and is set during an alternate historical period. The series is unlike other works by Mori, noted for his series of mystery novels. The art for the series is illustrated by manga artist Kenji Tsuruta. The series was adapted into an animated film, a video game and a manga series. While the film and game are available in English, the original novels are being translated from June 2016 onwards and the manga has not been translated as of February 2010.

Publishing history

The first book written and published, but meant to be the last in the series, was The Sky Crawlers, first released in June 2001.[1] A shinshobon (refurbished) edition of the book followed on October 2002, while the bunkobon (paper back) edition followed on October 2004.[1]

The first book, chronologically, in the series, None But Air (ナ·バ·テア, Na Ba Tea), was released in June 2004, while the shinshobon edition for this volume followed on October 2004 and the bunkobon edition followed on November 2005.[1] The second book in the series, Down to Heaven (ダウン·ツ·ヘヴン, Daun Tsu Hevun), followed in June 2005, while its shinshobon edition followed on December 2005 and its bunkobon edition followed on November 2006.[1]

The third book in the series, Flutter into Life (フラッタ·リンツ·ライフ, Furatta Rintsu Raifu), followed in June 2006.[1] The fourth book in the series, Cradle the Sky (クレィドゥ·ザ·スカイ, Kureidu Za Sukai), was released on June 25, 2007, while the fifth book Sky Eclipse (スカイ·イクリプス, Sukai Ikuripusu) was released in 2008.

The misplaced publishing order was intended to show there is no need to read the story in the chronological order.[2]

English translation

Volumes

Tankōbon

Published by Chuōkōron-shinsha.

Novels

Published by C Novels, a Chuōkōron-shinsha imprint.

Bunko

Published by Chūkō Bunko, a Chuōkōron-shinsha imprint.

Media

Film

The novel was adapted into an anime film, directed by Mamoru Oshii, which was released across Japanese theatres by Warner Bros. Japan on August 2, 2008.[4][5][6] Animated by Production I.G, the film was written by Chihiro Itō, features character designs by Tetsuya Nishio and music by Kenji Kawai.[4][5] The series' creator Mori had stated that he felt The Sky Crawlers was the "most difficult" of his works to adapt, and had given his consent to the making of the film after learning of Oshii's involvement as director.[4][5]

Video game

A video game, The Sky Crawlers: Innocent Aces, with a plot serving as a prequel to the 2008 film was developed for the Wii by Project Aces, the same Namco Bandai team that was behind the Ace Combat series. It was released in Japan on October 16, 2008.[7] Xseed Games has released the game in North America on January 12, 2010.[8] It was also released by Namco Bandai Games in Europe on February 26, 2010.

Manga

A manga series, based on the game, titled Sky Crawlers: Innocent Aces, was serialized in the monthly magazine Monthly Comic Blade from November 2008. It was illustrated by Yūho Ueji.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 浮遊工作室 (ミステリィ制作部) (in Japanese). Retrieved 2007-06-20.
  2. ↑ 噂の真相. Mori Log Academy (in Japanese). 2008-07-17. Retrieved 2008-06-16.
  3. ↑ "The Sky Crawlers: Prologue, Episode 1". The BBB: Breakthrough Bandwagon Books. Retrieved July 3, 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 "The Sky Crawlers: Mamoru Oshii's New Film Unveiled!". Production I.G. 2007-06-20. Retrieved 2007-06-20.
  5. 1 2 3 "Oshii's Latest Film, The Sky Crawlers, Set for 2008". Anime News Network. 2007-06-20. Retrieved 2007-06-20.
  6. ↑ "Sukai Kurora". Big Cartoon DataBase. 2007-09-08. Retrieved 2007-09-08.
  7. ↑ IGN: Ace Combat Team Brings Sky Crawlers to Wii
  8. ↑ "Sky Crawlers Flies to America". IGN.com. 2009-07-03. Retrieved 2009-07-03.
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