Sola (manga)
Encyclopedia
Sola is a Japan
ese work originally conceived by Naoki Hisaya
(main writer of Kanon
) with original character design by Naru Nanao
(designer of D.C.: Da Capo). Sola is a mixed media
project, first unveiled through the prologue of the manga
featured in the Japanese manga magazine Dengeki Daioh
on December 21, 2006, published by MediaWorks
. The manga, which is illustrated by Chako Abeno
, ended serialization on February 21, 2008. The manga has been licensed for distribution in North America by Broccoli Books with the first volume being released in June 2008. A short drama CD
which also served as a prologue to the series was released at Comiket 71
in December 2006, and a second drama CD was released in May 2008. An anime
version aired in Japan between April and June 2007; the anime contained thirteen episodes, and two additional DVD-exclusive episodes followed. The anime was licensed by Bandai Entertainment for distribution in North America in a subtitle-only box set of all fifteen episodes. The title, Sola, is close in pronunciation to the Japanese
word . At the end of 2007, Japanese anime fans voted Sola as the best anime of the year.
The next day, Yorito goes to visit his older sister Aono in the hospital with his friend Mana Ishizuki and Mana's little sister Koyori Ishizuki. Despite it being Aono's birthday, Yorito leaves soon after to take a photograph of the setting sun near an old church on the roof of the hospital. That night, Yorito leaves to buy groceries when it begins to rain and stops on the way home to wait for the rain to stop; while waiting, he runs into the strange girl he met from yesterday again. They talk longer this time and Yorito finally learns her name—Matsuri Shihou. A few days later, Yorito goes looking for the girl in the old church and finds a man wielding a sword before Matsuri.
After a display of Matsuri's astounding powers, Yorito discovers that she is in fact a creature known as a , who has lived for centuries. She is being chased by Takeshi Tsujidou who intends to kill her, but Yorito tries to protect her by bringing her back to his home which is when Yorito asks her to stay with him for the time being.
A "Calamity of the Night", otherwise known as a , is a supernatural being in the Sola universe. Yaka have many supernatural powers, such as: strong physical ability, fast regeneration, and never aging body, among other powers. A Yaka is hurt by direct exposure to sunlight, but the wound can be healed in time if the exposure is not excessive; a Yaka is immortal unless exposed to too much sunlight or has received fatal wounds. Matsuri explains that a Yaka is the embodiment of human agony and pain and that such creatures are meant to always be alone. Despite this, the two fall in love. As their relationship deepens, Matsuri reveals her long tragic past and her knowledge of Yorito's past.
version of Sola was first serialized in the Japanese shōnen
manga magazine Dengeki Daioh
, published by MediaWorks
. On December 21, 2006, the prologue was published, and then the following month on January 20, 2007, the first chapter was serialized, which continued until February 21, 2008 when the final chapter was published. The story is adapted from Naoki Hisaya
's original concept and illustrated by Chako Abeno
. Two bound volumes
were published under MediaWorks' Dengeki Comics
label, the first on July 27, 2007, and the second on March 27, 2008. The manga was licensed for English language-distribution in the US by Broccoli Books; the first volume was released on June 18, 2008. The second volume was never released before Broccoli International USA was shut down.
on December 31, 2006. The story consists of a prologue for the series that does not reveal much other than the personalities of the characters and a brief image of the setting. After the audio drama finished, an image song played entitled "Sensitive Scenery" by Ceui
. This song was used as an insert song at the beginning of episode one of the anime, and then was used again in episode nine. Another drama CD based on the series was produced by Lantis
and was set to be released on August 22, 2007, but it was delayed to an unspecified date and ultimately canceled for unknown reasons. Another drama CD, this time using the manga's story as a basis, was produced by Marine Entertainment and released on May 30, 2008; it was also supervised by Naoki Hisaya. The cast for the drama CDs is the same as with the anime version.
shows for the Sola series. The first show, which used the anime adaptation as the basis, aired between February 2, 2007 and February 23, 2007 called , produced by Charradio. It aired every Friday hosted by either Mamiko Noto
who played Matsuri Shihou in the anime, and Mai Nakahara
who played Aono Morimiya in the anime depending on the week. There were two separate corners which were used to further promote the series and to update on any information regarding Sola. There were four episodes, and some time was set aside for the last two broadcasts to play the audio drama released at Comiket 71. There were two guests to the show: Yōko Honda
in episode three who played Mana Ishizuki in the anime and Tomoko Kaneda
in episode four who played Mayuko Kamigawa in the anime.
The second show, which again used the anime adaptation as the basis, aired between March 30, 2007 and July 27, 2007 called , produced by Beat ☆ Net Radio! as well as Lantis Web Radio
. It aired every Friday and had nineteen episodes hosted by different people depending on the month. The first broadcast, and the rest of April was hosted by Yōko Honda, and Ai Shimizu
who played Koyori Ishizuki in the anime. The May broadcasts were hosted by Mamiko Noto and the June broadcasts were hosted by Mai Nakahara, though also featured appearances by both Noto and Honda. Finally, the July broadcasts were hosted by Keiji Fujiwara
who played Takeshi Tsujido in the anime, and Nobuhiko Okamoto
who played Yorito Morimiya in the anime. There were three corners named , , and . The show also had a series of guests that were other cast members from the anime series, but also included those who had previously hosted the show. These include Nobuhiko Okamoto who appeared in the second, ninth, and fourteenth episodes; Yōko Honda who appeared in the seventh, eighth, ninth, and eighteenth episodes; Tomoko Kaneda
, who played Mayuko Kamikawa in the anime, appeared in the seventeenth episode; and Mamiko Noto and Mai Nakahara who appeared in the nineteenth episode.
adaptation of Sola was produced by the animation studio Nomad
and directed by Tomoki Kobayashi
. The series aired in Japan on the TV Aichi
television network between April 7, 2007 and June 30, 2007, containing thirteen episodes, though aired on other networks at the same time with slightly different start and end dates. The series was released in five DVD
compilation volumes in limited and regular editions,each containing three episodes. The first DVD volume was released on June 22, 2007, followed by the second on July 27, 2007, and the third on August 24, 2007. Two additional episodes were made available exclusively on DVD volumes four and five; the first was released on September 25, 2007, and the second was on October 26, 2007. A poll was held in Japan by the company Spider Networks asking what was the best anime that aired in 2007. After two million votes were cast, Sola placed number one at approximately 340,000 votes.
The Japanese DVDs were also released by .Anime as a "special package edition" with different cover art released for the limited or regular edition volumes. The covers of the special package and limited edition volumes were illustrated by Naru Nanao
, the original character designer for Sola; the covers of the regular edition volumes had illustrations of the anime-style art by Makoto Koga. Each of the regular edition DVDs contained an eight-page color booklet with illustrations from the series. The special package and limited edition DVDs also contained the color booklet, along with drama CDs containing tracks from the Internet radio
show, and poster cards (the first volume also contained a poster card holder).
Bandai Visual
licensed the Sola anime in early 2008 for release in North America, but it was delayed. After Bandai Visual USA folded into Bandai Entertainment, the Sola anime was planned to be released in a fifteen-episode subtitle-only box set, which was released on September 29, 2009. In May 2010, Section 23 Films, distributor for Sentai Filmworks, announced that they would be re-releasing Sola, but this turned out to be a clerical error and the title was soon removed from Sentai's catalog.
, was released in a maxi single
by the same name on April 25, 2007 by Lantis
; the opening theme was used for anime episodes two through thirteen. The ending theme, "Mellow Melody" by Ceui
, was released in another maxi single also by the name of "Mellow Melody" on May 23, 2007 by Lantis; this ending theme was used for anime episodes one through twelve. The ending theme for the final episode is "Miageru Ano Sora de" by Aira Yūki. "Mellow Melody" also included the song by Ceui which was used as an insert song in anime episodes one and nine and the second OVA episode. The Sola original soundtrack was released on June 27, 2007, and an image album, Oratorio, was released on August 8, 2007.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese work originally conceived by Naoki Hisaya
Naoki Hisaya
, born , is a Japanese screenwriter who has worked for Tactics, Key and Siesta, but as of 2006, he is a freelance writer. He is well known for being the main writer of the popular visual novel Kanon while working under Key. Additional works include Moon., One: Kagayaku Kisetsu e, and Moon Childe....
(main writer of Kanon
Kanon
is a Japanese visual novel developed by Key and originally released as an adult game on June 4, 1999, playable on a Microsoft Windows PC. An all ages version for the PC was released in January 2000, and was later ported to the Dreamcast, PlayStation 2, and PlayStation Portable...
) with original character design by Naru Nanao
Naru Nanao
is a female Japanese artist from Okinawa, Japan. Nanao's choice of her pseudonym stems from the Circus' game Aries; one of the characters was named . She is a free illustrator and thus is not affiliated with one single company; she is primarily a character designer...
(designer of D.C.: Da Capo). Sola is a mixed media
Media franchise
A media franchise is an intellectual property involving the characters, setting and trademarks of an original work of media , such as a film, a work of literature, a television program or a video game. Generally, a whole series is made in a particular medium, along with merchandising and endorsements...
project, first unveiled through the prologue of the manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
featured in the Japanese manga magazine Dengeki Daioh
Dengeki Daioh
is a Japanese shōnen manga magazine published by ASCII Media Works under the Dengeki brand. Many manga serialized in Dengeki Daioh were later published in tankōbon volumes under ASCII Media Works' Dengeki Comics imprint. The magazine is sold every month on the 27th...
on December 21, 2006, published by MediaWorks
MediaWorks (publisher)
was a Japanese publishing company in the Kadokawa Group known for their brand magazines and book labels. These included such well-known magazines as Dengeki Daioh, and Dengeki G's Magazine, along with MediaWorks' main light novel publishing imprint Dengeki Bunko. The company was merged with ASCII...
. The manga, which is illustrated by Chako Abeno
Chako Abeno
is a female Japanese illustrator and manga artist. She publishes dōjinshi with the circle . She is also involved in the artwork of adult games.-Manga: , Illustrator...
, ended serialization on February 21, 2008. The manga has been licensed for distribution in North America by Broccoli Books with the first volume being released in June 2008. A short drama CD
Radio drama in Japan
Radio drama in Japan has a history as long as that of radio broadcasting in that country, which began in 1925. Some consider the first Japanese radio drama to have been "" which was a radio broadcast of a stage play. Others consider the Japanese translation of Richard Hughes's "Danger" or to be...
which also served as a prologue to the series was released at Comiket 71
Comiket
, otherwise known as the , is the world's largest self-published comic book fair, held twice a year in Tokyo, Japan. The first Comiket was held on December 21, 1975, with only about 32 participating circles and an estimated 600 attendees. Attendance has since swelled to over a half million people....
in December 2006, and a second drama CD was released in May 2008. An anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
version aired in Japan between April and June 2007; the anime contained thirteen episodes, and two additional DVD-exclusive episodes followed. The anime was licensed by Bandai Entertainment for distribution in North America in a subtitle-only box set of all fifteen episodes. The title, Sola, is close in pronunciation to the Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
word . At the end of 2007, Japanese anime fans voted Sola as the best anime of the year.
Plot
Solas story revolves around Yorito Morimiya, the main protagonist, who is a young boy attending high school. He loves taking pictures of the sky at any time of day and any time of the year. One day, Yorito decides to take a picture of the sunrise overlooking the bay, but is deterred when he meets a strange girl trying to force a vending machine that stole her money to give her what she tried to buy—a can of tomato juice. Yorito helps her with forcing the machine while attempting to strike up conversation with her, despite it being four in the morning. Yorito tells her why he is here, but by the time he has forced the can out of the machine, the girl has mysteriously vanished.The next day, Yorito goes to visit his older sister Aono in the hospital with his friend Mana Ishizuki and Mana's little sister Koyori Ishizuki. Despite it being Aono's birthday, Yorito leaves soon after to take a photograph of the setting sun near an old church on the roof of the hospital. That night, Yorito leaves to buy groceries when it begins to rain and stops on the way home to wait for the rain to stop; while waiting, he runs into the strange girl he met from yesterday again. They talk longer this time and Yorito finally learns her name—Matsuri Shihou. A few days later, Yorito goes looking for the girl in the old church and finds a man wielding a sword before Matsuri.
After a display of Matsuri's astounding powers, Yorito discovers that she is in fact a creature known as a , who has lived for centuries. She is being chased by Takeshi Tsujidou who intends to kill her, but Yorito tries to protect her by bringing her back to his home which is when Yorito asks her to stay with him for the time being.
A "Calamity of the Night", otherwise known as a , is a supernatural being in the Sola universe. Yaka have many supernatural powers, such as: strong physical ability, fast regeneration, and never aging body, among other powers. A Yaka is hurt by direct exposure to sunlight, but the wound can be healed in time if the exposure is not excessive; a Yaka is immortal unless exposed to too much sunlight or has received fatal wounds. Matsuri explains that a Yaka is the embodiment of human agony and pain and that such creatures are meant to always be alone. Despite this, the two fall in love. As their relationship deepens, Matsuri reveals her long tragic past and her knowledge of Yorito's past.
Characters
- Yorito is the main protagonist of Sola. He enjoys taking photographs of the sky and will go out of his way to do so. He meets Matsuri Shihou early on in the story and finds out she is not human and is being chased by a man—Takeshi Tsujidou—who intends to kill her. Yorito tries to protect her by asking her to stay at his house. Yorito has an older sister named Aono who at the beginning of the story is in the hospital. Yorito visits her with Mana everyday and he brings her a new doll from a strange store that sells oddly designed dolls. Yorito is in fact a paper construct made by Aono, implanted with the memories of and designed after the image of the original Yorito, who died in the past.
- Matsuri is a strange girl Yorito meets early on in the story. She is a , otherwise known as a Yaka, and has lived for hundreds of years. She cannot come in contact with direct sunlight as it harms her. Matsuri is fascinated by Yorito's photographes. She has never seen a blue sky, only a deeply cloudy daytime sky or the nighttime sky. She has a particular fixed memory of seeing a moonlit sky from some sort of well or hole in the ground. Matsuri does not have much common sense and will often break machines in Yorito's house after kicking them too hard; she believes that any device can be fixed by kicking it. She has extreme fondness for tomato juice. Her ability is the power to make an object rapidly decay and transform those who have died into Yaka.
- Aono is Yorito's older sister who has been sickly ever since she was born and is hospitalized at the beginning of the story. She has a cold personality, showing very little emotion but still is visibly annoyed at Yorito for how much he seems to ignore her to do other things. Every time Yorito brings her a new doll, she takes one look at it and throws it in a nearby basket filled with other dolls. However, she does not hate them and even has one which is her favorite — the first one Yorito brought her. She enjoys making origamiOrigamiis the traditional Japanese art of paper folding, which started in the 17th century AD at the latest and was popularized outside Japan in the mid-1900s. It has since then evolved into a modern art form...
and is friends with Koyori. Aono is a Yaka — she was transformed into one by Matsuri when she tried to commit suicide after the Yorito from her time was killed. She has the power to control paper and create realistic constructs from it.
- Mana is Yorito's friend from school; she often gets annoyed at Yorito for how he spends so much time taking photographs of the sky instead of spending more time with his sister. Mana works as a waitress at the Azur Restaurant and often comes over to Yorito's house to cook for him. She looks after her younger sister Koyori. She also knows about Matsuri's secret. She eventually takes up Yorito's hobby of taking pictures of clouds in the early morning, although she has no more memories of him.
- Koyori is Mana's little sister who, at the beginning of the story, is staying in the same hospital as Aono, but is soon discharged. Whenever she calls Mana by her given name instead of referring to her as her big sister, Mana strikes her head. Koyori tries to keep Aono company whenever she can and they become good friends over the time Koyori spends in the hospital. Aono also teaches her how to make origami. Koyori is very polite to others even when not required to do so.
- Takeshi is an older man who is trying to track down Matsuri. When fighting her, he wields a large sword unaffected by Yaka powers with the intention of killing Matsuri and uses ultraviolet rocket-flares to try to immobilize her. His intention to kill her is due to a promise to turn Mayuko back into a human. He was devoted to her as a boy, and she was alive and they were the same age. He promised to stay by her side until he can bring her back to normal.
- Mayuko is a young girl with distinctive attire who follows Takeshi; she is also a Yaka. Whenever Takeshi finds her, it is at night when she is sleeping in a cardboard box which changes location around the city. Mayuko has a pompous personality and will not hesitate to talk bad of Takeshi around others, but she worries about Takeshi a lot. She became a Yaka many years before the story began when she was killed during a house robbery. Takeshi has been her support and companion since her death.
- Sae is Mana's friend and classmate. She works in the same restaurant as Mana and instantly was attracted to Takeshi when he first started coming to their restaurant due to his goateeGoateeGoatee refers to a style of facial hair incorporating hair on a man’s chin. The exact nature of the style has varied according to time and culture.Traditionally, goatee refers solely to a beard formed by a tuft of hair on the chin...
. She also works at a convenience store. Sae loves to gossip and often talks to the point where she is ignored by her friends.
Manga
The mangaManga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
version of Sola was first serialized in the Japanese shōnen
Shonen
The term refers to manga marketed to a male audience aged roughly 10 and up. The Kanji characters literally mean "few" and "year", respectively, where the characters generally mean "comic"...
manga magazine Dengeki Daioh
Dengeki Daioh
is a Japanese shōnen manga magazine published by ASCII Media Works under the Dengeki brand. Many manga serialized in Dengeki Daioh were later published in tankōbon volumes under ASCII Media Works' Dengeki Comics imprint. The magazine is sold every month on the 27th...
, published by MediaWorks
MediaWorks (publisher)
was a Japanese publishing company in the Kadokawa Group known for their brand magazines and book labels. These included such well-known magazines as Dengeki Daioh, and Dengeki G's Magazine, along with MediaWorks' main light novel publishing imprint Dengeki Bunko. The company was merged with ASCII...
. On December 21, 2006, the prologue was published, and then the following month on January 20, 2007, the first chapter was serialized, which continued until February 21, 2008 when the final chapter was published. The story is adapted from Naoki Hisaya
Naoki Hisaya
, born , is a Japanese screenwriter who has worked for Tactics, Key and Siesta, but as of 2006, he is a freelance writer. He is well known for being the main writer of the popular visual novel Kanon while working under Key. Additional works include Moon., One: Kagayaku Kisetsu e, and Moon Childe....
's original concept and illustrated by Chako Abeno
Chako Abeno
is a female Japanese illustrator and manga artist. She publishes dōjinshi with the circle . She is also involved in the artwork of adult games.-Manga: , Illustrator...
. Two bound volumes
Tankobon
, with a literal meaning close to "independently appearing book", is the Japanese term for a book that is complete in itself and is not part of a series , though the manga industry uses it for volumes which may be in a series...
were published under MediaWorks' Dengeki Comics
Dengeki Comics
is a manga publishing label affiliated with the Japanese publishing company ASCII Media Works and is aimed at a male audience. Aside from the main Dengeki Comics label, there is the related Dengeki Comics EX label which publishes a lesser number of manga volumes...
label, the first on July 27, 2007, and the second on March 27, 2008. The manga was licensed for English language-distribution in the US by Broccoli Books; the first volume was released on June 18, 2008. The second volume was never released before Broccoli International USA was shut down.
Drama CDs
A short audio drama CD was released at Comiket 71Comiket
, otherwise known as the , is the world's largest self-published comic book fair, held twice a year in Tokyo, Japan. The first Comiket was held on December 21, 1975, with only about 32 participating circles and an estimated 600 attendees. Attendance has since swelled to over a half million people....
on December 31, 2006. The story consists of a prologue for the series that does not reveal much other than the personalities of the characters and a brief image of the setting. After the audio drama finished, an image song played entitled "Sensitive Scenery" by Ceui
Ceui
Ceui is a Japanese singer–songwriter originally from Chiba, Japan, though she grew up in Fukuoka. Ceui's name is derived from the Portuguese word for sky, céu...
. This song was used as an insert song at the beginning of episode one of the anime, and then was used again in episode nine. Another drama CD based on the series was produced by Lantis
Lantis (company)
is a Japanese company that specializes as a music publisher label for Japanese musicians, anime soundtracks and video game soundtracks. It was established on November 26, 1999, and in May 2006, it was bought by, and became a subsidiary of, Bandai Visual...
and was set to be released on August 22, 2007, but it was delayed to an unspecified date and ultimately canceled for unknown reasons. Another drama CD, this time using the manga's story as a basis, was produced by Marine Entertainment and released on May 30, 2008; it was also supervised by Naoki Hisaya. The cast for the drama CDs is the same as with the anime version.
Internet radio shows
There have been two Internet radioInternet radio
Internet radio is an audio service transmitted via the Internet...
shows for the Sola series. The first show, which used the anime adaptation as the basis, aired between February 2, 2007 and February 23, 2007 called , produced by Charradio. It aired every Friday hosted by either Mamiko Noto
Mamiko Noto
is a Japanese voice actress working under Office Osawa. She was born in the city of Kanazawa, Ishikawa, and graduated from Hokuriku Gakuen Senior High School.-Voice:...
who played Matsuri Shihou in the anime, and Mai Nakahara
Mai Nakahara
is a voice actress. She is employed by I'm Enterprise. Some of her hobbies include cooking and watching movies, and she is skilled at kendo. She worked with voice actor Ai Shimizu in eight anime where most of the characters they voiced in together had close connections: DearS, Kage Kara Mamoru!,...
who played Aono Morimiya in the anime depending on the week. There were two separate corners which were used to further promote the series and to update on any information regarding Sola. There were four episodes, and some time was set aside for the last two broadcasts to play the audio drama released at Comiket 71. There were two guests to the show: Yōko Honda
Yoko Honda
is a female Japanese voice actress from Gunma, Japan.She is sometimes mistaken for fellow voice actress Yōko Honna, as their names only differ by one character when written in kanji.-Anime cast in:*Bakuman 2 as Natsumi Katou...
in episode three who played Mana Ishizuki in the anime and Tomoko Kaneda
Tomoko Kaneda
is a Japanese voice actress, J-Pop singer, and radio personality who was born in Yokohama, Japan. She had worked at Aoni Production for 11 years, and had worked at freelance since April 2011, and it was announced to belong to Across Entertainment in August 2011. She graduated from Department of...
in episode four who played Mayuko Kamigawa in the anime.
The second show, which again used the anime adaptation as the basis, aired between March 30, 2007 and July 27, 2007 called , produced by Beat ☆ Net Radio! as well as Lantis Web Radio
Lantis (company)
is a Japanese company that specializes as a music publisher label for Japanese musicians, anime soundtracks and video game soundtracks. It was established on November 26, 1999, and in May 2006, it was bought by, and became a subsidiary of, Bandai Visual...
. It aired every Friday and had nineteen episodes hosted by different people depending on the month. The first broadcast, and the rest of April was hosted by Yōko Honda, and Ai Shimizu
Ai Shimizu
is a Japanese voice actress who is employed by Haikyou. She also has a career as a singer an signed to Lantis. She has released 14 singles and four albums. She covered Yumi Matsutoya's "Toki o Kakeru Shōjo" as the B-side of her first single "Angel Fish" in 2003...
who played Koyori Ishizuki in the anime. The May broadcasts were hosted by Mamiko Noto and the June broadcasts were hosted by Mai Nakahara, though also featured appearances by both Noto and Honda. Finally, the July broadcasts were hosted by Keiji Fujiwara
Keiji Fujiwara
is a Japanese voice actor from the Tokyo Metropolitan area who is affiliated with Air Agengy.His best known projects include Crayon Shin-chan as Hiroshi Nohara, Eureka Seven as Holland, Fullmetal Alchemist as Lieutenant-Colonel Hughes, Zoids: Chaotic Century as Irvine, Final Fantasy VII Advent...
who played Takeshi Tsujido in the anime, and Nobuhiko Okamoto
Nobuhiko Okamoto
is a male Japanese seiyū from Tokyo, Japan. He won the Best New Actor Award on Third seiyuu awards and Best Supporting Actor Award on Fifth seiyuu awards.-TV Anime:2006*Welcome to the N.H.K. as Colleague ; Male student...
who played Yorito Morimiya in the anime. There were three corners named , , and . The show also had a series of guests that were other cast members from the anime series, but also included those who had previously hosted the show. These include Nobuhiko Okamoto who appeared in the second, ninth, and fourteenth episodes; Yōko Honda who appeared in the seventh, eighth, ninth, and eighteenth episodes; Tomoko Kaneda
Tomoko Kaneda
is a Japanese voice actress, J-Pop singer, and radio personality who was born in Yokohama, Japan. She had worked at Aoni Production for 11 years, and had worked at freelance since April 2011, and it was announced to belong to Across Entertainment in August 2011. She graduated from Department of...
, who played Mayuko Kamikawa in the anime, appeared in the seventeenth episode; and Mamiko Noto and Mai Nakahara who appeared in the nineteenth episode.
Anime
An animeAnime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
adaptation of Sola was produced by the animation studio Nomad
Nomad (studio)
is a Japanese animation studio located in Suginami, Tokyo Prefecture, Japan and was originally established in July 2003.-Produced series:Rozen Maiden*Series run: October 7, 2004 - December 23, 2004*Genres: Comedy, Drama, Seinen, Supernatural...
and directed by Tomoki Kobayashi
Tomoki Kobayashi
is a Japanese anime director.-Anime involved with:*Futakoi Alternative: Episode Director *Galaxy Angel A: Unit Director*Galaxy Angel Z: Storyboard, Unit Director*Ichigo 100%: Director*Pretear: Storyboard...
. The series aired in Japan on the TV Aichi
Aichi Television Broadcasting
Aichi Television Broadcasting Co., Ltd. is a TV station in Nagoya. It is known as "TV Aichi"...
television network between April 7, 2007 and June 30, 2007, containing thirteen episodes, though aired on other networks at the same time with slightly different start and end dates. The series was released in five DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
compilation volumes in limited and regular editions,each containing three episodes. The first DVD volume was released on June 22, 2007, followed by the second on July 27, 2007, and the third on August 24, 2007. Two additional episodes were made available exclusively on DVD volumes four and five; the first was released on September 25, 2007, and the second was on October 26, 2007. A poll was held in Japan by the company Spider Networks asking what was the best anime that aired in 2007. After two million votes were cast, Sola placed number one at approximately 340,000 votes.
The Japanese DVDs were also released by .Anime as a "special package edition" with different cover art released for the limited or regular edition volumes. The covers of the special package and limited edition volumes were illustrated by Naru Nanao
Naru Nanao
is a female Japanese artist from Okinawa, Japan. Nanao's choice of her pseudonym stems from the Circus' game Aries; one of the characters was named . She is a free illustrator and thus is not affiliated with one single company; she is primarily a character designer...
, the original character designer for Sola; the covers of the regular edition volumes had illustrations of the anime-style art by Makoto Koga. Each of the regular edition DVDs contained an eight-page color booklet with illustrations from the series. The special package and limited edition DVDs also contained the color booklet, along with drama CDs containing tracks from the Internet radio
Internet radio
Internet radio is an audio service transmitted via the Internet...
show, and poster cards (the first volume also contained a poster card holder).
Bandai Visual
Bandai Visual
, is a Japanese anime, film production and distribution enterprise, established by Bandai Co., Ltd. and a subsidiary of Namco Bandai Holdings, Inc., which is based in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Since the reorganisation of Namco Bandai Holdings in 2006, Bandai Visual now heads the group's Visual and...
licensed the Sola anime in early 2008 for release in North America, but it was delayed. After Bandai Visual USA folded into Bandai Entertainment, the Sola anime was planned to be released in a fifteen-episode subtitle-only box set, which was released on September 29, 2009. In May 2010, Section 23 Films, distributor for Sentai Filmworks, announced that they would be re-releasing Sola, but this turned out to be a clerical error and the title was soon removed from Sentai's catalog.
Music
The opening theme to the anime, "Colorless Wind" by Aira YūkiAira Yuki
is a female Japanese singer attached to record label Lantis and belongs to the Space Craft Group agency. She began her career in 2007 and since then has primarily sung songs that were used for theme music in anime. She has put out seven singles and released her debut album Reflection on July 2,...
, was released in a maxi single
Maxi single
A maxi single or maxi-single is a music single release with more than the usual two tracks of an a-side song and a b-side song.-The first maxi singles:...
by the same name on April 25, 2007 by Lantis
Lantis (company)
is a Japanese company that specializes as a music publisher label for Japanese musicians, anime soundtracks and video game soundtracks. It was established on November 26, 1999, and in May 2006, it was bought by, and became a subsidiary of, Bandai Visual...
; the opening theme was used for anime episodes two through thirteen. The ending theme, "Mellow Melody" by Ceui
Ceui
Ceui is a Japanese singer–songwriter originally from Chiba, Japan, though she grew up in Fukuoka. Ceui's name is derived from the Portuguese word for sky, céu...
, was released in another maxi single also by the name of "Mellow Melody" on May 23, 2007 by Lantis; this ending theme was used for anime episodes one through twelve. The ending theme for the final episode is "Miageru Ano Sora de" by Aira Yūki. "Mellow Melody" also included the song by Ceui which was used as an insert song in anime episodes one and nine and the second OVA episode. The Sola original soundtrack was released on June 27, 2007, and an image album, Oratorio, was released on August 8, 2007.