Aokana - Four Rhythms Across the Blue
Aokana - Four Rhythms Across the Blue, known in Japan as Ao no Kanata no Four Rhythm, officially abbreviated as Aokana and translated as Four Rhythms Across the Blue, is a Japanese adult visual novel developed by Sprite and released for Windows on November 28, 2014. The game was ported to the PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch. The plot follows high school student Masaya Hinata as he coaches fellow students Asuka Kurashina, Misaki Tobisawa, Mashiro Arisaka, and Shion Aoyagi in the sport of "flying circus", wherein competitors travel through the sky via shoes with anti-gravity properties. Depending on the route taken, Masaya can enter a romantic relationship with either Asuka, Misaki, Mashiro, or Rika Ichinose, a student from a rival school and his neighbor.
A manga adaptation began publication in Comp Ace magazine in October 2015. A spin-off mobile game was released in October 2016, followed by two fandiscs in 2017 and 2022 respectively. A sequel was announced for production but has since been put on hold. An anime television series adaptation, produced by Gonzo, directed by Fumitoshi Oizaki, and written by Reiko Yoshida aired between January and March 2016. Crunchyroll and Funimation co-released the anime television series on Blu-ray in North America in 2018.
Gameplay
Aokana - Four Rhythms Across the Blue is a romance visual novel in which the player assumes the role of Masaya Hinata. Much of its gameplay is spent on reading the story's narrative and dialogue. The text in the game is accompanied by character sprites, which represent who Masaya is talking to, over background art. Throughout the game, the player encounters CG artwork at certain points in the story, which take the place of the background art and character sprites. The game follows a branching plot line with multiple endings, and depending on the decisions that the player makes during the game, the plot will progress in a specific direction.There are four main plot lines that the player will have the chance to experience, one for each heroine. Throughout gameplay, the player is given multiple options to choose from, and text progression pauses at these points until a choice is made. Some decisions can lead the game to end prematurely, which offer an alternative ending to the plot. To view all plot lines in their entirety, the player will have to replay the game multiple times and choose different choices to further the plot to an alternate direction. Throughout gameplay, there are scenes with sexual CGs depicting Masaya and a given heroine having sex.
Plot
In an alternate universe, shoes with anti-gravity properties are invented called Grav-Shoes, which allow people to fly freely. This leads to the development of a sport known as Flying Circus, where participants either race from one buoy to another or touch the opponent's back to score points. Masaya Hinata is a student at Kunahama Institute, which is located in a four-island archipelago south of Japan. In the past, he was active in the sport, but quit due to an overwhelming defeat. His life changes when a cheerful girl named Asuka Kurashina transfers to his school. There, Asuka becomes interested in Flying Circus, and despite being unfamiliar with the sport and a newcomer to the use of Grav-Shoes, she manages to score a point during a match with the Vice-Captain of a powerhouse school. This leads Asuka and Masaya, together with their classmate Misaki Tobisawa, first-year student Mashiro Arisaka and siblings Shion and Madoka Aoyagi to form a Flying Circus team.Characters
Main characters
;Masaya Hinata;Asuka Kurashina
;Misaki Tobisawa
;Mashiro Arisaka
;Rika Ichinose
Other characters
;Reiko Satōin;Saki Inui
;Aoi Kagami
;Shion Aoyagi
;Madoka Aoyagi
;Minori Hosaka
;Hayato Shirase
;Minamo Shirase
;Botan Arisaka
;Kazunari Shindō
;Irina Avalon
;Arika Okoze
;Mayu Ganeko
;Kasumi Kurobuchi
Development and release
Aokana - Four Rhythms Across the Blue is Sprite's second game after their debut title Love, Election and Chocolate. The game's producer was Akira Sakamoto. The project's planning was headed by Nachi Kio, who also contributed as the main scenario writer alongside Ryōichi Watanabe and Ryūsuke Mutsu. Artist Suzumori served as the art director and co-character designer with Itsuka Yūki. The background music was produced by members of Elements Garden. The game was released on November 28, 2014, as a limited edition version, playable on a Windows PC. A PlayStation Vita version of the game was released on February 25, 2016, and a high-definition version for the PlayStation 4 was released on January 26, 2017. A Nintendo Switch version of the game was released in late 2017.A smartphone game titled Aokana - Four Rhythms Across the Blue: Eternal Sky was released on October 5, 2016, and a sequel titled Aokana - Four Rhythms Across the Blue: Zwei was announced at the AnimeJapan event in March 2016. Due to Sprite going on hiatus following in 2018, development of Zwei was indefinitely put on hold.
The game was announced for an English release by NekoNyan in 2019 on Steam. A Nintendo Switch version of the game was released on August 21, 2020, in North America and Europe. However, it has been delayed to an undetermined date for PlayStation 4 after its release was limited to digital-only due to changes related to seven scenes within the game and "significantly less interest" expected in a physical version as a result. Four scenes have been modified and three have been removed completely, while the Nintendo Switch release received no changes to content or choice between physical and digital versions.
Fandiscs
A fandisc titled Aokana - Four Rhythms Across the Blue: Extra 1 was released in Japan on June 30, 2017, and worldwide on June 11, 2020. Extra 1S, a Nintendo Switch port of Extra 1, is confirmed to be in production as of June 2022, containing multiple new event scenes.Aokana - Four Rhythms Across the Blue: Extra 2, the second fandisc, was officially announced on June 16, 2020, and was released in Japan on May 27, 2022. An English release was announced on August 19, 2022.
A new game titled Aokana - Four Rhythms Across the Blue: If 01 - Minamo Shirase - was announced by Sprite in October 2021, and is currently in development by Filmic Novel, a brand of Sprite. It will feature Minamo Shirase as the main heroine.
Adaptations
Manga
A manga adaptation illustrated by Hideyu Tōgarashi began serialization in Kadokawa Corporation's Comp Ace magazine with the December 2015 issue sold on October 26, 2015. The first tankōbon volume was released on January 26, 2016.Anime
An anime television series adaptation, produced by Gonzo, directed by Fumitoshi Oizaki, and written by Reiko Yoshida aired on TV Tokyo between January 12 and March 29, 2016. Crunchyroll streamed the series, which arranged Funimation to release it on home video with an English dub on September 11, 2018. Although there are romantic plot lines with Masaya and each of the four heroines in the visual novel, this is averted in the anime adaptation, and the view-point character is Asuka instead of Masaya.Music
Aokana: Four Rhythm Across the Blue has seven pieces of theme music: one opening theme, one insert song, and five ending themes. The opening theme is "Wings of Courage " by Mami Kawada. The insert song is "Infinite Sky" by Kotoko. Each heroine has her own ending theme, starting with Asuka's theme "Sora Koi" by Misato Fukuen. Misaki's theme is "Sense of Life" by Azumi Asakura. Mashiro's theme is "Millions of You" by Nozomi Yamamoto. Rika's theme is "Night Flight" by Madoka Yonezawa. The main ending theme is "Sky is the Limit" by Kawada. In addition, an image song single titled "Rays of the Sun" by Kawada was released on December 28, 2014, at Comiket 87. The main opening theme for the HD versions of the game is "Crossing Way" by Kawada.The anime's opening theme is "Contrail " by Kawada and the ending theme is "A-gain" by Ray. The single for "Contrail " was released on January 27, 2016, and the single for "A-gain" was released on February 17, 2016; The opening theme to Ao no Kanata no Four Rhythm: Eternal Sky is "Believe in the Sky" by Kawada. A vocal collection of music for the series, which includes "Believe in the Sky", was released on May 1, 2016.
Reception
Thomas Knight of NookGaming praised the worldbuilding, and Hey Poor Players' Kenny McKee said that "If you like VNs, you’re going to like Aokana." However, Reuben Mount of TheSixthAxis and Lyle Carr of God is a Geek felt the lewd moments and pantyshots were a negative.In the 2014 Moe Game Awards, Aokana - Four Rhythms Across the Blue placed first.