Her Blue Sky


Her Blue Sky is a 2019 Japanese animated film produced by CloverWorks. The film is directed by Tatsuyuki Nagai and written by Mari Okada, with Masayoshi Tanaka designing the characters and serving as chief animation director. The trio under the creative team Super Peace Busters previously worked together on Toradora!, Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day, and The Anthem of the Heart. It was released in Japan on October 11, 2019, in all Toho Cinemas.
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Synopsis

In Chichibu, 18-year-old Shinnosuke Kanamuro, who is an aspiring guitarist is dating Akane Aioi. Shinno is also friendly with Akane's 3-year-old sister Aoi, and in turn the sisters support Shinno's band. Akane plans to move to Tokyo with Shinno after graduation, where he’ll pursue a career in music. However, the girls' parents are killed in a car accident and Akane changes her plans, choosing to stay in Chichibu to raise Aoi.
Thirteen years later, Aoi is an aspiring bassist who plans to move to Tokyo after high school, while Akane works for the city hall. Masamichi Nakamura, the drummer of Shinno's former band, also works for the city hall. Michinko is planning to hold a music festival to boost the city's tourism, and the main performer is the famous enka singer Dankichi Nitobe.
One afternoon, while practicing bass alone in the hall, Aoi encounters Shinno from thirteen years ago. Frightened, she runs home to Akane and awkwardly asks her about Shinno. Akane admits that she has not heard from Shinno since he left, and is not even sure if he is still alive. This leads Aoi to believe she had seen Shinno's ghost. Later, the sisters reluctantly help Michinko in welcoming Dankichi Nitobe, and they are surprised to see a grown Shinnosuke as the guitarist of Nitobe's backup band. Aoi then returns to the hall with her friend Tsugu, where they confirm that the young Shinno has a physical body but is unable to leave the hall. Tsugu hypothesizes that Shinno is an born from Shinnosuke's strong unresolved feelings. Shinno then asks Aoi to help bring Akane and Shinnosuke together, believing that doing so will return him to Shinnosuke's body. However, this proves to be difficult as Shinnosuke is rude, arrogant, and does not get along with the Aioi sisters—a different person from the Shinno that they once knew.

Characters

;Aoi Aioi
;Shinnosuke Kanamuro Shinno
;Akane Aioi
;Dankichi Nitobe
;Masatsugu Nakamura
;Masamichi Nakamura
;Chika Ōtaki

Production

Her Blue Sky was announced by the Super Peace Busters creative team on March 21, 2019, consisting of director Tatsuyuki Nagai, screenwriter Mari Okada, and character designer Masayoshi Tanaka. The trio previously collaborated on Toradora!, Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day, and The Anthem of the Heart, with the film set in Chichibu, Saitama, Okada's hometown and the setting of the two latter aforementioned anime, focusing on the relationship between four individuals. The film is animated by CloverWorks, directed by Nagai and written by Okada, with Tanaka serving as character designer and chief animation director. Masaru Yokoyama is composing the film's soundtrack. Aniplex, Fuji TV, Toho, and Story Inc. are credited for production.
The theme song titled after the film, "Her Blue Sky", as well as the ending theme song "Mellow Blue" are performed by Aimyon.

Release

The film was distributed by Toho and it was released in Japan on October 11, 2019, in all Toho Cinemas in Japan. Netflix began streaming the film in October 2024, with an English dub. along with a Spanish and Portuguese HBO Max streamed the film in Southeast Asia on November 19, 2024 and removed on September 1, 2025.

Reception

Box office

Her Blue Sky in its opening weekend ranked #4 in the Japanese box office, earning in 3 days. As of October 28, 2019, the film has grossed a total of .
The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray in Japan on June 10, 2020.

Other media

Two novels and three manga volumes were released.

Novels

One of the novels was released in two different forms:Her Blue Sky: A Novel by Mio Nukaga Her Blue Sky by Mio Nukaga
The second novel was a spinoff told from the perspectives of other characters in the story:Her Blue Sky: Alternative Melodies by Saginomiya Misaki

Manga

A three-volume manga series by Yaeko Ninagawa was released between 2019 and 2020 by Kadokawa Corporation after being serialized on their Comic Newtype website.