Aokana: Four Rhythm Across the Blue

Aokana: Four Rhythm Across the Blue
Original visual novel cover featuring heroines (from left to right): Misaki Tobisawa, Mashiro Arisaka, Asuka Kurashina and Rika Ichinose
蒼の彼方のフォーリズム (Ao no Kanata no Fō Rizumu)
Genre	Drama, Romance, Sci-fi, Sports
Game
Developer	Sprite
Publisher	Sprite
Genre	Eroge, Visual novel
Platform	Windows, PlayStation Vita
Released	^JP November 28, 2014 (Windows)
Manga
Written by	Sprite
Illustrated by	Hideyu Tōgarashi
Published by	Kadokawa Corporation
Demographic	Seinen
Magazine	Comp Ace
Original run	December 2015 – present
Volumes	1
Anime television series
Directed by	Fumitoshi Oizaki
Produced by	Ryosuke Ono Tadashi Hoshino Fumihiro Yoshikawa Shingo Yokoya Masahiro Saito Koji Abe Kei Fukura Kenji Yamaguchi Yasuyuki Nishiya Eita Shibamoto
Written by	Reiko Yoshida
Music by	Elements Garden
Studio	Gonzo
Network	TV Tokyo, TVA, TVO, AT-X
Original run	January 12, 2016 – March 29, 2016
Episodes	12

Aokana: Four Rhythm Across the Blue, known in Japan as Ao no Kanata no Four Rhythm (蒼の彼方のフォーリズム Ao no Kanata no Fō Rizumu, subtitled Beyond the sky, into the firmament), officially abbreviated as Aokana (あおかな) and translated as Four Rhythm Across the Blue,^[1] is a Japanese adult visual novel developed by Sprite and released for Windows on November 28, 2014. The game will be ported to the PlayStation Vita. A manga adaptation began publication in Monthly Comp Ace magazine in October 2015. An anime television series adaptation, produced by Gonzo and directed by Fumitoshi Oizaki, aired between January and March 2016.

Gameplay

Aokana: Four Rhythm 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 race from one buoy to another, scoring points in the process. Masaya Hinata is a student at Kunahama High School, which is located in a four-island archipelago south of Japan. In the past, he was active in the sport, but quit due to a defeat. His life changes when Asuka Kurashina transfers to his school. Asuka becomes interested in Grav-Shoes and Flying Circus, and despite being unfamiliar with the sport and being a newcomer to the use of Grav-Shoes, she manages to score a point during a match with a student from another school. This leads Asuka and Masaya, together with classmates Misaki Tobisawa and Mashiro Arisaka, to form a Flying Circus team, with the goal of finding success during the Flying Circus summer tournament. At the tournament, the world of Flying Circus is rocked by a new technique known as Birdcage, which leads to defeats for Kunahama's Flying Circus team, and a relative newcomer, Saki Inui, becoming the tournament's champion. As a result of her defeat, Misaki temporarily quits Flying Circus, and the club thinks of a strategy on how to beat Inui at the fall tournament. At the fall tournament, Asuka manages to defeat Saki during overtime, and Saki and the club members become friends.

Characters

Main characters

Masaya Hinata (日向 晶也 Hinata Masaya)

Voiced by: Ryōta Ōsaka (anime)

The main protagonist in the visual novel and the coach of the Kunahama Institute Flying Circus team. He was destined to be a world-class FC player, but after suffering a crushing defeat in a match, he retired from the sport and went on with his high school life wanting to have nothing to do with FC. Upon meeting Asuka, he becomes her coach, but he still refuses to play. It is only after Misaki's return to the team and the determination of the other girls he decides to train alongside the girls. At the end of the series, he regains his desire to play FC again and is shown in his full gear while training the girls. He is a supporting character in the anime.^[2]

Asuka Kurashina (倉科 明日香 Kurashina Asuka)

Voiced by: Natsu Sawada (PC game), Misato Fukuen (PSV game, anime)

Flying style: All-rounder

The main heroine in the visual novel and main protagonist in the anime.^[2] Being a transfer student at Kunahama Institute, Asuka had never worn Grav-Shoes prior to moving to the island, but is able to pull off an air kick turn (a very difficult maneuvre) her first time flying with them. Despite her ditziness she is also determined at times, training hard while having fun. She met Masaya when they were children and he inspired her to fly, but neither seems to remember the encounter. She forms a strong friendship with Misaki as the anime series progresses.

Misaki Tobisawa (鳶沢 みさき Tobisawa Misaki)

Voiced by: Yuri Konno (PC game), Azumi Asakura (PSV game, anime)

Flying style: Fighter

A second-year student at Kunahama Institute. Out of all the new Kunahama FC club members, she is the only one with previous experience in the sport. She and Mashiro are good friends, but in the anime Misaki forms a very strong friendship with Asuka as the series progressed. She has a fascination of cats and sometimes tends to add the word "nyaa" (Japanese for the sound "meow" that cats make) into her speech. Her favorite food is udon. While at first she only joined the team on a whim, Asuka convinced her to return, coming to really enjoy the FC. It is heavily implied she's the rookie that defeated Masaya during the last game of his career, causing him to stop playing FC.

Mashiro Arisaka (有坂 真白 Arisaka Mashiro)

Voiced by: Mito Sera (PC game), Nozomi Yamamoto (PSV game, anime)

Flying style: Speeder

A first-year student at Kunahama whose family owns a restaurant that serves Misaki's favorite food, udon. She is very overprotective of Misaki and joins the FC club to be with her. She starts out as a Fighter because that is Misaki's flying style, but after befriending and training alongside Rika she realises that she is more suited to be a Speeder.

Rika Ichinose (市ノ瀬 莉佳 Ichinose Rika)

Voiced by: Mako Mishiro (PC game), Madoka Yonezawa (PSV game, anime)

Flying style: Speeder

Masaya's neighbour and a first-year student at Takafuji Academy, a school with one of the top FC teams. She befriends Mashiro when she helps her improve her playing style. Her favorite food is meat.

Other characters

Reiko Satōin (佐藤院 麗子 Satōin Reiko)

Voiced by: Rikka Kitami (PC game), Ryōko Ono (PSV game), Risa Taneda (anime)

Flying style: All-rounder

A second-year student at Takafuji and the Vice-Captain of the Takafuji FC club. She tend to be a little proud and self-centered, often making 'grand entrances'. She actually added the "-in" to the end of her family name "Satou", and Kazunari likes teasing her by calling her by her real name. Her family runs the Satou Food Group, a catering company famous for their high-quality seafood.

Saki Inui (乾 沙希 Inui Saki)

Voiced by: Yūka Kotorii (PC game), Natsumi Takamori (PSV game, anime)

Flying style: Speeder

A second-year student at Kairyou Academy. She had previously participated in FC in England and is one of the fastest players in the world. She has a rather emotionless demeanor on the surface, but has a soft spot for cats, as such having the two cat-shaped hairclips around her plaits. She has been best friends with Irina since they were children and follows her every command while playing. In her final match with Asuka, she truly starts to enjoy FC and becomes friends with Asuka and her friends.

Aoi Kagami (各務 葵 Kagami Aoi)

Voiced by: Megumi Ogata

The physical and health education teacher at Kunahama Institute and a former national FC player. She serves as Masaya's mentor and the FC club's advisor. During her player days she created a style called Birdcage which consists on controlling the opponent, something she's not proud of and dislikes that Irina and Saki brought back the technique. After Masaya returns to play, she also joins her students in training. After Asuka unlocks her balancer in her final match with Saki, Aoi comes to realize that her Birdcage ultimately had a positive effect, now causing the current FC to evolve again with no balance limiters.

Shion Aoyagi (青柳 紫苑 Aoyagi Shion)

Voiced by: Teppei Hirabayashi (PC game), Takayuki Kondō (PSV game, anime)

Flying style: Speeder

A third-year student at Kunahama Institute and the president of the Kunahama FC club. He is the last remaining member of the club before Masaya and others joined and tends to be overly dramatic in his actions.

Madoka Aoyagi (青柳 窓果 Aoyagi Madoka)

Voiced by: Miyako Suzuta (PC game), Naomi Wakabayashi (PSV game, anime)

Manager of the Kunahama FC club and classmate of Asuka, Masaya and Misaki. She is Shion's younger sister. When her brother graduates she becomes the team's new captain, and tends to be the straight man in the antics of the other members.

Minori Hosaka (保坂 実里 Hosaka Minori)

Voiced by: Hozumi Momoi (PC game), Yūko Gibu (PSV game, anime)

Mashiro's classmate and member of the newspaper club in Kunahama. She's very energetic and always carries around a microphone. She is also the commentator for the FC tournaments.

Hayato Shirase (白瀬 隼人 Shirase Hayato)

Voiced by: Uta Kijima (PC game), Takahiro Mizushima (PSV game, anime)

A worker at Sky Sports Shirase, a sporting goods store owned by his family that sells FC equipment. He's also an old acquaintance of Aoi.

Minamo Shirase (白瀬 みなも Shirase Minamo)

Voiced by: Yami Toyotaki (PC game), Ai Shimizu (PSV game, anime)

Hayato's younger sister. She helps out at the store and has a shy personality.

Botan Arisaka (有坂 牡丹 Arisaka Botan)

Voiced by: Emi Yamato (PC game), Hitomi Nabatame (PSV game, anime)

Mashiro's mother and owner of the family restaurant Mashiro Udon.

Kazunari Shindō (真藤 一成 Shindō Kazunari)

Voiced by: Charlie Umesaki (PC game), Kazuyuki Okitsu (PSV game, anime)

Flying style: All-rounder

Captain of the Takafuji FC club. He is a world-class FC player. He was inspired by Masaya to participate in FC hoping to beat him someday. He comes to see Asuka as a worthy opponent and uses his best tactics to defeat her after seeing she can keep up with him. He's defeated by Saki in the finals, but takes his lose surprisingly well. He later assists Masaya and co in training preperation for Saki's Birdcage after Misaki requests his help.

Irina Avalon (イリーナ・アヴァロン Irīna Avaron)

Voiced by: Yūko Nōmi (PC game), Kaori Mizuhashi (PSV game, anime)

A second-year student at Kairyou Academy and Saki's coach. Originally from England, she is the daughter of a famous Grav-Shoe maker. She is obsessed in creating the "perfect and beautiful" FC based on Aoi's style and believes the current game is "false", convincing Saki that only their methods are necessary to win, wishing for a chance to prove her point by winning two tournaments in a row and forcing the FC Community to admit that their FC is far superior to that "circus imitation". However, after Asuka and Saki face each other with no balance limiters, she begins to enjoy the current FC and even shows remorse to Aoi after the match, acknowledging that her view of FC was wrong.

Arika Okoze (虎魚 有梨華 Okoze Arika)

Voiced by: Hiori Hitsuki (PC game), Ema Kogure (PSV game, anime)

Flying style: Speeder

A first-year student at Shitou Suisan Academy. She is a close friend of Mashiro having known her since she was a baby. Her favorite food is tuna and is mockingly nicknamed "Maguro-chan".

Mayu Ganeko (我如古 繭 Ganeko Mayu)

Voiced by: Mima Yūki (PC game), Nozomi Sasaki (PSV game, anime)

A second-year student at Shitou Suisan Academy and Arika's 'senpai' or senior and coach. She is admired greatly by Arika, who calls her 'milady'.

Masked player (覆面選手 Fukumen senshu)

A side character in the novel series (not in anime).

Kasumi Kurobuchi (黒渕 霞 Kurobuchi Kasumi)

Voiced by: Kanami Fukashiro (PC game), Yuki Kaida (PSV game, anime)

A second-year student at Dougaura High and Asuka's opponent in the second round of the Summer Tournament.

Development and release

Aokana: Four Rhythm 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.^[3][4] The game was released on November 28, 2014 as a limited edition version, playable on a Windows PC.^[4] A PlayStation Vita version of the game has been announced for a 2016 release.^[5] A smartphone game titled Ao no Kanata no Four Rhythm: Eternal Sky has been announced for a 2016 release,^[6] while a sequel titled Ao no Kanata no Four Rhythm: Zwei was announced at the AnimeJapan event in March 2016.^[7]

Adaptations

Manga

A manga adaptation illustrated by Hideyu Tōgarashi began serialization in Kadokawa Corporation's Monthly Comp Ace magazine with the December 2015 issue sold on October 26, 2015.^[8][9] The first tankōbon volume was released on January 26, 2016.^[10]

Anime

An anime television series adaptation, produced by Gonzo and directed by Fumitoshi Oizaki, aired on TV Tokyo between January 12 and March 29, 2016.^[11] Crunchyroll is streaming the anime.^[12] 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.

Episode list

No.	Title	Original air date
1	"I'm Flying! I'm Actually Flying!" "Tondemasu, Tondemasu yo!" (飛んでます、飛んでますよっ!)	January 12, 2016
Transfer student Asuka Kurashina has just moved to the 4-Island-Archipelago, a zone where people can use a special type of shoes, Grav-Shoes, to fly. On her way to school, Asuka meets students Misaki Tobisawa and Masaya Hinata, who help her get to school on time. Once at school, Masaya and Misaki are asked to teach Asuka the basics of flying. As they fly to school next day, they see a dejected Shion Aoyagi, the president of school Flying Circus club, crouching on his knees after being defeated by Reiko Satouin, the vice-captain of the Takafuji's Flying Circus team. Asuka decides to take on Reiko herself despite the difference in their abilities. As Asuka is a beginner, Reiko decides that Asuka only needs to score once to win. At first, Asuka is completely dominated and unable to score even one point, but in the last moment she pulls off an air kick turn, an especially difficult move, and scores one point, winning the match.
2	"Udon...?" "U... do... n...?" (う…ど…ん…?)	January 19, 2016
After Reiko leaves, Shion begs Asuka and the others to join the Kunahama's Flying Circus team. At school, Shion's younger sister Madoka congratulates Asuka on scoring against Reiko. Madoka then encourages all of them to join the team. Asuka agrees almost immediately, but Masaya refuses and Misaki says she needs to think about it. After school, Madoka brings Asuka to the clubroom which is actually an old rundown bus. There they meet Shion and, surprisingly, Misaki and Mashiro, who have decided to join as well. They begin training, with Misaki being the best due to her having more experience. Asuka can fly but is unable to steer, and Mashiro is slow and uncoordinated. Aoi watches them while trying to encourage Masaya to join the team as well. Masaya, however, leaves without a word. The next day Madoka brings the girls to buy competition Grav-Shoes and flying suits. Afterwards, Misaki and Asuka have a practice match and Asuka's determination inspires Masaya to join the club as coach.
3	"I Just Got a Little Fired Up" "Chotto Moetekita dake" (ちょっと燃えてきただけ)	January 26, 2016
To boost the new recruits' skills, Aoi calls the Takafuji Flying Circus Team to arrange a training camp during spring break. During the last day of the camp, Reiko arranges some practice matches. Asuka is up against Rika Ichinose, a first-year and Speeder at Takafuji and she manages to score a point with an Air Kick Turn, surprising everyone, but ultimately loses the match. Mashiro plays Reiko but is completely defeated. Kazunari and Misaki are the last match and Kazunari immediately scores off the first buoy. Misaki, unable to keep up, takes a shortcut. He then purposely plays to her strength and proposes to take him on in a dogfight. Angered, Misaki chases after him and wants to attack but Masaya tells her to ignore the provocation and just stick to him like glue. Misaki follows and manages to score a point when they turn the corner. However, Kazunari still wins the match.
4	"Meat Makes Me Happy!" "Oniku......Ureshii!" (お肉......うれしい!)	February 2, 2016
Mashiro has been kept busy by make-up exams recently, causing her to often be late to FC training. Meanwhile, Misaki and Asuka are improving at a fast rate, leaving Mashiro lagging behind. After bumping into Rika by chance, Mashiro asks her to teach her the basics. Training starts the next day, and slowly Mashiro begins to pick up, and finds that she is more suited to be a Speeder like Rika than a Fighter like Misaki. As thanks, Mashiro gives Rika one of her stuffed cat toys and the two become friends. During a practice match with Asuka the next day, Mashiro manages to beat her. Misaki is pleased to see that Mashiro has finally found her own style of play instead of just blindly following her. In her way home, Asuka accidentally lets her phone slip out of her grasp and fall down a cliff, but then a white-haired girl swoops down from the sky at incredible speed and catches the phone for her before flying away.
5	"Yeah, Keep Calm and Carry On" "Un, Ochitsuite Ikō" (うん、落ち着いていこう)	February 9, 2016
The Summer Tournament has started, and Asuka is up against a girl named Arika Okoze from Shitou Suisan Academy. Misaki is up against Rika and Mashiro against Reiko. There, Asuka also spots the white-haired girl, Inui Saki from Kairyou Academy, who is playing against Shion. First up is Mashiro's match against Reiko. Mashiro uses a Low Yo-Yo and touches the first two buoys. However, Reiko engages her in dogfighting and wins 7-2. Next is Misaki and Rika, and Misaki wins 5-1. Shion takes on Saki with all his determination but loses 22-1. Asuka's match with Arika begins and the latter gains the advantage with a Low Yo-Yo and extremely wide Scissors, but Asuka turns the game around with an Air Kick Turn and dogfighting, winning 4-3.
6	"Is That All You've Got?" "Sore ga Kimi no Jitsuryoku Kai?" (それが君の実力かい?)	February 16, 2016
The second day of the Tournament has begun, and Asuka is up against Kasumi Kurobuchi from Dougaura High. Asuka wins 6-8 with an angry Kasumi wondering how Asuka can smile so happily during a serious match. Misaki is up against Kazunari next, with the latter taking the lead and avoiding the dogfight that Misaki is looking for. Following Masaya's instructions, Misaki manages to tackle Kazunari and engages him in a dogfight, scoring her first point, however Kazunari still wins 5-3. Asuka is now up against Kazunari and he scores the first point. He then scores another by using Cobra, a move mostly used by the pros. Asuka is very tired, but takes a shortcut and catches up to Kazunari. Kazunari pulls back to use Cobra again, but Asuka uses a succession of Air Kick Turns and scores four points. Kazunari gets extremely fired up and wraps up the match with another two points, winning 6-4.
7	"Sting Before You're Stung!" "Sasareru Mae ni Sase!" (刺される前に刺せ!)	February 23, 2016
The second day of the Summer Tournament begins and Saki has won against Ganeko Mayu from Shitou Suisan. Only Kazunari and Saki are left for the final. During the ten-minute break, Irina approaches Aoi and explains to her that their style of FC was inspired by her, requesting that she watch the next match. Kazunari is confident but Saki slowly start to dominate the match. Down on the sand, while everyone is shocked at the King of Kings losing, Asuka is entranced by Saki's perfectly planned moves, which unnerves Misaki greatly. Meanwhile, Saki overtakes Kazunari in the end and wins 8-6. Afterwards Madoka takes over as the new captain of the club in her brother's place. The next day, Misaki bumps into Kazunari at the bus stop. She questions him about his defeat, thinking that he would be furious and embarrassed but taking it surprisingly well instead. Kazunari explains that fear of losing means you're enjoying the sport. Shocked by his words, Misaki sits at the bus stop, deep in thought.
8	"I... Can't Fly Anymore" "Mō... Tobenai" (もう...飛べない)	March 1, 2016
Misaki has quit the FC team, much to the shock of the other members. Determined to work out an explanation from her, the girls try to talk to her, but Misaki is albe to successfully escape their grasps each time. The next day after school the FC team sees a helicopter flying towards Kunahama Institute. Inui Saki and Irina Avalon emerge from the helicopter and request a practice match against Saki which Asuka accepts. Despite Asuka's efforts, however, the match is one-sided in Saki's favor and Asuka ends up plunging into the water, and Misaki dives in to save her. After the match, Asuka's emotionally devastated and breaks down crying as Misaki tries to conform her.
9	"The Answer is in the Sky!" "Kotae wa Sora ni Arun desu!" (答えは空にあるんです!)	March 8, 2016
Asuka is not in school today, and Misaki is unable to concentrate; the events of the previous day constantly replaying in her head. After school, Misaki and Mashiro go to Asuka's apartment to bring her her homework, and hear her singing the theme song of an outdated anime, Zephyrion, that Mashiro knows well. Slightly surprised but not wishing to disturb her, they give her homework to her mother and quietly leave. The next day, Asuka reappears in school, saying blissfully that she is fine, but Misaki notes that she is not wearing her hairclip today. During lunch break, Asuka flies off to the clock tower, and remembers her past when she was still a 'young, weak, no-good girl'. Misaki then flies over and passes Asuka her lunch, asking her about her feelings after losing to Saki. Asuka explains that she often wished to fly when she was young. After school, during FC training, Asuka seems wobbly and returns to her original hopeless state when she first moved to the Four-Island Archipelago, being unable to execute moves she normally would have executed with ease. Concerned, the FC team asks her if she is alright, and Masaya advises her to do visual flight exercises when she gets home to remember her way of flight. For the next few days however, Asuka has been absent from school and FC training. Tonight, Misaki runs out to close her gate due to heavy rain and finds a drenched Asuka standing outside her house with a blank look on her face. Being the good friend that she is, Misaki invites her in for dinner and to stay the night, with Mashiro tagging along but being shoved unceremoniously into the closet due to her pervertness. In Misaki's room, Misaki explains to Asuka what Kazunari told her, hoping it would encourage Asuka, and it worked, with the two girls laughing together throughout the night. The next day, as the three girls run to school after landing, Asuka abruptly challenges Misaki to a match after school, with Mashiro being the referee. The deal: if Misaki wins, she gets to do what she wishes; if Asuka wins, Misaki will have to rejoin the FC team. After school, the girls begin the match, with Misaki taking a shortcut and Asuka getting the first point. Asuka uses Scissors, but Misaki is well-used to this method and quickly engages Asuka in a dogfight, with Asuka on the upper hand during zipzapping, until Misaki turns the tide with 2 points. In the last 5 mins, Asuka uses Delta Force, which is from Zephyrion, but Misaki speedily dodges and scores a point, winning. As the girls lie on the sand after the match, Misaki remarks that that was the most fun she had had in a long time, rejoining the FC team, much to the celebration of the other members.
10	"Is That For FC, Too?" "Sore mo FC no Tame desu ka?" (それもFCのためですか?)	March 15, 2016
Night has fallen, and Saki and Irina are at the balcony watching the stars. Saki remarks on how pretty it is, while Irina agrees, reminding Saki of all their hard work. Saki nods in approval and agreement, clutching her cat-shaped hairclips, of which has a picture with Irina hugging her. The next day, during FC training, the FC team train harder than ever, in air, underwater, and on land. Now with lots of free time on their hands due to term break, training starts at 6 in the morning. At that, Mashiro promises to wake Misaki up, but Misaki refuses and insists that she wakes up herself. The next day, Misaki is true to her word and as they fly to the training venue, see Asuka already practicing with by herself. They immediately begin training, halfway with Madoka lamenting that it is a pity they do not have enough players to hone their flexible offensive and defensive skills, which are needed to put up a fight against Saki that is overheard by the girls. Halfway during a break, Mashiro calibrates her Grav-Shoes to Fighter style to spar with them later, and in doing so forgets to switch on the balancer, which maintains flight, causing her to spin about crazily. Asuka tries it out out of curiosity as Mashiro fixes her Grav-Shoes, but to no avail. Her results yield the same as Mashiro's: hopeless. After some more training, the FC team leaves for home. Meanwhile, Saki is sparring with the top players in Europe, but they are gradually losing against her. Pleased, Irina tells Saki to cut off her balancer completely this time, unlike previously when she only trained with it still half-locked. Saki, as usual, complies, and shocks the Europe players greatly. The next day, while the FC team is doing their stretches, Reiko and Rika appear sailing along the sea in a fishing boat suddenly, dressed in their flying suits and Grav-Shoes. As Reiko and Rika land on the dock, Asuka reveals she invited them to train together to beat Saki. Reiko, however, seems to have gotten the wrong point and wishes to have the rematch that Asuka promised when they first met (in Episode 1), but much to the dismay of Reiko, Asuka declines. During training, due to the increase in partners, they are able to play 3 on 1; a race to touch the buoy. This training method proves to be highly effective as they leave for the night, happy but tired. However, Misaki takes a detour on her way home, and comes to the Shindou family house, where Kazunari is meditating, in preperation for the upcoming Fall Tournament. Misaki requests that he train with them, and Kazunari, although surprised, happily agrees. During training the next day, Misaki tries desperately to beat Kazunari, and keeps coming at him. However, Masaya suddenly swoops in, wearing his own old competition Grav-Shoes and touches Misaki's back, cautioning her to always watch her surroundings. He then challenges Asuka to a dogfight, in which Asuka is taught Teacher Aoi's special moves while the others learn down on the ground too. Halfway, Teacher Aoi suddenly interrupts their training, and begins to teach them 'her ace in the hole'. Meanwhile, Irina and Saki are still training in Kairyou Academy's Indoor Sports Hall. The Europe players have retired for the evening. As Irina watches Saki fly, she smiles sweetly, satisfied that they had mastered such a 'perfect and beautiful' play style, and vows to bring the world to its knees.
11	"I Refuse to Lose!" "Watashi Makenai!" (わたし負けない!)	March 22, 2016
The Fall Tournament has begun and Mashiro is up against Rika. After a close match, Mashiro wins 7-6 but loses in her second match. In the semifinals, Misaki is up against Saki. The match begins and Saki starts for the buoy while Misaki takes a shortcut. Using a Sonic Boost Misaki manages to engage Saki in a dogfight and hits Saki up into the air. Saki comes after Misaki again but Misaki hits her once more and Saki is forced to dodge as they ascend. They race together and Misaki is forced to fly upside-down so that she will not be at a disadvantage in a dogfight. Saki raises her left hand and hits out at Misaki but the latter dodges and touches her back, scoring. Saki sends her to the water but Misaki keeps coming at her. Inspired by her determination, Saki decides to dogfight wholeheartedly and scores two points. Misaki uses an Air Kick Turn and scores a point of her own but the match ends there with Saki winning by one point.
12	"Let's... Keep Flying!!" "Motto...Tobō!!" (もっと…飛ぼう!!)	March 29, 2016
Asuka is facing off with Saki. Asuka uses three consecutive Sonic Boosts and a new technique called Pentagram Force to score the first two points. After scoring a point herself, Saki attacks Asuka but the latter evades all her attacks and scores her third point. Now 3-1, an angry Irina orders Saki to switch off her balancer, allowing her to tap into the full potential of her shoes. Saki levels up the score and the match ends 3-3. During the break before the extra time, Asuka decides to switch off her balancer. The match restarts and Asuka plunges into the water, unable to keep control, but soon emerges from the water and resumes the match, scoring two more points. Irina orders Saki to attack Asuka while the latter is still trying to get her shoes under control but Saki ignores her. Seeing her change of heart, Asuka encourages Saki to enjoy the moment as they resume the dogfight. Saki and Asuka score a point each, leaving the score 6-4. Asuka once again encourages Saki to enjoy the match and keep flying together, to which Saki replies with a smile and proceeds to even up the score 6-6. As the extra time is up, whoever scores the next point will win. Asuka and Saki circle around each other, leaving behind a swirling ball of their contrails that leaves the audience in awe. Asuka suddenly loses control and Saki reaches out to touch her back but Asuka musters her determination and performs a backflip to touch Saki's back and win the championship. After the match, Irina apologises for her behaviour. Saki and Irina becomes friends with the Kunahama girls and Masaya regains his determination to fly.

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 (Sora o Koete)" (Wings of Courage ～空を超えて～, "Wings of Courage (Beyond the Sky)") 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" (空恋, "Sky Love") 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.^[4] In addition, an image song single titled "Rays of the Sun" by Kawada was released on December 28, 2014 at Comiket 87.^[13]

The anime's opening theme is "Contrail (Kiseki)" (Contrail～軌跡～, "Contrail (Track)") by Kawada and the ending theme is "A-gain" by Ray.^[14] The single for "Contrail (Kiseki)" was released on January 27, 2016 and the single for "A-gain" will be released on February 17, 2016;^[15][16]

Reception

In the 2014 Moe Game Awards, Ao no Kanata no Four Rhythm placed first.^[17]

References

1. "突発！FC部深夜のガールズトーク合宿" (in Japanese). Sprite. Archived from the original on May 3, 2015. Retrieved July 19, 2015.
2. "Character丨TVアニメ 蒼の彼方のフォーリズム 公式サイト" (in Japanese). Sprite. Retrieved March 22, 2016.
3. "Ao no Kanata no Four Rhythm Adult Game Gets TV Anime". Anime News Network. November 13, 2014. Retrieved November 13, 2014.
4. "少女たちが空を駆け、恋を知る物語。 蒼の彼方のフォーリズム / あおかな 特設サイト | Spec" (in Japanese). Sprite. Archived from the original on July 4, 2015. Retrieved July 19, 2015.
5. "Ao no Kanata no Four Rhythm Headed To PlayStation Vita". Siliconera. June 30, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
6. "Sprite official Twitter account" (in Japanese). Twitter. March 16, 2016. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
7. "sprite次回作・蒼の彼方のフォーリズム-ZWEI-発表" (in Japanese). Sprite. March 26, 2016. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
8. "なろう小説「グリモワール×リバース」マンガ版などコンプエースで新連載3本" (in Japanese). Comic Natalie. October 26, 2015. Retrieved November 26, 2015.
9. "Ao no Kanata no Four Rhythm Game Gets Manga Adaptation". Anime News Network. October 31, 2015. Retrieved November 26, 2015.
10. "蒼の彼方のフォーリズム" (in Japanese). Kadokawa Corporation. Retrieved February 16, 2016.
11. "Ao no Kanata no Four Rhythm TV Anime to Debut in Winter 2016". Anime News Network. August 27, 2015. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
12. "Crunchyroll to Stream AOKANA: Four Rhythm Across the Blue Anime". Anime News Network. January 4, 2016. Retrieved January 11, 2016.
13. "sprite/fairysコミックマーケット87特設ページ" [Sprite/Fairys Comic Market special page]. Sprite. Archived from the original on March 16, 2015. Retrieved July 19, 2015.
14. "Mami Kawada and Ray to Perform "Ao no Kanata no Four Rhythm" Themes". Crunchyroll. November 2, 2015. Retrieved November 3, 2015.
15. "川田まみ　ニューシングル　リリース決定！" (in Japanese). NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan. Retrieved November 28, 2015.
16. "2月17日ニューシングル「a-gain」リリース！" (in Japanese). NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan. Retrieved November 28, 2015.
17. "The Results Are In for the 2014 Moe Game Awards". Anime News Network. February 11, 2015. Retrieved February 14, 2015.

External links

• Official website (Japanese)
• Ao no Kanata no Four Rhythm at Sprite (Japanese)
• Anime official website (Japanese)
• Aokana: Four Rhythm Across the Blue at The Visual Novel Database
• Aokana: Four Rhythm Across the Blue (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia