Children of the Whales


Children of the Whales is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Abi Umeda. The manga is licensed in North America by Viz Media. An anime television series adaptation by J.C. Staff aired in Japan from October to December 2017, and was released globally on Netflix in March 2018.

Synopsis

The story focuses on a boy called Chakuro, who lives on a giant vessel called a Mud Whale that drifts over the sea of sand. In the Mud Whale, society is divided into two kinds of people: the Marked, who can move objects with their minds using a strange power called "thymia", at the expense of shortened lifespans, and the Unmarked, people who lack thymia but enjoy longer lifespans. Chakuro and his friends have never seen anyone from the outside world, and they spend their days yearning to explore and learn about it. In year 93 of the vessel's exile, the Mud Whale encounters a lonely island and Chakuro finds a girl inside, starting an adventure that changes the lives of everyone.

Characters

;Chakuro
;Lykos
;Ouni
;Suoh
;Ginshu
;Liontari
;Shuan
;Sami
;Kicha
;Taisha

Media

Manga

Abi Umeda launched the series in the July 2013 issue of Akita Shoten's shōjo manga magazine Monthly Mystery Bonita on June 6, 2013. The series has been collected into 16 volumes as of March 2020. Viz Media announced during their panel at Anime Boston 2017 that they have licensed the manga.

Anime

An anime adaptation of the series was announced in the February 2017 issue of Mystery Bonita on January 6, 2017. The anime adaptation, which was later confirmed to be a television series, is directed by Kyōhei Ishiguro and written by Michiko Yokote, with animation by J.C.Staff, character designs by Haruko Iizuka and music by Hiroaki Tsutsumi. It aired from October 8 to December 24, 2017, on Tokyo MX and other channels. It ran for 12 episodes and will have two OVA. It was released globally by Netflix in March 2018. The opening theme song "Sono Saki e" is performed by singer-songwriter RIRIKO, while the ending theme song "Hashitairo" is performed by rionos.
TitleOriginal air date