is a Japanese

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

series by Hiroshi Mori. First published by Chuōkōron-shinsha in June 2001 and spanning six books, it follows the journeys and tribulations of a group of young

fighter pilot A fighter pilot is a military aviator trained to engage in air-to-air combat, air-to-ground combat and sometimes electronic warfare while in the cockpit of a fighter aircraft. Fighter pilots undergo specialized training in aerial warfare and ...

s involved in

dogfight A dogfight, or dog fight, is an aerial battle between fighter aircraft conducted at close range. Dogfighting first occurred in Mexico in 1913, shortly after the invention of the airplane. Until at least 1992, it was a component in every majo ...

warfare, and is set during an alternate historical period. The series is unlike other works by Mori, noted for his series of mystery novels. The series is illustrated by

manga artist A is a comic artist who writes and/or illustrates manga. As of 2006, about 3,000 professional manga artists were working in Japan. Most manga artists study at an art college or manga school or take on an apprenticeship with another artist be ...

Kenji Tsuruta is a Japanese manga artist. Among his most famous works is the science fiction series ''Spirit of Wonder'', which has been adapted into an anime series and brought him much acclaim. Profile During his formative years in university as a student of ...

. The series was adapted into an

animated film Animation is a method by which image, still figures are manipulated to appear as Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent cel, celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited ...

, a

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

and a

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

series.

Publishing history

The first book written and published, but meant to be the last in the series, was ''The Sky Crawlers'', first released in June 2001. A shinshobon (refurbished) edition of the book followed in October 2002, while the

bunkobon In Japan, are small-format paperback books, designed to be affordable and space saving. The great majority of ''bunkobon'' are A6 (105×148mm or 4.1"×5.8") in size. They are sometimes illustrated and like other Japanese paperbacks usually ...

(paper back) edition followed in October 2004. The second, but chronologically first, book in the series, , was released in June 2004, while the shinshobon edition for this volume followed in October 2004 and the bunkobon edition followed in November 2005. The third book in the series, , followed in June 2005, while its shinshobon edition followed in December 2005 and its bunkobon edition followed in November 2006. The fourth book in the series, , followed in June 2006. The fifth book in the series, , was released in June 2007, while the sixth book, , a short story collection, was released in June 2008. The misplaced publishing order was intended to show there is no need to read the story in the chronological order.

Volumes

Tankōbon

Published by

Chuokoron-Shinsha is a Japanese publisher. It was established in 1886, under the name . In 1999, it was acquired by The Yomiuri Shimbun Holdings, and its name was subsequently changed to Chūōkōron-shinsha. Profile The company publishes a wide variety of mater ...

. * * * * * *

Novels

Published by C Novels, a Chuokoron-Shinsha imprint. * * * * * *

Bunko

Published by Chūkō Bunko, a Chuokoron-Shinsha imprint. * * * * * *

English translation

The series was released digitally in English from 2016 to 2022 by The BBB: Breakthrough Bandwagon Books, translated by

Ryūsui Seiryōin is a Japanese novelist, active in mystery and various other fields. He was born in 1974, in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. He won the 2nd Mephisto Prize in 1996 while in Kyoto University, and started to work as a novelist. After that, Ryusui publishe ...

. * ''The Sky Crawlers'' ** ''The Sky Crawlers'': Prologue, Episode 1 (June 29, 2016) ** ''The Sky Crawlers'': Episode 2, Episode 3 (October 30, 2016) ** ''The Sky Crawlers'': Episode 4, Episode 5, Epilogue (February 28, 2017) * ''None But Air'' ** ''None But Air'': Prologue, Episode 1 (June 29, 2017) ** ''None But Air'': Episode 2, Episode 3 (October 29, 2017) ** ''None But Air'': Episode 4, Epilogue (February 28, 2018) * ''Down to Heaven'' ** ''Down to Heaven'': Prologue, Episode 1 (June 28, 2018) ** ''Down to Heaven'': Episode 2, Episode 3 (November 5, 2019) ** ''Down to Heaven'': Episode 4, Epilogue (March 2, 2019) * ''Flutter Into Life'' ** ''Flutter Into Life'': Prologue, Episode 1 (June 30, 2019) ** ''Flutter Into Life'': Episode 2, Episode 3 (October 30, 2019) ** ''Flutter Into Life'': Episode 4, Epilogue (February 29, 2020) * ''Cradle the Sky'' ** ''Cradle the Sky'': Prologue, Episode 1 (June 30, 2020) ** ''Cradle the Sky'': Episode 2, Episode 3 (November 1, 2020) ** ''Cradle the Sky'': Episode 4, Epilogue (February 28, 2021) * ''Sky Eclipse'' ** ''Sky Eclipse'': Episodes 1-3 (June 30, 2021) ** ''Sky Eclipse'': Episodes 4-6 (October 31, 2021) ** ''Sky Eclipse'': Episodes 7-8 (February 28, 2022)

Media

Film

The first novel was adapted into an

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

film of the same name, directed by

Mamoru Oshii is a Japanese filmmaker, television director and writer. Famous for his philosophy-oriented storytelling, Oshii has directed a number of acclaimed anime films, including ''Urusei Yatsura 2: Beautiful Dreamer'' (1984), ''Angel's Egg'' (1985), ...

, which was released across Japanese theatres by Warner Bros. Japan on August 2, 2008. Animated by

Production I.G is a Japanese animation studio and production enterprise, founded on December 15, 1987, by Mitsuhisa Ishikawa and headquartered in Musashino, Tokyo, Japan. The letters I and G derive from the names of the company founders: producer Mitsuhisa Ish ...

, the film was written by Chihiro Itō, features character designs by

Tetsuya Nishio is a Japanese animator and character designer. Nishio began his career as an inbetweener for the TV series ''Osomatsu-kun'' (1988). He worked for Studio Pierrot on ''Ninku'' (1995-1996). Since he was hired to work on ''Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade ...

and music by

Kenji Kawai is a Japanese music composer and arranger. Known as one of the biggest names in the soundtrack world, he has worked on a wide range of mixed media productions, including anime, TV shows, films and video games. Among his credits are Toei's Kame ...

. The series' creator Mori had stated that he felt ''The Sky Crawlers'' was the "most difficult" of his works to adapt, and had given his consent to the making of the film after learning of Oshii's involvement as director.

Video game

, '' The Sky Crawlers: Innocent Aces'', with a plot serving as a

prequel A prequel is a literary, dramatic or cinematic work whose story precedes that of a previous work, by focusing on events that occur before the original narrative. A prequel is a work that forms part of a backstory to the preceding work. The term " ...

to the 2008 film was developed for the

Wii The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America and in December 2006 for most other Regional lockout, regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major ho ...

by Project Aces, the

Namco Bandai is a Japanese multinational video game publisher headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo. Its international branches, Bandai Namco Entertainment America and Bandai Namco Entertainment Europe, are respectively headquartered in Irvine, California and ...

team behind the ''

Ace Combat is an arcade-style combat flight simulation video game franchise published by Bandai Namco Entertainment, formerly Namco. Debuting in 1995 with ''Air Combat'' for the PlayStation, the series includes eight mainline installments, multiple spin- ...

'' series. It was released in Japan on October 16, 2008.

Xseed Games Xseed Games is an American video game company founded by former members of Square Enix USA. It later became a subsidiary of the Japanese game company Marvelous, providing the localization and publishing services for video games and related mat ...

has released the game in North America on January 12, 2010. It was also released by

Namco Bandai Games is a Japanese multinational video game publisher headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo. Its international branches, Bandai Namco Entertainment America and Bandai Namco Entertainment Europe, are respectively headquartered in Irvine, California and ...

in Europe on February 26, 2010.

Manga

A manga series, based on the game, titled ''Sky Crawlers: Innocent Aces'' and illustrated by Yūho Ueji, was serialized in the monthly magazine ''

Monthly Comic Blade was a Japanese shōnen manga magazine published by Mag Garden. It was first published in February 2002 and was sold on the 30 of each month until July 2014. It restarted in September 2014 as a free online magazine titled ''Online Magazine Comic B ...

'' from November 2008 issue and collected into two volumes.

References

External links

Official novel website

"Sky Crawlers"
at ''

The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction ''The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'' (SFE) is an English language reference work on science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and f ...

'' * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sky Crawlers 2001 Japanese novels Alternate history book series Aviation novels Philosophical novels Science fiction book series Shōnen manga Chuokoron-Shinsha books fr:The Sky Crawlers it:The Sky Crawlers - I cavalieri del cielo ja:スカイ・クロラシリーズ zh:空中杀手