Iriya no Sora, UFO no Natsu

[Cosmic Eagle]

Just finished the OVA...now reading the novels...

Damn....it was so sad.....I think she won but died in combat or something due to injuries or stress from piloting the Manta....heart breaking....rarely has any show been able to evoke such strong emotions in me. Brilliant. I still can't stop crying 3 hours after watching it....

Anyway, anyone know if the author is planning any future works?

[yezhanquan]

Well, time to raise this thread a bit. The manga version is now complete at 2 volumes.

Apparently, Akiyama-sensei's latest work is titled Dragon Buster. It's now under serialization in Dengeki Bunko Magazine (formerly in Dengeki hp).

[Cosmic Eagle]

2nd volume of manga is great. It follows closely the novels despite it being supposedly divergent

[Spirit Icana]

Looks like Iriya made it to 2010.

This short six episode series is still my favorite anime of all time. I don't know if another show is going to top it for me. I really would like it to be topped though. I think that ending really is the reason Iriya has stuck with me this long. I think its been four years since I last watched it. Amazing.

Cosmic Eagle, reading your post made me feel nostalgic. I cried and felt emotional pain long after the show ended. In my mind, shortly after viewing the anime, it felt like Iriya was on the battlefield still and she was going to throw away everything to save the last fruit of the world that meant something to her. The story was still going on in my head and I was crying with that thought in mind.

The anime/novels NEVER told us what happened after that last flight, but the manner in which the scene was done left an imprint on my imagination. We never were told that Iriya died at all after the story was over, but we knew she was clearly commited at the end to make her last battle a victorious one, even if it would draw the last of her breath. The music that accompanied that scene with Iriya ascending to her plane was epic and threw a heavenly aura on top the sacrifice Iriya was making.

Many people, with some exceptions like myself, think that Iriya died at the end, despite no clear mark of such event. It was the author's fantastic play on our imaginations that have some folks feel that way and it made the impact that much more powerful. Even for me, I felt the girl clearly sacrificed herself somehow, despite having never had her life actually taken away. Today, I simply look at the story as was told: Iriya took to the skies. The end. For me, she continues to live on in that fashion.

Truly, where Iriya continues to live on is in my head. My imagination.

[Thoguht]

I'm another of those people who have been haunted by this anime ever since they saw it. A flawed masterpiece, but a masterpiece nonetheless. It's a trainwreck of tropes and genres, but somehow, maybe even by accident, it turned into something wonderful. The "folk dance" on the hilltop - I still weep every time I watch that scene, truly unique and one of the most magical in any anime, or in any other medium for that matter.*

Originally Posted by Spirit Icana

Truly, where Iriya continues to live on is in my head. My imagination.

I think that's how you need to approach the ending. The "yokatta" crop circle says to me that Asaba at least has closure, even if nobody else does.

* Be sure to watch it with a decent sound system turned up high so as to get the full impact of the Black Manta's sudden appearance

[Dop]

Originally Posted by Thoguht

The "folk dance" on the hilltop - I still weep every time I watch that scene...

With you on that one. That's one of the truly unforgettable scenes in anime, I think.

[Thoguht]

I don't think Northrop Grumman ever thought about using their planes for dancing, but the combination of thrust vectoring, anti-gravity and fly-by-thought seems to work well for it.

One question about the end of the scene - just before the Black Manta flies off, it executes a very rapid sequence of maneuvers. Is Iriya writing something in the sky or just showing off?

[drobertbaker]

Another dribble coming in:

I'm sorry to say I fall into the flawed-with-great-potential camp on this one.

I found the artwork low-budget and poor, to the extent that I had dificulty telling one character from another; Enimoto from the anonymous rapist, Akiho from the sister, Dad from the Chief. Surely a primary and essential purpose of illustration is to delineate characters.

I found the presentation full of holes, both holes in the plot and holes in the motivation of the characters. The choice and length of scenes was insufficient to create a smooth and flowing narrative. The holes created a sense of melodrama for me, cheapening the emotional effect of events.

Combined with the fuzzy artwork, the holes allowed for example the impression that the would-be rapist was a crazed Enimoto, instead of the actual interesting and important character lost to the OVA. The time spent just figuring out who was doing what and why detracted from appreciating the story.

On the plus side, there are some wonderful scenes, even taken more or less in isolation:

• the dance
• the fight with the nurse over the chest prickling with hypodermics
• the outburst on the railway tracks and the subsequent total collapse of her personality

I was however unimpressed with the final confrontation. It felt contrived and too convenient. I found myself chortling with Enimoto: "Way to go kid! I couldn't have scripted a better pitch myself!" Maybe middle school boys are not yet aware that the most effective way to get a female to do something is to forbid her to do it.

And then of course, Enimoto provokes the kid into killing him, doing his final dirty work for him. We discover at the end that the kid was played from start to finish, a depressing fact he seems to shrug off, absorbing the considerable consequences and moving on.

I think another couple of episodes, or maybe even just replacing some of the overallocated pointless filler (like the editor-sister hijinks) with more developmental material central to the main plot and characters, could have really turned this into a winner.

Great source material could not compensate for the one-two punch of insufficient budget and less than stellar directorial decisions.

My two bits.

[Joachim]

I cant believe myself for skipping this anime gah i missed all the discussions and left alone reading comments dated from 2007 in this forum, forever alone

"Better than it sounds" is what i thought when i actually decide to watch this, and honestly i might have skipped this one because of the title itself (but heck saikano's title is none the less more "wtf" kinda of thing, she the ultimate weapon really? but i ended up watching that one)

but anyway , i loved it, way better than saikano (which is far more depressing and it kinda left me feeling way more more bitter than sweet), it seems that past anime have a lot of this angst, tragedy and wham ending, while now we have lots of moe comedy and cute stuffs.. well trend gotta change i guess, hopefully more depressing and bittersweet anime gets released more in the future after this moe, cute trend wears off.

kind of funny i said that sentence, angel beats arent exactly happy fluffy kind of anime either, but yeah meh..

[Spirit Icana]

Originally Posted by Joachim

I cant believe myself for skipping this anime gah i missed all the discussions and left alone reading comments dated from 2007 in this forum, forever alone

You're never alone.

I come here every couple of months to see if people miraculously find this anime years after its debut. I'm always fascinated how people find this show, or at least consider a six episode OVA with a name many don't recognize worth watching, what with trillions of anime shows out there.

I myself am not an anime freak. I'm a gamer who just happens to watch anime every other month or so. Before Iriya, all I use to watch was Sci-Fi anime like Gundam and Crest/Banner of the Stars. I saw Iriya on somebody's AMV opening and I found the school setting interesting.

I wanted to get away from Sci-Fi and watch a relaxing and more relatable anime show and I thought Iriya was cute and I might relate with the guy (Asaba) well, so I asked the youtube video poster to tell me the name of the show and I watched it the next day.

My expectations was the anime was going to be a slice of life kinda show with a tad of comedy and maybe some drama, but nothing 'R' rated or anything.

What I got was totally unexpected. I didn't like it at first due to the nudity and confusing story. I almost stopped watching after the first episode, but for whatever reason I wanted to give it one more try. I did and by episode 2 I was interested enough to continue. By the end I was blown away.

This short little anime is still my all time favorite. It excited me enough to watch a lot more anime after that. I'm back to not watching much anime again, maybe because of the moe you talked about. I don't know, nothing really stands out to me screaming "Icana you gotta watch this!"

Iriya still holds a very special place in my memory. I still listen to the soundtrack today and remember how the ending haunted me for days. Leaving the ending open was a mind play! My imagination, no doubt, made the ending better than it was. I believe no other style of ending could've had as powerful an effect on me.

Anyway, you're not alone. Glad you liked Iriya too.

[z3phyr.mp3]

It's always nice to see Iriya no Sora, UFO no Natsu getting necroed by a new fan who just discovered this gem.

[Cosmic Eagle]

Just finished the manga. Beautiful although they shortened some of the story. You get more exposition on certain bits like when she and her comrades search for the remains of the downed Manta in Nevada.

And the dance on the hill.....not as visually stunning as the anime but the words.....combined with the Manta leaving a contrail in the air, they convey the feeling just as strongly....

ね、伊里野、知ってる？マイム．マイムは

[maxmoe]

iriya sora

I apologize in advance for being so long winded, but here we go. There is a question as to what happened to iriya. Well, I believe that I have the answer. Hear me out on this one.

First off, the story does not make a lot of sense. I was drowned in third grade by boys in the park who held my head under water and I became afraid of water after that experience. Trust me on this one. I did not want to learn to swim.

Therefore, iriya learning to swim makes no sense. This is a plot device to get the two characters together, but the man who wrote the story Mizuhito Akiyama, never did drown ever. It is a very painful experience. Fact is, I was afraid of water for many years. The author should stick to what he does best writing sad sagas.

Please read other of his depressing novels like the one about the snow princess. She lives in a land of perpetual darkness and ice. It is a sad tale about a land of snow. This is one gloomy guy. That said, I have been able to fit together all the missing pieces.

First off the story is not about UFO's, but a romance. What attracted my attention was the title - UFO summer.

OK so how does the story end. People ask if iriya is gone. Also, if she is still alive where is she hiding in. I shall try to give you an answer.

We never see Asaba placing flowers at her grave. He never gets a phone call from the hospital where she tells him that she is dying and will soon be gone. The letter is from the nurse. It does not say iriya is dead anyway. Also, he is not shown meeting her again. Why is this so?

The clue is that iriya is crazy. Please remember that she did not know who he was in episode five because her memory was gone. This took place after she was attacked by the roving raper. In the story we are told that nothing did happen - she repeats it again and again. That reminds me of a used car sales man. He says - I am honest and you can trust me. Well, I trust him less if he says it more and more. People, she says she is OK, but I am not so sure. First off, why did she snap?

Here is a clue for you. Basically, sane people do not keep repeating - I am not crazy. That is like a given. How do you know a person is a miser? He constantly brags about being generous.

I believe that the original story was written as her going off the deep end after the brutal assault, but this ending was killed by censors. Also, the author needed her to stop the UFO's. However, we get very little information on who the aliens are. This is because that is a plot device and not part of the "real story" shall we say.

Iriya has platinum blonde hair and this is a big deal in this sad saga. Blond hair is rare in japan. It is my belief that Iriya was american. That would explain why she had few friends in the school and also why she is so mysterious to everyone. I believe that she came from area 51 in nevada where the black manta was worked on.

Fact is, I believe that this story is autobiographical in manner. I believe that Mizuhito Akiyama ran away when he was young. He hid in an abandoned building with his girl friend, but she was rape by a homeless man. The trauma of this event is fresh in the story and it explains why she goes insane. Otherwise it makes no sense.

I believe that the balls in iriya's wrists are a metaphor for is his girl friend slashing her wrists after the attack because of the emotional pain. This is the event he remembers and used to create his story and let me explain it to you.

There is no talk of how the balls work with the black manta, but they are important in the story because she is the focus; after all iriya's sky is the name.

Basically, this novel is a tribute to his girl friend. The love they have for each other is pure. It has a certain resonance.

OK now I will tell you how I did arrive at this conclusion and get ready for a SHOCK.


First off, Mizuhito Akiyama likes to write about the military, but he has no experience. I was in the military and know a few things such as:

iriya is very sickly and weak with a bleeding nose. She does not act like a warrior. Talk about a damsel in distress trope that is so common. Saikano also had a weak warrior. I have two friends who are fighter pilots and I can read the signs. Friends, iriya is basically a very weak sickly girl that belongs in an intensive care. This story reminds me of Hantsuki anime. A person like iriya would not survive a war. OK you have heard the saying - only the strong survive. This is so.

People say "write what you know" and this is so. Although I do not know a lot about the black manta program. Well, I did work on a secret satellite project and the security is oppressive. They would not allow a person like iriya to move. She would be under constant guard 24/7 and then some. Think of what is at stake here and to allow iriya to escape. Well, it does not make sense.

Getting back to the story of iriya. There are many who remark on the beating asaba gets from the nurse. This makes no sense. OK, this is a faint echo of the beating the author got when he was trying to but unable to protect his girlfriend from the horrible homeless man.


For me learning to fly is one of my happiest memories. I still remember being drenched in sweat in my first solo landing when taking aerospace engineering. Yeah, it was a small single prop. That said, it was very noisy. Definitely, I could feel like an angel in the air. For iriya flying would have to be a joy. That said, we do not read up on how happy flying the black manta made her feel in the novel which was a mystery to me. Apparently, author Mizuhito Akiyama, does not know how to fly and cannot bring that joy into his sad saga. However, he does know about pain.

I tell you that pain is something I am very familiar with, but I more than many. How do I begin this story for you? Well, at the beginning I suppose.

My Dad often feels sorry for people, I am the same. A foreigner needed work and he asked my dad for a job and he gave him one. OK so my dad has a construction company. This man was an electrician that we were paying him $18/hour so he complained of low wages. Then my dad gave him a raise. Also, my dad got him a house that was four door away. It was then I met this man's daughter who was a very mysterious young woman. She knew only a few words of english, but was my age. In fact, she was in my class room.

We live in what is known as a rough area. My dad lives here to save money. Also, most of our workers live here and it is very blue collar, if you know what we mean. I was in third grade and I would walk my sister (a first grader) to school which was a mile away. OK since she was my neighbor, the mysterious girl would walk with us. Also, since I knew her native language at school they sat her next to me. That is how our friendship began, but it would end in grim way.

Fact is, we started doing everything together and even went to movies. Believe it or not my dad got me started early in his company. This means he would give me money. I would often go and buy cigarettes for him and the men. I remember smoking one with the mysterious young woman. Fact is, we were always together every single day even. Well, one day we found a little kitten near the highway in a box even. He was very small and covered in fleas, but we did a rescue. Actually, we gave the cat a bath in flea shampoo and put on him a paper cone. This was so he could not lick his fur. Flea Beetle was his name. I said to the girl that I was the dad and she was the mom. Well, one day Flea Beetle brought her a mouse. She did scream.

Then one sad day the girl told me she was going back to her country and I would not see her anymore. Then I told her that I love her and wanted her to be my girlfriend and please don't go; I talk to my dad and told him and asked him to please talk to her father and I do not know what he say. However, the next day we were walking to school and she told me that she was going to stay and not go. It was the happiest day in my life and I was filled with joy. However, in school this girl did not have friends any. It was then that I told her that she should become a cheerleader and they let her try out for the team - they later take her on. She would do cart wheels and back flips. She wore her cheerleader outfit to school even. Now she started making friends more.

One day I was walking to school with my girl and my sister. Then a white van pulls up. Two rough men get out and grab my girl, my sister runs away. I struggle with them and start screaming. One of the men punches me real hard in the chest and broke my ribs; it hurt like for a year. Fell down and could not get up. It knock the wind out of me. They pulled my girl into the van. It drove off, and they were gone. Then some people called an ambulance and I was taken to a local hospital - there was internal bleeding in me. The evil men drove the white van to our company. They demanded my dad give them money. He gave them what he had on him that was $60 bucks or so. They told him they had the girl and demanded more money. He open our safe and gave them $20,000 approx. All the money we use to run our company. They drove off with the girl, but later came another call and they wanted more money. My dad told them that he had already given them all our money. They said they would hurt the girl if he did not give them more. He told them that he would ask the bank for a loan, but we did not hear from them anymore.

A few days later police found the little girl and her father was crying. He told me that bad men did everything to her, but he did not tell me any more. OK so I asked my dad what happened and he said that she was hurt by bad men. I was never to bring the subject up again. The next day we all go to the hospital to see her, but the nurse would not let us in. My dad gave her some money. I got in. My girl was all cover in bruises and she did not know who I was. It was then that it dawned on me what happened to her and it hit me like a bomb even. Because of what was done to her she had a vacant stare and had become completely crazy. She was there physically, but mentally she was gone.

All my dreams and all my hopes were bound to this person. We had both agreed to one day marry. However, she was smashed like a tea cup.

[Cosmic Eagle]

Interesting points and yes, I agree that the UFO war was never the main point at all.

However, Iriya's pale hair isn't her natural hair colour wasn't it? It was the result of her body being damaged by the Manta.

Asaba getting trashed by Mayumi...how does it not make sense? He basically insulted her willingness to protect Iriya. I would feel angered too.

Iriya IS crazy due to trauma from flying the Manta. It is not stated how the plane works but we do know it damages the body. I think that would remove any joy from the flight.


other than that, I do agree that this story is more of one about emotions and broken dreams than science fiction.

Originally Posted by Spirit Icana

Looks like Iriya made it to 2010.

This short six episode series is still my favorite anime of all time. I don't know if another show is going to top it for me. I really would like it to be topped though. I think that ending really is the reason Iriya has stuck with me this long. I think its been four years since I last watched it. Amazing.

Cosmic Eagle, reading your post made me feel nostalgic. I cried and felt emotional pain long after the show ended. In my mind, shortly after viewing the anime, it felt like Iriya was on the battlefield still and she was going to throw away everything to save the last fruit of the world that meant something to her. The story was still going on in my head and I was crying with that thought in mind.

The anime/novels NEVER told us what happened after that last flight, but the manner in which the scene was done left an imprint on my imagination. We never were told that Iriya died at all after the story was over, but we knew she was clearly commited at the end to make her last battle a victorious one, even if it would draw the last of her breath. The music that accompanied that scene with Iriya ascending to her plane was epic and threw a heavenly aura on top the sacrifice Iriya was making.

Many people, with some exceptions like myself, think that Iriya died at the end, despite no clear mark of such event. It was the author's fantastic play on our imaginations that have some folks feel that way and it made the impact that much more powerful. Even for me, I felt the girl clearly sacrificed herself somehow, despite having never had her life actually taken away. Today, I simply look at the story as was told: Iriya took to the skies. The end. For me, she continues to live on in that fashion.

Truly, where Iriya continues to live on is in my head. My imagination.

Only few other series have met Iriya in level for me, Ef and Sola being two of them. This year, only Madoka comes close. Flawed it may be indeed, but there is something so innocent about it that it appeals so much to the heart.

[AnimeMaster2]

Originally Posted by Cosmic Eagle

Interesting points and yes, I agree that the UFO war was never the main point at all.

However, Iriya's pale hair isn't her natural hair colour wasn't it? It was the result of her body being damaged by the Manta.

Asaba getting trashed by Mayumi...how does it not make sense? He basically insulted her willingness to protect Iriya. I would feel angered too.

Iriya IS crazy due to trauma from flying the Manta. It is not stated how the plane works but we do know it damages the body. I think that would remove any joy from the flight.


other than that, I do agree that this story is more of one about emotions and broken dreams than science fiction.



Only few other series have met Iriya in level for me, Ef and Sola being two of them. This year, only Madoka comes close. Flawed it may be indeed, but there is something so innocent about it that it appeals so much to the heart.

wouldnt the pale hair also come from the augmentation they had to do to her nerves to fly the Black matra? and the medication she had to take? i dont think the Black matra caused her to become sick, but the augmentation slowly did. Ireally do wish the creator could make a sequel and either make it clear that she died or she is living with memory loss... and of course more god dam info on who she was fighting. even fight scene is all people would of asked for just to see who she is up against. its been almost 7 years since it was released, hope he isnt dead and can make another one

[Cosmic Eagle]

Originally Posted by AnimeMaster2

wouldnt the pale hair also come from the augmentation they had to do to her nerves to fly the Black matra? and the medication she had to take? i dont think the Black matra caused her to become sick, but the augmentation slowly did. Ireally do wish the creator could make a sequel and either make it clear that she died or she is living with memory loss... and of course more god dam info on who she was fighting. even fight scene is all people would of asked for just to see who she is up against. its been almost 7 years since it was released, hope he isnt dead and can make another one

What..no, he's still alive....

Although he hasn't released any stuff lately...

[Sakuratsuki]

Came across an annoucement about a BD release for Iriya no Sora, UFO no Natsu. Scheduled for 2nd October. Is this a remastered version or a remake? Quite surprised about it. I watched the OVA years and years ago.

Spoiler for link:

https://www.amazon.co.jp/%E3%82%A4%E...82%8D%E3%81%86

[drobertbaker]

It's the old one:
いまだ非常に根強い人気を誇る伝説のライトノベルを原作とした2005年のOVA作品を初のB lu-ray化!

[Cosmic Eagle]

Originally Posted by Sakuratsuki

Came across an annoucement about a BD release for Iriya no Sora, UFO no Natsu. Scheduled for 2nd October. Is this a remastered version or a remake? Quite surprised about it. I watched the OVA years and years ago.

Spoiler for link:

https://www.amazon.co.jp/%E3%82%A4%E...82%8D%E3%81%86

Yes, yes it's the old one. Probably because there's been an upsurge in its popularity lately after being published online for free on Kakuyom