Kujira no Kora wa Sajou ni Utau (Tales of the Whales Calves)

[Stark700]

Manga 'Kujira no Kora wa Sajou ni Utau' (Tales of the Whales Calves) is getting an anime adaptation.

Plot Summary

Chakuro is the 14-year-old archivist of the Mud Whale, a nigh-utopian island that floats across the surface of an endless sea of sand. Nine in ten of the inhabitants of the Mud Whale have been blessed and cursed with the ability to use saimia, special powers that doom them to an early death.

Chakuro and his friends have stumbled across other islands, but they have never met, seen, or even heard of a human who wasn't from their own. One day, Chakuro visits an island as large as the Mud Whale and meets a girl who will change his destiny.

Source:
http://books.rakuten.co.jp/rb/146002...c2id=309068369
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news...-anime/.110659

[Stark700]

Coming for October (Fall 2017)

[Kismet-chan]

And here's the PV that was released today:

I dunno what I expected, but whatever it was I think that video exceeded it. Really liking the visuals.

[Stark700]

Key visual


JC Staff is producing it.

[MisaoFan]

The director is announced to be Kyouhei Ishiguro and he did a good job on KimiUso. I also heard that his directing work on Occultic;Nine has proven to be fantastic so let's just wait and see.

[orion]

Originally Posted by pinoscotto

if i get it right this one is a boy, right?

I was wondering about that too...but those are pigtails so I was assuming that those are 2 girls. Also the chest has a slight bump on profile. Clicking on the manga covers on the ANN website shows more character details.
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news...59#gallery_top

[Stark700]

New key visual and second preview:

[Stark700]

Preview 3

[Stark700]

First episode:

Wow, I love the visual style of this show. Very aesthetic and pleasing to the eye.
Well done JC Staff.

The show also has a colorful cast and setting. Chakuro is an interesting character so far as well. The world building of this show looks really well crafted with the refreshing feel. Saimia is a deadly ability that I have no doubt will be a recurring element in this show.

Good episode. Rikosu is a mysterous character, hope we find out more about her. I think this is set for 12 episodes? Hope that's enough to make the story flow well.

[DragoonKain3]

At first I was wanting Rikosu a death wish, since she obviously is going to be main heroine opposed to Sami. Then looking at MC, Sami and her side by side, I just realized that she's around their age (if maybe even closer to Sami), so I can't possibly lose. XD

So my problem with the show are factors outside of it. Like it being released on Netflix (thank god for fansubs), and now it's only going to be 12 episodes? It's definitely IMO the prettiest anime of the cour, although it did feel like they are rushing things. So it's obvious that the episode count is constraining themselves, which is sad since I would have liked it slower to absorb and enjoy how beautiful the anime is. So sadly, it falls behind Imouto Sae Ireba II as, so far, my favourite pilot of the cour, but it isn't far behind.

[Irenesharda]

Quite the beautiful series, and the story is quite interesting.
The DID toss us into a ton of world building, backstory, and exposition in one episode, but I'm liking what I see.
Seas of sand, that animals can actually live in apparently. A land mass that's kind of a giant ship that hasn't met with any new humans for generations. An inborn caste system based on those who can use magic and those who can't, with those that's can't getting the better end of the stick for a change.

And of course, as I was expecting, there's some kind of conspiracy involving the council and the secrets they are keeping regarding the world around them. In already like Ouni a lot. I honestly like the MC, but I've totally forgotten his name.
I remember Lykos though, since hers was actually spelled out for us and the MC can't stop saying it. I'm interested in what's going to happen next and if our boys on the run are going to be followed by more friends joining in.

[PreSage]

Didn't hear about this series until I stumbled across the first ep. The sound of a a sea of sand type world was intriguing and I'm glad I gave it a chance. Really like the first ep and very interested in how this story unfolds.

Ouni really comes off as a natural born leader. Although he's more of a leader that can take his people to new heights.

I don't mind Chakuro (the MC). I think his character fits very well for his role in the story. He's not annoying but actually has a strong streak in his personality despite his gentleness.

And, yes, a cute furry sidekick that looks like a cross between a Capricorn and a sea otter. Cute either way! ^_^

It kind of makes sense for the unmarked to be leaders, since their long-lived lives allow for greater accumulation of knowledge, history, and wisdom, which may be important in protecting their community.

[kuromitsu]

I don't know how to feel about this. It's certainly trying to be a prestige show, but it just feels so derivative, I kept feeling a sense of deja-vu throughout the entire episode. And I'm not a fan of the way the animated characters/objects clash with the background art, so weird.

But on the other hand it's not bad per se, so I guess I'll watch the next episode.

[serenade_beta]

Spoiler for ep1:

I like the atmosphere of the first episode, visuals too. Maybe got too "explanation"-ly, but it beats leaving the audience in the dark and gets all of that out of the way.
So basically, this group of people (inbreeding much?) just live on this island the entire time and is forbidden to leave, but thanks to the discovery of the mysterious girl, they realize that there is something to look forward too in the unknown world, so they plan to explore it.

So far so good.
Except the mascot-y animal. I'll give them points if they begin to starve and end up eating it.

[orion]

Originally Posted by serenade_beta

Spoiler for ep1:

I like the atmosphere of the first episode, visuals too. Maybe got too "explanation"-ly, but it beats leaving the audience in the dark and gets all of that out of the way.
So basically, this group of people (inbreeding much?) just live on this island the entire time and is forbidden to leave, but thanks to the discovery of the mysterious girl, they realize that there is something to look forward too in the unknown world, so they plan to explore it.

So far so good.
Except the mascot-y animal. I'll give them points if they begin to starve and end up eating it.

It looks like a Fafner set up to me. An isolated society with the people in charge know something and aren't letting the inhabitants in on the secret. And... they are on an island that changes its location.

Originally Posted by PreSage

<snip>

It kind of makes sense for the unmarked to be leaders, since their long-lived lives allow for greater accumulation of knowledge, history, and wisdom, which may be important in protecting their community.

No, it doesn't make sense. It's a society where 10% are ruling 90% of the population. In a democratic society, you should have at least one Marked sitting on that council. This is a caste system as Marked and Unmarked are a matter of genetics imo (infectious disease was already ruled out).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caste

It's also a population where 5-9% are asking questions and getting "jailed" in the one area of the island where the Marked can't use their powers. And...no one else has thought to ask questions as to why are the records so spotty? Is there a second record with more info? Why is the limited lifespan of the Marked not a huge priority? (One person working on the project is not considered by society standards to be a huge priority.)

[alt_account]

Just a heads up based on the scant few scanlated manga chapters, but this is definitely a 3-episode rule type of show. The first episode really hasn't shown anything yet.

[Tong]

Amazing first episode, this show looks very strong... the art direction and the backgrounds have surprised me positively.
Definitely will keep watching!

Originally Posted by orion

No, it doesn't make sense. It's a society where 10% are ruling 90% of the population. In a democratic society, you should have at least one Marked sitting on that council. This is a caste system as Marked and Unmarked are a matter of genetics imo (infectious disease was already ruled out).

Of course it makes sense, the Marked are basically peasants since they do all the heavy work and die earlier. And even then it appears they live a in tribal-like society rather than a feudal or democratic one. In tribal societies the elderly generally occupy important positions and are highly respected, so it makes sense that the leaders are Unmarked ones.

[orion]

Originally Posted by Tong

Amazing first episode, this show looks very strong... the art direction and the backgrounds have surprised me positively.
Definitely will keep watching!


Of course it makes sense, the Marked are basically peasants since they do all the heavy work and die earlier. And even then it appears they live a in tribal-like society rather than a feudal or democratic one. In tribal societies the elderly generally occupy important positions and are highly respected, so it makes sense that the leaders are Unmarked ones.

But...even in tribal societies, stronger people are also in power. Here they are docile without any real reason to get the power as they could overrun those weaklings but aren't doing so.

[Irenesharda]

Originally Posted by orion

But...even in tribal societies, stronger people are also in power. Here they are docile without any real reason to get the power as they could overrun those weaklings but aren't doing so.

I think the added issue of everyone else dying so early comes into play. All the Marked are so young, are barely knowledgeable, trained, or experienced. They will have only elementary level education, because by the time they are junior high age, they are actually in the middle of their life, and so they are suddenly thrust into careers like our MC. By the time they would have built up enough knowledge and experience to have the power to even think to challenge the social order, they are pretty much at the end of their life and/or dead!

Think of even the people of tribes or during the feudal times, they would have been pretty much full adults in terms of their mentality and ability by the time they were in their late teens. But even that's already really to late for a people that only life into their twenties and perhaps 30s. AND even part of that's taken away for you as the MC says that their bodies basically start shutting down to a debilitating degree some time prior to that early death.

Put all that together, and while it's still a bad and horrible system that will only fall upon itself, it still makes sense that it happened. You know the old adage, "knowledge is power"? Well, in this society, the Unmarked have lived way longer than any Marked, and have the knowledge and experience that gives them. They have all the power here. They also have all the information that the Marked don't have. By the time anyone would have enough power, and the mentality psychologically, to even challenge what they have been taught all their lives (someone like Ouni), they're already at the end of their life, with barely much time left.

Also...here's another problem. Reproduction. At the rate people are dying, with 90% being Marked, and that we don't see a bunch of pregnant teens on this ship, their population is not going to last. They'll eventually all die out, especially since they are going to lose a certain percentage just from sickness, accidents, etc.

[scififan]

I disagree with above argument. It's not about mutants versus humans; they chose their occupation in order to benefit themselves and their village. Even the rebellious ones who are grounded know they are on the same boat. If they don't work together, they are going to sink. Most people on the boat are at their death beds, when they reached 30s. It means the villagers have poor health care system.

The anime is based on the shoujo manga magazine that is focused on historical fantasies. So, something may be inevitable, such as traveling adventure and running from an empire. Well, the drawing shoujo style, so a lot of boys looked more like girls than their female friends.