Aokana - Four Rhythms Across the Blue

Did You Know?

• In the 2014 Moe Game Awards, Aokana - Four Rhythms Across the Blue placed first.
• The anime adaptation averted romantic plot lines with Masaya and the heroines, making Asuka the viewpoint character instead.
• The game's setting is a four-island archipelago south of Japan.

Characters

Masaya Hinata is the player character in the visual novels and a supporting character in the anime. Asuka Kurashina is a transfer student at Kunahama Institute who performs an air kick turn on her first flight despite never having used Grav-Shoes; she is the main protagonist of the anime. Misaki Tobisawa is a second-year student with previous Flying Circus experience, a cat enthusiast who sometimes adds 'nya' to her speech, and a friend of Mashiro Arisaka.

Mashiro Arisaka is a first-year student whose family owns an udon restaurant; she joins the FC club to be with Misaki. Rika Ichinose is Masaya's neighbor and a first-year at Takafuji Academy. Reiko Satōin is a second-year at Takafuji and the Vice-Captain of its FC club, known for grand entrances; her family runs the Satou Food Group. Saki Inui is a second-year at Kairyou Academy who previously participated in FC in England and is one of the fastest players worldwide; she appears emotionless and has been best friends with her mentor Irina since childhood.

Aoi Kagami is the physical education teacher at Kunahama Institute and a former national FC player who serves as Masaya's mentor and club advisor. Shion Aoyagi is a third-year student and president of the Kunahama FC club, the last remaining member before Masaya and others joined; he tends to be overly dramatic. Madoka Aoyagi is the club manager and Shion's sister. Minori Hosaka is Mashiro's classmate and a newspaper club member who comments on FC tournaments. Hayato Shirase is also mentioned.

Development and release

Aokana - Four Rhythms Across the Blue is the second title from developer Sprite, following their debut Love, Election and Chocolate. Akira Sakamoto produced the game, while Nachi Kio oversaw planning and co-wrote the main scenario with Ryōichi Watanabe and Ryūsuke Mutsu. Suzumori directed the art and co-designed the characters alongside Itsuka Yūki, and Elements Garden members composed the background music. The original limited-edition Windows release came out on November 28, 2014.

A PlayStation Vita version followed on February 25, 2016, a high-definition PlayStation 4 version on January 26, 2017, and a Nintendo Switch version in late 2017. A smartphone spin-off, Aokana - Four Rhythms Across the Blue: Eternal Sky, launched on October 5, 2016. A sequel, Aokana - Four Rhythms Across the Blue: Zwei, was announced in March 2016 but stalled indefinitely after Sprite went on hiatus in 2018. NekoNyan announced an English Steam release in 2019.

The Nintendo Switch version reached North America and Europe on August 21, 2020, with no content changes. The PlayStation 4 version, however, was delayed to an unspecified date and limited to digital-only after seven scenes were altered—four modified and three removed—due to low expected interest in a physical release. A fandisc, Aokana - Four Rhythms Across the Blue: Extra 1, came out in Japan on June 30, 2017, and worldwide on June 11, 2020. A Switch port called Extra 1S, featuring new event scenes, was confirmed in production as of June 2022.

The second fandisc, Extra 2, was announced on June 16, 2020, released in Japan on May 27, 2022, and announced for English release on August 19, 2022. A new game, Aokana - Four Rhythms Across the Blue: If 01 - Minamo Shirase, was announced in October 2021 and is in development by Filmic Novel, a Sprite brand, with Minamo Shirase as the main heroine.

Music

The soundtrack for Aokana: Four Rhythm Across the Blue includes seven main tracks: one opener, one insert, and five closers. Mami Kawada performs the opening theme, “Wings of Courage (Sora o Koete),” while Kotoko handles the insert song, “Infinite Sky.” Each of the four heroines gets a dedicated ending theme: Misato Fukuen sings Asuka’s “Sora Koi,” Azumi Asakura performs Misaki’s “Sense of Life,” Nozomi Yamamoto delivers Mashiro’s “Millions of You,” and Madoka Yonezawa provides Rika’s “Night Flight.”

The primary ending theme is Kawada’s “Sky is the Limit.” An image song single, “Rays of the Sun” by Kawada, came out at Comiket 87 on December 28, 2014. For the HD versions, the main opening is “Crossing Way,” also by Kawada. The anime adaptation uses Kawada’s “Contrail (Kiseki)” as its opener and Ray’s “A-gain” as its closer; singles for these were released on January 27 and February 17, 2016, respectively.

The opening for Ao no Kanata no Four Rhythm: Eternal Sky is “Believe in the Sky” by Kawada, and a vocal collection featuring that track was released on May 1, 2016.