20 Seiki Denki Mokuroku

Plot

Set in an alternate 1907 Japan where steam power dominates and electricity remains unrealized, the story follows 15-year-old Inako Momokawa, second daughter of a Fushimi sake brewer. Burdened by her mother's death and her father's harshness, she finds solace only in Shinto prayers. At the Fushimi Inari shrine, she meets Kihachi Sakamoto, a young man who lost his older brother Seiroku and the Electrical Catalog they co-wrote—a visionary work about electricity. Kihachi, now distrustful of gods, dreams of an Age of Electricity and urges Inako to believe in unseen things. They decide the only way to stop the marriage is to find the missing Electrical Catalog. Their search takes them across Kyoto and Shiga prefectures, uncovering Kihachi's inventions and glimpsing a future they both long for.

Characters

Kihachi Sakamoto is a timid inventor who once dreamed with his older brother Seiroku of an electrical age, but suppressed that dream after Seiroku and the Electrical Catalog vanished. Inako Momokawa, a trustworthy but unassertive sake-brewer's daughter, dreams of following her deceased mother into brewing and relies on her faith in gods and Buddhas. Yosuke Mizoe, a talented engineer and heir to a steam engine firm, seeks the Catalog by any means, including an engagement to Inako; he formerly served as Seiroku's assistant.

Seiroku Sakamoto, Kihachi's brother, disappeared with the Catalog during a war. Kengo Kuga, a former soldier and Seiroku's assistant, knows the Catalog and is engaged to Noriko Momokawa. Noriko, Inako's older sister, is skilled in martial arts and secretly possesses the Catalog. Other figures include Kihachi's cousin Yajiro Yagura, Yosuke's secretary Izo Masubuchi, Inako's father Jinemon, and Kate's father Stuart Smith, mentor to Seiroku, Yosuke, and Kengo.

Media

The novel was published on August 10, 2018, by Kyoto Animation under KA Esuma Bunko. On October 25, 2025, at the KyoAni no Sekai-ten event, Kyoto Animation confirmed the adaptation as a television series titled 20 Seiki Denki Mokuroku Eureka Evrika, with the English title Sparks of Tomorrow. Directed by Minoru Ōta, with series composition by Tatsuhiko Urahata and character designs by Kohei Okamura, the series premiered on July 5, 2026, on Tokyo MX and other networks. An advance screening of the first episode occurred at the 2026 Annecy International Animation Film Festival. The opening theme is Eureka Evrika by Luna Goami, and the ending theme is Soarin' by Ginger Root. Netflix streams the series globally.