Aki Sora is a Japanese romance manga by Masahiro Itosugi, serialized in *Champion Red Ichigo* and later adapted into drama CDs and original video animation releases.
The manga was published by Akita Shoten in the bimonthly manga magazine *Champion Red Ichigo* from volume 9 to volume 25.
It usually appeared as two chapters per issue.
A side story, chapter 4.5, was also published in the main magazine *Champion Red* in its January 2009 issue.
A drama CD featuring professional voice actors was included as a bonus with *Champion Red Ichigo* volume 12.
The story centers on the taboo relationship between the siblings Aki Aoi and Sora Aoi.
It also follows the painful and emotional feelings of several girls around them.
After the original animation DVD bundled with volume 3 of the manga on December 18, 2009, a commercially sold OVA was released in 2010.
To commemorate that release, *Champion Red Ichigo* volume 21 included another drama CD using the OVA cast.
The manga ran under the Champion Red Comics label and was collected in six volumes.
Melonbooks also offered bonus alternate book covers with each volume.
Release dates were as follows.
Volume 1: December 19, 2008
Volume 2: July 17, 2009
Volume 3 limited edition with original anime DVD: December 18, 2009
Volume 3 regular edition: December 18, 2009
Volume 4: June 18, 2010
Volume 5: December 20, 2010
Volume 6: May 20, 2011
The final volume is notable for featuring Aki in a wedding dress on its inner cover.
In 2020, a digital “complete edition” with newly drawn covers and collected color illustrations was released for Kindle by J Comic Terrace and Number Nine.
On April 14, 2011, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government discussed examples of comic content that might be regulated under the revised Tokyo Youth Healthy Development Ordinance.
Among six cited examples were volume 1 and volume 3 of Aki Sora.
Tokyo stated that if those volumes were reprinted after the ordinance took effect on July 1, 2011, they could be considered for designation as harmful publications.
In response, Akita Shoten decided not to reprint the series.
Author Masahiro Itosugi then declared the work effectively out of print.
He described the decision as a devastating blow and argued that the appeal of the work came from exploring a taboo whose reason for being taboo was unclear to him.
He also said the climate surrounding the ordinance had already caused self-censorship in production.
According to him, editors asked him to tone down the sexual content, and the series was forced to end prematurely before the law even took effect.
On May 7, 2018, the complete series was made available for free on Manga Library Z.
Itosugi explained that, after years had passed and piracy had become widespread, he wanted to create a legal way for readers to access the work.
Sora is timid, gentle, and unable to stand up to others.
He has lived his whole life with his older sister Aki Aoi, his twin younger sister Nami Aoi, and their mother.
As he grows older, Sora starts to see Aki as more than a sister.
One day, after bathing with him for the first time in years, Aki makes her feelings clear, and the two begin a sexual relationship.
Sora continues the relationship while struggling with whether what they are doing is truly wrong.
Their secret life becomes an intense series of encounters in which they seek each other out almost anywhere.
The story becomes even more complicated when Sora is drawn into relationships with several other girls.
Among them are Nami, Luna, Hitomi, Natsumi, Kana, Alice, Yuuna, and Sayaka.
Meanwhile, Nami is also hiding feelings of her own.
As the story goes on, the series shifts from erotic provocation to tangled emotion, jealousy, family secrets, and painful choices.
The Aoi family
Sora Aoi
Sora Aoi is the protagonist.
His full name is written with characters meaning “blue sky.”
He lives with Aki, Nami, and their mother in an apartment near Tokyo.
He is in class 1-D at school.
Sora is shy, sweet-faced, and very easily pushed around.
When dressed as a girl, he is convincing enough to pass as a beautiful young woman.
He is excellent at housework and cooking, even cleaning Aki’s messy room.
At the same time, he is famously clueless about romantic feelings.
His bond with Aki changes after she invites him to bathe with her and later slips into his bed.
From then on, he and Aki become lovers.
As the series continues, Sora becomes involved with many girls besides Aki.
Although he appears soft and feminine, he can be brave and protective when it truly matters.
In the final part of the story, he is separated from Aki by their father.
Later, after pursuing her to her new school, he learns the truth about his birth and eventually reunites with her at their mother’s grave.
Voice actors were Aya Saotome in the first drama CD, Sayaka Kinoshita in the bundled OVA, and Kumo Shirai in the commercial OVA and second drama CD.
Asami Imai had originally been scheduled for the bundled OVA version.
Aki Aoi
Aki Aoi is the main heroine and Sora’s older sister.
She is beautiful, tall, curvy, academically gifted, and athletic, making her admired by both boys and girls at school.
Despite her perfect image, she is terrible at cooking and keeps her room in constant disorder.
At home, she often lounges around lazily, revealing how unpolished she really is.
Aki has loved Sora for a long time.
After bathing with him, she can no longer suppress those feelings and takes the lead in starting their sexual relationship.
She is reckless about where and how they meet, ignoring ordinary moral boundaries.
Still, she sometimes shows an older sister’s side, such as pushing Sora to study when his grades slip.
Aki knows more than Sora about the family’s hidden past.
When their father returns, she eventually accepts being taken away in order to face his final days and to prevent repeating the tragedy of the previous generation.
The inner cover of the final manga volume depicts her in a wedding dress.
Voice actors were Pochi Uchino in the first drama CD, Shiho Kawaragi in the bundled OVA, and Koori Natsuno in the commercial OVA and second drama CD.
Eri Kitamura had originally been announced for the bundled OVA version.
That casting was later changed without a public explanation.
Nami Aoi
Nami Aoi is Sora’s twin younger sister.
She is sharp-tongued, forceful, and much more aggressive than Sora.
To help others tell them apart, she usually wears her hair in twin tails.
She is sensitive about her small chest and belongs to the clothing research club, essentially a cosplay club, with her best friend Kana Sumiya.
Nami often pressures Sora into cross-dressing and club activities.
What begins as teasing gradually reveals her complicated inner life.
She is strongly implied to be attracted to girls, especially Kana.
At the same time, she becomes jealous of Sora and increasingly unstable when she sees him growing close to others.
Nami has some of the darkest scenes in the series.
She struggles with desire, envy, gender frustration, and fear of losing the people she loves.
In the end, her feelings toward Kana are finally returned.
Voice actors were Hare Kawasaki in the first drama CD, Kana Ueda in the bundled OVA, and Midori Shirayuki in the commercial OVA and second drama CD.
Aoi family's mother (foster mother)
The Aoi family's mother (foster mother) is the woman raising Sora, Aki, and Nami.
Her name is never given.
She is often busy with work and leaves most household matters to Sora.
Later it is revealed that she is not their biological mother but the twin sister of their real mother.
After the biological mother died in a traffic accident ten years earlier, she took her sister’s place.
Because she looked almost identical and the children were very young, Sora and Nami never realized the switch.
She has deep guilt and deep affection for the children.
At one point, she even gave herself a burn in the same place as her late sister in order to avoid arousing suspicion.
She does not outright reject Sora and Aki’s relationship.
Instead, she believes their future should be left to their own choice.
Voice actors were uncredited in the first drama CD, absent in the bundled OVA, and Hana Aoyama in the commercial OVA.
The Aoi family’s biological mother
The biological mother appears only in flashbacks.
She was the eldest of three siblings and had children with her younger brother.
She gave birth to Sora, Aki, and Nami.
After the father left, she raised them alone until she was killed in a traffic accident.
A burn scar on her arm was one of the few visible differences between her and her twin sister.
That detail later becomes crucial to the family secret.
The Aoi family’s father
The father appears late in the story and becomes the central key to the family mystery.
For years, he lived away from the family before suddenly returning.
He is cold, severe, and disliked by the children, especially Nami.
After seeing Aki and Sora together, he reacts violently and takes Aki away.
Later it is revealed that he is the biological younger brother of the children’s biological mother and foster mother.
In other words, the tragic pattern in the younger generation repeats the one that created them.
He had left the family out of guilt and because of social pressure, harassment, and shame.
He eventually becomes terminally ill and tries to separate Aki and Sora because he cannot bear to see them repeat the same path.
Before his death, he admits that he wanted to have an ordinary family life.
His funeral is sparsely attended, underlining how isolated and condemned the family has been.
Other characters
Kana Sumiya
Kana Sumiya is Sora’s classmate and Nami’s best friend.
She is quiet, polite, glasses-wearing, and very busty.
She belongs to the clothing research club with Nami.
Kana has loved Sora for some time but is too shy to confess.
Eventually she becomes more assertive and starts a sexual relationship with him.
This in turn intensifies the rivalry and emotional conflict between her and Nami.
Kana comes from a wealthy household.
Her father is a photographer and her mother is a fashion designer.
In the end, she accepts Nami’s feelings.
Voice actors were uncredited in the first drama CD, Tae Okajima in the bundled OVA, and Nazuna Gogyō in the commercial OVA.
Luna Satsuki
Luna is a student at the same school and lives in the same apartment building as Sora.
She belongs to the lacrosse club.
After a childhood incident involving being left with no clothes at a pool, she develops a thrill-seeking exhibitionist streak.
She first connects with Sora when he is cross-dressing and mistakes him for someone with similarly secret tastes.
Luna drags Sora into daring situations, from public exposure games to erotic experiments.
She gradually falls for him and becomes one of the story’s most important supporting heroines.
She is also the last major character to have sex with Sora in the series.
When Aki is taken away, Luna is one of the people who pushes Sora forward.
Voice actors were Soyogi Tono in the first drama CD, absent in the bundled OVA, and Runa Sakaki in the commercial OVA.
Hitomi Tomozaki
Hitomi is Luna’s friend and carries a dangerous, seductive atmosphere.
She hosts the group sex party where Sora is pulled into one of the story’s most notorious episodes.
Voice actors were Kaname Yuzuki in the first drama CD and absent from later listed versions.
Natsumi Nosaka
Natsumi is one of Sora’s classmates.
Though she looks quiet, she shares the same lax attitude toward sex as Luna and Hitomi.
She also takes part in the party organized by Hitomi.
She was uncredited in the first drama CD and absent from later listed versions.
Alice Himekawa
Alice is the student council president at Sora’s school.
She ranks second in academics behind Aki and sees Aki as a rival.
When she meets Sora, she becomes interested in him because he resembles her lover, Miharu.
Though proud and prickly, she eventually sleeps with Sora at Miharu’s request.
Her voice in the commercial OVA was Roko Mutsuki.
Miharu Mihara
Miharu is a younger boy living in the same apartment building as Sora.
He calls Sora by a fond nickname and seems innocent, but he has erectile dysfunction.
Unable to consummate his own relationship with Alice, he asks her to have sex with Sora while he watches and projects himself onto him.
He is also known for bizarre and comic sexual commentary full of fantasy-style metaphors.
Like Sora, he can cross-dress convincingly.
Later he enters Sora’s school and joins the clothing research club.
His voice in the commercial OVA was Shuka Yumesaki.
Yuuna Asana
Yuuna is the head of the art club at school.
She appears when a nude model fails to arrive and Luna is asked to substitute.
She strongly dislikes men at first.
After being maneuvered by Luna into sex with Sora, she develops an interest in men.
Her voice in the commercial OVA was Sakura Ichinomiya.
Ria Sumiya
Ria is Kana’s younger sister.
She is still very young, polite like Kana, and fond of Sora and Nami.
Sayaka Kuramochi
Sayaka is a dorm student at the elite girls’ school to which Aki is transferred late in the story.
She shares a room with Aki and becomes an important guide for Sora when he travels there.
The school is isolated, academically advanced, and jokingly referred to by its students as a nunnery.
Sayaka helps Sora enter the campus and even bathes with him before trying to seduce him.
Her kindness seems mixed with selfish interest, since she appears to want Sora for herself.
She is one of the last girls drawn into Sora’s emotional orbit.
Bonus CD with *Champion Red Ichigo* volume 12
This drama CD was released on February 5, 2009.
It adapts chapters 1, 4, and 6 of the manga.
It runs for 55 minutes and 44 seconds and contains two episodes.
The audio drama cast included Aya Saotome as Sora, Pochi Uchino as Aki, Hare Kawasaki as Nami, Soyogi Tono as Luna, Kaname Yuzuki as Hitomi, and others.
Staff included sound director Hiroshi Fujioka, recording and editing by Primary Studio, sound effects by Masaharu Sekine, and music by R.R.B.
Casting coordination was handled by Tomoko Otake of Primary Studio.
Bonus CD with *Champion Red Ichigo* volume 21
This second drama CD was released on August 5, 2010.
It adapts chapters 13 and 20.
It runs for 53 minutes and 19 seconds and contains two episodes.
The cast matched the commercial OVA version.
Staff included sound director Takatoshi Hamano, sound effects by Yuji Furuya of Swara Pro, recording adjustment by Shuji Imai, and music by C-CLAYS.
Production cooperation came from Pony Canyon and Frontier Works.
Bundled OVA with manga volume 3
The first OVA, titled Aki Sora, was released on December 18, 2009.
It was sold only as a set with the limited edition of manga volume 3.
It was directed by Takeo Takahashi.
Series composition and script were by Jukki Hanada, character design by Kazuya Kuroda, music by Akira Asano, and animation production by Hoods Entertainment.
The production committee consisted of Akita Shoten and Frontier Works.
It was a single-episode release.
The story mainly adapts chapter 1 while incorporating material from chapters 2 and 3.
Although it avoids explicit genital depiction, it pushes close to the edge for a mainstream release.
The disc runs about 27 minutes in total.
Roughly 22 minutes are the main story, and about 5 minutes are a cast talk segment titled “Aki Sora Girls Talk.”
By February 2010, shipments had reportedly reached 26,000 copies.
That was a strong number for a bundled OVA of this type.
A promotional video was included with the December 2009 issue of *Champion Red*.
That preview used Eri Kitamura as Aki’s narrator before the announced cast was suddenly changed.
The original announced leads were Asami Imai as Sora and Eri Kitamura as Aki.
They were replaced by Sayaka Kinoshita and Shiho Kawaragi shortly before release.
Commercial OVA
A separate commercial OVA titled Aki Sora: In a Dream was announced later and released in two volumes in 2010.
Pony Canyon handled sales and distribution.
The upper volume was released on July 30, 2010.
The lower volume was released on November 17, 2010.
The lower volume had originally been scheduled for October 6, 2010.
It was delayed because Nami’s scenes were reportedly considered too extreme.
The cast was changed again for the commercial release.
Kumo Shirai voiced Sora, Koori Natsuno voiced Aki, Midori Shirayuki voiced Nami, and Nazuna Gogyō voiced Kana.
The music was also changed to C-CLAYS.
The commercial OVA is now distributed on FANZA as adult-only content.
The upper volume mainly adapts chapters 3 and 4.5, while also using material from chapter 2.
It functions as a continuation of the bundled OVA while still trying to stay understandable for new viewers.
Compared with the bundled OVA, some sexual details were toned down slightly.
Even so, its erotic content remained one of its main selling points.
Promotion for the release was eventful.
A plan to stream the main episode on Nico Nico was first rejected because the material was judged too explicit from still images alone.
Later, promotional videos were shown in stores in Akihabara, and free novelty tissues were distributed.
The official blog received such heavy traffic after the first promotional video appeared that playback became difficult.
Eventually, live online broadcasts of the OVA itself were held in July 2010.
The project also received magazine tie-in promotion alongside other Kazuya Kuroda-related titles.
OVA staff
Main OVA staff included the following.
Original creator: Masahiro Itosugi
Director and storyboard: Takeo Takahashi
Series composition and screenplay: Jukki Hanada
Character design and chief animation director: Kazuya Kuroda
Animation production: Hoods Entertainment
Other staff included Koji Hada as animation director, Toshimitsu Kobayashi or Sorato Shimizu as assistant animation director depending on version, and Kojiro Hayashi as director of photography.
Sound direction was by Hajime Takakuwa for the bundled version and Takatoshi Hamano for the commercial version.
The bundled version used music by Akira Asano.
The commercial version used music by C-CLAYS and had music production by Takashi Ayase.
Ending theme
The commercial OVA used the ending theme “Thx! -Thanks!-”.
Lyrics were by Miyu Amane, composition by K2 of C-CLAYS, arrangement by Atoguru, and vocals by Mai Kotoge.
A novel version by Teru Arai was published as a bonus with *Champion Red Ichigo* volume 24.
It expanded the franchise beyond manga, audio, and animation.
Several character goods were released or announced around the OVA period.
Many focused on Aki.
A 1/7 scale PVC figure of Aki by SkyTube was announced for July 10, 2010, with a removable bikini top.
It was later canceled.
Other goods included a glasses case, tumbler, four-piece folding fan set, three-dimensional mouse pads, and a Zippo lighter.
Many used illustrations from the commercial OVA jackets.
An action figure of Aki in the “Furu Puni” line was released on January 25, 2011, by Evolution Toy.
It featured soft-molded chest parts, removable clothing, and optional nude parts.
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