Beyond the clouds, the promised place

Recommended by Amazon with a four-star rating, this work is based on an original animation that received the 59th Mainichi Film Award. In a post-war world parallel to reality, Japan is divided into northern and southern regions by the Tsugaru Strait. In the north, in Ezo—present-day Hokkaido—under the occupation of the Federal State, a massive tower rises into the sky. Three teenagers living across the strait, Hiroshi, Takuya, and Sayuri, once shared a childhood dream: to build a white airplane and fly it to the giant tower under their own power. They made a promise to each other to go to the "promised place" together. But that promise eventually broke. A small misunderstanding shattered their bond, and they went their separate ways, leaving the half-finished white plane abandoned. Years later, fate brings them together again, and this time they hope to fulfill the vow they made long ago—to cross beyond the clouds and reach the promised place. About the author: Arata Kanoh, a native of Aichi Prefecture, is a leading Japanese light novel writer. He graduated from the Department of Literature at Aichi Prefectural University and worked as a freelance editor before making his official debut as a writer in 2002. His representative works include *Memories of a Small Town* and *Shining Tears: Two Dragon Knights* (tentative title).