Over the Sky (Collector’s Edition Blu-ray & DVD) Unboxing

Over the Sky (君は彼方, Kimi wa Kanata) is a 2020 original theatrical anime film directed & written by Yoshinobu Sena, and produced by studio Digital Network Animation. Staff credits also include character designer Toshiyuki Abe with original character designer Haon, and music composer Tatsuhiko Saiki. The film released theatrically in Japan on November 2020.

Background:

“Mio has feelings for her childhood friend Arata, but can’t convey her feelings. One day, as they continue their delicate relationship, the two fight over something trivial. After letting tensions settle, Mio goes to make up with him in the pouring rain. While on her way, she gets into a traffic accident. When she regains consciousness, a mysterious and unfamiliar world appears before her eyes.”

Plot Synopsis via Anime Limited, April 2023.

Over the Sky is another anime film that has pretty much gone under the radar. The first time I heard about the film was its inclusion at Scotland Loves Anime in October 2021 which apparently had a pretty baffled response by the audience when they watched it. From what I was told it’s an isekai film but done rather poorly, and they even provided an interview with the director which had the audience supposedly having a laugh in parts at the festival. I didn’t attend the festival so I don’t know if the interview was presented live or as a pre-record.

The film was Yoshinobu Sena’s directorial debut with TOHO and he wrote the story as well. While it bombed in the Japanese box office, I’m sure the director will take on the feedback and work on more projects that make be better than the last.

Anywho, Anime Limited did secure the home video rights for Over the Sky in the UK, Ireland and France while the folks over in North America managed to get access to the film for streaming by Crunchyroll (so presumably Crunchyroll or Funimation secured the rights for their regions). The home video release did take a while but eventually it was released in 2023.

Collector’s Edition Contents:

Just like any niche anime film, Anime Limited have also decided to produce a collector’s edition for Over the Sky despite its fan reception.

This edition is presented with a rigid box containing a Scanavo case to house the discs. Alongside the case is a 24-page booklet, containing character designs, detailed information about the world, interviews and an essay written by Mizuo Watanabe.

The artwork is free of any information or BBFC content and the info sheet covers the information and specification like previous Anime Limited releases. The collector’s edition Blu-ray parts are 1000 units each printed for an SRP of £39.99. A standard edition Blu-ray was also released months after this edition.

The collector’s edition Blu-ray was made available to order directly through Anime Limited’s online store as an early bird during the month of February, on offer for £24.99 (with the Anime Unlimited membership lowering the cost down to £22.49). However, I decided to hold off and eventually it was included in the August 2024 Summer Sale for £19.99 (£17.99 with a 15% Summer sale discount offer) which is where I received my copy of the set.

Physical Contents:

• Rigid Box with Scanavo packaging and clean artwork
• Info sheet for specification and BBFC description
• 24-page Booklet

On-Disc Contents:

Distributor: Anime Limited
Released: 24th April 2023

The collector’s edition release for Over the Sky contains the television film special on a single Blu-ray disc, with the encode and authoring by Com’On Screen in France.

As there was no English dub produced, the audio option available is Japanese with English & French subtitles. As this is a Com’On Screen disc, you have the option to choose between English & French menu text at the start bit you will need to reset the player to switch languages.

The white subtitles are locked during playback and the regions are locked to Blu-ray players set to B and DVD players set to 2 with NTSC playback.

Blu-ray Specs:

Languages	Japanese
Audio	Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Video	1080p High Definition Native format 16:9 aspect ratio
Region	B
Subtitles	English, English SDH, French
Locked Subtitles	Yes
Discs	1 BD-50

DVD Specs:

Languages	Japanese
Audio	Japanese Dolby Digital 5.1
Video	Standard Definition in NTSC format 16:9 aspect ratio
Region	2
Subtitles	English, English SDH, French
Locked Subtitles	Yes
Discs	1

Blu-ray On-Disc Extra Features:

• Director Interview (20 minute runtime)
• Disc Credits

DVD On-Disc Extra Features:

• Director Interview (20 minute runtime)
• Disc Credits

Unboxing Photos:

Final Notes:

Over the Sky is available to purchase on Blu-ray by Anime Limited in the UK & Ireland. The collector’s edition Blu-ray & DVD release can be bought through Amazon UK and AllTheAnime Store.

The standard edition is available to purchase across different retailers including Amazon UK and AllTheAnime Store.

(Disclaimer: Amazon links are also included when available. They are affiliated so if you decide to order them, I’ll earn a small percentage if they ship which will help me with any hauls or small bills.)