Munto is a two-episode original video animation project by Kyoto Animation, first released in 2003 titled Munto followed by a 2005 sequel Munto: Beyond the Walls of Time. An animated television series entitled Sora o Miageru Shōjo no Hitomi ni Utsuru Sekai based on the OVAs was produced by Kyoto Animation and directed by Yoshiji Kigami. The TV series is a nine-episode remake and continuation of the OVAs, and aired in Japan between January and March 2009 on Chiba TV. The TV series includes an updated director's cut of the OVA episodes with new animation and footage. A manga adaptation of the TV series illustrated by Makoto 2-gō began serialization in the May 2009 issue of Kadokawa Shoten's Comp Ace magazine. An animated film named Tenjōbito to Akutobito Saigo no Tatakai was released on April 18, 2009.
Plot
In the distant past of Munto when the world of the Heavens did not exist, humans lived a prosperous civilization. One day, beings of unknown origins fell out of the sky and onto human world. These beings could control a power called Akuto, or human emotions. They could take the human spirit, which is an accretion of feelings, wishes and dreams and turn that into a physical power or physical object. These beings, obsessed with their powers, destroyed the human civilization within a few days. However, they did not realize that the humans created the Akuto; these beings who descended from the skies killed off the very source of their power. They then discovered several alternate universes which they could draw more Akuto from. They depleted all the other dimensions of Akuto and used it to create their own empire in the skies above the humans. This new civilization was known as the Heavens and was populated by the Heavenly Beings who could control Akuto. The leaders of the Heavens soon grew corrupt due to the unlimited amount of Akuto they had stolen from other planets in other space times, and the Heavens began to collapse into disarray. At this time, the humans launched an attack against the Heavens. They were the very humans that were defeated when the Heavenly Beings first showed up. The humans who supplied the Akuto then defeated the Heavenly Beings. During the battle, the leaders of the Heavens decided to sever the supply of Akuto, cutting themselves away from Earth rather than be killed by the rebelling humans. They sealed themselves into a parallel dimension in order to sever the link of Akuto, though this resulted in the pillars that connected Earth to the Heavens to fall from the sky causing massive destruction. This day was called the "Calamitous Day" when both worlds lost contact with each other. From that day on, the Heavenly Beings considered linking the two dimensions together to be a taboo and appointed a guardian to guard this link to make sure it is never connected again. In the present day, the Heavens are in disarray due to the lack of Akuto flowing into the Heavens. The Heavens, divided into kingdoms, battle each other. The Magical Kingdom is blamed for using the Akuto the most and the other kingdoms seek to destroy the Magical Kingdom in hopes of preserving what little is left of the Akuto. Should the Heavens be destroyed due to a lack of Akuto, the floating islands in the sky will fall to the Earth and the Heavens and human civilization will perish. The Magical Kingdom is led by their king Munto who believes the only way to save the Heavens from destruction is to seek out Yumemi Hidaka who holds the key to restoring the Akuto to the Heavens.
Munto is a Japanese original video animation series containing two episodes that were released on March 18, 2003 and April 23, 2005. The episodes were directed by Yoshiji Kigami and were produced by Kyoto Animation. While the first episode is entitled simply Munto, the second episode is titled Munto 2: Beyond the Walls of Time. The OVAs were licensed by Central Park Media in North America and are distributed by U.S. Manga Corps. An animated television series remake and sequel to the OVAs entitled Sora o Miageru Shōjo no Hitomi ni Utsuru Sekai, again directed by Kigami and produced by Kyoto Animation, began airing in Japan on January 14, 2009 on Chiba TV. The episodes started airing at later dates on AT-X, KBS Kyoto, Mie TV, Sun TV, Tokyo MX, TV Kanagawa, TV Saitama, and TV Wakayama. The music for the TV series is composed by Satoru Kōsaki, who previously worked on the second OVA under the Shinji Ikeda alias while employed at Namco. The TV series' opening theme, entitled "Anemoi", is performed by Eufonius and its ending theme, entitled "Hikari to Yami to Toki no Hate", is performed by Ceui. The CD single for "Anemoi" was released on February 4, 2009 and the CD single for "Hikari to Yami to Toki no Hate" was released on February 25, 2009. An animated film entitled Tenjōbito to Akutobito Saigo no Tatakai was released on April 18, 2009. The film's theme song is called "Yumemita Sora", sung by Mai Aizawa, the voice actress of Yumemi. The CD single for the theme song was released on May 27, 2009. The film, like the OVAs and TV series before it, is also directed by Yoshiji Kigami and produced by Kyoto Animation.
