The Orbital Children

Alternate Titles

地球外少年少女
Chikyugai Shonen Shojo
Extra-Terrestrial Boys & Girls

Synopsis

Set in the year 2045, space travel has become common thanks to advanced technology and AI, and the luxuries of Earth life including the internet and convenience stores have spread through space. Anshin is a newly opened Japanese space station where boys and girls from the moon and Earth meet on a trip to space. But when a major disaster strikes the station, they are left behind and must fight for survival using the technology at their disposal, including a barely functioning narrowband, a free low-level AI, and a smartphone-controlled drone.

Background

The Orbital Children is an upcoming two-part theatrical Japanese science fiction animated film series. It was first announced by director Mitsuo Iso at the Anime Central 2018 event. The project marks the second original anime by Mitsuo Iso, who is directing the series at Production +h, which was created just for this project, and is also creating the screenplay. It also marks his first directorial work in almost 15 years since his debut in 2007 with the TV anime Dennou Coil.

Other members of the staff include Kenichi Yoshida who is handling character designs, Yusuke Ikeda who is in charge of art direction, Toshiyuki Inoue who is credited as the main animator, and Rei Ishizuka who is composing the music.

The series will be released on Netflix as six episodes on Jan. 28, 2022. The six-episode series will also be split into a two-part film series and released theatrically in Japan on Jan. 28 and Feb. 11, respectively. Each part will have a limited two-week screening.

Characters

Toya
A 14-year-old troubled boy with chunibyo who was born on the moon.

Konoha
A 14-year-old girl and Toya’s childhood friend who was also born on the moon.

Taiyo
A 15 year old who is a hacker authorized by the UN2.

Miina
A 14 year old currently developing a new genre called SpaceTubers.

Hiroshi
A 12-year-old space boy who knows all about space and is called an expert.

Anshin-kun
A mysterious unofficial mascot character who is 90 years old. The person inside the suit is a mysterious figure named “Chief.”

Ducky
A drone with an internal AI. It has a black spherical shape.

Bright
A drone with an internal AI. It has a white cube shape.

• Anime Site (Japanese)
• Twitter (Japanese)

• Original Creator: Mitsuo Iso
• Director: Mitsuo Iso
• Screenplay: Mitsuo Iso
• Character Design: Kenichi Yoshida
• Art Director: Yusuke Ikeda
• Color Design: Miho Tanaka
• Main Animator: Toshiyuki Inoue
• Sound Director: Youji Shimizu
• Music: Rei Ishizuka
• Animation Production: Production +h.