--The Unique Setting--
The main appeal of AOKANA lies in its focus on a fictional sport called Flying Circus. More broadly, the setting features an island where people use anti-gravity shoes to fly to school, though there are strict restrictions on how and where these shoes can be used for travel.
The anime does an excellent job of showcasing the excitement of Flying Circus. In the visual novel, the sport is depicted through moving sprites and beautifully drawn CG stills. Seeing these sequences animated is a treat, even with some obvious CGI. Personally, I think the CGI fits the series well and is far from the worst I’ve seen in anime.
If you’ve watched sports anime like Kuroko’s Basketball, Haikyuu!!, Hajime no Ippo, or Ace of the Diamond, you’ll know what to expect. The focus on Flying Circus consists of small tournament arcs and one-on-one battles, with surprising depth in the sport’s mechanics.
The anime explains the rules better than I can here, but essentially, players must reach floating buoys to score points. You earn points by either beating your opponent to the next buoy (there are four, similar to bases in baseball) or by getting behind your opponent and touching their back. The player with the most points wins. The anime does a decent job of conveying the mechanics and the unique hype of the setting. Some matches are thrilling while still incorporating the character development typical of shonen-style sports anime. That said, I think the anime could have explored the different classes—Fighter, Speeder, and All-Rounder—in more depth, as some character development revolves around these roles.
--Characters--
While the anime technically features four main heroines, it clearly focuses on the pink-haired Asuka and the black-haired Misaki from Kunahama High.
Asuka is essentially the main character. I like to think of her as a pink-haired, airheaded version of Goku from Dragon Ball. She starts as a complete novice but uses her natural talent to pull off impressive moves and improve quickly. Some might call her a Mary Sue, but for me, her genuine love for the sport and the anime’s theme of finding joy in competition despite its pressures keep her from feeling like one.
Misaki, the secondary main character, is portrayed well as a skilled Fighter-class player in Flying Circus who tends to be lazy. Her goofy, relaxed attitude contrasts nicely with the depth revealed later in the series, which I found engaging.
Other heroines, like Mashiro, who is basically Misaki’s fangirl and closest friend, don’t get much depth in the anime. There are also side characters from rival schools, like Rika and Shindo from Takifuji, but the most significant characters besides Asuka and Misaki are Saki Inui and her partner Irina, who serve as the series’ true rivals and antagonists.
For those familiar with the visual novel, you might wonder about the main male character, Masaya. In the anime, he’s more of a supporting character, serving as the school team’s coach and a former competitive player. The anime hints at why he retired, but he gets far less focus compared to the visual novel. While I don’t mind the shift away from him as the protagonist—since the anime avoids the visual novel’s heavy romance angle—it feels odd to limit his development. In the visual novel, Masaya’s arc centers on rediscovering his love for the sky and competition, with Asuka helping him rekindle that passion despite his role as a coach. There’s a cool moment in the anime where he briefly uses his gravity shoes again, which he rarely does in the visual novel. For anime-only viewers, this might not seem significant since it happens only once, but visual novel fans might see it as nice fanservice while feeling disappointed that it wasn’t in the original game.
--Story and Character Development--
The story primarily follows Kunahama High’s team as they aim to win matches and tournaments while training. The anime makes this clear, but at times, it feels like matches happen just for the sake of it. This was a minor issue in the visual novel as well, which leaned more overtly into slice-of-life moments.
I have mixed feelings about the anime’s character development. In the visual novel, Asuka and Misaki each had their own story routes blending romance with personal growth and their roles in Flying Circus, creating compelling drama. The anime combines elements of both routes, and while it handles their development decently, it’s not as memorable or well-built as in the visual novel.
For example, Misaki’s major character development in the anime’s second half feels rushed compared to her route in the visual novel. A callback to her special move in the second-to-last episode lacks impact due to insufficient buildup, feeling more like a shout-out than a hype moment. Asuka’s arc, centered on showing how fun Flying Circus can be, fares better and remains generally positive and fitting. However, there’s a melodramatic moment where her development mirrors Misaki’s, which wasn’t in the visual novel and felt out of character for Asuka. Thankfully, outside of that, she remains a cheerful, optimistic character who influences others’ motivations. I particularly enjoyed her dynamic with the antagonist Saki, and their final fight in the last episode is a well-executed rendition of the climax from Asuka’s visual novel route.
The other two heroines, Mashiro and Rika, have a few wholesome episodes, but it often feels like the writers struggled to integrate them without clashing with Asuka and Misaki. Their episodes come across as afterthoughts, relegated to comic relief or minor supporting roles.
--Overall--
Overall, AOKANA: Four Rhythm Across the Blue is a decently fun way to enjoy a unique, fictional sports anime. If you’re looking for something different from anime depictions of real-life sports like soccer, basketball, or boxing, this is worth checking out. The second half, blending two visual novel routes with some anime-original content, works well enough and highlights the appeal of Flying Circus. For those intrigued by the sport and characters, the visual novel offers deeper exploration and some of the best character development I’ve seen in the medium.