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Children of the Whales Manga Nears Climax

The March issue of Akita Shoten's Monthly Mystery Bonita magazine revealed on Thursday that Abi Umeda's Children of the Whales (Kujira no Kora wa Sajō ni Utau) manga is nearing its climax. The manga will have a color opening page and will feature on the front cover of the magazine's next issue.

Umeda posted in her blog on January 12 that the manga's "upcoming Demonas Past Arc" was supposed to bring the manga "right up to the last chapter," but she changed the overall plan for the manga and put the end further in the story. She elaborated, saying that the original plan was that the manga would end in the fourth volume if it didn't sell. While she is happy that the manga has continued this long, it has become difficult to bring everything to a close.

Viz Media is releasing the manga, and it describes the story:

In an endless sea of sand drifts the Mud Whale, a floating island city of clay and magic. In its chambers a small community clings to survival, most dying young from the very powers that sustain them.

Chakuro is the Archivist for the Mud Whale, diligently chronicling the lives and deaths of his people. As one of the saimia wielders, whose life spans are cut short by their own magic, he knows his time is limited and is determined to leave a better record than his predecessors. But the steady pace of their isolated existence on the Mud Whale is abruptly shattered when a scouting party discovers a mysterious young girl who seems to know more about their home than they do…

Umeda launched the series in Monthly Mystery Bonita in 2013 as her second shōjo manga. Akita Shoten published the 15th compiled book volume last August. Viz Media released the manga's 14th volume on January 21.

The manga inspired a television anime adaptation that premiered in October 2017. Netflix premiered the anime outside of Japan in 2018. The anime also had two original video anime (OVA) that shipped in January and March 2018.

Sources: Monthly Mystery Bonita March issue, Abi Umeda's blog