2001 Nights

Media

Manga

2001 Nights consists of several loosely connected short stories, all taking place in the same timeline, with the whole series spanning several hundred years. Many of the stories are related to each other (even across books), each building upon the achievements of the previous ones. The stories are often (but not always) scientifically plausible, recalling much of the early science fiction of the 1950s and 1960s.

Anime

2001 Nights

2001 Nights was adapted into a one-episode original video animation (OVA) under the name Space Fantasia 2001 Nights by Tokyo Movie Shinsha and released on VHS on June 21, 1987.

TO

Two stories from 2001 Nights, Night 12 ("Symbiotic Planet") and Night 14 ("Elliptical Orbit") respectively, were adapted into TO, a two-episode computer animation (CGI) original video animation (OVA). Fumihiko Sori directed. It was released on DVD and Blu-ray by Avex in December 2009, in Japan.{{cite web | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100809114109/http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2009-11-13/10-minutes-of-fumihiko-sori-to-sci-fi-cg-anime-posted| archive-date= 9 August 2010 | url-status= live}} TO was released on rental DVDs on October 2, 2009, and in December 2009 as regular DVD and Blu-ray release. It was scheduled to air on TBS and BS-TBS (Japanese satellite TV broadcaster) in November and December 2009,{{cite web

Stories

The stories that make up the complete manga are placed in chronological order, with two exceptions. By the technology used, Night 14 ("Elliptical Orbit") seems to belong somewhere between Nights 6 and 7 (after the invention of suspended animation and interstellar travel, but before the discovery of Lucifer). The second, Night 6 ("Discovery") is referenced in Night 4 ("Posterity") which occurs 20 years after the launch of the probe Discovery.

Volume list

• 1. "Night 1: Earthglow"
• 2. "Night 2: Sea of Fertility"
• 3. "Night 3: Maelstrom III"
• 4. "Night 4: Posterity"
• 5. "Night 5: Rendezvous"
• 6. "Night 6: Discovery"
• 7. "Night 7: Lucifer Rising"
• 8. "Night 8: The Lights of Heaven"
• 9. "Night 9: Journey Beyond Tomorrow"
• 10. "Night 10: Medusa's Throne"
• 11. "Night 11: A Stranger's Footsteps"
• 12. "Night 12: Symbiotic Planet"
• 13. "Night 13: Final Evolution"
• 14. "Night 14: Elliptical Orbit"
• 15. "Night 15: An Hour's Song in a Birdless Sky"
• 16. "Night 16: Colony"
• 17. "Night 17: So Brief. So Lasting a Love"
• 18. "Night 18: Odyssey in Green"
• 19. "Final Night: Children of the Earth"

Night 1, "Earthglow" - A space shuttle carries a special cargo.

Night 2, "Sea of Fertility" - An executive is summoned to the Moon by the death of her younger brother and shares his startling lunar discovery.

Night 3, "Maelstrom III" - A solar sail spacecraft runs into trouble in the asteroid belt.

Night 4, "Posterity" - An embryo space colonization starship is launched toward a distant planet with the help of a comet.

Night 5, "Rendezvous" - The first suspended animation tests produce a strangely spiritual result.

Night 6, "Discovery" - An interstellar probe guided by an A.I. is readied for flight.

Night 7, "Lucifer Rising, Part 1 & 2" - An expedition is sent to the remote 10th planet in the solar system.

Night 8, "The Lights of Heaven" - The test trials of the first faster than light starship.

Night 9, "Journey Beyond Tomorrow" - The probe from Night 6 makes an unexpected rendezvous, and people from Earth begin a terraforming project.

Night 10, "Medusa's Throne" - A starship explores a strange planet with three separate expeditions.

Night 11, "A Stranger's Footsteps" - A planetary intelligence observes human explorers.

Night 12, "Symbiotic Planet" - Humans must learn to live with an alien ecology.

Night 13, "Final Evolution" - A starship encounters a bizarre black hole creature.

Night 14, "Elliptical Orbit" - A long-range starship is attacked by terrorists, forcing the crew to defend itself. (Note: the cargo should be Helium 3, not hydrogen)

Night 15, "An Hour's Song in a Birdless Sky" - The strange behavior of alien birds gives a clue to a colony's ultimate fate.

Night 16, "Colony" - A man returns to a colony on an alien world to face his demons.

Night 17, "So Brief, So Lasting a Love" - A couple is separated by a black hole.

Night 18, "Odyssey in Green, Part 1 & 2" - A crew finds itself stranded on a doomed planet with a complex ecology.

Final Night, "Children of Earth" - In which the ultimate fate of spacegoing humanity is revealed.--

Reception

Reviewing the manga Mark Aragona praised Hoshino's skill in striking a balance between the scientific and the fantastical elements in his stories, noting the opus of Lucifer Rising. Harry Knowles of Ain't It Cool News praised the work for its portrayal, but overcomes its inspiration One Thousand and One Nights and 2001: A Space Odyssey, noting "It is reminiscent of the classics and develops its science fiction well enough on its own that is not diminished by comparisons."

Anime-focus.com reviewed the TO OVA and offered a mixed review of the work. While praising the graphics and special effects, it focused on the emotionless Funimation English dub which made all the worse by lifeless characters and the lack of attachment to the stories.

References

References

1. "2001 Nights (1990)". Comic Book DB.
2. link. allcinema. Stingray
3. (2009-09-29). "10月2日レンタル開始！『TO（トゥー）』公式サイトにて 曽利文彦監督とメインキャストのコメント動画掲載中！". Animax.
4. "Manga UK Adds Sci-Fi Anime TO From Vexille's Sori". Anime News Network.
5. "Funimation Adds Fumihiko Sori's To Science-Fiction Anime". Anime News Network.
6. link. [[Futabasha]]. (1985)
7. (22 March 1996). "2001 Nights, Volume 1: The Death Trilogy Overture (2001 Nights): Yukinobu Hoshino: Books". VIZ Media LLC.
8. link. [[Futabasha]]. (1985)
9. (22 June 1996). "2001 Nights, Volume 2: Journey Beyond Tomorrow (2001 Nights): Yukinobu Hoshino: Books". VIZ Media LLC.
10. link. [[Futabasha]]. (1986)
11. (22 February 1996). "Children of Earth (2001 Nights, Vol. 3): Yukinobu Hoshino: Books". VIZ Media LLC.
12. Aragona, Mark. (26 June 2011). "Comic Book Review 2001 Nights". Digital Science Fiction.
13. "AICN Anime - A Look Back at Sci-Fi Classic 2001 Nights, Redline in Theaters, ReBoot DVD Bound and More".
14. Hughs, Adam. (16 August 2011). "Review: TO – 2001 Nights". Anime Focus.
15. Packer, Charles. "Blu-ray Review TO - 2001 Nights". Sci-Fi Online.