{ "id": "epatm5jrmd", "slug": "tanabata-no-kuni", "title": "Tanabata no Kuni (七夕の国)", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series", "label": "Series and fictional screen worlds", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_international_serials", "label": "International serial drama and telenovelas", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_international_serials" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_int_serials_east_asia", "label": "East Asian drama series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_int_serials_east_asia" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_int_serials_east_asia.east_asian_web_streaming_serials", "label": "East Asian web and streaming serials", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_int_serials_east_asia.east_asian_web_streaming_serials" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_int_serials_east_asia.east_asian_web_streaming_serials.alpha-sp-to-z", "label": "Titles Sp to Z", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_int_serials_east_asia.east_asian_web_streaming_serials.alpha-sp-to-z" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.asia.t1946.culture.performance.screen.series.series_international_serials", "label": "Asia (other) · 1946 to 2000: International serial drama and telenovelas", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t1946.culture.performance.screen.series.series_international_serials", "path": [ { "id": "geo.asia", "label": "Asia (other)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia" }, { "id": "geo.asia.t1946", "label": "Asia (other) · 1946 to 2000", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t1946" }, { "id": "geo.asia.t1946.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t1946.culture" }, { "id": "geo.asia.t1946.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t1946.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.asia.t1946.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t1946.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.asia.t1946.culture.performance.screen.series", "label": "Series and fictional screen worlds", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t1946.culture.performance.screen.series" }, { "id": "geo.asia.t1946.culture.performance.screen.series.series_international_serials", "label": "International serial drama and telenovelas", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t1946.culture.performance.screen.series.series_international_serials" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Tanabata no Kuni (七夕の国, Land of Tanabata) is Hitoshi Iwaaki's 1996–1999 sci-fi mystery manga about a bloodline that can erase spheres of reality, adapted as a 10-episode Disney+ live-action drama in July 2024 starring Kanata Hosoda.", "snippet": "Tanabata no Kuni (七夕の国, Land of Tanabata) is Hitoshi Iwaaki's 1996–1999 sci-fi mystery manga about a bloodline that can erase spheres of reality, adapted as a 10-episode Disney+ live-action drama in July 2024 starring Kanata Hosoda.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_int_serials_east_asia.east_asian_web_streaming_serials.alpha-sp-to-z", "markdown": "# Tanabata no Kuni (七夕の国)\n\n**Tanabata no Kuni** (七夕の国, \"The Country of Tanabata\") is a Japanese science-fiction mystery manga by Hitoshi Iwaaki, the creator of *Parasyte*, serialized irregularly in Shogakukan's *Weekly Big Comic Spirits* from 1996 to 1999 and collected in four tankōbon volumes of 28 chapters[1](https://www.crunchyroll.com/news/latest/2024/6/20/tanabata-no-kuni-live-action-drama-series-releases-main-trailer-visual) • [2](https://anilist.co/manga/42750/Tanabata-no-Kuni). Its story follows a small group of people descended from a particular bloodline who can negate a sphere of reality and remove it neatly from existence, and it became the basis of a live-action drama series streamed exclusively on Disney+ from July 4, 2024[2](https://anilist.co/manga/42750/Tanabata-no-Kuni) • [3](https://disneyplus.disney.co.jp/news/2024/0703_tanabata-no-kuni_event).\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Original manga | Hitoshi Iwaaki, serialized in *Weekly Big Comic Spirits* (Shogakukan) 1996–1999; 4 volumes, 28 chapters, finished[1](https://www.crunchyroll.com/news/latest/2024/6/20/tanabata-no-kuni-live-action-drama-series-releases-main-trailer-visual) • [2](https://anilist.co/manga/42750/Tanabata-no-Kuni) |\n| Central premise | A bloodline can negate a sphere of reality and remove it from existence; continuous use of the power alters the user's appearance until they resemble an alien[2](https://anilist.co/manga/42750/Tanabata-no-Kuni) |\n| Live-action drama | 10 episodes, exclusively on Disney+ (\"Star\" brand) from July 4, 2024; produced by Toei[3](https://disneyplus.disney.co.jp/news/2024/0703_tanabata-no-kuni_event) • [4](https://www.toei.co.jp/ir/library/presentations/__icsFiles/afieldfile/2025/02/13/20250214_3.pdf) |\n| Directors and writers | Directed by Yūsuke Taki, Takahide Sano, and Hayato Kawai; written by Akiko Miyoshi, Mari Asato, and Yūsuke Taki[3](https://disneyplus.disney.co.jp/news/2024/0703_tanabata-no-kuni_event) |\n| Lead cast | Kanata Hosoda as Yoji \"Nanmaru\" Minamimaru; Takayuki Yamada as Yoriyuki Marukami; Ryoko Fujino as Sachiko[5](https://whatsondisneyplus.com/new-japanese-original-series-tanabata-no-kuni-announced/) |\n| Episode length | Roughly 36 to 62 minutes per episode[6](https://br.justwatch.com/br/serie/o-pais-de-tanabata) |\n| Reception | IMDb 5.8/10; JustWatch rating 30%[6](https://br.justwatch.com/br/serie/o-pais-de-tanabata) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Story and setting\n\nThe story's protagonist is Yoji Minamimaru, a university student nicknamed Nanmaru, whose only unusual trait is a seemingly useless power: he can make small holes in things without touching them[5](https://whatsondisneyplus.com/new-japanese-original-series-tanabata-no-kuni-announced/) • [8](https://www.disneyplus.com/ja-jp/browse/entity-3e7e6753-2ffb-4161-ae66-85a41bcd9ea9). When the folklore professor Masami Marukami, who may share his ability, disappears after traveling to investigate his ancestral home, the rural town called Marukami no Sato, Nanmaru follows with members of the professor's seminar[8](https://www.disneyplus.com/ja-jp/browse/entity-3e7e6753-2ffb-4161-ae66-85a41bcd9ea9).\n\nThe town conceals a layered history reaching back to the [Sengoku period](https://www.edgepedia.org/sengoku-period), when a handful of villagers wielding spheres destroyed an army of about 3,000 soldiers, and its present-day oddities include a Tanabata festival held in June rather than July, nightmares that only townspeople experience, and a code of rules governing the Marukami clan[9](https://finor-inc.com/works/land-of-tanabata/) • [10](https://www.cinematoday.jp/page/A0009216). In the drama's framing, the three official mysteries are the out-of-season Tanabata festival, the nightmares seen only by townspeople, and the rules of the Marukami family[3](https://disneyplus.disney.co.jp/news/2024/0703_tanabata-no-kuni_event). The spheres themselves are lethal: a black sphere gouges away whatever it touches, removing exactly its own volume of matter, which produces murders in which body parts are cut out in clean circular shapes[11](https://thetv.jp/news/detail/1208521/).\n\n### Manga and drama endings\n\nThe two versions end differently. In the manga, Yoriyuki departs for a \"new world\" beyond the \"window\" with only a small number of power holders, leaving Nanmaru and the others in the present reality, a resolution described as bitter; the drama instead stages a dialogue between Nanmaru and Yoriyuki and closes on a more hopeful, original note[19](https://hikeyblog.com/benri-item/tanabata-no-kuni-netabare-last/). In the manga's backstory, the source of the power is traced to genetic manipulation and technology left by an alien presence called Kasasagi (the magpie) that arrived in the Marukami homeland during the Sengoku period[19](https://hikeyblog.com/benri-item/tanabata-no-kuni-netabare-last/).\n\n## The manga\n\nHitoshi Iwaaki, already known for *Parasyte* and later for the ongoing historical series *Historie*, wrote and drew *Tanabata no Kuni* as an irregular serialization in *Weekly Big Comic Spirits* between 1996 and 1999[1](https://www.crunchyroll.com/news/latest/2024/6/20/tanabata-no-kuni-live-action-drama-series-releases-main-trailer-visual). The story is built on a single supernatural rule: members of a certain bloodline can negate a sphere of reality, neatly excising it from existence, and repeated use of this power gradually changes the user's appearance into something alien and unpleasant[2](https://anilist.co/manga/42750/Tanabata-no-Kuni). The narrative connects this power to an out-of-the-way Japanese town, a group of university students from Tokyo, and a series of mysterious disappearances and deaths[2](https://anilist.co/manga/42750/Tanabata-no-Kuni).\n\nThe manga is classified as seinen, aimed at adult readers, with genre tags covering mystery, science fiction, and the supernatural, and themes of conspiracy, gore, and rural life[2](https://anilist.co/manga/42750/Tanabata-no-Kuni). Its compact four-volume length has led some readers to suspect cancellation, but the series reached a planned conclusion in 1999; commentary on the question attributes the brevity to Iwaaki's habit of stripping a story to its essentials, as seen in *Parasyte* and *Historie*, rather than to an forced ending[7](https://syougeki-utikiri.com/en/tanabata-no-kuni/).\n\n## The 2024 live-action drama\n\nThe adaptation was announced as a Disney+ Japanese original under the \"Star\" brand, with the English title *Land of Tanabata*, and debuted on July 4, 2024[5](https://whatsondisneyplus.com/new-japanese-original-series-tanabata-no-kuni-announced/) • [12](https://anitrendz.net/news/2024/06/19/land-of-tanabata-live-action-adaptation-arrives-on-disney-hotstar-on-july-4/). It was promoted as the live-action version of a work long called impossible to film, and Disney positioned it as a follow-up to its hit Japanese thriller *Gannibal*[13](https://thetv.jp/news/detail/1177673/) • [14](https://disneyplus.disney.co.jp/program).\n\n**Production.** The series was directed by Yūsuke Taki, Takahide Sano, and Hayato Kawai, from scripts by Akiko Miyoshi, Mari Asato, and Yūsuke Taki, with Takaaki Ōe contributing to the screenplay; production carried the copyright line \"©2024 Hitoshi Iwaaki/Shogakukan/Toei\", identifying Toei as the production studio[3](https://disneyplus.disney.co.jp/news/2024/0703_tanabata-no-kuni_event). Taki, a fan of the manga since its serialization, said he updated the Heisei-era story for the [Reiwa era](https://www.edgepedia.org/reiwa-era) while trying to reproduce its spirit accurately[9](https://finor-inc.com/works/land-of-tanabata/). Iwaaki himself compared an adaptation to a \"grandchild\", saying he looked forward to techniques and imagery he could not have conceived himself[15](https://manga-shinso.com/iwaaki-hitoshi-tanabata-drama-acting-vfx/).\n\n**Cast.** Kanata Hosoda, then 22, played Nanmaru and described being directed to act \"lighter\" and flatter early in the series so that the character's growth would register at the climax[16](https://www.mina.ne.jp/culture/27319/). [Takayuki Yamada](https://www.edgepedia.org/takayuki-yamada) played Yoriyuki Marukami, the head of the Marukami family, and Ryoko Fujino played Sachiko of the Higashimaru (Tōmaru) family[5](https://whatsondisneyplus.com/new-japanese-original-series-tanabata-no-kuni-announced/) • [17](https://secure.eiga.com/drama/series/tanabatanokuni/). The wider cast included Shuhei Uesugi as Sachiko's brother Takashi, Mai Kiryu as the seminar lecturer Sayuri Emi, Hiroshi Mikami as Professor Masami Marukami, and Masatō Ibu[6](https://br.justwatch.com/br/serie/o-pais-de-tanabata) • [17](https://secure.eiga.com/drama/series/tanabatanokuni/).\n\n**Reception and performance.** The series ran as one season of ten episodes, with episodes of roughly 36 to 62 minutes[18](https://www.shurigekijou.com/tanabata-no-kuni-streaming/). Aggregated ratings were middling: IMDb listed 5.8/10 and [JustWatch](https://www.edgepedia.org/justwatch) 30%[6](https://br.justwatch.com/br/serie/o-pais-de-tanabata). Commercially, Toei's quarterly report credited the streaming of all ten episodes on Disney+ with a significant contribution to the content segment's sales, which rose 12.6 percent year on year to 71,385 million yen in the period covered[4](https://www.toei.co.jp/ir/library/presentations/__icsFiles/afieldfile/2025/02/13/20250214_3.pdf).\n\n## Availability\n\nThe drama streams as a Disney+ exclusive; checks of major Japanese services and the aggregator JustWatch found no other subscription carrier, and no free viewing options were listed[18](https://www.shurigekijou.com/tanabata-no-kuni-streaming/) • [20](https://www.justwatch.com/jp/%E3%83%86%E3%83%AC%E3%83%93%E7%95%AA%E7%B5%84/qi-xi-noguo). The manga itself has never received an anime adaptation; its screen presence rests on the 2024 drama[2](https://anilist.co/manga/42750/Tanabata-no-Kuni).\n\n## References\n\n1. [Tanabata no Kuni Live-Action Drama Series Releases Main Trailer, Visual, Crunchyroll News](https://www.crunchyroll.com/news/latest/2024/6/20/tanabata-no-kuni-live-action-drama-series-releases-main-trailer-visual)\n2. [Tanabata no Kuni, AniList manga entry](https://anilist.co/manga/42750/Tanabata-no-Kuni)\n3. [『七夕の国』特別試写イベントレポート, Disney+ official news](https://disneyplus.disney.co.jp/news/2024/0703_tanabata-no-kuni_event)\n4. [Toei fiscal 2025 Q3 presentation (February 14, 2025)](https://www.toei.co.jp/ir/library/presentations/__icsFiles/afieldfile/2025/02/13/20250214_3.pdf)\n5. [New Japanese Original Series \"Tanabata No Kuni\" Announced, What's On Disney Plus](https://whatsondisneyplus.com/new-japanese-original-series-tanabata-no-kuni-announced/)\n6. [O País de Tanabata, JustWatch (Brazil)](https://br.justwatch.com/br/serie/o-pais-de-tanabata)\n7. [Was Tanabata no Kuni Canceled or Axed? Reasons Explained](https://syougeki-utikiri.com/en/tanabata-no-kuni/)\n8. [七夕の国, Disney+ official program page](https://www.disneyplus.com/ja-jp/browse/entity-3e7e6753-2ffb-4161-ae66-85a41bcd9ea9)\n9. [Land Of Tanabata, FINOR](https://finor-inc.com/works/land-of-tanabata/)\n10. [町も人もエグられる…球体の謎に迫る「七夕の国」って？, Cinema Today](https://www.cinematoday.jp/page/A0009216)\n11. [＜七夕の国＞\"東京都庁\"の上部消失でパニックに, WEBザテレビジョン](https://thetv.jp/news/detail/1208521/)\n12. [Land of Tanabata Live-Action Adaptation Arrives on Disney+ Hotstar on July 4, AnimeTrendz](https://anitrendz.net/news/2024/06/19/land-of-tanabata-live-action-adaptation-arrives-on-disney-hotstar-on-july-4/)\n13. [映像化不可能と言われ続けていた岩明均原作のSFマンガが細田佳央太主演でドラマシリーズ化決定＜七夕の国＞, WEBザテレビジョン](https://thetv.jp/news/detail/1177673/)\n14. [オリジナル作品一覧, Disney+ (Japan)](https://disneyplus.disney.co.jp/program)\n15. [『七夕の国』はどうドラマになった？, 漫画深層](https://manga-shinso.com/iwaaki-hitoshi-tanabata-drama-acting-vfx/)\n16. [ディズニープラス『七夕の国』主演・細田佳央太さんインタビュー, mina](https://www.mina.ne.jp/culture/27319/)\n17. [七夕の国, 映画.com drama page](https://secure.eiga.com/drama/series/tanabatanokuni/)\n18. [『七夕の国』はどこで見れる？ディズニープラス独占配信の視聴方法, 動画配信おすすめ劇場](https://www.shurigekijou.com/tanabata-no-kuni-streaming/)\n19. [七夕の国のラストを解説！ドラマと原作で結末が違う？](https://hikeyblog.com/benri-item/tanabata-no-kuni-netabare-last/)\n20. [七夕の国, JustWatch (Japan)](https://www.justwatch.com/jp/%E3%83%86%E3%83%AC%E3%83%93%E7%95%AA%E7%B5%84/qi-xi-noguo)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › International serial drama and telenovelas › East Asian drama series › East Asian web and streaming serials › Titles Sp to Z*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/tanabata-no-kuni", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/tanabata-no-kuni.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Tanabata no Kuni (七夕の国)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/tanabata-no-kuni. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Tanabata no Kuni (七夕の国)](https://www.edgepedia.org/tanabata-no-kuni)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/tanabata-no-kuni](https://www.edgepedia.org/tanabata-no-kuni). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Tanabata no Kuni (七夕の国)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/tanabata-no-kuni. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Tanabata no Kuni is Hitoshi Iwaaki's 1996–1999 sci-fi mystery manga about a bloodline that can erase spheres of reality, adapted as a 10-episode Disney+ live-action drama in July 2024 starring Kanata Hosoda." }