Lucky Penny Entertainment released the series Looking up at the Half Moon back in April of 2015 on home video and has done some YouTube streaming for it as well. The folks at Tubi have now added the series to their service in agreement with Lucky Penny as the full run is available to members today in the US and Canada, which is where Lucky Penny owns the rights to it.
Known as Hanbun no Tsuki ga Noboru Sora, the series is based upon the light novels of the same name by Tsumugu Hashimoto, which has also inspired a series of drama CDs, a live-action television drama, and a live-action film. It was directed by Yukihiro Matsushita (Maria Watches Over Us), with character designs by Mitsuru Ohara (Peach Girl), music by Shinkichi Mitsumune (Revolutionary Girl Utena, Rozen Maiden), and animation by Group TAC (Black Blood Brothers, Gilgamesh). The series originally aired in Japan on the WOWOW television network in 2006.
The show was released in litebox form with the complete run of the six episode series. Clocking in at 150 minutes, it’s priced at $29.99 in its original Japanese with English subtitles while on-disc extras include the clean opening and closing as well as promotional videos.
Check out our review of the DVD here.
Plot concept: Even though Yuuichi Ezaki is in the hospital recovering from an illness, he’s constantly sneaking out. One day he’s caught by the head nurse, who makes a deal with him: she’ll overlook his future excursions if he’s willing to befriend a new patient, Rika Akiba. Due to a serious heart condition, Rika has spent most of her life in the hospital, and doesn’t really have any friends. As Yuuichi and Rika spend time together and learn more about each other, their relationship soon blossoms into romance…
