Beyond the Heavens (2009): cast, story & where to watch

Released in 2009, Beyond the Heavens is an animation and drama series.

What it’s about. Sōten Kōro is a Japanese manga by manga artist King Gonta, adapted from an original story by Hagin Yi. It was serialized by Kodansha in the manga anthology magazine Weekly Morning from 1994 to 2005. After Hagin Yi died of cancer in September 1998, King Gonta picked up the story himself. A total of 409 chapters were published and compiled into 36 separate books. In 1998, it won the 22nd Kodansha Manga Award in the general category. There are no published English translations of it, but a color art compilation book released in 2007 has the English subtitle Beyond the Heavens on the cover, suggesting that it is the accepted English translation of the title. In addition, the last chapter of the series is also titled in English Beyond the Heavens. In Japan, Sōten Kōro was advertised by its publisher as "Neo-Sangokushi", which may be translated as "Neo Romance of the Three Kingdoms". In April 2009, the series was made into an anime series by Madhouse.

Who’s in it. Beyond the Heavens stars Mamoru Miyano as Cao Cao, Isshin Chiba as Cao Ren, Nachi Nozawa as Cao Teng and Kikuko Inoue as Cao Cao, among others.

How it landed. With an audience score of 3.0/10, Beyond the Heavens has proved divisive with audiences.

Where to watch. Streaming options change often. See the full, country-by-country breakdown on our where to watch Beyond the Heavens page.

If you liked it. Fans of Beyond the Heavens tend to enjoy Rick and Morty, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Attack on Titan and Attack on Titan: No Regrets.