is a Japanese fantasy novel written by Miyuki Miyabe. It was serialized in various regional newspapers between November 11, 1999 and February 13, 2001, before being published in two hardcover volumes by Kadokawa Shoten inBrave Story has spawned into a substantial media franchise. The novel was adapted into a manga by Yoichiro Ono and Miyabe herself, who wrote the new story for the manga, which was serialised in Shinchosha's Weekly Comic Bunch. Shinchosha collected the chapters of Brave Story in twenty tankōbon volumes and released them between April 2004 and May 2008. In the manga version Wataru is slightly older and already in high school. In 2006 the novel was re-released in two new editions, a three-volume softcover version of the earlier hardcover release intended for mature readers and a light novel version marketed for younger readers. These were intended to create interest in the animated film adaption by Gonzo released in Japan by Warner Bros. in July 2006. The film was nominated for "Animation of the Year" at the 2007 Japanese Academy Awards and also released on home video in Australia, the United Kingdom, France, Taiwan and Germany. The novel was loosely adapted into three video games: Sony Computer Entertainment's PSP game Brave Story: New Traveler, Namco Bandai's Nintendo DS game Brave Story: My Dreams and Wishes, and Sony Computer Entertainment's PlayStation 2 game Brave Story: Wataru's Adventure. Plot Novel Wataru Mitani is a quiet and unassuming fifth grader in Japan. A new student called Mitsuru Ashikawa begins attending Wataru's school, though he is in a different class. There are also rumors circulating about the Daimatsu building, an empty, unfinished building near Wataru's school: witnesses claimed to have seen a ghost wandering behind the building's blue tarps. One day after school, while out with his uncle, Wataru witnesses an old man entering the abandoned building. Wataru follows him into the building and stumbles into the strange world of Vision. In Vision, he is told that the portal he crossed, called the Porta Nectere, opens only once every ten years for ninety days. People from his world are strictly forbidden to enter Vision unless they obtain the status of Traveler from "the gatekeeper". Unfortunately, he is also told he will forget everything of his visit. Upon re-entering the Porta Nectere, his uncle wakens him and he finds that Vision was a dream; Wataru supposedly fell from the stairs of the