(L+CR) Uchuu Kyoudai (Space Brothers)

[Nightengale]

Speculation time.

The obvious trio and Nitta passes.
Mizoguchi fails.
Everyone else fails.

If the story's moving onwards to another story arc in the future with the passing candidates undergoing their astronaut training, I think that having 4-5 characters would be the maximum ideal composition, given that unlike the confinement arc, astronaut training will presumably have a larger scale interaction with a lot of different characters.

[FlareKnight]

You could see where they were going with Azuma part way through, but was definitely handled well. Better for someone like Hibito to be the first Japanese walking on the moon. Pressure and attention just rolls off that guy . For Azuma he just wasn't that comfortable with it. Not the type of person who thrives with that media pressure and especially didn't want it pointed at his family. While it wasn't Azuma's idea, at least Mutta kind of figured things out there.

And for laughs the trials of Jennifer trying to explain things continues .

[Gravitas Free Zone]

Originally Posted by hyperborealis

I wonder about the location itself--why put Mutta amid the abandoned ruins of an earlier generation of space flight?

The NASA relics seemed put in there more as a reminder for the viewer than for Mutta. The Shuttle mockup in particular, just left out in the Florida weather...

Ares itself changed into the Space Launch System between the production of this series and this date.

It's funny watching everyone else react to Mutta's attempts to talk to Azuma. I was going to wonder "Has no one else tried to talk to this man?", but Azuma seemed rather stolid even before. Perhaps much of his personal interaction ended up being with Brian Jay, who isn't in a position now to share any stories...

Originally Posted by FlareKnight

And for laughs the trials of Jennifer trying to explain things continues .

It looks like Mutta hasn't outgrown his (and Hibito's) ability to learn, and then thoroughly confound, any sort of scripted tour presentation.

[ookamigirl]

Celebrating Hibito's successful launch.
Everyone sure was in a good mood.
So the final results will be announced soon.
Seeing Hibito's little broadcast from the module was nice.
Mutta hanging out with Azuma and his family was kinda unusual.
At least it helped us to understand Azuma's way of thinking better.

[aliensporebomb]

Fascinating episode - we find out that Azuma is a private, quiet man without a lot of "zip" as a public figure. On the other hand we have Hibito aboard the spacecraft giving a guided tour to the people of Japan and virtually being a television presenter. Photogenic, social, comfortable. Azuma is just one of those quiet people who is the polar opposite - good at what he does but private, quiet, uncomfortable with fame.

What a great show though, this thing just keeps on going and we see unexpected sides - the reluctant astronaut - not because he's uncomfortable being in space - he doesn't like the public pressure.

[Nerroth]

To clarify, is the landing happening on the 15th of March; or the final selection?

(If the latter, it would be ironic to have it take place upon the ides of March...)

[cyth]

Originally Posted by Kanon

Will Mizoguchi pass?

This is the biggest concern AnimeSuki posters have.

[Kanon]

Originally Posted by cyth

This is the biggest concern AnimeSuki posters have.

Hell yeah. We know Mutta, Serika and Kenji are going to pass, the other three haven't gotten enough screentime for the audience to care about their fate, so all that's left is Mizoguchi. I still say he won't pass

[Kirarakim]

Originally Posted by cyth

This is the biggest concern AnimeSuki posters have.

Of course, I am sure they are getting a lot of letters.

They will be confused and think he's a popular character & increase his role.

Honestly the candidates have done nothing this arc (not counting Mutta of course) so I hope we see more of them in general before they make the announcement.

And actually I am most concerned about Nitta. I already figure Kenji & Serika will pass but I like him too & hope he will make it.

[GDiddy]

It's pretty obvious Mutta, Kenji and Serika will make out fine and pass. Though, since we saw him in Mutta's group during the training, I'm betting Nitta probaly passes too.

[GoldenLand]

We haven't found out much about Nitta so far, so I bet he'll pass. We got to learn about other characters from that group when they lost out, so I think we're due seeing someone other than a main character pass and get further development that way.

[Kanon]

I forgot about Nitta... I think he'll pass too. Not much point in having him win the rock-paper-scissor match over Mutta only for him to fail later.

[ookamigirl]

The moon landing.
Hibito did a really nice job with that.
His dreams finally came true.
Everyone was celebrating. Mutta was really proud.
Now it's time for Mutta to achieve his dream.

[Kirarakim]

Kind of wonder why Hibito didn't introduce the female astronaut when he was introducing his team members. At least I don't recall her being introduced.

Anyways good episode. You got to love Hibito's passionate care free attitude. I am more like Mutta though a self doubter.

Mutta & Hibito's parents always steal the show for me. They are hilarious.

[Kanon]

Hibito's first steps on the moon were brilliant. Completely in character for him. Yay!

Still no exam results... how long are they going to leave us hanging? I want to knooow!

[Gravitas Free Zone]

Originally Posted by Kirarakim

Kind of wonder why Hibito didn't introduce the female astronaut when he was introducing his team members. At least I don't recall her being introduced.

IIRC when Hibito was doing the talk for TV, he said that the female crew was on their sleep rotation. I suppose the series's production team didn't want to add more speaking characters, since the women on that crew have had less than five lines of dialogue in total so far?

It's interesting for me to consider how the show portrays Japan's national joy at Hibito's moon landing versus my expectation of Japanese emotional restraint. The show has shown, for comedic effect, mass reactions like the giant groan at The Agony of Doha. Here, it looks like the pride of having a Japanese person standing on the moon is overcoming any shock at Hibito's display of unadulterated happiness. (I suppose it helps that he was just really, really happy instead of spewing profanities or mooning the Earth.) The potential other side of that has already been shown to us, with Azuma's amazing outer calm confounding Japanese reporters in the past. His little smile this episode was gold.

That's my I-am-not-Japanese reaction to the episode's Japanese reaction, though. Anyone else's cultural insights or corrections to my viewpoint would be appreciated.

The moment was fun for audience wish-fulfillment too. Accomplishing a national first and being able to not worry about the pressure of having everyone watching you and recording your every breath? Awesome.

Then there's Mutta's reaction, which seems to have encapsulated the shocked reaction that I anticipated with a bit of personal embarrassment and probably some envy.

[FlareKnight]

Well, that's Hibito for you. Just had to go ahead and say something like that .

Though I really hope they can just confirm the last test results. That's been hanging in the air for a long time now.

[Guardian Enzo]

Spoiler for Long:

I’d like to say I wondered if this episode would break me down, but I pretty much knew that it would – it was really more a question of what would be the trigger. And interestingly, it was the two things at polar opposites of the spectrum – the flashbacks to the Nanba brothers as kids, and the shots of stoic old Dad and Azuma dealing with their emotions as the moment drew near – that really did it for me, more so than the more obvious emotional crescendos (though they hit the mark too). In a medium where overplayed melodrama is often substituted for genuine emotion, Space Brothers should be held up as an example of how powerful restraint and understatement can be at communicating deep and profound feeling.

Cho and Tanaka Mayumi – too wily old seiyuu veterans of the highest caliber – are doing a fantastic job with the roles of the Nanba parents. I find Nanba-papa especially moving, because he’s such a model of Japanese restraint (and not just Japanese, when it comes to Dads) – he keeps his emotions to himself, and doesn't turn to others for comfort in his tense moments. He simply lies awake at night, staring at the wall, worrying about his son and what he’s about to do. It was a typically unorthodox decision for Uchuu Kyoudai to make him the focus of the moments surrounding Hibito’s moon landing, and a typically wise one. His little fist pump (of course unseen by his wife and anyone else – though I suspect in RL TV cameras might have captured the moment live) and Azuma’s tiny smile said so much with so little about the universality of human emotion.

While the focus of the series is Mutta and the star performance is certainly Hira-Hiro, Hibito has really emerged as something special over this arc – a man-child with a profoundly direct and innocent view of the world. His “I feel so light” summed up Hibito perfectly – he’s not so much a person as a force of nature. His first step on the moon was a leap, and his profound first words? “Yay!!” Why would Hibito change in that moment, of all moments? He’s Japan’s moon rabbit, and he was never really anything else. Those of us (like his brother) who live with the reality of gravity can only envy Nanba Hibito.

When it comes to Mutta, his role has largely been defined as it related to Hibito over the last ten episodes or so, while the reverse was true prior to that. This is about to revert though, and even here it's till ultimately Mutta’s reactions that define the moment for the audience. “ I've always wondered…” Of course he has – and of course the answer was always going to be “Both”. There are some moments in life where no single emotional reaction is enough, and for Mutta, watching Hibito land on the moon is surely one of them.

Now, at last, the focus can turn to Mutta himself, and he can finally become the star of his own story. It seems only fitting that while Hibito’s path to the space should have been direct and rapid like a waterfall, Mutta’s should have been halting and meandering, like the twists and turns of a river. He’ll get there in the end, but for Mutta there will always be a weight on his legs, and on his chest – even when he’s in zero gravity. But I think that will make him appreciate the achievement of his dream in a way not even the Moon Bunny could ever appreciate it, and the crowning moment will be even sweeter for all the hardships he’s had to endure to reach it.

[cyth]

That was so beautifully written, Guardian_Enzo. (I would give you +rep if I could!) I was wondering, did you use the spoiler tag to be more in line with Mutta's dad's personality?

[Guardian Enzo]

Originally Posted by cyth

That was so beautifully written, Guardian_Enzo. (I would give you +rep if I could!) I was wondering, did you use the spoiler tag to be more in line with Mutta's dad's personality?

No, just because it was a long post.