(L+CR) Uchuu Kyoudai (Space Brothers)

[GDiddy]

Yeah, I can see Sharon's illness affecting Serika's research myself.

Maybe this with Sharon is to drive Mutta even more....

[thundrakkon]

From the previous episode preview, I was certain it was Sharon that they were talking about, and it turned out that way. A key point in this whole fortune telling is that they said that the person will be stricken with a serious illness, not death. If Sharon was going to die, Amanti would have said someone close to Mutta and Hibito was going to die. Hence, the theory that Serika will achieve her goals and cure Sharon is very likely. It brings forth Serika's story that we've already witness parts of.

Btw, I was fortunate enough to visit the Houston Space Center and the Johnson Space Center this weekend. I tried to see similarities with it compared to the anime series, but there were only few references that might have been similar. I went to see the training area for the astronauts, not mission control at the tram tour. Also, I asked the NASA tour guide at the tram if she saw Space Brothers, for comparison purposes. She responded that she did not, but was really interested in watching it and telling her co-workers about it.

[articuzwolf]

While I agreed with the idea of Serika will try to cure Sharon, I think they will push the idea of making Sharon's dream and Mutta's promise to build Sharon Telescope on the moon first

Sharon's illness reminded me Arata's gramps illness (from Chihayafuru),

I hope she will not die yet but just experiencing severe dementia and motoric disorder like Arata's gramps

and maybe then Mutta will have more drive to become an astronaut and fulfil his promise as soon as possible

[Guardian Enzo]

No, Arata's Grandfather had a stroke. Completely different situation.

[articuzwolf]

^ whelp, too bad...the scenario of losing memories and motoric abilities are good motivation for Mutta, Serika and most likely Hibito as well

[Kanon]

You guys were right - Sharon's illness is apparently the same as the one Serika's father has. It's a little big of a coincidence especially since it's supposed to be a very rare disease, but ok. This will reinforce Serika's motivation and I'm guessing she will manage to cure her by the end of the series.

[orion]

Originally Posted by articuzwolf

^ whelp, too bad...the scenario of losing memories and motoric abilities are good motivation for Mutta, Serika and most likely Hibito as well

I wouldn't call it a good scenario. Drugs take 10-15 years to develop and get to patients. A person who is diagnosed now with a severe dementia disorder is basically screwed imo.

They've gotten this far. They shouldn't need additional motivation imo.

[SeijiSensei]

Originally Posted by Kanon

You guys were right - Sharon's illness is apparently the same as the one Serika's father has. It's a little big of a coincidence especially since it's supposed to be a very rare disease, but ok. This will reinforce Serika's motivation and I'm guessing she will manage to cure her by the end of the series.

Rather a large and implausible coincidence, if you ask me. Were we ever told what her father's illness was? If it is indeed "rare," that rules out things like MS. A little research brings up Guillain-Barre Syndrome and Myasthenia Gravis, both rare autoimmune disorders with neurological symptoms. The first of these seems to fit better with her symptoms and reportedly occurs in 1-2 persons per 100,000. ALS, or "Lou Gehrig's Disease," is another possibility. Searching for diseases where tapping the forearm is a diagnostic method brought up little.

I mistook the dents in Sharon's phone as sweat drops last week.

[ookamigirl]

Sharon seems to be having some medical problems.
Looks like Mutta and the others have to do a lot of studying.
At least Hibito had some free time to spend with her.
Flashback to her younger days was nice.
Mutta showing off his little brother was LOL
Serika was pretty perceptive about Sharon's condition.

[Dop]

Originally Posted by SeijiSensei

Rather a large and implausible coincidence, if you ask me. Were we ever told what her father's illness was? If it is indeed "rare," that rules out things like MS. A little research brings up Guillain-Barre Syndrome and Myasthenia Gravis, both rare autoimmune disorders with neurological symptoms. The first of these seems to fit better with her symptoms and reportedly occurs in 1-2 persons per 100,000. ALS, or "Lou Gehrig's Disease," is another possibility. Searching for diseases where tapping the forearm is a diagnostic method brought up little.

I mistook the dents in Sharon's phone as sweat drops last week.

Funny you should mention Guillian-Barre Syndrome. During the episode I was thinking "It's going to be strange if she turns out to have Guillain-Barre Syndrome", largely because I had that once. I spent two months in hospital, lost the use of my legs, lost some movement in my arms, came VERY close to losing the ability to breathe for myself (I was in intensive care), had to be fed through a tube, and it took most of a year before I could walk unaided, having had to learn to walk again, at first on a walking frame, then crutches and finally a walking stick before I didn't need it.

Anyway, didn't Serika's father die of his illness? Not unheard of with GBS but unusual as far as I know. I kind of suspect the author will have made up an illness for the story, though, rather than use a real one which might upset people one way or another.

[SeijiSensei]

Glad to hear you recovered. From what I read, and from your description, it sounds like a horrible affliction.

Did anyone tap your arm as a diagnostic method?

Oh, and having just read a posting in another forum about this episode, it reminded me that the character art was sometimes quite horrific! Dr. Morrison's sidekick was especially poorly drawn.

I hope Sharon gets better so we can see the obvious romance between her and Morrison develop in the next couple of episodes.

[Dop]

Seriously I had so many reflex tests that very little of me wasn't tapped at some point! Not to mention the times they stuck pins into me to see if I could feel them! Drawing the sharp end of the reflex hammer down the sole of the foot was particularly bad, as it really hurt but I couldn't move my foot away!

[MeoTwister5]

The treatment for GBS is so expensive it's not even funny (IV Immunoglobulin). Some patients will need it and some patients won't.

Those who need it but can't afford it will literally be on a mechanical ventilator until their lungs and heart finally fail.

[Gravitas Free Zone]

Why was Professor Morrison's assistant drawn with thick lines and no shading in all of his closeups? Some reference that I was not understanding, or just a very strange animation glitch?

[BBOvenGuy]

After this episode, it looks even more to me like what Sharon has is ALS or some kind of related motor neuron disease. The muscle twitches are one of the early symptoms, as are the clumsiness and weakness in the hands. Stephen Hawking once wrote that increased clumsiness was one of the first symptoms he had, and that's what I thought of when we heard last week that Sharon had been dropping her phone.

People with ALS typically live about three to five years with it, but it's not impossible to survive longer. Stephen Hawking is going on fifty years, albeit with a lot of technological help that's not available to the average patient.

And on a completely different note, Serika still reminds me of my sister-in-law, who is also an Asian doctor who likes food.

[Guardian Enzo]

So how is it that the Japanese astronaut that just got back from the moon can walk around the JSC Museum and none of the visitors seems to bat an eye?

[thundrakkon]

Originally Posted by Guardian Enzo

So how is it that the Japanese astronaut that just got back from the moon can walk around the JSC Museum and none of the visitors seems to bat an eye?

That was a pretty good replica of the Houston Space Center. Of course, right now, they have an Angry Birds theme going on there, but otherwise, it was very similar.

As far as visitors are concerned, most of them are either children or visitors from out of town. I'm guessing it is a weekday, since there were not as many visitors, and most visitors will not pay too much attention to what the current astronauts look like. The whole launching to the moon was a big deal in Japan with Hibito, being all over TV Japan, but I don't think it was as big a deal in the US. The average Joe does not even know how Neil Armstrong looks like. Also, I'll admit, if an astronaut walked up to me while I was in the Houston Space Center, I would have no idea he was one unless someone told me so.

[Guardian Enzo]

The average Joe in 1969 sure as hell knew what Neil Armstrong looked like.

[Gravitas Free Zone]

Originally Posted by Guardian Enzo

The average Joe in 1969 sure as hell knew what Neil Armstrong looked like.

True... but that was in 1969, when astronauts were extremely rare and people really were paying attention to the space program. Aside from Chris Hadfield, I don't think I'd recognize anyone who's been up recently, plus what thundrakkon noted, that this is a foreign astronaut in the US; if the Chinese crew that just got back from Tiangong-1 was walking around in the supermarket down the street, I would have no idea who they were, even if they're huge in China right now.

[Guardian Enzo]

But this wasn't a Japanese mission - he was up there as a NASA astronaut, on the first mission since the Brian Jay tragedy. And wouldn't you figure visitors to a NASA museum would have an above-average interest in space travel and astronauts, on the whole?