(CR) Astro Note

[Guardian Enzo]

That was quite the rollercoaster of an episode.

[Frontier]

Originally Posted by Guardian Enzo

That was quite the rollercoaster of an episode.

Giving Rumiko Takahashi a run for her money .

[Alchemist007]

Slow build, and then 11.5 episodes in, the rest of it all at once. The confession, the betrayal, the super robot.

[Frontier]

If you asked me if I expected to see our main couple fend off an alien invasion of fish people voiced by Show Hayami while in a giant 2D cat Mecha...I would not believe you. But it definitely happened .

Good thing Mira ran simulations on piloting Guardian robots! She's surprisingly good at it and can be pretty intimidating when she wants to be .

Oh hey, Shoin actually came through with his love hotel spaceship! Even if it's just because HE was supposed to be the one to marry Mira. Though neither he nor the Planety Hubby leader have Mira's heart, because she gave it to Miyasaka (and of course they start flirting in the middle of a battle), so Shoin ends up being yet another childhood friend who loses .

I love how the Astro Lodge residents just take this all in stride, including Naosuke being an alien, and just decide to pig out during the big galactic fracas .

I don't know what's worse, that the Planet Hubby king has been trying to hook up with Wido women since Mira's mother (who like her daughter called him "clingy") or that he only saw them as babymaking factories. No wonder Mira blew up his entire invasion fleet .

The battle is won, the Earth and Universe are saved, and Mira...is not leaving! She's found things she genuinely loves and cherishes on Earth, and she's happy, so she'll renounce the throne and choose Earth and Miyasaka rather than go back to Planet Wid. And she'll even free Naosuke from his duty so he can live his own life just like she is. Nothing could make the residents of Astro Lodge, especially Miyasaka, happier .

And after all this Ren has decided to be his true self, right down to wearing his skirt to school! Even his friends have accepted it! And his dad looks at his moms' picture with pride .

But what about Aoi and Octo-san, or Naosuke? Aoi finally has a job and she seems to be moving on with her life, but both she and Naosuke seem to hold a special place in each others' heart that they will carry with them even when they're separated across the universe .

Miyaska finally has a job! Though somehow I doubt Wakabayashi will change his "Unemployed Chef" handle .

Time to do this farewell party with Naosuke! Oh, and Shoin is there too. He and his Hubbie Spy buddies are now stuck on Earth with nothing to do...and Miyasaka and the rest of the Astro Lodge residents are willing to accept him if he'll give them a chance. It's what Mira's father Tasuke would have done after all .

Oh, so Yamashita is going to follow Naosuke to Planet Wid and live out the rest of his years there? Or maybe find a new lease on life and fulfill Tasuke's dying wish. Maybe he'll become Adara's third man ?

That was a nice, tearful, farewell between Mira and Naosuke. Naosuke was hard on Mira and Mira often didn't listen to them, but ultimately they both truly cared for and loved one another. And at least Naosuke gets a TIGHT embrace from Aoi and one last song from her for the road .

Aw, look at Mira and Miyasaka in full-blown couple mode finally setting a date for their aquarium date! And what better way to close out than the Astro Lodge residents doing the dance set to Matsubara singing the OP !

And we've got one final montage: Mira and Miyasaka finally on an aquarium date, Wakabayashi as an archaeologist (?), the old bat trying to convince everyone the giant Mecha was real, Ren living it up with a skirt, Matsubara's idol career taking off, Shoin working at a bakery (to the admiration of all the ladies), Aoi becoming a dog person and doing well at her new lawyer assistant job, Mira and Miyasaka enjoying each others' company, and Naosuke and Yamashita arriving at Planet Wid just in time for Yamichi to finish his book...the titular Astro Note !

[magnumcyclonex]

It was a rather simple and maybe a bit silly, but absolutely hilariously preposterous reason for wanting to marry Mira. Mr. Fish guy got several warnings and took the latter choice. I took great joy in watching Mira waste no time in obliterating his spaceship.

Just knowing that he tried (and failed) on Mira's mother made it all the more funny, with her saying the exact same thing her daughter just said as she flew away!

With the awestruck residents of Astro Lodge behind Naosuke, they look to start their feast (apparently cell phone reception goes into space and back to the unemployed chef - who's ringtone is Rise of the Valkries).

Shoin has probably one of the worst character developments in this series, going from cool and rich "Englishman" to being the biggest traitor/wimp in episode 11, then proclaiming his love for Mira, to absolutely being destroyed be Mr. Fish and utterly homeless back at Astro Lodge. Glad the whole gang accepted him and his Hubby spies.

On the flipside, the show did a great job opening us to different viewpoints and perspectives, as we saw with how Ren took Mira's words and convinced his dad that it was ok to wear a skirt and his classmates accepted him wholeheartedly, proving his point!

I seriously thought the day after scene was a dream (a la Doraemon), but it was all true. Aoi and Naosuke get some good time to chat with each other and the fact that he repeatedly points out he's not a dog leaves room for this ship to sail in the future.

Speaking of the future, the montage of how everyone is doing goes well splendidly. We see Gossip Lady get laughed at, Shoin at a bakery, Aoi at the law office and park with dog, both lovebirds on their aquarium date, Idol girl Matsubara gets recognition on a magazine cover...

...but most interesting to me is Ren's dad who works at an archaeology site and uncovers a special coin. That plus the fact that Yamashita was feared to be dead but very much alive and on his space trip, AND the very last panel stating "let's meet again sometime, somewhere" leaves me hope for season 2 on Planet Wid.

I will shed many a tear missing this wonderful series as it brought me so much joy and laughter the past 3 months!