2013-04-20, 15:34 | Link #981 |
AS Oji-kun
Join Date: Nov 2006
Age: 74
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This episode reminds us that Hibito trained for five years before he went to the moon. (I think this is also his first space mission, but I might be wrong about that.) Mutta is finishing up the first or second week of his first year of training. At the current pace, even before the recaps, it will likely take at least a couple more years of Space Brothers before we see Mutta in space.
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2013-04-27, 09:32 | Link #983 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2011
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Looks like things are finally moving forward.
Survival training - last day! Tough choices for everyone. That sure made Mutta feel bad. Luckily, he's a part of a good team and not the type to quit so easily. Last place certainly got them the worst possible opportunity to move forward.
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2013-04-27, 09:58 | Link #984 |
Kana Hanazawa ♥
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: France
Age: 37
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Finally new material. It's good to have Space bros back. The only bad news is that there are no more space photos, apparently.
The first part of the training/competition has ended and the second part is about to start. Team E is last place but they have a chance to turn the tables. Unfortunately for them, the engineer they've been assigned to is a lazy bum (who surprisingly happens to be Bold's friend...) completely unwilling to help them. They'll have to rely on Mutta's experience. They're still teasing us with Amanti's prediction. Seems like something really bad is going to happen to Mutta at some point.
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2013-04-27, 20:22 | Link #987 | |
廉頗
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Massachusetts
Age: 35
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I think the Amanti fortune teller thing is pretty goofy (seems like it was just because she's Indian so she can somehow predict the future, plus fortune telling between NASA candidates... yeah...), but they keep shoving it in our face so much that it's clearly some important plot point and I'm curious about it. I don't know if it's something bad that will happen to Mutta... since Amanti whispered something to Serika and Serika hasn't displayed any concern about it, which I'd expect she would, given her character, I doubt it's a negative thing. More likely, I'm thinking maybe it has to do with Serika and Mutta romantically. Then again, Amanti seems to have a negative reaction each time it's mentioned, so I'm not so sure. Good to get the show back after that break! I have enjoyed it all along, but having to wait through those past few weeks made this week more enjoyable and reminded me why I like Space Bros. so much to begin with. |
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2013-04-28, 08:26 | Link #989 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2007
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I think my biggest issue with the fortune telling aspect besides being hokey is its so stereotypical and has all the "other" thing attached to it. Amanti is Indian so of course she can predict the future.
Other than that Amanti's characterization is perfectly fine and its great to get another regular woman in the cast but the fortune teller thing is disappointing. Anyway my guess is what Amanti's predicted isn't bad or can be interpreted in more than one way but maybe she feels it is best to let things take their course without worrying him (of course she is worrying him anyways)
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2013-04-28, 08:44 | Link #990 |
Seishu's Ace
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Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Kyoto, Japan
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There's really nothing about the fortune-telling plot that doesn't annoy me. It undercuts the realism of the series. It's beneath the dignity of what's otherwise a very smart show. It plays into cultural stereotypes. And it plays into the tendency Uchuu Kyoudai has to milk certain plot points or cliffhangers to death rather than resolving them and getting on with things.
Good episode, and it's great to have Space Brothers back. But ditch the fortuneteller BS already.
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2013-04-28, 09:46 | Link #991 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2012
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Amanti's fortune-teller schtick, or at least the dominance of that trait from our/Mutta's POV, has been virtually her entire characterization thus far. If the show mentioned what her science major is or old job was, I can't even remember it now, because every scene with her has been "I wonder if this is the bad thing that she foresaw." Cultural sterotypes: Apologies to everyone first, but... The show has managed to create a Magical Indian out of an actual Indian. ducks brickbats She was the only person at the restaurant meet-and-greet that wasn't entirely in generic Western clothing, which could be allowed as a character's actual preference, but in the setting just emphasized her unusualness... which also didn't help because her introduction was entirely based around her seeing/fortunetelling (and again, not her actual job). The show at least bothered to show us Kitamura's family before putting her into the action with the main characters... |
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2013-04-28, 10:00 | Link #992 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2007
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Well there is still time for them to develop Amanti's character, I mean look at how long it took them to develop Nitta.
However that doesn't take away from the fact that the fortune teller schtick is a disappointing stereotype.
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2013-04-28, 10:11 | Link #993 |
Banned
Join Date: Dec 2006
Age: 38
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70's sports cars, hamburgers, fat black American women, bulky black men, midwestern ranch-style parties, rock&roll, ... These are all stereotypes of American culture. Except that this thread decided to paint those as a tribute to American culture, yet Amanti's portrayal gets the short end of the stick. Face it, guys, the series bathes in cultural stereotypes.
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2013-04-28, 10:15 | Link #994 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2007
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Quote:
Japan is a mostly homogenous country so the stereotypes aren't exactly surprising but that doesn't make them any less unfortunate. The African American stereotypes are problematic for the same reason.
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2013-04-28, 12:13 | Link #996 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2011
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Quote:
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2013-04-28, 16:03 | Link #997 | |
AS Oji-kun
Join Date: Nov 2006
Age: 74
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Quote:
That said, I like Amanti because of her seiyuu's performance. She gives the character a nice assertive and upbeat personality. This is especially true near the beginning of the episode where she is the designated leader and behaves in an intelligent and authoritative manner, despite the fortune-telling shtick. But, yes, I agree that this show is a walking collection of stereotypes about foreigners. Amanti is just the first example we've seen that wasn't based on an American.
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2013-04-28, 18:51 | Link #998 |
Seishu's Ace
Author
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Kyoto, Japan
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But you know, we don't have the UFO thing thrown in our face every episode. And fact is, it does tie in to the central theme of the series. Might it be a secret SDF aircraft? An actual alien craft? A weather balloon (sorry, I couldn't resist). I mean, astronauts have said publicly that they've seen things on missions they couldn't explain, so that aspect of Uchuu Kyoudai really isn't that far removed from the central premise.
And one reason why I don't mind the stereotypes quite so much is because this show makes fun of the Japanese national character even more...
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2013-04-28, 21:14 | Link #999 |
廉頗
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Massachusetts
Age: 35
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I dunno, there may be aspects of stereotyping with other characters, but I think the 'fortune telling Indian' is kind of the most searingly stupid example yet.
I agee with Enzo that two kids thinking they saw a UFO just feels 'right' with this story much more than real clairvoyance. Also, I kind of came to interpret that scene as colored by their childlike imagination rather than what really happened. As we see in some episodes where it's touched upon, the Nanba bros. don't seem to take it all that seriously themselves. It just happens to be a childish memory that helped inspire their dreams of going to space. Last edited by ChainLegacy; 2013-04-28 at 22:37. |
2013-05-04, 09:55 | Link #1000 |
Kana Hanazawa ♥
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: France
Age: 37
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Ep 56
Brian again. This man is overpresent in this show, in spite of dying before it even started. As we suspected, Pico is actually a very talented engineer albeit an eccentric one. He was in charge of designing the parachute system for Brian and the others' reentry but the project was eventually given to another company because Nasa thought he was spending too much money. One tiny mistake was all it took to change Brian's fate. He feels responsible for Brian's death even though it wasn't his fault. This appears to be the reason he's drowning himself in alcohol right now. That and the pressure he's under for currently designing Hibito's parachute. I think he's always had that kind of attitude though. He only works hard when a project interests him.
Looks like the team will find a way to turn on his switch next week.
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Tags |
science fiction, seinen |
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