(L) Rocket Girls

[NeoSam]

ロケットガール
Rocket Girl

Official anime site:
http://www.rocket-girl.jp/

Based on light novels by Housuke Nojiri.

There are 2 light novels by Housuke Nojiri that got published:

One light novel called Rocket Girl and published under the male oriented label Fujimi Fantasia Bunko and the other light novel is called MAGIUS Rocket Girl RPG and published under the male oriented label Fujimi Dragon Book (a shounen light novel label).
Both light novels are only 1 volume and finished, and both of them got published in 1995.

Rocket Girl light novel (published in 1995)
Cover:



MAGIUS Rocket Girl RPG light novel (published in 1995)
Cover:



A new shounen light novel series also authored by Housuke Nojiri with the same title (Rocket Girl) started publication under the male oriented label Fujimi Fantasia Bunko in October 2006.
For now there's 3 volumes released of this light novel.
Here are the covers:



Genre: Seinen/Shounen, Sci-fi

[NeoSam]

I added the cover of MAGIUS Rocket Girl RPG light novel to my previous post.

Thanks for AnimeNewsService for providing the cover.

[CaiSter21]

is this like a stratos4 copycat?

or was stratos4 an imitation of this?

[NeoSam]

Originally Posted by CaiSter21

is this like a stratos4 copycat?

or was stratos4 an imitation of this?

No idea >.<

More update about the anime:

From Anime News Service:

Rocket Girl Update
A few staff updates for the forthcoming Rocket Girl animation: Original Story: Housuke Nojiri, Director: Hiroshi Aoyama (Master Keaton), Chara Designs: Hisama Kinoshita (Photon: The Idiot Adventures), Series Composition and Screenplay: Rika Nakase (Bleach, Fruits Basket) and Animation Production by Mook Animation.

[NeoSam]

Fujimi Shobo's site for Rocket Girl has opened:

http://www.fujimishobo.co.jp/sp/rocket/

Fujimi Shobo is the publisher of the shounen/seinen light novels Rocket Girl.

[NeoSam]

Some info about the anime

From AnimeNfo:

A high school girl Morita Yukari visits Axia of the Solomon Islands in order to look for her father who became lost during his honeymoon trip. There, she meets a man named Nasuda of Solomon Space Agency, and she is hired to work part-time. That job is – an astronaut. She is chosen as one of the crews of the first Japanese manned spaceship only because she is little and light. Where is her future going to?

Genre: Seinen/Shounen, Sci-fi

[martino]

Will this be romance as well, or not?

[Kensuke]

Looks like I'm not the only one who thought Stratos 4, especially this picture:

Originally Posted by NeoSam

Definitely something to look forward.

[NeoSam]

The official site for the anime has opened:

http://www.rocket-girl.jp/

[physics223]

I thought it was also Stratos 4 ...

[Vexx]

How can I *not* at least take a look at a title called "Rocket Girls"?
(Even if it is derivative)

[cyth]

Apparently, the opening single is going to be ICHIKO's 3rd single RISE and the ending is going to be Ashita no Iki no Bus ni Notte by misae. Also, an insert song called Rocket Girl is mentioned (along with the rest) here.

[Guido]

Originally Posted by CaiSter21

is this like a stratos4 copycat?

or was stratos4 an imitation of this?

Those were my first thoughts upon seeing the pictures, but now that I have read the preliminary synopsis I am reflecting upon the whole story.

Maybe it is going to follow the theme of it-is-my-dream-to-go-traveling-into-space like Twin Spica did.

[LoweGear]

Judging from the initial synopsis though, I don't think that'll be the case. I'm baffled on how you can be a part-time astronaut (well, anything's possible as far as anime goes), and looks like our heroine will unwillingly have to adjust to her new life in space somewhat ^^;;

The title and theme certainly got my interest, being a space nut and all that XD

[Kensuke]

I guess if you want realism you go for Moonlight Mile instead of this, but that is just gut feeling. Just three days before first episode airs...

[eggplant]

Saw episode 1.

Spoiler for Episode 1:

It's interesting that WOWOW's new season features two outer space titles. While Moonlight Mile will most likely feature the serious side of things, one can assume that Rocket Girls will take the other direction, i.e., a lighthearted approach.

That is, that's the only way I can perceive the show after watching episode 1. The whole premise of manning rockets with underage amatuer girls just because their weight is under 40kgs is probably the most farfetched plot I've come across in a long time, so I've decided not to take anything seriously from this show. That way, I may even become to enjoy the program.

Just to point out some positive notes:
Good voice acting. Sendai Eri's Yukari sounds just like her Ayumu role in Gokujou, one of my favorite shows, and having Nabatame Hitomi around is an asset, although her role as Matsuri may fit the incomprehensible, wild girl stereotype which I'm not all for.
Nakase Rika's script. People may hate her scripts from Higurashi and Yami Bou, and although she may not be a Yoshida Reiko, she's quite capable. I like her work from Fruits Basket and Futago Hime, so if Rocket Girls is on the lighter side of things, the script looks promising.

On the other hand, I've never heard of the animation studio MOOK DLE before, and although the animation for ep. 1 was passable (except for the unnecessary CGs) I hear the production is way behind schedule (I construe the lack of the opening and ending songs is because it's ep. 1 where they didn't want to show the spoilerish animation sequences ), so I'm having reservations on the consistency level of the animation.

Light girls account for loli-like features, where there's at least three of them around, so this could be another loli fest (hm, Rocket Girls and Sky Girls sound similar).

At least WOWOW shows run under different airing seasons from conventional broadcasting stations, so the attention factor will be high for the time being. Let's hope the subsequent episodes will be interesting enough so that it won't be drained out when the onslaught of the April shows commence.

[NeoSam]

Hopefully someone will fansub this a loli fest show shouldn't be ignored

Anyway, I updated the first post of this thread with the new shounen light novel series Rocket Girl (published under the shounen label Fujimi Fantasia Bunko), in which the first volume of it got released on October 2006.

[Kaoru Chujo]

Spoiler for ep1:

Personally, I liked the character design, backgrounds and animation. From what eggplant says, it may decline as we go on, but I liked the visual aspects of this show a lot in the first ep. I got flashes of Getsumen To Heiki Miina, Mamoru-kun, and the newer Kujibiki Unbalance. From the data on Anime News Network, this appears to be the first time Mook Animation has managed production on a show, rather than just assisting someone else.

And Sendai Eri made Yukari's voice work well with the images to create a sound that matched the character design. I guess that Nabatame Hitomi is the native girl who climbed the tree. And I guess that we saw Yukari's father in one scene....

But the story seemed to crawl, to me. I didn't mind the weird idea that they are going to put Yukari in a rocket just because she weighs 38kilos. That's an entertaining notion. But I found the script for ep1 painfully slow. Not that I can suggest what else they could have done, needing to give us the background and get Yukari from Japan to her new part-time job. The woman scientist seemed a potentially interesting character. No-one else did much for me so far, except Yukari. I'm not seeing a "loli-fest" yet, more like a kids' cartoon show. But it's early days yet.

[NeoSam]

Originally Posted by Kaoru Chujo

I'm not seeing a "loli-fest" yet, more like a kids' cartoon show. But it's early days yet.

Even if they tried to make it a kids' show it won't be a kids show, its broadcasted at midnight afterall.

[monir]

Screenshot for Episode 1:



So why not use a monkey instead of a budding teenage girls when the requirement for the "part time job" can be fulfilled by a monkey? Obviously, hardly anyone would want to watch a show if its main feature is monkey fan-service. I've thoroughly enjoyed the episode. It was funny when........

Spoiler for episode 1:

....... the islanders gathered together to see another expensive fireworks, a direct result of another lauching failure by the Japanese. Is that old man a rocket scientist or something? I would have also requested Yukari's three size measurement if I weren't afraid of getting disapproving looks. The other funny moment for me was when Yukari explained how her father went missing. Her father went about a walk and never returned. I really shouldn't laugh at this, but the way Yukari explained was kind of funny. Oh, and poor Yasukawa. He is the designated "monkey" (or should I call him the "lab rat") who is used to gather valuable information to have the Japanese succeed in their space venture, and join NASA and the Russia in space.

Animation-wise, I think it's better not to expect much from the series as it is evident from the CG used in the first episode. Looking forward to the next.