(L+CR) Uchuu Kyoudai (Space Brothers)

[Gravitas Free Zone]

The first thing I thought of when the gun was brought out were the episodes of MASH where Hawkeye wound up as Officer of the Day and was required to carry a pistol, which he really didn't want to do.

If they haven't had any firearms training at all until this point (even wedged in off-screen before the hike started), I can't even imagine giving the candidates a weapon that was actually loaded, because it would be ridiculously dangerous.

[ChainLegacy]

They seemed awfully scared of that snake for people willing to fly into space... lol... Good episode, though, I'm not sure what could happen that makes Nitta so dramatically want to leave the group like that. Is his brother suicidal?

[Goty]

Is it me or did the art/animation improve lately? Maybe that's a result of the upcoming change to a better timeslot in April 6th.

Originally Posted by SeijiSensei

On another note, I thought the scene with the gun was also strange. To hand a 9mm semiautomatic to a person who, being Japanese, has probably never owned or even shot a gun seems absurd. I doubt shooting practice is part of JAXA training, or probably even training at NASA. To assume that Nitta or Serika or Mutta could shoot a rattlesnake is just ridiculous. There's a much greater chance that they or another member of the party would be shot.

Maybe that IS part of the test, to see how and if they use a gun despite the fact they don't know how to handle it. I mean, the advisor took quite a few days to hand it over to the group, making it feel like it's not an essential tool.

Originally Posted by ChainLegacy

Good episode, though, I'm not sure what could happen that makes Nitta so dramatically want to leave the group like that. Is his brother suicidal?

Like others have said, he's probably a hikikomori who's already on his 20's, at least, and Nitta and his family are trying a last shot to make him move on.
Maybe Nitta feels like he owes his brother for something he did to him in the past? It gave me this feeling when his mother asked him to be careful on the phone and Nitta said he's not the same guy anymore. In any case, we're definitely missing pieces of the puzzle.

[Utsuro no Hako]

Originally Posted by Goty

Maybe that IS part of the test, to see how and if they use a gun despite the fact they don't know how to handle it. I mean, the advisor took quite a few days to hand it over to the group, making it feel like it's not an essential tool.

I think a test that could get someone killed because they aren't trained on the equipment is kinda counterproductive. The alternate possibility is the gun's loaded with blanks, which could still be dangerous if the person with the gun bases a decision on the belief that he can shoot at danger.

[Goty]

Originally Posted by Utsuro no Hako

The alternate possibility is the gun's loaded with blanks, which could still be dangerous if the person with the gun bases a decision on the belief that he can shoot at danger.

Or maybe it's not even loaded.

[Gravitas Free Zone]

Originally Posted by Goty

Or maybe it's not even loaded.

I had considered that the gun would be given out, unloaded, because giving untrained people a loaded gun, even with blanks, would be a ridiculously irresponsible thing to do.

There is the possibility that they received some off-screen firearms training already (unlikely given their reaction to seeing the gun given out), or that at some point during the hike they'll get some firearms training (which should have been right then and there as soon as it was introduced).

However, giving them an unloaded gun is also not a good idea (even more so if they don't tell them it's unloaded and checking that is just another "test"), because if someone tries to use it and nothing happens, the only benefit is that the gun can hurt something if it's thrown; the downside is that the snakes and coyotes get you anyway.

[Utsuro no Hako]

Well proper gun handling procedure would be to immediately make sure the safety's on, check if it's loaded and whether there's a round in the chamber. Nitta didn't do any of that, so I can only conclude that he's received no training at all. Given Japanese society, it's quite possible that none of them has even seen a real gun before.

Of course, it's also possible that the author's knowledge of guns and how to use them comes from Hollywood.

[ookamigirl]

Nitta really made a mess of things.
Namba proved himself to be a true friend.
At least Nitta explained the reasons for the phone panic.
It was an interesting story and it let us to get to know Nitta a bit better.

[SeijiSensei]

I guess astronauts have such good night vision that they don't need to carry flashlights?

[Guardian Enzo]

A full moon in a crystal clear sky like that sheds plenty of light to navigate by. If anything I think it might be bright enough to mask the flashing of the keitai.

[Utsuro no Hako]

So Nitta's phone has lasted four or five days in an area that probably only gets one or two bars? Nice to know battery life has really improved in the future.

[Guardian Enzo]

Is that so hard to believe?

Besides - if Bold approved it, maybe he told his flunkies to let Nitta use the adapter in the car.

[SeijiSensei]

Originally Posted by Guardian Enzo

A full moon in a crystal clear sky like that sheds plenty of light to navigate by.

The sky is this episode is quite dark and full of stars. We might want to grant the illustrators a bit of "poetic license" here, but it doesn't look like the moon was even out, much less full. And even if it were, it still seems silly to me that neither of them would carry a flashlight. What if the phone hadn't been flashing?

At least they gave a plausible explanation for why none of the others had a cell phone for Nitta to borrow.

I'm hardly an expert on mental illness, but what does it tell us that the brother could lock himself up in his room for two years, and his parents not consider he might need professional help? Is the culture of "hikikomori-dom" so widely accepted in Japan today that his behavior isn't considered an indicator of psychological problems? Or is the stigma attached to mental illness even greater in Japan than it is in the US?

[Utsuro no Hako]

No, the moon was out (and green for some reason). I think they panned up to it when discussing Namba.

BTW, the book that first drew attention to Hikikomori just came out in English and it has an introduction discussing the development of Japanese attitudes in the fifteen years since.

[Kirarakim]

Alright so the brother was just a shut in after all.

Anyways I enjoyed the episode but mostly for the developing relationship of Nitta and Mutta.

I wonder if Nitta's brother also dreamed of going to space but when he thought he wasn't going to make it he gave up.

[Kanon]

I was surprised Bold authorized Nitta to keep his cell. Maybe he's not such an asshat, after all.

The backstory of Nitta and his brother was exactly what I expected, so no surprises there. It offers an interesting contrast to Mutta and Hibito's relationship.

[ookamigirl]

#51

Spoiler for plot:

Mutta - Nitta heart to heart was kinda nice.
It helped Nitta feel a little less crappy.
Flashbacks were pretty good too.
They may all be full of understanding, but their team is not doing so well.

[Kirarakim]

Good episode, more Nitta/Mutta goodness.

I guess Nitta got through to his little brother after all. Of course nothing drastic happened but that would have been unrealistic. So the small moment of opening the window was a nice touch.

Nitta would probably not have been in space at all if not for the enthusiasm of his younger brother.

So is next week a recap? The preview lead me to believe it was. I guess it kind of makes sense if they are moving to a new time slot.

[Dop]

Originally Posted by Kirarakim

I guess Nitta got through to his little brother after all. Of course nothing drastic happened but that would have been unrealistic. So the small moment of opening the window was a nice touch.

What really sold it was their mother noticing the window open and crying in the street.

The way they portrayed Kazuya as taking that first small step in wanting to change was just sublime and powerful.

[Kirarakim]

And Space Brothers moves to its new time. It now shows up at 9:30 AM EST on CR.

Unfortunately this first episode was mostly all recap. There were a couple new scenes but nothing significant. I can understand why they did a recap after moving to a new time.

What worries me though is it looks like next week might be recap too focusing on Hibito. Two weeks of recap is going to be hard.

Oh there was a new OP and ED. The Ed is okay. I like the new opening though, not as much as the previous one but it's still a good one. This one goes for an " astronauts on the job" approach.