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Link #121 |
Blooming on the mountain
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Deep in their roots, all flowers keep the light....
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Hmm ... watched ep 2, and enjoyed it.
The only problem for me with the whole thing is that astronauts are not really interesting in general, but that aside the human interactions are very good. Continuing to follow the series - not jumping up and down over it, but it is "serious" and solid material. ![]()
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Link #123 |
Komrades of Kitamura Kou
Join Date: Jul 2004
Age: 39
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A boy trapped in a man's body. I think that's a pretty apt description for Muta.
At the same time he's already full of regret and he isn't even halfway past 30. It's understandable to have such a lofty dream only to have reality push you down when it feels convenient, and far more easy to give up and just go with the flow. Chasing a dream is harder than most people think, and these two episodes make that fact apparently somewhat brutal with Muta's brooding soliloquies. But life tossed him a bone to catch up and, maybe one day, gain one step ahead of his brother. In the first episode I think it was very fitting they didn't show his face when his acceptance letter arrived. Indeed, I don't think any sort of animation can accurately picture the face of a person given a second chance at making their dreams come true. For episode 2, well, looks like we have our main cast more or less. I also have that habit of fiddling with my chair, or most anything for that matter, since I can't help it if I feel something's wrong. Definitely a strong and very down to earth introductory episodes. Can't wait for episode 3.
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Link #124 |
Dai-Youkai
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Vienna
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I really appreciate the atmopshere of this anime. In a way it is serious and funny at the same time. Realistic too and it is a refreshing change. Is it just me, or does it also have an old school feeling about it?
I remember I wanted to become an astronaut when I was 8 years old and my mother cooled my ambitions by telling me, that women cant be astronauts. I wonder why she even bothered to burst my phantasy bubble..... most kids have crazy career ideas when they are kids and then they grow up, right? And my dream of becoming an astronaut took a sharp dip with my moms words. And maybe thats why I think it is really neat they made one of the austronauts a woman. It goes with the modern times and makes me feel good too. I will definately continue watching this. It is a really nice anime. |
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Link #125 |
Moving in circles
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Singapore
Age: 49
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It just goes to show that it doesn't matter if someone screws around with you so long as you've got your head screwed on the right way.
![]() To be sure, though, I remember reading that those with "the right stuff" to be astronauts tend not to be mavericks. Rather, they tend to be people who remain extremely calm under pressure, a quality that comes with experience no doubt, but some naturally fare better than others. However, they also tend to be anal-retentive, with a keen eye for details. I suppose that's what the interview was designed to discover. |
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Link #126 |
AS Oji-kun
Join Date: Nov 2006
Age: 74
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Those you who have never seen Philip Kaufman's excellent film The Right Stuff, based on a book by Tom Wolfe, might want to give it a look. It recounts the story of the original seven US astronauts from their early days as test pilots through the orbital missions of John Glenn and Gordon Cooper. It actually opens a decade before the Mercury program began with a depiction of Chuck Yeager's flight that first broke the sound barrier. The cast is excellent, and I had my first screen crush in quite a while watching Barbara Hershey portray Yeager's wife Glennis. The horseback riding scene with Hershey and Sam Shepard as Yeager near the start of the movie is beautifully directed and subtly erotic.
Test pilots clearly had to be "calm under pressure" since the chances were good that they would crash and burn. As I recall the odds were about one in six (!) that a test pilot would not return. Both the book and the movie spend a lot of time with the men's wives who spent their days out on the high desert cringing in fear that they would become widows.
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Last edited by SeijiSensei; 2012-04-15 at 12:21. Reason: grammar and diction |
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Link #127 |
North American Haruhiist
Join Date: Oct 2010
Age: 43
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Watched Episode 2 last night:
I like how they weave in the flashbacks to a young Mutta to the present-day Mutta striving to find his path. It does say a lot about him that he'd pick the trumpet, which is the hardest of those to initially play. Hibito picking the guitar would be something I expected, and Aunt Sharon's choice of the piano also says a lot about her too. I really liked the "loose screw" test and how Mutta managed to partially re-screw it back in. It is looking like he, and a few other new characters might have the inside track to become astronauts. I'm really pleased that this series is doing pretty good in the ratings(2nd episode got nearly 4% which is around what Beezlebub did and isn't far behind Hunter X Hunter's ratings). Next episode which is later today, shows Mutta have to deal with the physical exams. Interesting to see how he fares with those. |
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Link #128 |
Knowledge is the solution
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: St. Louis, MO
Age: 39
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Just watched the first episode. As an older brother that is doing his best to stay ahead of his very talented younger brother this episode felt specially painful and joyful at the same time to watch. Excellent. Excellent series. I'm completely in.
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Link #130 |
Komrades of Kitamura Kou
Join Date: Jul 2004
Age: 39
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It's kind of funny how it's a role reversal here. Most of the time it's the younger brother who lives in the shadow of the elder brother, and in Eastern Asian cultures the eldest brother is placed under a lot of pressure to be the one who excels and continues on the family lineage and prestige. Here in episode 3 it's Muta who lives under the shadow of his younger brother, and everyone else has their preconceptions about him and what he will be able to do. Muta's fears are understandable since there's a lot of (unfair?) expectations placed on him, and his age and fitness relative to the younger applicants will of course make it more difficult for him.
So far I'm liking how they manage to include Muta and Hibito's shared memories of their childhood that really shows the difference between the dreams of youth and the demands of reality. I doubt Muta ever thought that the dream he wants to achieve would be this hard when he was a kid, but he clearly has the drive to succeed.
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Link #131 |
AS Oji-kun
Join Date: Nov 2006
Age: 74
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The lung capacity test in episode three is cribbed directly from The Right Stuff. The testing in that movie has some really hilarious moments, particularly the scene where the candidates have to provide sperm samples.
For those who thought this was a kids show, I point to the opening scene. I wonder how many dads watching with their kids had to try and explain just what it was Mutta was saving for later! Quite an active imagination there, too, Mutta-san. Placing the roses in a strategic location during the doctor's examination was one thing, but placing them over Mutta's butt later on was hilarious. I like how Serika is drawn as a rather ordinary looking, though still attractive, woman. Too often a character like this would be much more beautiful and thus less realistic. I must say, though, if one of the guys would have caught my eye it would have been Kenji, but the tie between Mutta and Serika's father, and their stare-down during the test, make her interest in him more plausible. She must be in remarkable shape to still be doing exercises in her hotel room after a full day of strenuous testing. I notice that, according to ANN, Sawashiro Miyuki not only voices the adult Serika but also the young Mutta. I've always liked her boy roles starting with Kurenai Shinkarou. Her adult voice is quite pleasant as well. I was happy to see them give the older-brother/younger-brother meme a rest in this episode. I understand what Meo says above about the importance of birth order in Asian cultures, but the "I must get ahead of Hibito" refrain got a bit old by the end of episode two. I'm guessing Mutta, Kenji, and Serika will all pass; as I recall there's only room for one more? Maybe one of the twenty-somethings?
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Last edited by SeijiSensei; 2012-04-15 at 17:55. |
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Link #132 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2007
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Another great episode. I really like the female character (whose name I can't remember yet). I love how they are showing her own side of the story & dreams.
![]() I will also support a relationship between her and Mutta as long as it does not end like Planetes Spoiler for For Planetes:
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Link #134 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2011
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Quote:
![]() Last edited by Utsuro no Hako; 2012-04-15 at 10:59. |
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Link #135 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2007
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I guess someone (I am assuming the manga-ka) was a fan of the movie.
![]() Anyways hope this is okay to post here but I thought this was a cool moment of American history related to the space program. It's from an old game show called "I've Got a Secret". Spoiler for Video Under Cut:
Really goes to show how special it was back then. Of course no one in the video would know what this would mean just yet.
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Link #136 | |
Mmmm....
Join Date: Sep 2006
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Quote:
Great episode all round. |
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Link #137 |
AS Oji-kun
Join Date: Nov 2006
Age: 74
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Spoiler for Showing my age!:
Yes, I was pretty sure that the nurse was cribbed from the movie as well, though I didn't remember the room. The two guys left at the end were John Glenn, played by Ed Harris, and Scott Carpenter, played by Charles Frank. All these actors were pretty much nobodies when the film premiered in 1983. I suspect they were chosen more for their physical similarities to the actual astronauts, and being relative unknowns helped the audience suspend disbelief. Many of them like Harris, Scott Glenn, Lance Henrikson, and Dennis Quaid became more famous in the years that followed the film. Harris's excellent portrayal of John McCain in the recent HBO movie Game Change shows he still has the "right stuff."
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Last edited by SeijiSensei; 2012-04-15 at 17:52. |
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Tags |
science fiction, seinen |
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