As expected, Kanata no Astra offers many foods for intriguing thoughts on the table, and a revelation that is pretty much a game-changer here. But first let’s get into the new card of this week, the awoken of Polina, a former astronaut. As with any other Kanata no Astra plot threads, and I mean it in the best possible way, every answer is followed two more bigger questions. Just like the kids (and us), Polina is just as surprised when she finally gets rescued by our leads… just to learn that they had been stranded themselves. The most question mark about her, however, lies on her reaction upon learning the year she wakes up. By her expression, I suppose that something she expected to happen doesn’t happen in this timeline. That might have to do with what the adults have been scheming all the way.
The appearance of Polina serves another plot development as well, she wanted to go to the area where her teammates lost contact in order to truly leave the past behind. We soon know the reason why they were all dead by the gruesome attack underground. It’s basically Kanata no Astra being Kanata no Astra the thriller, by that I mean, a bit over the top but considerably thrilling and rewarding at payoff – and I’m totally fine with that. What I still find struggling to care for, is Kanata no Astra the comedy. While others could argue that the group acts their age, for me it’s just a case of them acting like textbook anime characters. Case in point, in this episode, we have Quitterie babbbbbling and SHOUTING about wanting to get married to Zack. Let’s just say that I don’t find the scene charming or funny at all. I also find the patching up the Astra a bit too convenient as it’s just… right there for them to repair.
Now, to the elephant in the room. The cliffhanger this week sure changes the direction with style, and I can’t wait to see more. It is revealed that not only Funi and Quitterie is related, they are basically the same person. Now if we check back the clues the show left us, we will learn that Zack’s and Quitteries parents working together on the cloning project, so it makes sense that they could come up with something like that. In fact, for now I see the parent’s counterparts are like that of their children (with only Charce’s adopted mother was in place of him). While Zack’s dead-eye expression is uncanny like that of his Dad, it’s still not a strong evidence for me to declare they were one and the same. It might not be a stretch to say that these kids are raised specifically for this adventure. Of course it’s all speculation for now (and again, I’d love to see comments from readers for the theory, but please for those who already read the manga DO NOT SPOIL – after all, figuring out what the hell is going on is half of the fun of Kanata no Astra). If the clone thing is the case, that leaves the odd one out, Ariel, what exactly is her role in all this? The whole twist makes sense so far, but could it carry itself throughout the course of the show?
A few relevant things from episode 5:
1) Human Genome Management Project. What is it meant to do (we don’t know yet)? It could be a red herring, but it seems odd to bring up and note that Luca’s dad was the leader against it. Also something about illegal campaign donations.
2) Yunhua and her mom have a mole on the exact same spot on their faces. Not even identical twins, who have the exact same DNA, experience this.
3) Zack mentions that his dad and Quitterie’s mom are working on memory transfer technology.
4) Some of the parents seem oddly eager to declare their children deceased. Specifically, only Aries’ mom and the woman to the left of her seemed to be still concerned about the kids.
Couple more things from this episode. Remember the good old story-telling rule called Chekhov’s Gun; don’t introduce objects or characters that do not contribute to the story.
1) Ulgar’s brother was investigating campaign finance violations, but said “he was in over his head” and was killed.
2) After telling Lina that she was asleep for only 12 years, she panics and blurts out the line “so nothing happened after-all?”
3) Lina’s space suit appears to be archaic in design compared to the kids’ suits. It is bulkier and has a screw-on helmet.
4) Lina prays to god. It’s odd only in that we’ve never seen any of the kids or their parents do the same, and the show goes out of its way to have Lina pray.
5) Zack’s dad’s research into memory transfer hit a brick wall. What was it, and does it tie to the cloning reveal?