Uchuu Kyoudai – 02

As for the series I’m not going to blog:
– Hiiro no Kakera’s female lead is an idiot and the side-characters are all one-dimensional stereotypes.
– Accel World would have been nice if it wasn’t for the main couple who is way too forced and unlikable.
– Saint Seiya Omega lacks context for me, not being familiar with the rest of the franchise. Also it suffers from overacting.

Uchuu Kyoudai however, is a no-brainer. Out of all the new episodes that premiered this season so far, it was the best, and it has by far the best characters out of any other show. Mutta in particular is just awesome. He’s not just incredibly likable, but within 2 episodes we’ve already seen so much of his character, both from when he was young and his 31 year old version.

This episode introduces us to his two aunts who live together, who also had a lot of influence on him with a giant telescope they have on in their attic. It really feels like they knew each other very well, but what’s also special here: Mutta has two parents who are alive, plus a great relationship with his aunt. It’s really rare to see a family that is this close and intact in anime. Mutta’s parents also really feel like parents. I’m only saying this based on 2 episodes, but based on how well the characters are done already: I actually think that the characters in this series could beat those of Tiger & Bunny. They’ve got this delightful extra touch of realism to it.

Also, with instruments: when characters start playing instruments in anime, usually they are either completely terrible, or amazing. Mutta’s trumpet solo was so refreshing. You could see that he knew the basics, yet had not played in a long while, and the sound really reflected that.

This series by far doesn’t have the best graphics of the season, but even then: the character designs have soul. This series doesn’t care about characters looking completely pretty, and to be honest, I’d much, much rather have characters that look like this, rather than the same moe and bishie designs you see repeated over and over again.

My one fear for this series would be Makoto Uezu, the guy behind the series composition. This guy just is not a very good writer and adapter, with adaptations like Seikon no Qwaser, Kore wa Zombie and Eiyuu Densetsu behind his name, among many mediocre others. Here however, the script was wonderfully translated to animation, getting the best out of the characters. At the moment there are a ton of rumours going around for the total number of episodes for this series. Please let it be 51, because that would just be amazing.
Rating: **+ (Great)

7 thoughts on “Uchuu Kyoudai – 02

  1. I can see this one is the one of the best in this season but underrated at the same time. I guess the artistry is pretty inconsistent but you cannot expect the best from every episode.

    And I don’t get it. I thought Makoto Uezu was pretty underrated as a writer. He has done better stuff to make up for Kore Wa Zombie. And isn’t Seikon no Qwaser written by Hiroyuki Yoshino not Uezu?

  2. I’ve been reading the manga, and trust me, Uchuu Kyoudai’s cast is waaaaaaaaaaaaay better than T&B’s. There’s really no comparison!

  3. I hope for good things from show. With the current pacing it had better have more than 12. I’m getting sort of tired of seeing a series get good and then end.

  4. Like the show, although they do make becoming an astronaut looking a bit too easy. I think I missed a part, does the main character actually did the studies to become an astronaut??

  5. You don’t actually need a specialized degree to become an astronaut, they will teach you all the specific knowledge during trainig once you are selected. What you do however need is a degree in either math, science or engineering. It was mentioned somewhere in the first episode that Mutta has a degree in mechanical engineering, so that fits.

  6. “My one fear for this series would be Makoto Uezu, the guy behind the series composition. This guy just is not a very good writer and adapter, with adaptations like Seikon no Qwaser, Kore wa Zombie and Eiyuu Densetsu behind his name, among many mediocre others.”

    You sure? 😉

    1. Let’s face it, Seikon no Qwaser and Kore wa Zombie arent exactly brilliant writing to began with

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