Agh! That build-up!
This was probably one of the slowest episodes of the entire series. Holy crap, it took its time. They showed everything, from gearing up Hibito in his seat, locking the cabin, the wait for everything to get ready, the procedures in the control room. And Mutta getting kidnapped by this old NASA instructor.
But that’s also what made this episode so incredibly good. I can only imagine that one major part of the experience of such a launch is the wait and the tension that builds up. If the creators immediately cut to the launch here and didn’t use that damned dog as a red herring, the end of the episode would never have had the same impact as it did now, and I also wouldn’t be yelling at my screen at that cliff-hanger.
Space Brothers has really nailed the slow pacing. It’s really dangerous to use, because you still need to be continuously interesting to avoid dragging on and taking way too long. Space Brothers for me has never had a dull moment, and this episode in particular had me on the edge of my seat, hoping that everything would go right.
Rating: 6/8 (Awesome)
I just loved the amount of detail that went into their depiction of the launch procedure. It seemed to me that both the author and the animation team had really done their research.
Next week, the first Voice Over recording from space. EVER!
I’m not sure, they might building up for something … Like big booom during the start- I still feels that Hibito gonna die somewhere along the line.
Next episode, we have that astronaut who voiced himself from space! He literally voiced his own character inside the anime (which doesn’t appear in the manga). Astronauts, now voicing anime characters since 2012.
I really liked how they showcased the silence or the quasi absence of sound in certain scenes of this episode; for the last bit, the expression of Mutta says all. Very moving.
I really enjoyed the episode, especially the actual launch. Cant wait for next week- this felt a bit like the end of the first part of the story. Having an actual astronauts voice in the anime next week will also be quite cool.
Although the pacing was slow, it did very well to hold my attention, for moment i did wonder if Mutta was in danger, being kidnapped by so old demented guy!