For the past months I have been losing interest in Space Brothers, due to the huge standard that it set in the past. Sure it was still great, and had great moments, but it was not as good as what it once was. It lacked that spark. Even Sharon, while really sad, didn’t have that. A character is about to die: in essence every show is doing that (though granted, this series did it different from usual). I missed that spark: what made Space Brothers really special.
Now, these past four episodes. Nearly all of them reminded me why this series stands out. Sure, the pacing still is very slow, and the recaps at the start of the episodes have become even more annoying. But it had what I’ve missed for quite a while now: scenes that really hit me, whether they’re large or small, serious or comedic.
Episode 67 stood out not because of one moment, but how Mutta and Deniel grew closer together. The bond that developed between them in which they could just do stuff without saying things out loud, and how they both very well understand the dangers of being a fighter pilot.
Episode 68 had me laughing harder at an anime than what I’ve done in a really long while when Mr Hibbit appeared. Oh, how Hibito’s words come to bite him back!
Episode 69 again had me laughing again just as hard at Mutta’s photo that was taken. Sure they’re small things, but for some reason, that face he made really cheered me up. Also he’s an astronaut now!
Episode 70: Mutta actually got an offer to go into space that was not what he was after. It would realize his dream of becoming an actual astronaut, but he’d get nowhere near the moon. It really forced him to think about his future. Also holy crap, Vincent hasn’t been to space yet?!
It’s one thing to write a good story about astronauts. You can also get in pretty good character development. If you have that you generally have a pretty good series. What Uchuu Kyoudai did in the past was more than that. It’s the thing that is hard to describe, because a lot of it lied in the details: in both the script and the characters it went the extra mile and threw in lots of nice details and touches. Ever since the desert arc, that has been lost a bit (honestly, it started showing when Hibito was stuck on the moon). It’s all hard to describe, but I think a variation: don’t stay hanging around the same thing for too long, and if you do: spice things up. That was something that the first forty episodes of this series were just brilliant at.
Rating: 6/8 (Awesome)
I totally get what you’re saying. The first 40 or so episodes were very addicting and special. But now, even though I enjoy it, I’m not addicted at all. The drama has been pretty mellow ever since Hibito’s arc on the moon. I’m ready for Mutta to explore a new environment. But if he stays there as long as Vince… -dies-
If you’re too good of an instructor, they don’t let you play fighter pilot anymore. Probably the same is true of Vince.
Has anyone noticed that the buggy engineers are the four Ghostbusters?
Yep. Somebody mentioned that, and I thought only one of ’em was — and then I watched again, and sure enough! All four!
Now I keep waiting for Janine to show.