Uchuu Kyoudai

At first glance Space Brothers seems to be an anime about two brothers that just go space and do astronaut things, but oh ho, dear reader, it is so much more than that. It is a realistic journey delving into one of the most difficult professions ever conceived by man. Now that the series has concluded [for the time being], a proper review is in order. But first, we better shake hands.

STORY:
Space Brothers cleverly depicts the pursuits of Mutta and Hibito, converging their storylines at some times and following them separately at others. This structure is beneficial to the flow and progression, and earns top marks from me. It also uses an intriguing method of linking the past to the present, showing the audience how the brothers' upbringing helps them with the challenges on the path toward fulfilling their dreams.

This leads me to the most notable aspect of Space Brothers – its insanely realistic plot. The amount of research that author Koyama Chuuya had to have done is mind-boggling. In fact, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) actually helped out on it, which is noticeable throughout. Plainly stated, you just can't make some of this stuff up! Which brings me to an important question potential viewers always ask: why is it so long?? It takes a lot of time and effort to become an astronaut, and it is quite clearly portrayed in this anime. To condense any of what is shown would be an insult to real astronauts. As a rare "long seinen," I approve.

Additionally, it's difficult to NOT be impressed with immense detail that the mangaka put into the setting. For instance, whenever the main characters travel to the United States, American fans are simply blown away by the accuracy of the places illustrated, such as the John F. Kennedy Space Center in Florida and the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Texas. Though I've never been to either of these locations, it almost feels like I've been on a virtual tour, just by watching an anime.

This leaves me with the literary brilliance of its themes. As is evident from the title, family plays an important role, and not just the Nanba family; though it is crucial to note that "family" is not limited by blood. Although this is a comedy [and it can be pretty funny at times], it is well balanced by its serious moments. Furthermore, this is an anime about going to space.. which is a very scary place where the consequences of failure are colossal. This anxiety gives the experience an even keener flavor. Of course it deals with moral issues and other difficulties in life as well. Sacrifice and the test of friendship is a prevalent theme as the journey to the top requires leaving many behind – not everyone can be a winner. The anime also tackles psychological and neurological hardships, in addition to exposing the stress put on the families of the astronauts. However, the theme that Space Brothers always comes back to is that hard work and guts [and a lot of luck] will always pay off, even if the immediate results appear unfavorable.

ART:
Though there isn't very much "action" in this anime, A-1 pictures does a great job in the animation department. Movements are fluid and expressions are believable, to say the least. In terms of art style, Space Brothers uses an interesting blend of intrinsic "anime-ness" along with the natural proportions and appearances of.. well.. real life. Something that caught my eye was the attention to heredity. Characters of the same family tended to look like each other and/or their parents, which is an uncommon trait in anime. It's a nice addition to the realism this seinen provides. Hair is also quite interesting. Each character's hair style/color stays within the bounds of reality while still remaining unique from other shows. Bonus points to Serika's hair for somehow making me smile every time she's on screen.

SOUND:
Now, I feel this is the weakest part of the show. Don't get me wrong, it's still good, just less so in comparison to its strengths. The music is used to enforce and empower the displayed emotions and elicit the intended feels from the viewer, but the anime reuses the same songs... over and over. I actually made it a game to see how many episodes it could go without playing the same "feel this now" song. I guess you get used to it after a while, but it is worth mentioning. The last third of the anime gets better at diversifying its music. The OPs and EDs are pretty good though, my favorite being ED5, "BEYOND" by Miho Fukuhara [yea, the same Fukuhara that did Brotherhood ED2].

CHARACTER:
My favorite part of this anime is the incredible characterization! Practically every character is memorable due to the depth in which each is described. Their motivations and actions logically follow the person that they've become. You can easily fall in love with any number of them, and palpably feel heartbroken if things don't go their way. Viewers with weaker hearts be wary, though I never cried myself, I acknowledge that much of the anime can bring you to tears. There are several instances in which a character's reactions and facial expressions deliver far more emotion than any amount of words could. This attribute alone makes Space Brothers stand out from other anime. Simply put, the entire cast is a rainbow of personality. I don't really want to go much further into detail.. that would ruin the magic!

ENJOYMENT:
This is a great show, easily one of my favorites. Whenever I found myself in an anime rut, I just sat back and watched a couple episodes. Another thing that's worth noting is that the anime is very inspirational. Seeing Mutta go through so many tribulations gave me hope for my future, and that my efforts in the present will yield fruit down the road. Maybe that's just me though.

CONCLUSION (TL;DR):
Space Brothers is an excellently constructed anime that combines a heartwarming story with delightful comedy, using realistic characters to show the audience just how difficult it is to become an astronaut.

Oh yea, we can end that handshake now.
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"An older brother must step ahead against his younger brother" - Nanba Mutta.

Lately, i haven't found any good anime to watch.. then i meet Uchuu Kyoudai/Space Brother, at the first i was like oh just an average anime which have sci-fi and bla bla bla. since i didnt have any anime to watch, i thought i could try it for just one episode. and then seems like i had learned my lesson.

"Dont ever judge anime by its cover, genre, or anything else before you watched it" - Me, after watching this.

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STORY

The story was simple, its about Nanba Mutta as the older brother who had promised with his younger brother, Nanba Hibito. to become an Astronaut together. But, then the life changes them. Now, Nanba Hibito is on training for becoming an astronaut and as for the older brother, he is just being fired from his company. And until then Mutta as the older brother have a motto that older brother must take a step ahead against his younger brother, luckily, there was an audition for becoming an astronaut. and so Mutta without hestitate sign for the audition.

Simple? yeah... its kinda remembering me about Bakuman. and so, whats make this so special?
first of all, is the story itself. like bakuman does, the story was father kinda in slow paced. we're not just gonna see the Nanba Mutta struggle for being an astronaut, but we're gonna see too the flashback about him and her younger brother, boring? I dont think so, since all that flashback was really touching. You cant help to shed your tears (that was what i feel). Well, its not all about melancholic situation, Uchuu Kyodai have great jokes too. Usually when Nanba Mutta mumbling or speak with himself, he always comments on what he feel or what he see. It just feels so natural, you cant help to not to laugh when he does that.

and not just that, the detail of the way they tells us about space, NASA, and the outer things was really perfect. when i watching this anime, i cant help myself to google some of the fact in this anime, like "did you know that Moon's sand was so sharp as a shard of glass?" and not just that, the details about space and NASA is really increasing our knowledge about it.

CHARACTER

Second, the character. what makes appeal me a lot was all of the character in space brother. i am not exaggerating. because in this anime, there isnt any bad guys with a weird reason to do something bad. they're just people like us, who do something for some reason, behind every act they made, they have a reason. I think thats the good point, since as far as i have seen, rarely any anime made this thing (act) so naturally. They're just doing by what they're believe.

And what surprise me a lot was the each character have a scene to develop. either by flashback or by their experience. and its kinda lame to said that the story was so slow (because of the flashback), YES its slow but the slow itself because they want to the viewer knows "what kind of character it is?" and surely, to make us, being attracted by the character.

ART

Third, the art. i am not gonna said to much on this section. but, if you see it carefully, you will see why this anime was so appealing, like how many anime that have a male lead which have an afro hair? then, the draws for the character was well made, yet is so slice of life anime. Not excessive on the background coloring neither the character does. When usually some anime use so many gradient or shading in coloring to make more appealing but not in space brother, they make it simple but yet its charming. Its really the style of Sentai Filmworks

SOUND

The Last, Sound. honestly, when i heard the opening songs (especially the first OP, "Feel so Moon") i am really attached to it, not just attached it, i realize that the OP was really fit with the anime, its about outer space. not just the first OP, the other OP was really - really well made. Even i had to replay the OP, just for hear the song. The background song or BGM is also perfectly fit with every scenes that appears. Like when there was something amazing happen, "Sora e No Michi" songs plays and its really hyping up the atmosphere and makes the scenes twice more epic!

Not just the OP and BGM, the seiyuu voice was really deserves an award. They really fits with each character that being voiced. especially when Nanba Mutta talking to himself or when he sighing about his life, its like they (the seiyuu) really put their feelings into it. Of course not just seiyuu for Nanba Mutta, but all the character.

CONCLUSION

When everyone focus and talk about Shingeki no Kyojin or any anime that airing in that season, They forgot to bring this anime as topic to be discussed. Oh, poor you Space Brother. But well, honestly i am happy that not many people to know this anime. I can be a hipster! lol Anyway, this anime was still airing. until i write this review, the anime had just airing their 63 episodes but it has been on my top 5 anime,Yeah, so why i had to risk on my top anime place for this airing anime? as for me, its too early for judging anime if you havent watched the whole episodes, but who cares? this anime was awesome. and its enough reason for me to put this on my top anime.

if you're looking for a motivational , then you might try this anime... and one message for me, CATCH YOUR DREAM!

*Thanks for reading my review! If you found this review was not helpful or doesnt good enough,please message me. I really appreciate any feedbacks* read more

You are probably wondering why I gave this series a perfect 10 even though I've only seen 10 episodes so far...

Well, simply put, everything about this anime feels very authentic. Real. There is no sense of false pretense. And above all, it gives off a very contagious sense of hope and optimism. A sense that your dreams ARE reachable, and that there is no such thing as bad luck; it's all about making your own luck.

I'm sure everyone has had their share of disappointments and somewhere along the line, has felt bitter about the way their life turned out. I'm also sure that everyone has had their share of dreams that had to be abandoned for one reason or another.

However, don't let your cynicism taint your enjoyment of this hidden gem. As a matter of fact, let yourself be infected by the optimism of this show...

Moving on, the plot centers around two brothers, Mutta and Hibito, who have wanted to become astronauts since they were kids. However, Hibito, the younger of the two, was the one to actually make his dream come true, while Mutta leaves his dream behind to pursue a more reachable profession. After losing his long-time job and being blacklisted in that field, Mutta tries to pick himself back up by working small, part-time jobs. But with a huge amount of encouragement from his parents and especially Hibito, Mutta aims to become an astronaut again.

As you can see, the plot is basic and straightforward, but the entertainment lies in the characters and how they persist through the situations they're thrown in.

For the sake of not writing so much (lol), I'll just discuss the two brothers: Mutta and Hibito, although the entire cast is well-rounded and likable as well.

To start off, Mutta is a fantastic protagonist. He's highly sympathetic, hilarious in unexpected ways, completely honest, and so charismatic that you can't help but cheer him on. I honestly believe that his charisma largely comes from the way his voice actor, Hiroaki Hirata, performs the role with complete ease. It's so enjoyable and so natural that Mutta seems like a real person rather than some made-up character in some anime.

What I enjoy most about Mutta's character is that he represents two sides: disappointment and hope. Many, many times during his journey to becoming an astronaut, Mutta loses faith in himself and says "I give up, there's no way I can do this." (Something I'm sure everyone can relate to) However, like any other great protagonist, he holds an inner spark of hope that drives him to persist through the challenges that are thrown at him, in spite of what he says to himself. All in all, he is the reason why I believe this show is contagiously optimistic and hopeful. Mutta, despite being an adult who has experienced a fair amount of disappointment, still retains the optimistic enthusiasm of his younger self while taking steps in achieving his long-time dream.

His brother, Hibito, is equally great as a character. Although, he seems like a one-dimensional stereotype of the perfect younger brother, he gets his fair share of development that makes him much more. I personally think Hibito shines brightest as a character whenever he is interacting with his brother Mutta. There's a real sense of love and affection that is mutual on both ends. The frequent flashbacks of their childhood helps to illustrate this fact, as well as their present interactions. Also, as brothers, their natural rivalry with each other is what encourages them to do their best, rather than drive each other away.

Their relationship, which is at the center of this show, is one of the many refreshing things about this anime. Though their relationship is somewhat similar to that of Cain and Abel from the Bible, there is no hate involved. While Mutta is jealous of the success of his younger brother, he doesn't hate him for it. Instead, he's proud to have such a brother. If anything, as the older brother, he wishes that he wasn't so pitiful in comparison, in looks and in luck.

The humor is certainly another refreshing point of this anime. The opening sequence should quickly point out that the humor isn't mainstream, but at the same time, its charming because of how odd and unconventional it is at times. I also enjoy the fact that this anime likes to poke fun at everyday behavior.

The music and overall scene direction leaves me breathless. Its quality is reminescent of American films made in the 90's (at least to me...) so I often get fits of nostalgia while watching this anime lol. While I find the style appealing (especially the music), it does come across as cheesy so heads up!

Art is highly debatable since it doesn't appeal to those who prefer more attractive designs. (Poor Mutta, he's probably the ugliest character in the show XD) However, in my opinion, the realistic character designs help ground this anime into a sense of reality, which helps me appreciate the real-life references that are thrown in.

Overall, I'm obviously enjoying the heck out of this anime. Reason why I haven't watched any further is because, so far, there's only 17 episodes out and I need a back-up for whenever Hunter x Hunter goes on a break lol. (Although I feel like I'm going to cave in very soon...)

Anyway, I hope this review helped!

(If not, constructive criticism is highly appreciated!)

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Uchuu Kyoudai... well I have to day that this anime is one of those inspiring ones.

I first started watching the first four episodes of this anime at AX (Anime Expo 2012) with no hopes for this anime but oh boy... I was proved wrong. Throughout my life I always watched shoujo, shounen, mecha, adventure etc.

From the fact that I only considering watching those genres it came to my judgement when it I was watching Uchuu Kyoudai at AX.

As human beings, everybody
DO NOT JUDGE A BOOK BY IT'S COVER! ~Lesson learned~ -.-

Uchuu Kyoudai (Space Brothers in English) was obviously not one of those animes that wasn't involved with "destruction of the world" but it was about Mutta (protagonist) keeping his promise to his younger brother, Hibito, in becoming a astronaut like Hibito and go to Mars.

Story/ Plot OVERALL: 10
The story is really inspiring, and heart warming. The main protagonist, Mutta, is just a average man with talent that recognized in his profession as a car builder but later because of his boss insult to his younger brother, Hibito, Mutta now was living with his parents with no job.

Realizing that he was jobless he sets out to find another job. Hearing from his parents what happen to Mutta, Hibito reached out to Mutta by suggesting that Mutta should keep his promise to his younger brother and enter the astronaut training program. With many fail attempts, Mutta finally take his brother's advice and sets out to the astronaut training program and this is when the story begins...

Characters OVERALL: 10
Perfect! There are various types of characters that you get to see in this anime.
A snotty genius, a quiet thinker, a bright positive leader, etc. Each character makes this anime quite fulfilling.

Each character that Mutta meets has a big significance to the story and it gives that slight tingling feeling of curiosity whose going to achieve their goals. As Mutta met other characters in the story it gives him more motivation in passing the astronaut training program but as he meets more characters he, sometimes, doubts himself and ask himself "Do I have what it takes to become a astronaut? Do I have the right to become an astronaut?" as he goes along with the astronaut training program he becomes more determine and to realization that he wants this dream to become an reality.


Music/ Sound OVERALL: 10
It is well done. The soundtracks plays a major role of the anime that gives the scenes the tension and passion that it needs! Well done!


Art OVERALL: 10
Reasonable. I'm glad that this anime does not have any characters that has pink hair with green eyes or women with huge over-sized breasts. To be honest, I'm sick of it... get real.
I cannot explain what my thoughts are of this art. :)

To wrap this review:
I would like to say that so far (as the episodes will come) I am glad that my little sister dragged me to watch this anime at AX. It is very enjoyable and inspiring. I would highly recommend it to anyone.
It is a joy to watch! read more