Otonari ni Ginga

This Anime has been a bit loose when it comes to its "unique" concept so far (keeping it vague to avoid spoilers).
And while that "unique" situation is being actively tackled and dealt with during each episode so far, it just doesn't seem to be making much impact in the story other than being a "plot device" to get the waifu MC and the insert-character MC entangled with each other. It also made me worry that with the recent episode (the 3rd one), there were some signs that this Anime would be spending some time on relationship-building between the female MC and the side characters before ... even properly establishing the unique circumstances, which could turn this into just another simple slice-of-life, neighborly, feel-good story.

With that being said, it has been a very wholesome, simple, light, and straightforward show so far, which might appeal to people who just need some relaxation Anime show without worrying about any story complications.

TL;DR
NOT RECOMMENDED - If expecting the story to focus on the romance with some special/unique circumstances.
WORTH CHECKING OUT - If looking for a light, wholesome, easy-to-watch family-friendly show.

Normally when I make reviews, there would be spoilers. However, I'll try to make it close to spoiler-free (No guarantees though).


What interested me about this anime is probably the poster, as well as the overall plot description. When I saw it's about a mangaka taking care of his young siblings after their parents died, I got hooked because I was expecting a tragedy anime, similar to how I feel about Violet Evergarden.


When I finally saw it. It's apparently a wholesome anime. I was already confused by that. I did still enjoy it nonetheless because I like feel-good stories and the poster alone somewhat tells me ... that this anime would be dramatic, enough to make me cry.

Alas... this is why you shouldn't judge a book by its cover. The plot is basically about a princess from another dimension (like Star from SVTFOE) who leaves her home because she doesn't like being treated as a princess. Meanwhile, she was hired by a mangaka and saw how great her manga potential was, despite only knowing about it within one year.

I really wish that they didn't confess early on as it feels like they're forcing a romantic relationship instead of slowly and surely developing it. The plot is all over the place and it feels like the female lead, Goishiki, and the male lead are forced to be in love just so the anime can say they are in love. I like the awkward dates and the mature feel though because that feels realistic in a real-life first date scenario.

Overall, I wish this was more tragic than it is wholesome so we could actually get a decent story. If you like a story like this, go check out Tonikawa instead

OVERALL RATING: 7.5/10

Animation is pretty decent. No flashy animations, but motions are fluid. Really good backgrounds and character detail. Characters have some depth, but not a ton. The characters are fairly likeable, but personally I hate Fumio. He literally just repeats the last few word of every scentence his sisters say for basically the entire anime. I've seen dogs that were written with more depth. The story is fairly unique, but then the plot doesn't really dig very deep into it. Pacing is fairly slow, but not unbearable. Voice acting is fine. Decent casting, but unimpressive performances. Soundtrack is fantastic, the ed/op are just okay. Honestly I ... found it to be a bit dull. However, it's pretty cute at times and an enjoyable watch for most people who like rom com/slice of life anime. That is as long as you can put up with the slow pacing. 6.45/10

Otonari ni Ginga is a new anime that follows the story of Kuga Ichirou, a struggling manga artist, and Goshiki Shiori, a mysterious girl claiming to be a princess of the people of the stars. As they collaborate on Ichirou's manga, their relationship evolves into something more.
Personally, I have mixed feelings about Otonari ni Ginga. The likable characters, such as relatable protagonist Ichirou and charming Shiori, with an engaging story, bring humor and heart to the series.
However, there are some drawbacks. The anime's pacing is slow, and it can be predictable. Additionally, the supernatural elements may feel overly fantastical for some viewers.
Overall, Otonari ni Ginga ... is a decent show but not a standout. Fans of slice-of-life and romantic comedies may enjoy it, although its slow pacing and far-fetched elements might not suit everyone's taste. It's a show worth considering if you're seeking a slice-of-life series with a touch of romance, but it falls short of being remarkable.

A Galaxy Next Door is best described as average. The premise comes off as uniquely unoriginal, with the method for the two main characters being tied together putting forth the only amount of individuality this show has. Every other aspect of the show ends up becoming a trope galore. The show struggles to ever have a definitive identity, constantly teetering on the line of breaking out onto it's own but never committing.

One of my largest gripes is how the show is almost too happy. It's so cornily happy without any irony it can begin to be overwhelming at times. The first few instances come ... off a sweet and nice, but after watching further it begins to weigh down on the enjoyment of the show.

The main character is one of the most boring imaginable. He's the typical "nice guy" character in anime, which isn't inherently bad, but he possesses no individually to his character. If I were to go to another anime and grab a different "nice guy," any person would struggle to tell them apart. His design is especially disappointing as a show with such nice visuals at times produced one of the most bland main characters. It's understandable that he wouldn't be some absolutely crazy design but he feels as though you took every romance protagonist and averaged them into a design.

One of the few positives is that it has themes of child-care, which while not to my tastes, very well may be others adding some level on uniqueness to the show.


I can't say the show is terrible as it's not an awful watch, but I can confidently say that I don't recommend it either. There's a lot more better romance shows out there that would be watched before you get to this one, but if you're really strapped for romance, it's not the worst option.

I generally don't go for slice-of-life romance but I gave this a shot because I thought the preface sounded interesting. Combining light fantasy/sci-fi with adult romance is a cool addition to differentiate this anime from others. But the two romantic leads are just so bland. I usually love shows about artists, but they barely show anything about their process of making a manga. And they're cute together only as cute as any awkward young adults in anime are.

Overall, there is a lot that this show could have done but it takes no risks, has boring visuals, characterless characters, and only challenges its audience in ... terms of secondhand embarrassment.

I am sure this show is perfect for some, but for me, I can't see myself finishing it

Forced marriages? What is that? Can it be something good or something bad? I don't know...but the one consensus that needs to go in the modern day, is the idea of having marriages predetermined at whatever age, nook and cranny, because it's just not right and disrupts the growing-up process of people. 

Such is the case with mangaka Gido Amagakure's 2nd anime adaptation in the form of Otonari ni Ginga a.k.a A Galaxy Next Door, with the prior preceding work being Amaama to Inazuma a.k.a Sweetness and Lightning, that tugged at the heartstrings with its anime adaptation 7 years ago in Summer 2016, coming off of ... his best-selling and well-recognised manga that was burning hotcakes at the time of its release in 2013. But will Otonari ni Ginga be any better than Amaama to Inazuma? There's only one way to find out.

The struggles of taking care of siblings are not easy, especially if it's one with a family setting akin to that of a divorce. And that is the life of the MC: Ichiro Kuga, after their father's untimely death and their mother abandoning them for another man, left the only prodigal son with his two siblings, Machi and Fumio, with the inheritance left from their father being that of an apartment complex with many rooms. Desperate to make ends meet, Ichiro rents out the rooms to outsiders who need them most, while making off on his full-time job as a Shoujo manga artist. And even with that commitment, his assistants are finding it too hard to sustain their job since the manga sales are inadequate, and so they quit, leaving Ichiro to his devices once again with looming deadlines. But fret not, there is a saviour; however, it's not God. Through some divine manifestation, salvation comes in the form of a novice artist by the name of Shiori Goshiki. The 19-year-old self-taught illustrator has the skills that are competent enough, and she lends Ichiro a hand to tide through the closing deadline to completion. However, the bizarre twist is that Shiori has what seems to look like a craft pen protruding from her back, and being the good natural guy that he is, thinking that Shiori was hurt, Ichiro touches it...and gets whizzed off into an infinite void. Shiori explains that she (literally) came from A Galaxy Next Door as the Star-People's princess who seemingly ran away from home, and that the craft pen that Ichiro mistook, was actually her stinger, the object that's akin to losing her virginity. Thus, the engagement pact rings in the "red (or otherwise, star) thread of fate" as Ichiro is Shiori's fated significant partner, as these two, who were once only on a business-level of friendship, have to contemplate marriage and a love relationship that's out of the blue. 

First off, we have seen so many ideas done in regard to love and marriage, even to the point of forced family-held marriages, of which examples stem from Miki Yoshikawa's Kakkou no Iinazuke a.k.a A Couple of Cuckoos, to even Hata Kenjirou's Tonikaku Kawaii, both of which have received anime adaptations to various degrees of success. However, if you need the closest reference to something like this show, the latter would be it due to its similarity of the supernatural sci-fi, slice-of-life, and rom-com genres. But don't go thinking that Otonari ni Ginga is miles better than Tonikaku Kawaii, because it's not, and despite the chill pill nature of the series overall, I feel that this show (and its original manga's) appeal is more akin to that of side cheddar, something that would be interesting for a peek, but with little to no meat in regard to development that really beckons for something just a lil' deeper. Especially given the vagueness of Shiori's "tribe" of the Star-People, their way of life, and how it differs much from the Earth experience, it soon becomes clear that the supernatural plot it has, has a base foundation, but it's backed with little to no explanation of their origins that just beckons for more, like how Tonikaku Kawaii did its own plot that Hata Kenjirou put in effort to not disguise away the sci-fi elements from the overall lovey-dovey rom-com experience. It's just not Gido Amagakure's forte in this regard, and so, detracts from the experience by being a shallow showing in both the manga and now, the anime. 

In many cases, a broken family tests the mantle of the oldest child left behind by his/her parents, and Ichiro has to face the unkempt reality in front of him. If the full-time manga illustrator job wasn't hard enough, taking care of Fumio and Machi is another task altogether, and Ichiro feels like the burden on his shoulders is about to wear off at any given minute. Fortunately, Ichiro has help in the form of his cousin Chihiro Ibusuki, who is also another tenant in his rented-out apartment and who can help him from time to time whenever Ichiro feels the pinch on his staggering job. Worse still, the effect of having Shiori be his fated partner has a consequential detriment: both partners cannot be far from each other, causing Ichiro to become ill, which sets a grave concern for the both of them. And despite the growing setting of love, both Ichiro and Shiori have contended to annul the engagement pact to preserve their otherwise bizarre relationship, which in the process, transforms into love. This results in Fumio and Machi having acquired the "mother figure" within Shiori, despite their knowing that both their big brother and said young woman from outer space are growing ever closer to each other, much to the amusement of them both as growing kids. I understand how it's very tough for people without parental guides to take care of their own siblings, and this pretty much rings true with their family's daily basis of life. That said, I do admire Ichiro's tenacity because he has to do everything on his own, but while having a close family member, relative, or partner helps out somewhat, it could sometimes backfire, like the case with the show being as it is.

Despite being the adaptation of a rather short-lived manga that only saw 25 chapters in 5 volumes that was released since April 2020 and recently wrapped up (like just the start of May of this year), Asahi Production's adaptation of the first 3 volumes will give a taste of what's to come and help you decide if you want to take the 3-episode plunge on this show, helmed by the kids show Aikatsu!'s director Ryuuichi Kimura. For the most part, it's serviceable and just feels decent enough. There's nothing that will blow you away, but it gets the job done as far as I can tell from the outset, and that's all that matters. 

The music...it's alright, to be very honest, but for its thematics, the OST gets it right the first (and only) time. I particularly liked Chinatsu Matsumoto's OP, which has a starry, almost rhythmic, soothing vibe that beckons a slow life, and that works wonders enough. Same goes to Shiori's VA for the ED for emanating similar vibes, as it should. 

Overall, Otonari ni Ginga is admittedly no Sweetness and Lightning, because it felt like Gido Amagakure's prime had peaked since the latter with its anime 7 years ago, and whatever the mangaka tried with new series thereafter (that includes this show), it went nowhere and just ended up as cumulative, short, failed projects altogether. And unfortunately, Otonari ni Ginga can be considered a somewhat "failed, but moderate success" work that tries to copy the level of attention that Amaama to Inazuma had back in the day, but that time had slipped by so fast, works like these are easily forgotten when there is little to no hook that will capture even the smallest grasp of the audience.

Otonari ni Ginga a.k.a A Galaxy Next Door is not a bad show by any means, it's just that the only thing going for it is boredom until it hits something interesting, and it sets in faster than you realise it would and could. And despite the cutesy rom-com-ish feel, it's...just there, sadly enough. Only try this show if you're intrigued by what it has to offer, but I wouldn't go past the 3-episode rule; that's a good indication of the shallowness of both the anime and its original source material.