Otonari ni Ginga

Ichirou Kuga has suddenly found himself taking on the responsibility of caring for his two younger siblings after their father's untimely death. To make ends meet, Ichirou rents out rooms in the apartment complex he inherited and works full-time as a shoujo manga artist. However, his manga sales are low, his assistants have recently left, and deadlines are fast approaching.

As stress threatens to overtake Ichirou, salvation comes in the form of an extremely competent novice artist, Shiori Goshiki, who becomes his new assistant. With her skills, they are able to tide over the difficult situation, and things begin looking up. But in a bizarre accident, a supernatural experience unfolds between Ichirou and Shirou, which leads her to declare them engaged.

With this seemingly innocuous action upending his life, Ichirou now has to manage his new and peculiar relationship with the mysterious girl, all the while following his own passion and fulfilling the duties that rest on his shoulders.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Goshiki, Shiori Main

Wakui, Yuu Japanese

Kuga, Ichirou Main

Yashiro, Taku Japanese

Kuga, Machi Supporting

Endou, Rina Japanese

Kuga, Fumio Supporting

Naganawa, Maria Japanese

Makado, Momiji Supporting

Matsui, Eriko Japanese

Ibusuki, Chihiro Supporting

Takahashi, Rie Japanese

Honami Supporting

Akesaka, Satomi Japanese

Morikuni, Momoka Supporting

Hikasa, Youko Japanese

Yuina Supporting

Hasegawa, Ikumi Japanese

Sano, Yuuta Supporting

Fukuyama, Jun Japanese

Kouchiyama, Takashi Producer

Kurosu, Nobuhiko Producer

Ozawa, Fumihiro Producer

Yonezawa, Akira Producer

Reviews

Jun 24, 2023

Marinate1016

Recommended

Man, there is nothing better than a good adult romance. This season there’s a ton of romcom shows, but Otonari ni Ginga is really the only one featuring working age people, making it a much more relatable and enjoyable experience.

Don’t get me wrong, I do love my high school romances. They’re cute, but as I get older it’s easier to relate to people who are around my age and going thru things that I am going thru. While I may not be a mangaka, I am at a bit of a crossroads in life and stressed just like Ichiro, the protagonist of this series.

He ... and Shiori’s relationship starts out in a somewhat cliche manner with the old “I touched you now I have to marry you” trope. What makes this one so enjoyable for me is the well written relationship between the two of them. While the relationship starts out forced, we see them gradually fall in love and begin a healthy relationship. It’s not just overnight, the show takes us through their dates and intimate conversations where they get to know each other, and it just feels real. It’s nothing crazy special about the story. There’s no unnecessary fan service either. It’s just two adults talking things out, letting one another know how they feel and going from there. That is such a refreshing take on romance that I wish we got more of.

Another thing I REALLY like about this show is the relationship between Ichiro and his siblings. It is so cool to see an older brother who cares for his younger siblings the way he does. Treating them as equals in the house, speaking to them maturely, explaining his decision to date Shiori and making sure they’re included in everything. It honestly got me emotional quite a few times because of the backstory with their parents and just seeing how much he cares for his little brother and sister as a single guardian. Again, I think that’s just something you have to reach a certain age to appreciate and I’m getting there so I liked it.

This is the perfect type of romance story for those who are tired of high school aged anime characters and want people that they can relate to. It’s a mature and well written couple with plenty of cute moments, not overly anime-y with the writing and dialogue, great art and just a wholesome experience. One of my top shows of the season for sure.

Otonari ni ginga gets 9 stingers, out of 10.

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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Jun 24, 2023

KANLen09

Mixed Feelings

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.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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Jul 8, 2023

MyDogTige

Not Recommended

First of all, let me get the most important part out of this: Machi is best girl. She's better than anybody else on that show. She's like 10 or 11 acts much older than that and more mature than Kuga. Thank God Fumio has her. I don't know what's going on with him, but they may want to get it addressed. He was especially neglected in the show. Getting 3 to 4 words to repeat after Machi says something just really pretty sad. I know this is an anime that has 12 episodes, but as a parent, that screams out trouble to me. Just a ... me thing.

This is such a terribly watered down romcom. Kuga is your typical idiot MC. He's a painful thing to watch. He has absolutely no guts and no courage (and even as far as the last episode) he was too nervous or too afraid to still do normal couple things like holding hands. It's like Tonikawa, but weaker.

Side note: what the hell was the point of making it obvious that Kuga wasn't interested in Goshki (3) and then the next episode (4) he's head over heels with her. It was a terrible way to switch that so it would push the plot forward.

I can't recommend this. It was a painful thing to get through and my desire to not drop it won out.

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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	Poll: Otonari ni Ginga Episode 2 Discussion ( 1 2 ) Stark700 - Apr 15, 2023	82 replies	by 1List2RuleThemAl »» May 16, 4:59 AM
	Poll: Otonari ni Ginga Episode 12 Discussion ( 1 2 ) Stark700 - Jun 24, 2023	75 replies	by Soul_king9 »» May 10, 5:50 AM
	Poll: Otonari ni Ginga Episode 5 Discussion Stark700 - May 6, 2023	45 replies	by bunningsnags0 »» Apr 22, 8:22 PM
	Poll: Otonari ni Ginga Episode 11 Discussion ( 1 2 ) Stark700 - Jun 17, 2023	52 replies	by imjayhime »» Apr 11, 11:04 AM
	Poll: Otonari ni Ginga Episode 4 Discussion ( 1 2 ) Stark700 - Apr 29, 2023	56 replies	by akmnorman »» Mar 18, 8:49 AM