Since then I haven't done much of a forum crawling, post-making progress; generally I've been using MAL as a place to search for new titles, as, of course, most, if not all of us here, and I didn't contribute to the community around here much.
So, why would my first review be for Uchuu Kyoudai?
That question should, no, it must be answered.
First of all, those of you who are still uncertain as to whether or not should you watch this series, you have to be made aware of what should you expect with Space Brothers.
I could of course compare it here to several different in both genre and plot settings animes or mangas, but that won't do - since Uchuu Kyoudai is a hidden gem that doesn't sparkle with flashy cliche invitation. It gives a different kind of vibe, which you can only feel when you're already watching it, and only then does that gem starts to shine - a feeling of mutual appreciation for both the viewer, and the anime itself.
While watching more and more episodes, you will start to wonder, how was it possible for this gem to be hidden away for so long from you, and in turn the anime itself will amaze you with how much more it has to offer right till the end.
That is of course - if you're into something, that does not need unnecessary panty shots, overpowered main characters with "the chosen one" history to keep itself entertaining.
(Not that the above is wrong. Nothing wrong with panty shots, or even overpowering, though, lately its been used so many times, that it's became the biggest cliché of animes, ever.)
All of that aside, what is Uchuu Kyoudai, and what should you expect, beside for a promise of a good long show?
The anime emphasises heavily on the struggle of a grown 31 y.o. man, who has long lost his resolve to fulfill his childhood dreams, putting them aside as impossile to accomplish.
Have you ever looked up to the night sky, and pondered how great it would be to explore the universe, discover new possibilities, and breach what was previously thought impossible?
Our main hero, Namba Mutta - a rather undecisive and cowardly character, along with his younger brother, Hibito, sure did. Though, they have put their dreams in different words.
As kids, Mutta and Hibito both saw UFO, which, in that moment resulted in younger brother's promise, that one day he'd become an astronaut who would fly to the Moon.
Mutta's belief, that "the older brother must always be ahead of the younger," resulted in response, that if Hibito's going to the Moon, then he must reach for the Mars, thus making a promise between themselves, that they would both one day become astronauts.
However, years later in 2025 it seemed as if only Hibito was able to fulfill that promise, leaving his older brother behind.
Uchuu Kyoudai follows Mutta, as he overcomes many different hardships, such as dozens of body-stress tests and interviews (and we all know, how hard job interviews can be, let alone an astronaut-job one!), and countless of other tests that a normal human being would ran off from.
Being a slice of life and a seinen type, this anime also heavily emphasises on the everyday lives of the other individuals, who also dream of becoming astronauts, which also puts Mutta in a situation, where his friends become the enemies. As well as focusing on the main character, you'll be shown the people who work behind the curtain - engineers who create all of the equipment used in space, old timers, who once walked on the Moon's surface, and became jet pilots, despaired drunks who can't get over deaths of their friends, and the crew of the control mission without which a mission wouldn't be possible to do.
Constant tests, training, overcoming many obstacles, and rising above the normal people in psychical and mental strength, decision-making and multitasking are one of many traits that an astronaut must have - all of which is exactly and spot-on explained, and shown in a way not many animes can be proud of.
With its accurate and realistic approach to how the future space program would look like, even for the people who don't swing into space opera-like genres, Uchuu Kyoudai is, most certainly not only the best anime in sci-fi so far, but also one of the best titles, though at the same time heavily underrated.
So, answering to the question as to why did I want to write a review for Uchuu Kyoudai, I'd say, that after 99 episodes of anime, 244 chapters (at the time of writing this), and a drama movie I feel that even though the anime ended well, I should show my appreciation for it with at least this review to show how much I'd like to see the continuation led to the finale.
As to my personal score, I think that you already know which number it'll be.
10/10, would watch ten more times.
