I just picked up this anime by chance when my friend told me that the manga it was adapted from was really good, and was even considered for the Manga Taisho award. And boy, am I glad I listened to him.
We all have dreamed of being into space at one point; I won't believe anyone who claim otherwise. When I was a kid, I was really interested in (what have been) the nine planets, and my ever-growing speculation of possible existence of life in each of these. It was one of my childhood goals to see the Earth from outer space, along with my dreams of finally discovering my superpowers or discovering my magic abilities.
Of course, the harsh reality struck the most of us around the time we hit puberty. We give up on dreaming big, on claiming to have seemingly unachievable goals and sharing it with others. By then most of us dream of having a stable family, a 9 to 5 job or starting a business; with having a doctorate degree or owning a multi-national company being the best of our "realistic" goals.
In contrast, Uchuu Kyoudai starts in a quixotic fashion (spoiler alert): "two boys inspired of becoming astronauts just because they have seen a rice-bowl UFO? C'mooon.." Because of that, I had the impression that this show would continue to have an unrealistic atmosphere, which would kinda turn me off. Good thing I was wrong; the show was as realistic as it could be.
My suppressed dreams of donning the white suit and doing the moonwalk in the Earth's only natural satellite came back to me, as the show placed itself very well in order to sympathize yourself with the characters, especially with Nanba Mutta, the main protagonist: Mu-chan starts out as a guy with above-average skills paired with some bad luck, which most of us would use as an excuse for our failures. Right from the start, the story served a dish of bad luck for Mutta, but with the help of his brother, that event had been a blessing in disguise. The way it started out really helped the viewers sympathize with Mu-chan, which made it easier to relate to him as he goes into higher grounds.
Right then, I realized that the UFO the two brothers saw at the beginning can make do as a metaphor of our childhood dreams which feel like they're impossible to reach. However, one of the two brothers have reached it. The challenge is up to us, the other bro, to stand up and fight for our dreams - or let them haunt us with regret.
The plot seems like a good brew for a feel-good anime, but what makes Uchuu Kyoudai stand out is its suave execution of blending the storyline with some well-delivered comedy, usually resulting from Mu-chan's unconventional way of thinking. Even when things get too serious, you suddenly forget the conflicts for a while because of these moments.
Though it has not finished yet, I'm really impressed by this show so far. This realistic take on achieving your dreams and making the most out of every day gives us encouragement to achieve whatever you may want to, and not giving up when you're presented with obstacles and hindrances. Uchuu Kyoudai is an anime apart from others, as it is not really a slice-of-life anime, but at the same time, is as realistic and "down to the ground" as a somewhat sci-fi story could get (unless you count the rice bowl-UFO and Japanese-speaking Americans :P).
