Nanba Mutta is the older brother who keeps finding himself a step behind his younger brother Hibito. After being fired from his job at a car manufacturer, Mutta decides to pursue he and his brothers live long dream of becoming astronauts. While he is trying to pass the beginning entrance exams his brother is in America finalizing his training for a mission to the moon. Mutto is smart and resourceful but he is also hot headed and clumsy. His greatest enemy is his own internal dialog of fear and anticipation. At every corner he wonders if its the end of the line for him. He dwells on mistakes he believes he has made, over analyzing every decision. At the same time he remains blissfully unaware of many of the mistakes and accomplishments he makes. As he starts down the rigorous journey to his dreams can he continue to have luck and skill on his side...
When I got back into anime in the fall of 2013 this series kept popping up on my radar. Many times when looking at Japanese TV ratings Space Brothers would show up as one of the few newer shows, as most are usually long running syndication titles, with the highest viewer ratings. So I figured if this show was consistently popular to the levels of Sazae-san then there must be something to it. I finally got around to it late spring of 2014 and was instantly hooked. Mutta is a loveable fool and the entire time you are rooting for his success. The supporting cast of characters is surprisingly rich and deep. Many times the story pause its forward progression to tell in depth backgrounds on them. The writing in the series takes great pains to give these characters strong personalities and ambitions. Mutta may be the shows main character but at times it doesn't even deal with him. Very little in the story telling is for naught and what may seem like an irrelevant background story for unneeded characters end up becoming integral for that story arc.
The story it's self is entertaining and flows well, with very little in the way of lag, even with 99 episodes. The entire story covers around five or so years worth of time and a lot takes place. I would say the worst thing about the series is the quality of the animation, especially the vehicle CG. I understand why the animation isn't as high quality as many TV anime these days and honestly it offers little adverse affect to the show it's self, its just something to note. The worst part though is that the series ends, what seems to be prematurely. I have been unable to find anything on why the series ended when it did or if there will ever be any more. I need to take a look at the manga to see if the story goes beyond what was shown in the anime. I hope there will be more, there is plenty of story that still can and should be told.
Another fault, perhaps the most glaring but also its most addicting, is that the series is eternally optimistic. With all the challenges and adversary experienced by all of the characters there is little in the way of failure or tragedy. For someone, like me, who is a bit cynical, this can sometimes border on the absurd. Yet that is a strong part of the charm and the addictiveness of the show, the fact that you believe everything will work out every time a challenge arises. You can't help but love Mutta with all of his faults. You can't help but continue to root for him and hope for him to overcome each challenge. One great thing with the series are the stealth pop culture references. A number of the background characters reference American pop culture. Most noticeable; Hibito's elderly Texan neighbor, Ozzy. At one point in the story Mutto ends up working with the Ghost Busters.
In the end this is an incredibly well written drama with plenty of humor and a ton of interesting background details on the word of the astronaut. It's no surprise the series was as popular as it was. It's mature, enjoyable and has something even kids can get into. I fear though something like this won't find as big of an audience as it deserves in America. The people who wouldn't normally watch anime would enjoy it the most. With many of the American anime fans too wrapped up in tales of fantasy they would probably find something like this boring and pointless. But I can't recommend it enough, it's something to sit down and watch slowly, absorbing and enjoying the stories progress as you become familiar with its myriad personalities.
The series is available streaming on Crunchyroll and as of yet it has not received any form of disc release in North America. The manga and the live action versions are also commercially unavailable in North America.
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