Astro Note

 Astro Note (アストロノオト) is a 12 episode original sci-fi romantic comedy written by Ueno Kimiko.  The anime originally aired during the 2024 Spring season.

    Miyasaki Takumi is an out of work chef, desperate to find a meaningful place to work at again.  A help wanted ad in an employment guide for industry professionals attracts his attention and he jumps at the opportunity.  Having come from a high quality hotel restaurant, he is baffled by the location of the interview appearing to be a rundown Showa era apartment.  Before he can turn around he hears cries of help from the side of the house.  Rushing to it, he finds a beautiful young woman hanging precariously from the lip of the roof.  Before he can find her fallen ladder the woman slips and lands on him.  Neither are hurt but immediately afterwards her poodle attacks the bewildered man.  The woman, Gotokuji Mira, brings him inside to tend to his wounds.  Confused he asks her about the advertisement looking for a a chef to focus on breakfast.  As she begins to apologize to him different individuals interject to help explain the situation.

    Mira had placed a misleading ad in the magazine to find someone too cook breakfast for the residents of what is known as Astro Lodge, a share house where the tenants are given breakfast each day as part of their lodging.  Mira had recently become the houses manager, following the death of its long time manager, Tasuke.  Unfortunately for the residents of the house, Mira is a horrific cook.  Takumi decides to take the position for the time being, out of equal parts pity for the residents and a strong attraction to the young manager.  But nothing is as it seems and Takumi has a bigger hurdle to overcome if he is to get Mira's attention beyond his looks and personality.  In reality Mira is an alien princess who has traveled to Earth in search of a key that will allow her to claim her peoples throne and the poodle is a different alien who is her life long body guard.  No one in the Astro Lodge suspects the truth behind Mira's arrival at their lowly house but as her search intensifies things start to get really weird for everyone who lives there.

 

    I was immediately hooked on this from the first preview as it presented its self as a modern take on Maison Ikkoku...perhaps my favorite romance anime.  The show did not disappoint in any fashion.  Not only did it pay significant homage to that classic it also sprinkled in bits of other classic anime.  The only low point in the show is the main character, he really has little in the way of a memorable personality.  Everyone else is a fantastical caricature, who all bring their own unique charm to the story.  Takumi on the other hand, a bit of a push over who goes with the flow, even when things begin to get weird and unnatural.  He barely questions anything around him nor does he show much interest in anything other than Mira.  He has the personality of a closed door, no hobbies, no ambitions, no motivation other than the girl in front of him.

    This is an original creation and the team behind it did a fantastic job.  The character design and animation are fantastic and fit very well with the over all feel and tone of this story.  The story its self is a great amalgamation of older, well known stories that puts a fresh coat of paint on beloved anime.  I can't stress enough how much love and attention was put into this fantastic and surprising anime.  I wish we would get more productions like this.  Not necessarily the style of story, but just the level of care and attention put into it.  We have seen a few other series with the same level of love in recent years, Keep Your Hands off Eizoken comes to mind as one example.  We really need a new crop of talent and love in the industry.  Sadly, I feel this is another one of those rare examples instead of the norm.

The series streamed on Crunchyroll.