Sunday 6 January 2013

Space Brothers - Episode 39

After a bit of a break, we return to the world of Space Brothers just in time for an introduction for the newest batch of astronauts and other new staff members at JAXA.

There's nothing particularly grandiose about this introduction to the organisation aside from a stirring speech about the important of the relationship between astronauts and their support staff by director Nasuda, a thought echoed by special guest and current astronaut Murasaki.  Any ideas of an exciting future can be shelved for our five new astronauts, at least in the near-term, as they find their time swallowed up by classroom-based lectures and some very dry familiarisation with the nuts and bolts of all things JAXA.


Meanwhile, things are getting entirely too exciting on the moon for the other Nanba brother, as Hibito accompanies another member of his team on an impromptu mission to investigate an unmanned explorer that has gone quiet on the Houston control room.  If this sounds like a simple exercise, especially when you're kitted out with a moon buggy, then think again, as we're soon treated to a demonstration of the clear and present dangers of driving on the moon.  Unfortunately, it seems as if our two astronauts haven't learned much of this lesson themselves, as a momentary lapse of concentration later on that same mission holds the potential for disastrous consequences.

That near-literal cliffhanger seems to suggest that maybe we're coming to the end game of Space Brothers thanks to that sudden dramatic ramp-up in what's going on at the exact same moment where Mutta is handily placed as an "almost astronaut".  I'm really looking forward to seeing how the series manages to handle this kind of thing (assuming this is indeed where we're headed), as it's quite a major departure from what it has had to offer prior to this - given how rarely it's put a foot wrong up to this point however, my feelings are far more of excitement than trepidation.

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