Space Brothers - Episode 57

The "Comeback Challenge" continues apace in this week's Space Brothers, and things still aren't going all that well for Mutta's gang, with a number of problems not helped by overseer Pico's continued determination to keep his own counsel, although at least his interest seems to have been somewhat piqued by Mutta's knowledge.

With the group having problems with both navigation of their rover and those pesky parachutes about which Pico knows so much, Mutta once again impresses his overseer with some real technical ingenuity to solve one of their many problems - such is the impression left upon him that even Pico can't resist chipping in with some advice on their design, while also pointing out the flaws in a rival group's plan that our team were left cooing over for a while.

With some radical design changes planned out, it's montage time as the team work tirelessly to affect these changes, and their relationship with Pico thaws as time goes on - all of which is set against the backdrop of a change in personnel on the Moon, with Hibito due to come home, a journey which will of course involve the deployment of Pico's parachute design.  In particular, Mutta and Pico seem to have developed quite an understanding, leading to our protagonist gaining on opportunity to learn more about Vincent Bold into the bargain.

All of this adds up to a simple but effective episode of Space Brothers - watching the group tackling the engineering challenge set before them and making progress with them is vicariously satisfying in its own right, and when that is spiced up with some wonderful character development and genuine emotion bubbling under the surface it showcases so much of what this series does so very well.