Uchuu Kyoudai

At first glance Space Brothers seems to be an anime about two brothers that just go space and do astronaut things, but oh ho, dear reader, it is so much more than that. It is a realistic journey delving into one of the most difficult professions ever conceived by man. Now that the series has concluded [for the time being], a proper review is in order. But first, we better shake hands.

STORY:
Space Brothers cleverly depicts the pursuits of Mutta and Hibito, converging their storylines at some times and following them separately at others. This structure is beneficial to the flow and progression, and earns ... top marks from me. It also uses an intriguing method of linking the past to the present, showing the audience how the brothers' upbringing helps them with the challenges on the path toward fulfilling their dreams.

This leads me to the most notable aspect of Space Brothers – its insanely realistic plot. The amount of research that author Koyama Chuuya had to have done is mind-boggling. In fact, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) actually helped out on it, which is noticeable throughout. Plainly stated, you just can't make some of this stuff up! Which brings me to an important question potential viewers always ask: why is it so long?? It takes a lot of time and effort to become an astronaut, and it is quite clearly portrayed in this anime. To condense any of what is shown would be an insult to real astronauts. As a rare "long seinen," I approve.

Additionally, it's difficult to NOT be impressed with immense detail that the mangaka put into the setting. For instance, whenever the main characters travel to the United States, American fans are simply blown away by the accuracy of the places illustrated, such as the John F. Kennedy Space Center in Florida and the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Texas. Though I've never been to either of these locations, it almost feels like I've been on a virtual tour, just by watching an anime.

This leaves me with the literary brilliance of its themes. As is evident from the title, family plays an important role, and not just the Nanba family; though it is crucial to note that "family" is not limited by blood. Although this is a comedy [and it can be pretty funny at times], it is well balanced by its serious moments. Furthermore, this is an anime about going to space.. which is a very scary place where the consequences of failure are colossal. This anxiety gives the experience an even keener flavor. Of course it deals with moral issues and other difficulties in life as well. Sacrifice and the test of friendship is a prevalent theme as the journey to the top requires leaving many behind – not everyone can be a winner. The anime also tackles psychological and neurological hardships, in addition to exposing the stress put on the families of the astronauts. However, the theme that Space Brothers always comes back to is that hard work and guts [and a lot of luck] will always pay off, even if the immediate results appear unfavorable.

ART:
Though there isn't very much "action" in this anime, A-1 pictures does a great job in the animation department. Movements are fluid and expressions are believable, to say the least. In terms of art style, Space Brothers uses an interesting blend of intrinsic "anime-ness" along with the natural proportions and appearances of.. well.. real life. Something that caught my eye was the attention to heredity. Characters of the same family tended to look like each other and/or their parents, which is an uncommon trait in anime. It's a nice addition to the realism this seinen provides. Hair is also quite interesting. Each character's hair style/color stays within the bounds of reality while still remaining unique from other shows. Bonus points to Serika's hair for somehow making me smile every time she's on screen.

SOUND:
Now, I feel this is the weakest part of the show. Don't get me wrong, it's still good, just less so in comparison to its strengths. The music is used to enforce and empower the displayed emotions and elicit the intended feels from the viewer, but the anime reuses the same songs... over and over. I actually made it a game to see how many episodes it could go without playing the same "feel this now" song. I guess you get used to it after a while, but it is worth mentioning. The last third of the anime gets better at diversifying its music. The OPs and EDs are pretty good though, my favorite being ED5, "BEYOND" by Miho Fukuhara [yea, the same Fukuhara that did Brotherhood ED2].

CHARACTER:
My favorite part of this anime is the incredible characterization! Practically every character is memorable due to the depth in which each is described. Their motivations and actions logically follow the person that they've become. You can easily fall in love with any number of them, and palpably feel heartbroken if things don't go their way. Viewers with weaker hearts be wary, though I never cried myself, I acknowledge that much of the anime can bring you to tears. There are several instances in which a character's reactions and facial expressions deliver far more emotion than any amount of words could. This attribute alone makes Space Brothers stand out from other anime. Simply put, the entire cast is a rainbow of personality. I don't really want to go much further into detail.. that would ruin the magic!

ENJOYMENT:
This is a great show, easily one of my favorites. Whenever I found myself in an anime rut, I just sat back and watched a couple episodes. Another thing that's worth noting is that the anime is very inspirational. Seeing Mutta go through so many tribulations gave me hope for my future, and that my efforts in the present will yield fruit down the road. Maybe that's just me though.

CONCLUSION (TL;DR):
Space Brothers is an excellently constructed anime that combines a heartwarming story with delightful comedy, using realistic characters to show the audience just how difficult it is to become an astronaut.

Oh yea, we can end that handshake now.

"An older brother must step ahead against his younger brother" - Nanba Mutta.

Lately, i haven't found any good anime to watch.. then i meet Uchuu Kyoudai/Space Brother, at the first i was like oh just an average anime which have sci-fi and bla bla bla. since i didnt have any anime to watch, i thought i could try it for just one episode. and then seems like i had learned my lesson.

"Dont ever judge anime by its cover, genre, or anything else before you watched it" - Me, after watching this.

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STORY

The story was simple, its about Nanba Mutta as the older brother who had promised ... with his younger brother, Nanba Hibito. to become an Astronaut together. But, then the life changes them. Now, Nanba Hibito is on training for becoming an astronaut and as for the older brother, he is just being fired from his company. And until then Mutta as the older brother have a motto that older brother must take a step ahead against his younger brother, luckily, there was an audition for becoming an astronaut. and so Mutta without hestitate sign for the audition.

Simple? yeah... its kinda remembering me about Bakuman. and so, whats make this so special?
first of all, is the story itself. like bakuman does, the story was father kinda in slow paced. we're not just gonna see the Nanba Mutta struggle for being an astronaut, but we're gonna see too the flashback about him and her younger brother, boring? I dont think so, since all that flashback was really touching. You cant help to shed your tears (that was what i feel). Well, its not all about melancholic situation, Uchuu Kyodai have great jokes too. Usually when Nanba Mutta mumbling or speak with himself, he always comments on what he feel or what he see. It just feels so natural, you cant help to not to laugh when he does that.

and not just that, the detail of the way they tells us about space, NASA, and the outer things was really perfect. when i watching this anime, i cant help myself to google some of the fact in this anime, like "did you know that Moon's sand was so sharp as a shard of glass?" and not just that, the details about space and NASA is really increasing our knowledge about it.

CHARACTER

Second, the character. what makes appeal me a lot was all of the character in space brother. i am not exaggerating. because in this anime, there isnt any bad guys with a weird reason to do something bad. they're just people like us, who do something for some reason, behind every act they made, they have a reason. I think thats the good point, since as far as i have seen, rarely any anime made this thing (act) so naturally. They're just doing by what they're believe.

And what surprise me a lot was the each character have a scene to develop. either by flashback or by their experience. and its kinda lame to said that the story was so slow (because of the flashback), YES its slow but the slow itself because they want to the viewer knows "what kind of character it is?" and surely, to make us, being attracted by the character.

ART

Third, the art. i am not gonna said to much on this section. but, if you see it carefully, you will see why this anime was so appealing, like how many anime that have a male lead which have an afro hair? then, the draws for the character was well made, yet is so slice of life anime. Not excessive on the background coloring neither the character does. When usually some anime use so many gradient or shading in coloring to make more appealing but not in space brother, they make it simple but yet its charming. Its really the style of Sentai Filmworks

SOUND

The Last, Sound. honestly, when i heard the opening songs (especially the first OP, "Feel so Moon") i am really attached to it, not just attached it, i realize that the OP was really fit with the anime, its about outer space. not just the first OP, the other OP was really - really well made. Even i had to replay the OP, just for hear the song. The background song or BGM is also perfectly fit with every scenes that appears. Like when there was something amazing happen, "Sora e No Michi" songs plays and its really hyping up the atmosphere and makes the scenes twice more epic!

Not just the OP and BGM, the seiyuu voice was really deserves an award. They really fits with each character that being voiced. especially when Nanba Mutta talking to himself or when he sighing about his life, its like they (the seiyuu) really put their feelings into it. Of course not just seiyuu for Nanba Mutta, but all the character.

CONCLUSION

When everyone focus and talk about Shingeki no Kyojin or any anime that airing in that season, They forgot to bring this anime as topic to be discussed. Oh, poor you Space Brother. But well, honestly i am happy that not many people to know this anime. I can be a hipster! lol Anyway, this anime was still airing. until i write this review, the anime had just airing their 63 episodes but it has been on my top 5 anime,Yeah, so why i had to risk on my top anime place for this airing anime? as for me, its too early for judging anime if you havent watched the whole episodes, but who cares? this anime was awesome. and its enough reason for me to put this on my top anime.

if you're looking for a motivational , then you might try this anime... and one message for me, CATCH YOUR DREAM!

*Thanks for reading my review! If you found this review was not helpful or doesnt good enough,please message me. I really appreciate any feedbacks*

You are probably wondering why I gave this series a perfect 10 even though I've only seen 10 episodes so far...

Well, simply put, everything about this anime feels very authentic. Real. There is no sense of false pretense. And above all, it gives off a very contagious sense of hope and optimism. A sense that your dreams ARE reachable, and that there is no such thing as bad luck; it's all about making your own luck.

I'm sure everyone has had their share of disappointments and somewhere along the line, has felt bitter about the way their life turned out. I'm also sure that everyone ... has had their share of dreams that had to be abandoned for one reason or another.

However, don't let your cynicism taint your enjoyment of this hidden gem. As a matter of fact, let yourself be infected by the optimism of this show...

Moving on, the plot centers around two brothers, Mutta and Hibito, who have wanted to become astronauts since they were kids. However, Hibito, the younger of the two, was the one to actually make his dream come true, while Mutta leaves his dream behind to pursue a more reachable profession. After losing his long-time job and being blacklisted in that field, Mutta tries to pick himself back up by working small, part-time jobs. But with a huge amount of encouragement from his parents and especially Hibito, Mutta aims to become an astronaut again.

As you can see, the plot is basic and straightforward, but the entertainment lies in the characters and how they persist through the situations they're thrown in.

For the sake of not writing so much (lol), I'll just discuss the two brothers: Mutta and Hibito, although the entire cast is well-rounded and likable as well.

To start off, Mutta is a fantastic protagonist. He's highly sympathetic, hilarious in unexpected ways, completely honest, and so charismatic that you can't help but cheer him on. I honestly believe that his charisma largely comes from the way his voice actor, Hiroaki Hirata, performs the role with complete ease. It's so enjoyable and so natural that Mutta seems like a real person rather than some made-up character in some anime.

What I enjoy most about Mutta's character is that he represents two sides: disappointment and hope. Many, many times during his journey to becoming an astronaut, Mutta loses faith in himself and says "I give up, there's no way I can do this." (Something I'm sure everyone can relate to) However, like any other great protagonist, he holds an inner spark of hope that drives him to persist through the challenges that are thrown at him, in spite of what he says to himself. All in all, he is the reason why I believe this show is contagiously optimistic and hopeful. Mutta, despite being an adult who has experienced a fair amount of disappointment, still retains the optimistic enthusiasm of his younger self while taking steps in achieving his long-time dream.

His brother, Hibito, is equally great as a character. Although, he seems like a one-dimensional stereotype of the perfect younger brother, he gets his fair share of development that makes him much more. I personally think Hibito shines brightest as a character whenever he is interacting with his brother Mutta. There's a real sense of love and affection that is mutual on both ends. The frequent flashbacks of their childhood helps to illustrate this fact, as well as their present interactions. Also, as brothers, their natural rivalry with each other is what encourages them to do their best, rather than drive each other away.

Their relationship, which is at the center of this show, is one of the many refreshing things about this anime. Though their relationship is somewhat similar to that of Cain and Abel from the Bible, there is no hate involved. While Mutta is jealous of the success of his younger brother, he doesn't hate him for it. Instead, he's proud to have such a brother. If anything, as the older brother, he wishes that he wasn't so pitiful in comparison, in looks and in luck.

The humor is certainly another refreshing point of this anime. The opening sequence should quickly point out that the humor isn't mainstream, but at the same time, its charming because of how odd and unconventional it is at times. I also enjoy the fact that this anime likes to poke fun at everyday behavior.

The music and overall scene direction leaves me breathless. Its quality is reminescent of American films made in the 90's (at least to me...) so I often get fits of nostalgia while watching this anime lol. While I find the style appealing (especially the music), it does come across as cheesy so heads up!

Art is highly debatable since it doesn't appeal to those who prefer more attractive designs. (Poor Mutta, he's probably the ugliest character in the show XD) However, in my opinion, the realistic character designs help ground this anime into a sense of reality, which helps me appreciate the real-life references that are thrown in.

Overall, I'm obviously enjoying the heck out of this anime. Reason why I haven't watched any further is because, so far, there's only 17 episodes out and I need a back-up for whenever Hunter x Hunter goes on a break lol. (Although I feel like I'm going to cave in very soon...)

Anyway, I hope this review helped!

(If not, constructive criticism is highly appreciated!)

Uchuu Kyoudai... well I have to day that this anime is one of those inspiring ones.

I first started watching the first four episodes of this anime at AX (Anime Expo 2012) with no hopes for this anime but oh boy... I was proved wrong. Throughout my life I always watched shoujo, shounen, mecha, adventure etc.

From the fact that I only considering watching those genres it came to my judgement when it I was watching Uchuu Kyoudai at AX.

As human beings, everybody
DO NOT JUDGE A BOOK BY IT'S COVER! ~Lesson learned~ -.-

Uchuu Kyoudai (Space Brothers in English) was obviously not one of those animes that ... wasn't involved with "destruction of the world" but it was about Mutta (protagonist) keeping his promise to his younger brother, Hibito, in becoming a astronaut like Hibito and go to Mars.

Story/ Plot OVERALL: 10
The story is really inspiring, and heart warming. The main protagonist, Mutta, is just a average man with talent that recognized in his profession as a car builder but later because of his boss insult to his younger brother, Hibito, Mutta now was living with his parents with no job.

Realizing that he was jobless he sets out to find another job. Hearing from his parents what happen to Mutta, Hibito reached out to Mutta by suggesting that Mutta should keep his promise to his younger brother and enter the astronaut training program. With many fail attempts, Mutta finally take his brother's advice and sets out to the astronaut training program and this is when the story begins...

Characters OVERALL: 10
Perfect! There are various types of characters that you get to see in this anime.
A snotty genius, a quiet thinker, a bright positive leader, etc. Each character makes this anime quite fulfilling.

Each character that Mutta meets has a big significance to the story and it gives that slight tingling feeling of curiosity whose going to achieve their goals. As Mutta met other characters in the story it gives him more motivation in passing the astronaut training program but as he meets more characters he, sometimes, doubts himself and ask himself "Do I have what it takes to become a astronaut? Do I have the right to become an astronaut?" as he goes along with the astronaut training program he becomes more determine and to realization that he wants this dream to become an reality.


Music/ Sound OVERALL: 10
It is well done. The soundtracks plays a major role of the anime that gives the scenes the tension and passion that it needs! Well done!


Art OVERALL: 10
Reasonable. I'm glad that this anime does not have any characters that has pink hair with green eyes or women with huge over-sized breasts. To be honest, I'm sick of it... get real.
I cannot explain what my thoughts are of this art. :)

To wrap this review:
I would like to say that so far (as the episodes will come) I am glad that my little sister dragged me to watch this anime at AX. It is very enjoyable and inspiring. I would highly recommend it to anyone.
It is a joy to watch!

This show is a hidden gem. Having always avoided shows with lengthy and seemingly boring settings, I found some extra time on my hands during the summer break. So I decided to use it and pick up the first few episodes of Space Brothers without expecting much. I was immediately proven wrong, thinking again and again that you should truly “never judge a book by its cover”. (I try not to but it still happens. I can’t help it when there are too many choices ¯\_(ツ)_/¯)

Story
My first thought after reading the synopsis was why the hell are 99 episodes dedicated to these random siblings trying ... to go to space. Not to mention the fact that one of them has an afro. Is this entire series a joke? The sci-fi genre with “space” in it is so commonplace that we often associate it with aliens, laser beams blasting out of gigantic humanoid robots, or imperial planetary empires attempting to take over galaxies; we often forget that astronauts/cosmonauts in reality are one of the most dangerous and strenuous professions in the world. As a requirement, all astronauts must be genetically and physically healthy all around, have to dedicate their minds to proficiency levels of engineers, and have to work long hours to maintain the fitness ability of athletes. Even then, only the very few with exceptional abilities are the ones that are accepted as those that are able to go to space. Forget the ridiculous afro for now. This is a truly inspirational journey about the challenges that the siblings overcome to fulfilling a persistent passion (mostly just about the guy with the afro though).

Characters
It’s always very challenging to express characters realistically in anime but this one has particularly done an outstanding job. The depth of the characters continued to grow and develop throughout the series. The background stories of every character along with the inflections of tones and conversations entwines into their personalities and career pursuits as astronauts or engineers. The mini-stories also added gravity to each character's dedication.

Sound
La di la di la. Amazing classical music when needed :)

Enjoyment
Some pretty good comedy alongside the inspiring story of our friendly afro dude.

Art
The scenes and color are framed well and appropriately montaged, giving decent mis-en-scene. Symbolic coloring and framing or artistically beautiful shots are not the highlight of this show. I would say this has a lot more going for it in the story and character development than anything else. The style of art is “meh” but that is largely subjective.

10/10 Overall a hidden masterpiece.

Space brothers is about two brothers' journey to space. Its a feel good comedy about reigniting your passions in life and chasing dreams you thought were impossible.

Namba Hibito is cool, carefree and about to become the first Japanese person on the moon while his older brother Mutta is down on his luck, having been fired from his job designing automobiles. He gave up on his dreams years ago but a little nudge from his little brother starts him on the journey to realise his childhood dream of joining his brother in space.

So first off this is not a show about adventures in space. There is ... of course some space travel but it is more of a character driven comedy that showcases a lot of training as well as the grueling selection process on the road to becoming an astronaut. But even though that may sound boring it does manage to keep interesting plots happening most of the time, and its a pretty funny show so I think that makes up for it. It has a bit of a lull around the 25 episode mark but if you keep going it ramps up again, it is a very fun series and will make you (in the words of the opening song) feel so good.

So as I mentioned this is a character driven show. There are a lot of great characters. I particularly enjoyed the cringeingly awesome parents, and Lowry the American Weeaboo astronaut who is always misusing Japanese phrases but the whole cast is pretty colourful. Our hero Mutta is a loserish 30 something year old with hidden talents. He is the perfect hero for people in their thirties (or late twenties like me) who want to start dreaming again. It is a bit more mature that a lot of the anime out there but still has those awesome Japanese elements I love like a celebration of lofty dreams and the determination and resolve to realise them.

As for the art I felt like this wasn't a focus for the creators. The individual pictures are a bit more on the realistic side and while they mostly look ok on their own the animation itself is often stilted and awkward. After a while I stopped noticing it most of the time but every now and then there would be some really awkward movement, for example there is a particular dance scene that looks borderline creepy. But for the most part you are just watching simple animation and it does the job.

One negative thing I will say for this show is that although the ending is good it kind of ends in an unsatisfying place. The last episode was exciting and resolved stuff and didn't feel rushed, but you will see when you get there (if you watch it) that it doesn't end where you want it to end. I do sort of hope they start the anime again because even though I liked the ending there were some things I wanted to see happen.

This show is incredibly feel good. It has some more real moments but overall its the kind of show that is always a bit warm and fuzzy. They are basically a bunch of lovable space nerds fulfilling their dreams, and triumphing thanks to determination and hard work. So yeah if you are turned off by things that are too happy, or where things work out too well for the cast you might find that annoying. Personally I found it suspended disbelief really well. However it did have the unfortunate side effect of making me wish I was an astronaut. So be warned.

Nostalgia...
As older brother must always stay a few steps ahead of the younger one.
The younger now leads the older...

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STORY 9/10
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Uchuu Kyoudai (Space Brothers), originally a manga by Koyama Chuuya which won two manga awards as well as nominated for several more, revolves around the two Namba brothers Mutta (the older brother by 3 years born on a day of agony) and Hibito (the younger brother born on a day of glory) who both vow to become astronauts after encountering an UFO in their childhood. However, as time passed, the younger brother seemed to be the only one to achieve the goal as he becomes the ... first Japanese man to step foot on the moon, where as Mutta, the older brother, gets fired from his job and is black listed from his industry. After much reflection and some encouragement from Hibito, Mutta once again pursues his promise to Hibito and tries to pursue going to space. With some unexpected help from his parents and brother Mutta is accepted to a Japanese Astronaut training program by JAXX. The rest is up to Mutta, his luck, and his own will. Now it will be the younger brother leading the older.

What I particularly like about the story thus far is the realism it takes, that the trials that Mutta encounters, can't be soley blamed on "bad luck" or being "born on a bad date" although the story makes that information available, it by no means takes the route of destiny, hence opening the anime to a much deeper discussion of personal attitude and ability.

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Art 7/10
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Brilliantly adapted into an anime produced by A-1 Pictures (Ano Hi Mita... , Ao no Exorcist, Kannagi, Gash Bell!, etc) and YTV (Cardcaptor Sakura, Detective Conan, etc) directed by veterans Watanabe Ayumu (Pretty much all the Doraemon's) and art director Kato Hiroshi (Sayonara Zetsubo Sensei!), the art takes a older look to it reminiscent of BECK. The character designs are rather untextured and less "clean" many of the modern series.

The older style of art, however, really brings out more nostalgic feelings. The only drawbacks, however, would be the art quality cannot match many newer series using similar art styles.

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SOUND 8/10
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The sound of the series again screams out nostalgic. Opening them "Feel So Moon" by Unicorn (a Japanese rock band formed in 1993) has a classical rock vibe that resounds with the older brother because Mutta was born in 1993. Again nostalgia. The ED theme "This Wonderful World" (素晴らしき世界 Subarashiki Sekai) by Gira Mundo resonates more with the younger brother, being a more modern rock sounding track with a nice electronic beat. The two themes fit perfectly to sandwich the story of two brothers.

The voice acting featured veteran Hirata Hiroaki (Sanji from One Piece) as Mutta and newer voice Kenn (Jil from Druaga no Tou). The two voice actors compliment each other and their roles, as an older voice actor and a younger rising one. The voicing are done well and I can't say I have complaints as I don't have much to base my judgement on right now.

The background music, again nostalgic, features overtones by trumpets and retains a "old school" feel, if that makes any sense. However, I didn't quite particularly enjoy these sounds and so found them mediocre at best. Sorry to the music director.

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CHARACTER 8/10
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The characters introduced so far are few, featuring the brothers Mutta and Hibito, their parents, and several randoms (such as bosses can co-workers). However, only Mutta and his brother Hibito are really explored farther than just a few lines.

Mutta is in appearance far my ragged than his younger brother, with curly unruly hair and a unshaven face, he looks rather like a NEET than anything else. His character is portrayed as one who us more or less hopeless, rash and lacks boldness to "step forward" as he says himself. As the series hasn't progressed far enough, I'd have to say he didn't have enough depth yet and that potential in his development are huge.

Hibito is the younger brother who looks cleaner with a shorter hair cut, shaved face and cleaner brighter skin, looks like a professional or a ideal male protagonist in some Jousei drama. That being said, he contrasts his brother sharply and is has opportunities which his brother does not. He is portrayed as a hopeful, bold and caring young man almost everything the older brother "should" be.

by now the 3rd episode, character developments are taking root primarily as we learn about Mutta. However I do hope to see the development of the younger brother aswell

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ENJOYMENT 9/10
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Did I enjoy this? Hell yes. Mainly because of how the story resounds with me, an underachieving older brother who is wasting away in university spending his nights writing anime reviews. Just kidding.

But jokes aside, I think the story is really well done and takes a very wholesome and realistic approach at the lives and circumstances of the two brothers. It hints at the ideas of destiny and fated good/bad luck. However, it merely mentions it so that viewer who see it that way can relate while it slowly shows reality of how the circumstances are products of individual choices and feelings, not of just "luck". Mutta was fired for head butting his boss, pretty real, not unlucky. Hibito became an astronaunt beause of his boldness and passion (as seen by his quick response as a child), real, not just luck.

The realism really proved to be refreshing after all of the unrealistic, having circumstances thrust upon and fixed animes I've been watching recently.

Another thing I liked is how I could feel the older brother's anguish as his pride was stepped on by having his younger brother surpass him and his parents shame him. He's not a wimp, rather, realistically like an adult man, he sheds a few tears in secret and doesn't say word about his pain. *resonating feelings

My only criticism would be that I feel like they didn't cover enough ground so far, that there are many other feelings that should be portrayed that are missed. And that they could have made Mutta's suffering even more relatable by delaying his tears.

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OVERALL 8/10
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Ok so I know I've been pretty generous this whole review, but mainly because I think its a show worth watching and I want to encourage everyone to check it out.

The Story is sentimental and is adapted into a tangible form of nostalgia that makes you think. Utilizing the sounds and characters, Uchuu Kyodai really causes sympathies to run rampant and makes one reflect about their own usage of life so far.

Overall I'd give it the 8/10 for its ability to convey a consistent atmosphere fitting of the series thus far and the brilliant choices of music, voice actors and animation styles to compliment the story and characters.

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Expect Updates After Each Episode, the plot section won't change very much but other sections might.

COMMENTS AND SUGGESTIONS ARE ALWAYS WELCOME!

With this review, I am hoping to attract attention to the highly underrated anime that is Space Brothers, or I should say, Uchū Kyōdai. I can confidently rate this anime an easy 10/10. In the following paragraphs, I will go into detail and explain why.

Uchū Kyōdai is a Seinen, Slice of Life. That being said, it is almost suitable for all ages. In the beginning, the story itself is not so much original, but it is how the events play out with a wonderfully charming cast of characters, that makes this anime unique. I have a huge interest for astronomy, and I obviously love ... anime and manga. So when I discovered Uchū Kyōdai, it seemed too good to be true. It was my two main interests in one package, so I felt inclined to give it a try. During the first episode I immediately liked it, and then only a couple of episodes later, I loved it. Now instead of talking about myself, I will go into the specifics of why I feel every anime and manga fan should give Uchū Kyōdai a chance. Whether you have a strong, mild or even a zero interest in astronomy, this is a very enjoyable anime. There is no need to feel overwhelmed, as this anime does not attempt to drill astronomy facts into your brain. For the most part, this anime is very character driven, but I’ll get to that in the next paragraph. I don’t want to waste your time with a summary of the story plot as that can be easily seen above on the anime’s page, so I’ll just get straight to the analysis. I can guarantee that you will laugh while watching this anime. The main character, Nanba Mutta is hilarious. It’s always a joy watching the new situations he finds himself in. In terms of comedy, the anime is written very cleverly. Better more is the fact that the show is very unpredictable. From what I thought would continue to be an easy going, funny series, at one particular point had me at the very edge of my seat in suspense. A bunch of very suspenseful episodes, out of nowhere, had just been thrown at me and I was in awe. And that is the beauty of Uchū Kyōdai’s storytelling. It successfully transcends from easy going comedy, to pure suspense, adding in some beautifully written touching scenes. I won’t lie; Uchū Kyōdai has made me shed a fair amount of man tears from time to time. Some of the scenes are so beautifully written, and I can’t stress this point enough, as this is one of the story’s biggest strengths. It becomes obvious I’ve stumbled across an amazing series when I am presented with storytelling that makes me feel all kinds of different emotions. This is what I believe makes an anime, what I would consider a masterpiece. The simple fact that I know that Uchū Kyōdai has what it takes to; make me smile, make me laugh, make me thrilled and make me cry.

I will now move on to the characters. I absolutely love the main character, Nanba Mutta. In my opinion, he is the perfect main protagonist. He has quite a goofy appearance, which helps immensely in his ability to make you laugh. A very funny character, but also a very true character. I love when we hear his sarcastic or pessimistic thoughts because they are easily relatable, as he innocently reveals his many annoyances. Mutta also somehow knows the right thing to say to those around him, which helps him, and many of the side characters that he meets along his journey. When Mutta does this though, it doesn’t feel forced but instead very natural. His voice actor, Hirata, Hiroaki, who has been in many different anime, fits the role perfectly and does an exceptional job. Mutta will certainly make you laugh many times, but most importantly, he’ll make you fond of him within a heartbeat. Mutta’s brother, Hibito, is more of a serious character. This suits the series well however, because when there are a bunch of episodes that mostly focus on him, the show itself shifts to a more serious nature. I find this to be clever because as an audience, we are more concerned with the events and struggles of what is happening, instead of relying on Hibito to say something funny. Both brothers are easy to love, though Mutta is more charming and entertaining as a whole. I won’t go through the other characters in detail, as that would take up too much time; however I will say that there is very sufficient variety of characters and side characters to keep the show in order. Examples include; a very cute and innocent, but smart, love interest for Mutta. A very sincere, likable and hard working man. (Mutta’s best friend.) A witty, confident and tough, but down to earth guy. (One of Mutta’s colleagues.) And a couple of smartasses (I mean this in a positive way, as it adds great comedy to the series), who may seem annoying at first, but you easily, grow to love. There are many more, but I’ll leave that for you to discover after hopefully viewing this show. Something which is very well done in Uchū Kyōdai is the depth that is explored in each character. There have been many times in which a character is introduced and due to the very detailed exploration of said character’s past, a new feeling of care is now added to the audience. Uchū Kyōdai is great with flashbacks because they aren’t too long, they’re informative, and most importantly, enjoyable. A great feature of Uchū Kyōdai is the continuous flashbacks of Hibito and Mutta as children, which will then resume to the present and connect brilliantly to the story.

When it comes to the quality of the art, Uchū Kyōdai is quite impressive. I feel that A-1 Pictures have done a very nice job with the series, and the art is always beautifully presented. The art style of the series itself is very realistic, and I find this to be a nice breath of fresh air. Serika, one of the female main characters looks very life like, and this is a nice change as we all know that females in anime can very often look quite unnatural. One of the very few flaws of the series is the soundtrack. Don’t get me wrong, I think the soundtrack is great, and fits the mood of the series wonderfully. However, the problem I have is the limitation of the soundtrack. There are not very many themes at all; in fact, two of the most commonly played pieces of music can be heard in every episode. The soundtrack can become a little too repetitive and over played unfortunately. However, this is basically the only gripe I have with Uchū Kyōdai. And this alone, is not nearly bad enough for me to feel obliged to deduct a point from the overall rating.

I definitely feel like I could go on for much longer, though I don’t want this review to seem too overwhelming in its length. Overall, I have made it obvious that I adore this series and will continue to watch until its finale. As of now, I have shown this anime to my sister, my cousin, and my best friend, all of whom find the series very enjoyable. Unfortunately not many of my friends are into anime and manga like I am. However, there’s one thing that I will continue to do with anyone I meet in the future, with the same passion for anime and manga. I will certainly, without a moment’s doubt or hesitation, recommend this gem that is Uchū Kyōdai.

This will be the very first review I have submitted to MyAnimeList, so I apologize if is not in keeping with the style you are accustomed to.

Let me begin by stating that if in order for you to enjoy an anime it must contain action, giant robots, aliens, moe, magical girls or similar fantastical events, this is probably not the series for you. What you will find here is a story of how with sufficient determination, your dreams are within reach.

The plot thus far has been simply wonderful, with optimism and inspiration radiating from it in vast quantities. One such example of this is ... the fact that the series is set in 2026. This means that in 2012, Mutta and Hibito would have been the same age as the average viewer, which is a subtle way to say that if you are sufficiently determined, you could plausibly become an astronaut by the same time as Hibito. I must admit that many tears were shed over the course of the series up to this point.

All of the OPs and EDs have been highly enjoyable (although "Feel So Moon" was the best in my opinion) and the soundtrack is one of the best I have heard since Angel Beats. It is performed by a full orchestra and adds tremendously to the emotional impact of numerous scenes. I will have to acquire it at some point.

The series has such a classic feel to it and the realistic animation style works to focus one's attention on the plot rather than watching the cute lolis (not to slight lolis, of course). All of these factors combine to make this my absolute favorite anime of the last couple of years, if not one of my all-time favorites. It will air for about 45 episodes and I highly recommend it to anybody looking for something unique.

-Summary-

Story: 10
Art: 9
Sound: 8
Character: 10
Enjoyment: 10
Overall: 10

-Details-
...
Story: 10
Genres: Drama, Seinen, Slice of Life, Sci-fi, Space

As far as slice of life anime go, the pacing of Space Brothers is slightly slower than average. It has a continuous narrative, mostly told from the point of view of one of the two main characters/brothers. The story is slightly non-linear in that there are many juxtapositions of the main characters' past and present experiences. You get to see the main characters when they are about 12 or so and see how those experiences shaped who they are at the present, in their late 20's-early 30's. One of the only things that stuck out to me as negative was that almost every episode opens with one or two minutes of recap, even when it didn't seem necessary. There were also a couple of recap episodes along the way.
The story itself is mostly about the process of becoming an astronaut and the setting is earth/NASA for most of the story. A major appeal of this story is seeing the "behind the scenes" aspects of becoming an astronaut, which is something you don't always see in stories about NASA and space. The story seems very realistic and is very character driven. There are moments of comedy and drama sprinkled throughout the story; both the comedy and drama elements are well done and work well. Overall the story is simple and straightforward, and you can easily sit back and enjoy watching the main character work towards becoming an astronaut.
Another aspect of this show is that it is set slightly in the future--the main part of the story takes place in the 2020's. Thus there is a bit of a sci-fi element involved in predicting what kind of technology we will have at the time. Overall I think the predictions seem very reasonable and it's actually very cool seeing stuff that we might actually have in the near future.
The anime was catching up to the manga at the time it ended. Rather than coming up with some alternate ending, the anime basically just stopped at a point that seemed reasonable to stop. So the ending doesn't really wrap things up like a true ending; it seems like another season could potentially be tagged right onto the end of it in the future. The ending doesn't seem like a negative aspect per se but it will leave you wanting more and hoping for more adaptation of the manga in the future.

Art: 9
Studio: A-1 Pictures

The art is good and clean, and the style of rendering the characters is realistic. Every character looks unique and is easily identifiable (even by their hair, which the series itself pokes fun at). The quality is fairly consistent throughout the whole series; there are one or two arcs where it gets a little better during more dramatic parts of the series. Overall I would say the art does what it needs to do in order to tell the story effectively. It's not super amazing but it's not bad either. It gets the job done. The openings and endings look good as well.
There are times when CGI is used for things like airplanes and rockets. The CGI is done quite well and I think it works well when used and doesn't hinder the effectiveness of any specific scenes.
I've never been to NASA but many fans say the backgrounds are rendered very well and very realistically. If you've been to NASA then you might feel like you're there again while watching this show. Things like the rockets and space-suits also look really good. Overall there really isn't anything bad about the animation.

Sound: 8

The openings and endings are pretty good--for many fans the first opening theme stands out as a favorite. They capture the mood of the series pretty well.
The voice acting was well done and posed no problems. The voices all work well for the realistic setting. There are moments of comedy and when those occur the voice actors do a good job of making it funny as well. There were no stand out negative performances. I think the voice actor of the main character did a particularly good job, which is important for this show since he gets a ton of screen time. I can still remember what he sounds like in my head, and I personally really like his voice.
Sounds effects are good. Nothing ever stuck out to me as out of place. They are good enough to aid in the immersion factor.
The mood of the OST fits with the show well. There is some good slice of life music. The show itself is also quite inspirational at times and the music usually reinforces that feeling quite well.
The OST didn't really have any stand out tracks that I would feel compelled to go listen to for fun. But it's not like there was any terrible music either. One thing which is pretty noticeable is that many of the tracks repeat quite a bit--I think there's even one piece which appears in nearly every episode. This is something you will very likely notice especially if you tend to binge watch shows. It's not a bad track so this isn't necessarily a negative, but I would have liked more variety.

Character: 10

This show is meant to be very realistic and the characters end up feeling like real people so that is a big plus. There is no narrator except for recap moments/episodes. Characters in this show are all in their mid 20's or older. No high schools students.
Given the name of the series it's not surprising that the two main brothers get the most screen time, and of those two the main character, Mutta, gets by far the most screen time. This story is really all about Mutta trying to grow and become an astronaut while he chases his brother Hibito who is already an astronaut. Mutta is a very likable guy. He starts out a little depressed because he was recently fired from his job, but things start to turn around for him as he begins the process of becoming an astronaut. You gradually learn more about him--why he's qualified to become an astronaut, what his personality is like--and you see him grow in confidence quite a bit. His character development is realistic and you get to see him in all sorts of life situations, like at parties, at home, etc, so you get to learn a lot about him, and personally I got really attached to him and he is one of my favorites characters from anime. I cheered for him every step of the way because he is a genuinely likable and good guy.
Hibito is energetic but he also seems a little more reserved, so you don't get to know him as well as Mutta. He is still a likable character though and, at least to me, he felt like a genuine little brother even though career-wise he would be Mutta's "senpai" so I think they got this balance down quite well. Hibito gets two arcs in the spotlight and they are two of my favorite arcs for spoiler-y reasons, so I'll leave it at that.
Another important character is the brothers' "aunt" Sharon, who isn't technically their aunt but is like a mother-figure to the boys. She's a well-known astronomer and helped cultivate the boys' enthusiasm for space while they grew up. It's very cool to see scenes from their past and present juxtaposed and how Sharon helped them grow into who they are. Later on Sharon becomes more important to the actual plot of the story as well.
The supporting cast includes the brothers' parents and mostly other astronauts. There are many different personalities and they are all quite unique and stand out in my mind. I remember most of them really well and fondly. The diversity of the cast and the skill with which their personalities are crafted and developed are comparable to works of Naoki Urasawa if you happen to be familiar with those works.
There isn't really a main antagonist either. Sometimes there are higher-ups in NASA who potentially pose a threat to some astronauts' career advancement but there is no character that everyone is working against or anything. Basically like real life.

Enjoyment: 10 / Overall: 10

A big factor in enjoyment is whether or not you tend to like slice-of-life, highly character driven stories. I do so I was all over this, especially since I really like space and science. I think that anyone who can enjoy slice-of-life and has an interest in space or science would definitely like this show, since you get to see a lot of cool "behind the scenes" type things at NASA, as well as some cool space travel. The cast of characters is pretty amazing and I enjoyed spending time with them. This anime can also be inspirational and awe-inspiring, which I really appreciated and enjoyed for myself.
I think that this series would be something a non-anime fan could enjoy, but only if they would be okay with something slice-of-life and slower paced. I say this mostly because of how realistic the series is and that there is no anime weirdness and no fanservice, so it is quite accessible.
I'm not sure this show has the best re-watch value since it's so long and kind of slow paced. I'm not sure if that will be my final verdict though since I haven't re-watched it yet.
I would definitely like to own this show at some point if I am ever able to do so, and overall it's a very memorable show. Details of this show definitely stand out in my mind and left a positive impression on me. Overall I highly recommend it to anyone who thinks this show sounds like something they've enjoyed before.

Uchuu Kyoudi is without a doubt different from any other anime out there right now. The story is unique, the characters have a ~quirky~ (I hate that word) sense of humor, and the themes (losing your job, feeling inadequate, reinventing yourself, sibling rivalry, doing what you love even if it's hard) are quite relatable and relevant given the world's current state. Readers of the manga will be happy to know that they followed it almost word for word. I found that the choice of voice actors was weird and I'm not really happy about that, but it's my only major complaint. The soundtrack is great ... and the art is simplistic but vibrant. Overall, I would definitely recommend this anime and I can't wait to see where it goes as the season progresses.

Uchuu Kyoudai is an ongoing, award winning manga from Koyama Chuya. From 2012 to 2014 it got an anime adaptation from A-1 pictures. It also had a live action film adaptation that was released shortly after the anime started. I don't really know what to expect from this one so let's dive right into it.

Story:

The narrative opens in 2025, Nanba Hibito is poised to become the first Japanese astronaut to land on the moon. His older brother, Nanba Mutta, isn't doing so well. He recently lost his job when he head-butt his supervisor for insulting his little brother and he's moved back in with his ... parents while looking for a new job. Oddly enough, places seem hesitant to hire a guy who head-butt his supervisor. While Mutta is struggling, his mother, under the advice of Hibito, sends his resume to Jaxa and he finds himself on the list to take the astronaut exam. If he can make it past several tests, he can fulfil his childhood dream of becoming an astronaut and, eventually, travelling to space.

While that is a compelling premise for a slice of life work, Uchuu Kyoudai does have some narrative problems. The biggest one is definitely the filler. There's a pretty significant amount of time wasted reiterating information they've already given and most of the episodes waste a good thirty seconds with recaps. The series also has a couple of recap episodes, one right after the other. Altogether, that results in a good chunk of time getting wasted. It also hurts the pacing, since it slows things down. The series also inappropriately introduces pseudo-scientific elements. There's a portion where we're randomly introduced to a character who possesses the power to see the future. This isn't just some scam artist, like every person who claims that they can see the future in reality. In the context of the show, she actually can tell the future. Basically, the entire purpose of her having this power is to foreshadow something. There are much better ways to do that. Random psychic powers might work for some pieces of fiction, but they really, distractingly, don't work in a series like this that's heavily grounded in actual science. I will say, it's not a huge plot tumour since it's only used for a brief arc, but it still manages to hurt the series. There are also some unfortunate choices when it comes to the portrayal of black characters that can read as a bit racist. To be fair, none of them seem malicious or deliberate. It's more that it uses some really unfortunate stereotyping.

On the positive side, the story itself is really compelling and it has a lot of good moments, both dramatic and comedic. It also manages to constantly, and naturally, introduce new sources of tension. Normally, I would take issue with a series being set this close to present time, but Uchuu Kyoudai actually handles that aspect very well. Most of the technology they have is stuff we have already or slightly modified versions where the alterations are pretty plausible. There is a little bit of new technology that gets introduced and all of it seems pretty conceivable. There's nothing that you see introduced that makes you stop and question how they developed something like that in the near future. The humorous elements largely work pretty well and the blending of drama and humour is effectively done. Koyama knows when to be serious, when to inject a little bit of humour into a serious moment and how to transition from one mood to the other so as not to diminish either.

Characters:

The characters are, largely, well written. The major, and most of the side, characters get developed and fleshed out enough to have verisimilitude. A lot of them have humorous quirks, but they're not quirks that seem out of place or that get exaggerated to the point of being unbelievable. The interactions are also well handled. The friendship between Mutta and Kenji is pretty stellar. As is the dynamic ’twixt the brothers.

Art:

The artwork and animation are good. The series has a pretty massive cast of characters and they manage to make all of them look pretty distinctive. The backgrounds and various objects are nicely detailed and the animation is fluid. Really, my only issue is that the series does recycle a lot of scenes. It's almost certainly done to pad the story and not because the animators are lazy, but it still gets annoying seeing the same images time after time.

Sound:

The performances are all well done. Kenn and Hirata Hiroaki give solid performances as the brothers. Sawashiro Miyuki is a boss in this, taking on multiple roles, Serika, young Mutta, Apo & Fuuka, and making them all sound distinctive. Sure, one of those is a pug but it's still impressive. The music is also pretty solid.

Ho-yay:

We really don't get any. There's not much romance in the series, and most of it that does appear is pretty under-stated, but all of it we do get is het.

Final Thoughts:

Uchuu Kyoudai does suffer from some problems. The repeated scenes, random psychic bullshit and unfortunate stereotyping being the big ones. Still, it is an overall entertaining, compelling story. If you have an interest in space exploration from a fairly realistic perspective, you should definitely give it a try. If you're fond of slice of life works and think that following astronauts and their families would make for a good premise, you should also give it a go. My final rating is going to be a 7/10. Next week, I'll move on to the second series of Love Live.

This anime is great up until around episode 21. After that supporting cast members start having their life stories fleshed out. Most of these episodes are quite boring, the motivations provided are often bland and even when they aren't they feel drawn out.

Around this point is when the tone becomes an issue. I'm sure most anime veterans are used to the same music being used for every "dramatic" or "inspiring" moment in an anime. Sometimes well, sometimes not but it always feels a bit like the creators are cheating a little to add emotion to a scene that doesn't otherwise earn it. This anime ... takes that to the next level. By the end of it you will be rolling your eyes every time you hear one of the same three songs played for some inane plot point. This is especially frustrating by the end of 99 episodes.

What really creates this issue is the overuse of flashbacks and recaps. It feels like you are being treated like an idiot. Many episodes will recap on content used just 5 minutes prior and most episodes will reuse scenes from earlier in the series. When you reach the three recap episodes in a row this becomes painful. I highly recommend skipping those episodes if you choose to watch this.

There are a few plot holes here and there but over all it is an enjoyable anime that is ruined through being dragged out. The main character is interesting, the MC's brother is OK the rest of the cast is OK to good with a few annoying characters that don't really detract from it.

If you can find a fan edit or omnibus this would be a great watch. As is it feels like a chore too often. 5/10

I've been a member of MAL for three years now.
Since then I haven't done much of a forum crawling, post-making progress; generally I've been using MAL as a place to search for new titles, as, of course, most, if not all of us here, and I didn't contribute to the community around here much.
So, why would my first review be for Uchuu Kyoudai?
That question should, no, it must be answered.

First of all, those of you who are still uncertain as to whether or not should you watch this series, you have to be made aware of what should you expect with Space Brothers.
I could of ... course compare it here to several different in both genre and plot settings animes or mangas, but that won't do - since Uchuu Kyoudai is a hidden gem that doesn't sparkle with flashy cliche invitation. It gives a different kind of vibe, which you can only feel when you're already watching it, and only then does that gem starts to shine - a feeling of mutual appreciation for both the viewer, and the anime itself.
While watching more and more episodes, you will start to wonder, how was it possible for this gem to be hidden away for so long from you, and in turn the anime itself will amaze you with how much more it has to offer right till the end.
That is of course - if you're into something, that does not need unnecessary panty shots, overpowered main characters with "the chosen one" history to keep itself entertaining.

(Not that the above is wrong. Nothing wrong with panty shots, or even overpowering, though, lately its been used so many times, that it's became the biggest cliché of animes, ever.)

All of that aside, what is Uchuu Kyoudai, and what should you expect, beside for a promise of a good long show?

The anime emphasises heavily on the struggle of a grown 31 y.o. man, who has long lost his resolve to fulfill his childhood dreams, putting them aside as impossile to accomplish.
Have you ever looked up to the night sky, and pondered how great it would be to explore the universe, discover new possibilities, and breach what was previously thought impossible?
Our main hero, Namba Mutta - a rather undecisive and cowardly character, along with his younger brother, Hibito, sure did. Though, they have put their dreams in different words.

As kids, Mutta and Hibito both saw UFO, which, in that moment resulted in younger brother's promise, that one day he'd become an astronaut who would fly to the Moon.
Mutta's belief, that "the older brother must always be ahead of the younger," resulted in response, that if Hibito's going to the Moon, then he must reach for the Mars, thus making a promise between themselves, that they would both one day become astronauts.

However, years later in 2025 it seemed as if only Hibito was able to fulfill that promise, leaving his older brother behind.

Uchuu Kyoudai follows Mutta, as he overcomes many different hardships, such as dozens of body-stress tests and interviews (and we all know, how hard job interviews can be, let alone an astronaut-job one!), and countless of other tests that a normal human being would ran off from.

Being a slice of life and a seinen type, this anime also heavily emphasises on the everyday lives of the other individuals, who also dream of becoming astronauts, which also puts Mutta in a situation, where his friends become the enemies. As well as focusing on the main character, you'll be shown the people who work behind the curtain - engineers who create all of the equipment used in space, old timers, who once walked on the Moon's surface, and became jet pilots, despaired drunks who can't get over deaths of their friends, and the crew of the control mission without which a mission wouldn't be possible to do.

Constant tests, training, overcoming many obstacles, and rising above the normal people in psychical and mental strength, decision-making and multitasking are one of many traits that an astronaut must have - all of which is exactly and spot-on explained, and shown in a way not many animes can be proud of.
With its accurate and realistic approach to how the future space program would look like, even for the people who don't swing into space opera-like genres, Uchuu Kyoudai is, most certainly not only the best anime in sci-fi so far, but also one of the best titles, though at the same time heavily underrated.

So, answering to the question as to why did I want to write a review for Uchuu Kyoudai, I'd say, that after 99 episodes of anime, 244 chapters (at the time of writing this), and a drama movie I feel that even though the anime ended well, I should show my appreciation for it with at least this review to show how much I'd like to see the continuation led to the finale.

As to my personal score, I think that you already know which number it'll be.
10/10, would watch ten more times.

If you love the ero kappa Sanji, I think you will enjoy watching this a lot.
I don't understand Japanese or speak it, but just from hearing a lot of recent voices, I sort of feel like they all sound the same. For me, it's not like they are not expressive enough or good enough. It's more like, they are all following the same norm. So occasionally, when a voice really pops out, it really makes me excited about the character.
This is the case with Space Brothers. I wouldn't normally watch this type of genre, but I do go for refreshing characters and stories. ... Space brothers is definitely refreshing.
The story is relatively straighforward, basically about an older brother chasing after the dream he had in the past and a younger brother waiting for him at the end of that dream. It's not a kid's show though, because the main character is about 30 years old, so you are basically watching a middle aged man starting afresh. Does it sound boring? Yes it did for me at least when I first heard about this series.
But surprisingly, the characters and even the story itself didn't bore me. The first surprise I got is hearing Sanji's voice. It made me really excited, especially because the voice is perfect for the character. His voice is so full of personality, and it's different from the recent voices I've been hearing. I can't explain well why.
Another surprise is how exciting the story turned out to be. It's down to earth, not exaggerated, and not with a lot of twists and turns, but at the same time it can move you with it. There aren't a lot of stories that don't need any over the top characterization or beyond the limit theme to have it work. An encounter with a story that doesn't need those things but even can surpasses everything else to me is both an excitement and an honor.

First the positive side of things is the anime is very well researched , the amount of work put by the manga author is just incredible. Its amazing to see how realistic these depictions are.

If you are not bothered by the story or characters and are just interested in space then this anime is for you.

But as for me the anime is painfully average despite having good production and realistic depiction of NASA and how they work and look.
The main problem for me lies in the story and character writing, which is way too one dimensional.

The premise for the story is great where the ... main protagonist has his life ruined and is envious of his younger brother of becoming an astronaut.

It seems like the main protagonist is very unlucky and has to face problems and every level and gets humiliated in comparison to his brother.

But the story tackles his problems in a way to boring manner. He just breezes through his problems as kind of a genius or pure luck.

My point being the story isn't realistic at all in terms of the difficulty of being an actual astronaut while trying to be realistic.

Even if we keep that aside, the character writing is way too one dimensional and boring to keep this story going.

Overall : 5/10 (Average)

Excellent Anime. Words cannot describe my interest in this anime. This anime is generally incredible in everything it attempts to do and achieve. One thing i love about this anime is that the well timed pacing and character development. There's a reason why the manga won multiple awards. It may not be for everyone, and other people may think otherwise, but this review section exists for individual people to express what they think about an anime. And I think Uchuu kyoudai deserves a 10.

THE STAFF
- Animated by A-1 Pictures. They usually have great production values but they went easy on this one, so it doesn’t look as amazing as their other works.
- Directed by Watanabe Ayumu, who prefers to deal only with retro-style anime (Doraemon movies and Nazo no Kanojo X).
- Based on an award winning novel. Not a light novel, so there is going to be some quality here.

SPECIFICS
The show is in a nutshell about two adult brothers trying to fulfill the dream they had as kids -> becoming astronauts. The younger brother kept on to that and managed to be the first Japanese astronaut on the ... moon, while the other gave up and became a simple worker, until he got fired and now lives with his parents. After his younger brother insists, he decides to give it another shot, as there is an upcoming project to send a crew to Mars.

The series combines two seemingly very different genres. The first is sort of a motivational story of two boys trying to fulfill their dreams despite all odds. The other is a somewhat realistic slice of life where they face all sorts of everyday problems and issues. On paper it feels extremely interesting, as it is neither JUST a silly teen adventure with superpowers and improbable physics, nor a simple sitcom where nothing of importance ever happens. On screen though, it fails on both cases to be amazing, as it is neither exciting without the cool action, nor soothing enough to make you giggly inside.

The main problem as I see it, is that it is presenting itself in a way too easy going way to the point nothing feels important enough to care. The story is presented almost entirely through the eyes of Mutta, the elder brother, who has a ton of issues to solve in his life. He has no job, he has no girlfriend, he lives with his parents, and the younger brother is way ahead of him instead of seeing his elder brother as a role model. One would think he would try really hard to fix all that, and that he would undergo vigorous training or face perilous challenges that would make him constantly angry, anxious, or sad.

Instead of all that, you barely get anything worth raising your eyebrow. To the most part he calmly criticizes everything with an internal monologue, and does his best to make it all sound silly and superficial. He is practically a comic relief in a show that has no tension to need relief. His dog is funny, his parents are easy going, his brother is always cheery, his love interest isn’t doing anything, the whole space exploration project looks as dangerous as writing a school exam; there is practically nothing to worry about in here. A guy with a ruined life plans to go to Mars and it feels like he is going for groceries and makes fun at the potatoes’ shapes. That is not motivational or interesting at all.

And sadly this feels bad if you see it in reverse as well. In the slice of life department the story is doing it’s best to feel elegiac. Mutta is constantly having flashbacks of his childhood, when he and his carefree brother were having a great time playing and making oaths of becoming astronauts when they grow up. And now he is none of all that, as his life is in ruins. Yet look at that, there is practically NOTHING for you to feel sad about, since he gets more than a little push by his brother and parents. And he is quite humorous about all that too. He is breezing through his problems with no suffering or much anxiety.

Both of the above issues were presented in a much more elaborate and interesting way in a similar older anime named Planetes. Compared to that show, Space Brothers is nothing but a lukewarm time killer and nothing else. The production values are ok but nothing amazing, the characters are ok but nothing amazing, hell EVERYTHING in it is just a lukewarm soup. As much as nice it feels to have a show that is not trying to be mainstream by having lolis instead of adult men, or improbable superpowers instead of a mostly realistic setting, it still fails to keep you interested for long. I mean, ok, it looks extremely more realistic not to have teenagers learning how to pilot huge super robots in a few minutes but rather adults that need years of mostly easy going tests just to steer a shuttle properly. It still ends up being another one of those relaxation series you watch after a hard day and not something you watch to be motivated in pursuing whatever dreams you have. And it surely doesn’t try to make you feel nostalgic of the dreams you DIDN’T fulfill either.

A completely mediocre show, despite looking so different next to whatever else was airing along with it.

And now for some excused scorings.
ART SECTION: 5/10
General Artwork 1/2 (typical)
Character Figures 1/2 (generic)
Backgrounds 1/2 (basic)
Animation 1/2 (basic)
Visual Effects 1/2 (basic)

SOUND SECTION: 8/10
Voice Acting 3/3 (mature)
Music Themes 3/4 (not great but fitting with the feeling of the series)
Sound Effects 2/3 (ok I guess)

STORY SECTION: 5/10
Premise 2/2 (interesting)
Pacing 0/2 (terribly slow)
Complexity 1/2 (not much)
Plausibility 1/2 (so-so)
Conclusion 1/2 (probably cheesy)

CHARACTER SECTION: 5/10
Presence 1/2 (average)
Personality 1/2 (typical)
Backdrop 1/2 (generic and simplistic but it’s there)
Development 1/2 (overblown but it’s there)
Catharsis 1/2 (probably overblown but it’s there)

VALUE SECTION: 3/10
Historical Value 0/3 (none)
Rewatchability 1/3 (low because of too little plot)
Memorability 2/4 (feels different than most modern shows but still quite unimpressive)

ENJOYMENT SECTION: 4/10
Art 0/1 (looks typical)
Sound 1/2 (sounds ok)
Story 1/3 (good premise but dull presentation)
Characters 2/4 (they are ok but not interesting in any way)

VERDICT: 5/10

Uchuu Kyoudai, Space Brothers.. Where to begin.

The basic premise of the anime is simple. It tells of two brothers who had dreams of becoming astronauts as children. Whereas the younger brother has already made it, the older brother put aside his dream, thinking it unrealistic and only after some trouble at his work place and some encouragement from friends and family does he finally take his first steps to catching his little brother with the thoughts 'the older brother should always be one step ahead of the younger brother'. The anime follows the older brother Mutta as he sets out to try and become a ... astronaut alongside his little brother, as he meets interesting characters and faces many challenges along the way.


There are many anime that are considered 'slice of life'. But most of these are silly or just overly dramatic. Uchuu Kyoudai is the one anime I can actually call 'slice of life' as although it is dramatic, it is never overly done, and I could actually imagine this story having been true.

So an anime that is 'realistic' and follows somebody trying to work towards one of the hardest life goals a person could have, as they go through trials, interviews, success and failure. I can't imagine anyone who could say 'I enjoy work interviews', so surely an anime that has a focus on perhaps the biggest 'job interview' a person could have, without resorting to silly humour and jokes would be boring?

Well I thought that would be the case, and only picked up this anime on a whim as it sounded interesting.

However... boring is the last word I would use to describe this anime. It has been going on for over 50 episodes as I write this review, and I can honestly say I have never found it boring.. this anime is easily the biggest surprise of any I have watched, as by all logic I should find this sort of thing boring, as I usually tend to get bored by anything that does not have a lot of action or comedy to it.

So why do I enjoy this anime so much? It is hard to say really, but It has to bey all down to the writing. The story is written incredible well as are the characters. And the art and sound is also done brilliantly.

The basic story is simple, but is written in such a way that it grips you and makes you eager to know what is going to happen. Sometimes it may seem predictable, sometimes it is predictable but sometimes it may completely surprise you.

The characters are also somewhat 'simple'. Again this anime is rather realistic, as are its characters, so the characters do not really have any eccentric personality's, although some are perhaps a little strange. But that does not make them dull, the characters do not need to be silly or dramatic, they are well written, likeable and are very well developed.

Although it is a fairly 'serious' anime, it has humour as well, a light humour that fits the characters perfectly, and allows the story to flow well without it getting silly or overly serious.

The excellent writing of both story and characters with excellent animation and sound. This anime is one of the best I have ever watched and I am very glad I took the whim to watch it. If you are unsure about watching this sort of anime, you should try watching the first few episodes and just see if you get sucked in, you may be presently surprised.

Space Brothers is one of those shows that will stick with me for the rest of my life. Even if I never happen to re-watch the series, the vast amount of thoughtful analogies, metaphors and quotes throughout the show has left a lasting impression on my psyche. A positive one, if you must ask. A very positive one.

First of all, before you begin watching this, you're going to want to know what you're getting yourself into. This is a pretty unique series, as far as anime goes. If you're expecting an epic space adventure, I'm afraid to say that you will be sadly disappointed, as ... it's a lot more down to Earth than that, no pun intended. Space Brothers is, in a nutshell, a story about never giving up hope, and always striving to achieve your dreams, no matter what life throws at you.

It may sound cliché, but it does it so very, very well, and in such a believable, realistic way that got me engrossed from the very first episode. The character development is superb, and it's one of the things this series really shines in.

Our main protagonist, Mutta Nanba, is such a great, well-written character, whom was extremely likable right from the first episode. So much so that I had to add him to my "favourite characters" panel after less than 10 episodes into the series.
The thing that makes him so likable? He's flawed. Right from the beginning, we see that Mutta hasn't got it easy: He's behind his younger brother whose already become an astronaut, he's unemployed, he's somewhat shy and he's a tad bit eccentric.

Of course it's not all gloom and doom, Nanba has just as many positive traits that make for a good, well-rounded character. Not least of which is how great of a big brother he is. Although some jealously is obviously displayed at times, Mutta genuinely seems proud of his younger brother's accomplishments, and supports him greatly right from the outset when we see the brothers as children. A lot of contemporary anime these days tend to feature a protagonist that is often already blessed right from the start. Be it a guy in a harem genre that has a million girls swarming over him for no obvious reason, or a character that is vastly more powerful than those that have been doing the same thing for a much longer time in a Shounen or action anime.
Having a character already handicapped from the start is a breathe of fresh air, and it just makes Space Brothers feel all that more realistic and mature.

Mutta makes for a very relatable character. Regardless of your age and current life experiences, what Nanba goes through is something we can all sympathise with. We've all had those periods of feeling like we're behind in life, or feeling like we don't compare to our siblings or peers. We feel like we've failed in some kind of way, either to ourselves or to our family when we don't achieve the things we hoped to.

And that's where Space Brothers' shining message comes in: "Never give up"
What takes place after the first episode is a journey on a very inspiring tale that tells us that no matter how old we are, how behind we are or how many failures we've accumulated, you can still strive to achieve your goals. Speaking of which, one of my favourite quotes from the series is "an earnest failure has meaning."

The training required to become an astronaut is presented in a very realistic way. This anime reaches a level of maturity that a lot of animated shows fail to. There isn't much you can fault on the setting or plot, and the characters we are introduced to as the series progresses are all about as well-written as Mutta. I can't really think of a single person in the series that I disliked or found annoying in any kind of way, which is somewhat rare for me.

Perhaps my only complaint is that some of the episodes feel like they drag on longer than is necessary. We're not talking boring, standard Shounen filler, but it does feel like this series could have been made shorter, if only they cut out a few unneeded scenes. The ending (which I won't spoil for you) also leaves on somewhat of an unsatisfactory note. Regardless, I had a lot of enjoyment watching this. The comedy was excellent, it had some very thoughtful and inspiring messages, and the cast of characters were incredibly likable. I don't think I've ever watched anything before that was quite so motivating. Ironically, sitting on my backside watching this, often inspired me to get off my backside and try to achieve those dreams I long thought were either lost, or just pipe dreams.

The pacing is also relatively slow, which may put off those looking for something more action-packed. But I'd recommend this to just about anyone. Even if astronauts aren't quite your thing, or you're into more the fast-paced, I'd suggest that you at least try out the first couple of episodes and see what you think. You may be pleasantly surprised. This is one of those shows that is so lovable, it's pretty much impossible to hate it, unless you're part-demon.