Kanata no Astra

Around a Hundred years down the line from now, we might have human colonies on habitable far away planets and space travel might be common place. It may seem farfetched right now, but then again, who could’ve imagined the progress in technology humankind has made in the last half a century? While learning about the different planets and galaxies, almost every kid might have had a fleeting dream about going into space and experience what it may be. Kanata no Astra (Kanata: Lost in Space) is set in a time when the aforementioned things have become possible. Science has advanced so much that teenagers aregoing to other planets simply as a mundane school trip. A group of high-schoolers from such a futuristic world are visiting a nearby planet called McPa as a camp. Of course though, after arriving on planet McPa, things don’t go as planned for them as they’re sucked into a mysterious black orb that transports them into space but luckily for them, they somehow manage to find an abandoned spaceship in the middle of outer space. The spaceship would then become their means of travel as they jump from one planet to another in hopes of surviving and getting back to their home planet together. What Kanata no Astra excels at is showing us the raw emotions of teenagers as they battle their way through the harsh conditions of the various planets that they stop by on their way. The feelings of hopelessness, betrayal, anger, joy and relief are portrayed extremely realistically amongst the characters. Add in a bit of drama around the circumstances surrounding their situation and you’ve got a highly entertaining anime that’s so underrated that it hurts. The endless depths of space can be daunting and that’s exactly what Kanata no Astra tries to present to its viewers. As the characters begin to overcome this fear, new predicaments emerge. The mystery about the black orb that got them there, the lack of trust between them as well as the different problems that they face through their journey binds the characters and develops them into a team capable of surviving in space on their own. One of the best things that Kanata no Astra has done is developed each and every one of the crew. They’ve all gotten mini-arcs of sorts where they’re faced with problems of their own and begin to realize what they truly are and their reason for existing. The execution of this is impressive because these arcs don't just start and end in an episode or two; they have their time to take shape. The face of the show is most certainly Kanata Hoshijima, the titular character however. He’s first introduced as a cheerful character who’ll do almost anything to help others even if they might not want it. This is a reason of annoyance for a few, but as they get to know him and his past better, they begin to support him for what he’s done for them. Then we have Aries Spring, the secondary protagonist and a girl whose stolen purse is retrieved by Kanata in the first episode. They instantly strike up as they’re both caring and cheerful as well as selfless. Next we have Quitterie Raffaeli, the irritable blonde whose outspoken nature doesn’t allow her to make too many friends, and Zack Walker, one of Quitterie’s only friends at the beginning who’s a genius at almost everything he does. His calm demeanor in the face of hopelessness manages to save the crew more times than one. The rest of the cast includes Charce Lacroix, the charismatic and dependable guy, Ulgar Zweig, the quiet one who’s at odds with everyone else because of his ill-tempered nature, Yunhua Lu, an extremely shy girl who thinks she’s the source of everyone’s problems, Luca Esposito and Quitterie’s adopted younger sister, Funicia Raffaeli. The way all these youngsters deal with their personal problems and change in order to work together is the central narrative of the show. Now, having spoken so positively about the show, there are a couple elements that do cause an issue. Firstly, the pacing in the second half of the show feels rushed. I wasn't aware that the source was completed so I didn't actually think that this series would reach its conclusion in just 12 episodes. Granted, it's more akin to 14 episodes since the first and the last episode both are an hour long. Still though, the part towards the end did feel slightly rushed as even until episode 9, I still felt that there could be a lot of content remaining. The second issue could be a sort of spoiler so I'll only say that this series won't make you "sad". The art and animation of the show are both impressive. The characters have pretty distinctive designs and the scenes with outer space and the different planets are all drawn beautifully. The animation is fairly fluid, and I didn’t find myself complaining about it in any of the 12 episodes. The soundtrack is pretty unremarkable to be honest although the voice acting is on point. As I’ve mentioned a few times in this review, this show depends upon character emotions and their interactions, and the Voice Actors do a pretty good job in both of these aspects. I’d certainly recommend this show and would encourage you to give it a try. It’s got an extended first episode of 48 minutes and that’d probably be enough for you to check if you’d like it or not. For me, I immensely enjoyed Kanata no Astra and certainly would’ve liked for it to have a few more episodes.

If you played an open world exploration game with survival themes, there’s a solid chance you’ll get a familiar vibe from this anime known as “Kanata no Astra”. (English title, Astra Lost in Space) Taking a page out of the sci-fi genre brings together a story of space travel. It takes place in the 2063, a time period where technology has evolved and is a revolution of growth. It’s not too often these days when we get an anime adaptation based on a manga that have already been completed. Mangaka Kenta Shinohara (best known for his work with Sket Dance) began the series in 2016as part of the Shounen Jump+ lineup. The series itself was not very popular but did eventually win the price of the 12th Manga Tashiou award. Consisting of 5 volumes, it seems a single cour adaptation of 12 episodes would make this run smooth. Or does it? Actually, the first episode premiere is a 1 hour long special and makes a strong impression to showcase the premise of the story. We meet a group of students from Caird High School before they soon get caught by a mysterious entity. The conflict evolves as these students are tossed into an unknown orbit and they resolve to return home. Along the way, you can expect this journey to bring together a lot of survival themes, character bonding, and startling revelations. But from the beginning, it’s also important to establish the principal cast. That’s why we have Kanata Hoshijima, the main male protagonist and captain of the Astra vessel. With a strong head attitude and determination, he stands as a capable leader with a dream of exploring the universe. What draws audience into his character also relies on how he can command his crew and achieve his goal. It seems every episode, the show tests the crew to tackle new challenges like an open world game. In essence, the show itself deals with space exploration while getting the audience to understand its characters. The remaining crew members consists of a balanced range of personalities. Among them is Aries Spring, the airheaded pinkhead who brings in a peculiar curiosity. Now, you’d think a show like this may feel depressing at times because of the premise. However, Aries brings together a sense of cherry energy and hope for the crew. She’s essentially the type that anyone can get along with. This is contrast to cooler and more levelheaded characters such as Ulgar Zweig or Zack Walker. Others such as Charce Lacroix and Yun-Hua Lu sparks a great interest in their characters because of their background stories and origins. The only characters that feels less exciting are the Raffaelli siblings. You can be the judge but to me, both of these girls brings little value to the overall story. If you remove either one, there’s little loss to brood over. That being said, I do think the cast is well balanced. As the space adventure venture deeper into the depths of the universe, there’s evident character bonding with great importance. In fact, character bonds is one of the most important elements in this show. In later episodes, Kanata realizes what the crew has in common about their parents. It’s a sad revelation and in truth, there’s many other secrets hidden from the crew and audience. While the show is not a mystery, it definitely sparks curiosity for the audience to see what will be discovered. Each planet they encounter puts their lives at risk as they venture into the unknown. Thankfully, the show keeps its space adventure refreshing as the crew encounters a colorful amount of planets. There are planets with strange wildlife such as Vilavurs, Shummoor with its otherworldly plants, or even a paradise with beaches such as Arispade. Hell, the show is very open to its exploration content that it sometimes feels like playing a video game. It feels immersive as if you're there with the crew. If you played games like No Man’s Sky before, this may trigger some familiarity. Thankfully, the anime has its own main story that runs much deeper than just the crew returning to their home. A word of warning though. Be prepared for character drama. There’s an unsettling amount of them that builds more and more with each episode. Some characters even begins to show their true colors. An elephant in the room also remains with the fact the true gender of Luca Esposito. It may not a big deal for some people but I can easily bet that the character can be somewhat a source of controversy. And finally, do be aware that the show retains a degree of realism despite all the sci-fi elements. When we meet Paulina Levinskaya later in the story, she reveals how fragile lives can be as the only survivor of her crew. It brings together the question if these students may or may not end up in her situation. I mean, the chances of death in this show is quite real considering all the factors. But unlike a video game, these characters only have one life and there’s no chance to restart over. Lerche as a studio takes on Kanata no Astra as their first project with major sci-fi elements. Combining with the story about space exploration, there’s actually a lot to expect when you see the facts. One of the more noticeable visual context is the letterbox format that makes each episode run like a mini-movie. This is especially true for the first episode that feels more like watching a movie than your standard television. Visually, it works for this particular show as it highlights the videographic imagery of the backgrounds. There’s a lot of open world planets and this format makes them stand out with stunning effects. The alien planets shows a great deal of colorful variety and I applaud the staff for giving each of them a form of uniqueness. Character designs are also molded with care similar to the manga. Finally, I’m surprised at how much human expressions are shown throughout the show. With the harsh and dangerous journey, there’s many signs of character struggles that are shown in the faces of the cast. Kanata no Astra is a show that I believe can be described as a ‘dark horse’ of the year. It didn’t get mainstream attention compared to some other anime but manages to capture what science fiction is about. With its sci-fi elements and odyssey of obstacles, every episode brings something new to the table. Even if you’re not a big fan of character drama, the show still works together as a fictional adventure. Did I mention, it’s one that is complete without worrying about a ‘what if’ ending? See, that’s the beauty of a show based on a complete manga. And as a space adventure, you can believe this anime is the real deal.

Kanata no Astra could be an anime that surprised several viewers. In my case, I was bewitched by some episodes until I noticed that the show is mediocre science fiction with several plot flaws and unfinished ideas. The scenario is good at the beginning; A group of students is drifting in the dark space with only one goal in mind, returning home. I was surprised to the point that I ignored the strange CGI moments when the characters looked like dead puppets in the first episode. I ignored the device created in a few hours that could diagnose if the food is good or bad witha "delicious" sound that seems ridiculous. I ignored the luck these students have during their trip with some minor risks for space travel. Everything is conveniently configured and ready for their survival. I even ignored a significant detail in the middle of the story I find hilarious. I asked myself "why people cannot fix their cars that simple, there are many cars nearby," but this group doesn't have a spaceship nearby, so ... you will understand if you watch this anime. However, I cannot ignore a plot that is not consistent, a scenario that ignores the details and uses strange ideas to create a secondary storyline. That new story is far from the survival goal placed at the beginning. The real risk is not space. In this story, space is not as dangerous as it seems, the real threat is humans, and that is very unfortunate. Also, all those "extra" additions created a strange story that I cannot stand because it is silly, stupid, the name "Astra Lost in Space" does not fit anymore. As the plot progresses, observe that the story is full of coincidences plotted by a mastermind who leaves more questions and few answers. Those coincidences created several unfinished stories that affected the behavior of the characters. For example, they are not worried about space and all the surrounding dangers, and they do not care if they cannot find food, they are concerned by a human inside their ship that could turn against them or a conspiracy group, that is ridiculous. The highlight of each episode is a mixture of dramatic events like "my father never loved me," some actions like "hey, the device found good food, this animal tastes delicious." Then, the authors added some conspiracy events "Someone is an enemy, say nothing, we have a great meal tonight" and some real survival events but with a stupid outcome like "the spaceship is failing but don't worry, it will solve somehow. " Unfortunately, the storyline is a mixture of useful elements without proper development and conclusion. Although I liked the first part, the plot, the writing, and the dialogues are very average. All these lead to unusual character behavior. They are afraid about their life and the next minute they are singing kumbaya. The characters are average. Do not come to tell me that they are stunning with a fantastic background because they are not. If you pay attention, all the characters have the same context and have the same problems, except Aries. In other words, all characters are generic like clones. The characters fill a convenient spacecraft crew: it has a hero, an expert in phytology, a genius/pilot, an expert in weapons, an expert in crafts, a medic, a singer, a villain, a survivor and a girl. The most normal character is Aries, but the plot affects her directly, sadly. The animation and art are adequate. There are some bad parts, but not so remarkable. The colors are very vivid and created a pleasant atmosphere from planet to planet. The camera angles and the speed between the scenes are acceptable and, combined with a good score, create an impressive visual wasted by a mediocre plot. The sound is good; it fills the scenes and is used intelligently. The songs are acceptable. Finally, I liked the first part, but I did not like the conclusion. I think the ending is ridiculous and affects all the characters directly in the wrong way. Here we have a good animation with a good idea but developed poorly with many coincidences that can bore the audience because it makes the anime silly and empty.

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