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「宇宙の話をしよう」 (Uchuu no Hanashi o Shiyou)
“Let’s Talk About Space”
Since the preview last week, I’d actually been under the impression that the broken clock would turn out to be a test set by JAXA. It would make a lot of sense – ramping up the tension levels, getting everyone to distrust the other candidates, and seeing which of those members would actually pull through and see that it’s not necessarily the time relative to Earth that matters, but your own concept of time. We may be aware that Fukuda was behind the sabotage of the clock, but that still doesn’t dispel my suspicions entirely. While it doesn’t seem likely that any of the candidates are there merely as JAXA plants, it’s still possible that some have been assigned tasks during the periods where they’re separated from everyone else (such as the regular health check). How hard would it be to convince one of the astronaut candidates that they’d have a better chance of succeeding if they performed Task X without telling any of the other team members about it?
In a sense, it feels like a fair bit of this episode was spent giving us a subtle refresher of some of the events that happened earlier in the series. Many things came full circle and were brought back into the light in a way that might jog the memory without devoting time to a recap episode. We had the return of Hoshika with his tests of observation who brought up the loose screw from an earlier interview, there was some teasing about Mutta’s bubble-related answer to an interview question, and Mutta’s lie about the bus odometer resurfaced.
I almost expected to see that lie used to show that while knowing when to use your luck is one thing, you can sometimes push too far. Displaying the clock on the bus so openly may have been one of Hoshika’s observation tests, but Mutta’s choice to lie about it to his teammates would generally be considered a bad thing right? Apparently not! It would seem Hoshika is a believer that if the lie succeeds in convincing those around you – i.e. it’s not discovered – then there’s no problem. I suppose in a sense this could be true – if it succeeds in convincing people to work in the right direction or do the right thing, then what harm really comes of it? In that way, Mutta’s demonstration of his ability to tell a convincing lie, complete with fabricated evidence to support it, could potentially be beneficial in the future. It sort of reminds me of a concept on stealing I once read – as long as no-one notices the theft or the missing object, no crime has been committed (no, this doesn’t mean I actually condone theft).
Originally, I’d pegged Furuya as the biggest bastard from among the candidates. In light of his recent development and the events in Team B, this was clearly a gross misjudgement. It’s one thing to try and compete in a friendly manner, but it’s entirely another to attempt to break your rival candidates psychologically. Playing on Kenji’s obviously wavering thoughts over his daughter is a low blow. Whether he was always this kind of person or if the point system has brought this side out in him is unknown. It does however shed light on how poor a choice using a point system was. Not only does it create tension as people worry over their own scores, but it instils further suspicion and doubt over whether the other members’ actions are merely to try and win more points. Are they really trying to help the team or do they just want to get themselves ahead?
tl;dr: @MoombaDS – Broken clocks and a mysterious alarm. Tensions run high as the third round progresses! #SpaceBros
Random thoughts:
- Is that a variation of knocking on wood? It certainly seems so to me, but do they even do that in Japan?
- So the reasoning behind Furuya’s choice to write his request on paper is made clear – plausible deniability! At least he can say he didn’t verbally ask for it!
- White jigsaw puzzles… yet another test of endurance while repeating mundane tasks. This one has a bit more observation involved though – rather than trying each piece one at a time, it’s also possible to recognise the necessary pieces by their shape (Mutta should shine there!).
Full-length images: 02, 07, 16, 19, 20, 21, 25, 26, 29, 33, 34.
Preview
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Omake
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Hoshikawa, try not to so too much favoritism towards Mutta OK? Don’t forget, integrity is an important asset for an astronaut.
Well I don’t think the point system was a poor choice because I think it really does separate the best from the worst candidates. Being on a point system is stressful so only the best should be able to get through the stress & being able to deal with their team mates when your team mates are constantly judging you.
These last two episodes made me really appreciate Furuya. Yeah he is flawed but it makes him an interesting character. The guy on Kenji’s team just comes off as a complete ass though. But who knows maybe the show is making us dislike his character to surprise us later on.
Well, Team B Point System…
If you just want to Fly a One Men Shuttle your right. If they want to seek Leaders, Pilots or all other task, that 1 Person can do. Your right.
But, i think Jaxa, seeks here Teamplayers. In Space you can not run a Station only with 1 Person. So, you need a Team
And in Team, they dont need an Alpha Male/Female that only looks onto his own benefit. They must work toghter, because there is no Exit,and you see 24/7 this “face”
But in a real life work place you are going to have to deal with people you don’t like, who you aren’t friends with, who get on your nerves. And in a real life work place you might have to work with someone you are competing with for a promotion or whatever.
That is why I disagree that this point system is bad. In fact it is the perfect way to see how they deal with others. Just because you might not get along with everyone as individuals does not mean you can’t set that aside work as a team. In fact you cannot forget the team even in face of your own personal issues. That to me is what JAXA is trying to determine here both how the examinees work as a team & as individuals. And I am sure some people will have strengths and weaknesses in both categories.
Well, in Real Life Work Place, if you can hold it. You can exit the Job or get this “Bad Guy” fired. But in Space, after your have launched and are on the Way to Mars (as example). You cannot Quit the Job.
So, dunno. But this “not trust each other” made work on a Job. But not for this kind of “Job” in Space. Or you trust the Work Pal, that you know of that he lie to you?
The points system is a bad idea because it causes tension and paranoia within the team. See how Team B is completely on edge compared to the more relaxed Team A? Team A decided not to have a fixed system to choose their candidates so they do what they think is best. Team B’s characters end up bickering and more or less refusing to help one another because they’re concerned about getting points.
The points system brings the worst out of them because it favors a competition that can grow unhealthy as other members constantly try to advance themselves at the expense of others or do certain things depending on whether it will reward them with points or not. Because of this, Kenji is seen as wanting to hog all the points by acting as a leader instead of being a voice of reason. It was a terribly flawed choice that Team B made.
I was actually talking from JAXA’s perspective that it was a good way to see who could both work well in a team and as an individual. However I admit I forgot that Team B chose the point system on their own and no other team had this system…so my argument at least in terms of the series is invalid.
Last episode, I am kinda swayed by your reasons but Fukuda that’s playing dirty. Even if this is like a competition, you must still play fair and square. Also that man on Group B!
Why is there still no mention of Group C? O.o
Because Group C is irrelevant.
I know they’re irrelevant but you still have to show them (forgot their faces now), not just seldom mentioning the group name.
integrity surely is the main theme of this week’s episode. fukuda doing what he did was completely unexpected and plays on how desperate these candidates are to win out in the end. but to tag fukuda as a dirty player now without giving him the benefit of the doubt of one more episode to explain why will be a slap in the face of the writers whom I have the utmost respect for their story telling. still, i cannot fathom any good reason.
Not to be too spoilerish but at the current rate, I think all will be explained in the next episode the reason why Fukuda did it and also Mutta figures out what’s behind some strange occurrences in the test, except for one 😉 If you want to find out more, I did a spoiler post in the previous episode review.
I wonder if the actual astronaut selection process is as rigorous. The Survivor-like social experiments and mind games are quite a handful.
I agree with Hoshika and don’t think Mutta’s choice to lie about the observation test should be penalized. In fact, Mutta’s ability to convince his teammates demonstrated good common sense and adaptability which are important skill sets for an astronaut. While that wasn’t exactly Mutta’s intention, I do believe it’s always good to keep a few tricks up your sleeves especially when the game has just begun 😉
I wouldn’t really be surprised to find out that the real selection tests are this stressful. It would be pretty awesome if some astronaut candidate happened by to inform us though!
Hoshika is the biggest Mutta fanboy out there so it’s no surprise that he thought Mutta’s lie was a good move. On the other hand, I don’t think the other dude (Tsurumi?) was as convinced. I mean, Mutta’s lie made an impression on the other candidates and demonstrated quick-wittedness, but it was also bound to be discovered by the JAXA staff and they might think it’s playing dirty.
Mutta’s decision to lie actually had its risks. Since the clock was so open for everyone to see, it’s possible it could have been a trap since it gave a direct answer to the first test they had to do.
So he purposely made it more complicated and requiring some calculations to better convince them. Had the clock been a trick, it would have backfired because he didn’t present his argument truthfully. It can be seen as a positive and a negative.
Mutta used a “White Lie” to keep the Team Peace uphold. But because of that he switch the suspicious to Him. Dunno how long Mutta can “compensate” the Weak points of others with Lies, to uphold the Destination.
Mutta what the entire Team to succeed (and in his Mind he think about the Girl). But i wonder how long he can keep this up
*what=want
and why he destroyed the clock… Easy
No more running Tests. So he cannot lose in “Body” to the others or they can surpass him
..after seen the Preview Pics. this “Suspicious” thing, backfire on him now. And looks like the Team will fail. 1 Picture is taken Outside?
and this Alarm in the middle of the Night…
Someone needs to take his Pills. But i wonder how he could hide it from the Operators..
How will breaking the clock stop running tests? I’m quite sure it would continue regardless.
Just a hint for you Germanguy.
When you take an aircraft pilot test in a simulator. What does the operator usually do to test your skills? Introduce variables like changing climate or problems like malfunctions by clicking a key. The same is done with the space shuttle pilots in simulators.
Now think, in their “sealed” environment with only the cameras, mics, speakers and a pass-through box as the only communications with the examiners. How do you introduce this variables?
It’s already been hinted when baldy leaves and tells Hoshika “You’re going to use the green ones?”
Oh, goodness. This week’s episode is intense! You can’t have a sealed room with people inside without conflict! I thought that Serika was also quite suspiciou,s but I would have guessed it was Fukuda. I also follow his train of thoughts of pinpointing the blame to Mutta since he’s the most suspicious one out of them all.
Anyways, the preview said that they are running out of food because of Serika. I knew it was going to be a plot point sooner or later. More trouble for Team A! Team B… I pity Kenji. Really. He’s with the most jerkass teammates. Why can’t he be with Mutta and Serika?
Talking about the white puzzle. I passed through a period where I did a lot of puzzles and one of the easiest ways to start is picking out and doing the corners and borders first.
When they first started putting the puzzles together, I was surprised that they didn’t appear to be going for the edges/corners. It seems they did eventually go down that route though!
That OLD man is from JAXA. There is a spy in each group… or not. LOL.
if that were the case, last week would have been completely pointless.