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「PARADISE」
Cheesy, fluffy, and lighthearted it may be, cannot deny KnA knows how to pour some fuel on fires of complacency when it so desires. Any chances of reverting back to happy-go-lucky sci-fi certainly have been dashed after an ending like that, although to be fair you know the real fun is in those romantic proclivities. The boyfriend to girls everywhere? Now that’s setting the anime romance bar high.
Considering all the foreshadowing of killing, assassination, and Ulgar’s gun shown a couple episodes back it should be unsurprising we’re getting movement on that front now, although I still believe that Ulgar (and increasingly every other kid for that matter) won’t turn out to be the fox in the henhouse. Sure he’s got the gun, knows how to use it, and just came out with it planted firmly against Luca’s head, but considering the other information received in terms of Luca’s father’s position and his political leanings it all seems a little too perfect a setup. Something tells me this is more coincidental than arranged, an opportunity for Ulgar to exact revenge against a family who likely has something to do with why he and his own father are estranged. Sure it’s not enough to explain why the kid brought a gun in the first place, but when we’re dealing with attractive wormholes and mysterious “abandoned” spaceships (quotes mandatory) I expect the truth is less insidious than initially apparent. There’s more at play here than simple killing, and the answer likely lies in the backstories of the kids waiting their turn in the sun.
As far as that shining goes we also got a bunch of it this episode—and then some. The romance angle for example was always going to appear sooner or later (these are a bunch of teenagers barring Funicia after all), but I never expected the pairings to emerge so quickly, or for Yunhua to desire getting involved in the action to boot. It’ll be interesting seeing what guy Yunhua winds up leaning towards considering her personality (and which of the boys gets the shaft in the process), but the real fun of course is going to come with beating the obvious into Kanata because you know damn well Miss Spicy Level II isn’t through with her attempts, awkward questioning and all. For all of KnA’s straightforwardness its character interactions are hilariously on point, and with some seriousness now to help round out the lighthearted comedy, we’re certain to start seeing just what this series is made out of.
Only question is whether that’s before or after we inevitably get Ulgar’s backstory and life history next time.
There may be other shows this season that are better made and perhaps more compelling to watch than this but this is my favourite show this Fall.
https://randomc.net/image/Kanata%20no%20Astra/Kanata%20no%20Astra%20-%2005%20-%20Large%2008.jpg
I don’t why but its quirky narrative, the fact that it does not take itself to seriously, and seeing the amount of care Studio Lerche shows while presenting their adaptation of the manga makes it really satisfying and entertaining to watch for me. I mean, for some reason it reminds me of the first couple of animes I watched when I was child, Nadesico and Nadia. I find the opening and the ending to be retro and nostalgic so when they omit it like last episode, I find myself looking for them.
Finally, for the pairings, I like the LOOK of Kanata x Yun Hua and Charce x Aries pairings better than Kanata x Aries.
Yeah it definitely has that nostalgic feel to it, especially when the setting is paired with its lighthearted nature. The lack of seriousness helps IMO, if KnA tried being darker than it is a lot of the fun would be quickly lost. This one is going to be made (or broken) by its quirky characters and even quirkier scenes.
Kanata is best boy. I loved the manga so much. So happy this is being handled with care.
For one, I don’t like Yunhua’s new haircut. Reminds me of Just Because where Hazuki gets a makeover that doesn’t suit her. She could take a few tips from Sagisawa Fumika (Idolmaster Cinderella Girls). 😀
Glad I’m not the only one haha, I don’t think short hair suits her frame she’s pretty much built for long hair.
https://randomc.net/image/Kanata%20no%20Astra/Kanata%20no%20Astra%20-%2005%20-%20Large%2004.jpg
https://randomc.net/image/Kanata%20no%20Astra/Kanata%20no%20Astra%20-%2005%20-%20Large%2029.jpg
https://randomc.net/image/Kanata%20no%20Astra/Kanata%20no%20Astra%20-%2005%20-%20Large%2033.jpg
Well handled, well handled…
some beach x swimwear fanservice, paradise planete full of easy food, dash of romantic comedy…
then suddenly this cliffhanger with gun pointed to the head…
also, there are some much needed informations on parents of the b-5 crew
pair of scientists working on memories archivization project
famous singer
harsh vice-principal
controversial politician
I have a hunch there is more to that worldwide genetic sampling than meets the eye.
And Ulgar might be agent of some organization who is opposed to the assassination masterminds. It is all too easy to pinpoint him as culprit now.
Also,
“I have a hunch there is more to that worldwide genetic sampling than meets the eye.”
https://randomc.net/image/Kanata%20no%20Astra/Kanata%20no%20Astra%20-%2005%20-%2009.jpg
https://randomc.net/image/Kanata%20no%20Astra/Kanata%20no%20Astra%20-%2005%20-%2015.jpg
I’ll leave those two pictures here and let you draw your own conclusions. There is one common thing all of the kids share, but it’s not obvious for some of them right away.
cloning with DNA modifying?
Not just those two pictures either, there’s a lot of interesting things going on with appearances of all the parents when you start thinking on it.
Not going to spoil anything, but will point out a couple things in the episode itself.
1) Human Genome Management Project. What is it meant to do (we don’t know yet)? It could be a red herring, but it seems odd to bring up and note that Luca’s dad was the leader against it. Also something about illegal campaign donations.
2) Yunhua and her mom have a mole on the exact same spot on their faces. Not even identical twins, who have the exact same DNA, experience this.
3) Zack mentions that his dad and Quitterie’s mom are working on memory transfer technology.
4) Some of the parents seem oddly eager to declare their children deceased. Specifically, only Aries’ mom and the woman to the left of her seemed to be still concerned about the kids.
From previous episodes, we got some insight into Yunhua’s, Zack’s, and Quitterie’s upbringing. We also learned that Ulgar hates his dad, but we don’t know why yet. We don’t have any insight into the other kids yet, but we have enough clues between the history of these three and the four clues dropped in this episode to figure out the “whydunnit”.
I think you people are onto… something. Whatever it is, it’ll probably help explain two things that struck me as odd: One, that Funi is supposed to be adopted, but she and Quitterie very much look like blood relations, and two, Yunhua’s mom really doesn’t want her daughter to stand out or show her talent, which is more or less the opposite of what I would expect from a celebrity parent character.
Uglar is totally not going to kill Luca. He’s too appealing for that, and it’s too early in the show (ignoring how Gurren Lagaan taught up otherwise). But something fishy is definitely going on with the Esposito family and their ties to the school principal, the fathers who recite the exact same sentence when asked how they feel about their sons going missing (is there some cult!?). Kanata did tell everyone not to dwell on the mystery, but it’s times like these where i wish they had. Aries’ poor mom seems to be the only compassionate parent of the bunch, and is out of the loop of the mystery that the other parents seem to be aloof to- Aries is an exchange student after all.
Also boobies.
The apparent lack of compassion is bothersome, but I can sort of believe it considering the time since their disappearance. The bigger issue IMO is the willingness of so many to accept them as legally dead—no parent would likely go that far only 40 days in. Cutting back on searching sure, but not on potential survival, especially given at least one had the same idea Aries’ mom did.
Quitterie and Zack’s parents… I would think that they’re creating clones, genome management for that space incident. Maybe I’m wrong, but anyways Funi looks exactly like Quitterie in a way even though she’s an orphanage. My imagination is this – they create another Funi’s clone, impart the memories they spoke of, see how it goes, and the progress it to further success in memory transplant.
Oh yeah Funicia and Quitterie were the first giveaway, the clues this week another big hint. I don’t think we are in clone territory just yet, but these kids are definitely linked in an important way beyond simply attending the same school.
I lol-ed
Honestly, Aries has a great body showing off her cleavage, pure skin, and swimsuit. Don’t forget Yunhua’s new haircut. Loving it.
Clearly, the lack of care expressed by the parents is not normal. Their professions aren’t exactly ‘typical’ too. Athlete, Singer, Scientist, Politician, Vice-Principal etc. Definitely foul play going on.
Combine this with the deliberately obvious scene of Luca’s politician dad going through a mandatory DNA sampling and him being a campaigner against it.
Then you’ve got Kanata who has experienced a similar crisis before and managed to survive. You’ve also got Funicia who is Quitterie’s “adopted” sister yet looks a lot like her. Funi’s parents suddenly died and she then gets adopted into Quitterie’s family. Quitterie and Zack’s parents are also working on a memory transfer programme.
You add this all together and you think that maybe some of the kids are clones of their parents. Funicia seems very likely. Yunhua also seems to be a clone of her mother. Kanata & Zack could also be clones too, but it’s hard to say.
As for Ulgar being the “assassin”. I think this is true but not for the reasons we think. Ulgar definitely knows more than he’s letting on but he unlikely knows exactly why everyone is in the current situation. The way he reacted to learning about Luca’s father is evidence of this. He definitely suspects a plot and has some ideas and is trying to sabotage it but while staying alive.
The reason he’s aiming his gun at Luca is most likely because Ulgar suspects that one of the team DOES know why they’re in this situation and is in on the plot. By threatening to kill Luca, he might be trying to force their hand and reveal themselves.
Personally, I think that person is Charce.
Kanata, Aries, Funicia, Quitterie and Yunhua are definitely not in on the plot. This leaves Ulgar, Zack, Luca, Charce. Ulgar has revealed himself as the assassin so he’s out. Though Ulgar may suspect him, Luca was far too revealing about himself and doesn’t fit the bill. I thought perhaps Zack was suspicious because he was the one who told Kanata about the assassin, but he’s also revealed a bit too much about his background so too much exposure there. The only one left we don’t know too much about is Charce and he seems far too nice to others. There’s also a quick scene this episode where Ulgar was deliberately ignoring him.
I think Charce is in on the plot. Not sure what it is, but it seems that it involves everyone staying alive but presumed dead for a long period of time. Kanata’s dad is hell-bent at getting his son to succeed him as an athlete. Quitterie has mum issues (maybe she’s a disappointing daughter) and Funicia might be a clone of Quitterie’s mother. Zack might be a clone of his father, Yunhua is likely a clone of her mother.
The best I can come up with is maybe most of these parents have a disease or something that’s going to make them die early, and their plan is to get their cloned children to take their identities and continue their lives. Perhaps even transferring their memories into their cloned children?
Also just to add:
This episode had Charce talking about species on the Paradise planet capable of asexually reproducing itself i.e. cloning itself.
Then you had the principal dude saying that this incident has made him feel like “his body was being torn apart.” It’s the exact same thing that Luca’s father said to the press when asked about his son.