Astro Note – Episode 01 Review

OP Sequence

OP: 「ホホエミノオト」 (Hohoemi Note) by Furihata Ai

「Episode 01」

Astro Note starts as an ambitious comedy that takes the formula of a young man finding love at a boarding house and flips it on its head with zany humor, extraterrestrial whimsy, and hotheaded residents. As Miyasaki settles into his role as the Astro Lounge’s new chef on the mysterious Mira’s behalf, he finds himself slowly being sucked into a black hole that he may not want to climb out of.

WHAT ARE THE NEIGHBORS DOING…?

For Astro Note, the art is surprisingly impressive for an off-the-wall comedy. The vibrant color palette makes the area surrounding the boarding house look lush and gorgeous. The pastel shades work well with the character designs, and give the environments such deep, rich colors that make a place on Earth feel like it’s out-of-this-world.

I wasn’t expecting Miyasaki’s background as a gifted chef to make this show secretly food porn, but that was a delightful surprise. The fried scad looked and sounded so crispy that I was instantly jealous of them as they scarfed it down. They even made beans and toast feel like a cozy, hearty way to start the day.

The retro character designs match this vivid expressiveness very well too. The humanesque designs for Miyasaki and Mira made it hilarious to see our leading guy’s precious looks distort as much as the show’s cartoonish side characters. With that in mind, the expressive appearance of the show’s goofier characters is perfect as Wakabayashi and Matsubara twist and contort their way through their daily routine.

P.S. ASUNARO LOUNGE

It brings the characters’ personalities to life to see how much of their body language is incorporated into the anime’s brand of comedy. In this particular episode, Wakabayashi and Matsubara were able to shine the most since they managed to make the alien residents look level-headed by comparison. The monotonous inflection in Sugita Tomokazu’s voice works well with Wakabayashi’s careless glee as he throws Miyasaki under the bus and offers unhelpful advice in return.

If the lower energy that Wakabayashi gives off is meant to encapsulate his joyful lack of ambition, the energy that Furihata Ai exudes for Matsubara tips the scales in the opposite direction. At the moment, Matsubara’s my favorite because of how easily she can strike fear into the other residents with her abrasive, blunt personality. Watching her immediately shift into a mischievous cat-like look when she needs to convince Miyasaki to stay for Mira’s sake or warn him that she’s the queen of ego-surfing as the idol Terurun was so much fun to see.

Personally, Astro Note looks like a show with a ton of promise and potential as an original comedy that feels like a futuristic take on a retro anime. In a boarding home where two aliens currently reside, it’s fun to see that the earthlings wound up being the show’s biggest oddballs. It’ll be funny to see when Miyasaki finds out that Mira is a Wido from the planet Wid, but for now, keeping him in the dark might be the funnier outcome to keep the Maison Ikkoku parody going strong.