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「親父と息子とムッタクロース」 (Oyaji to Musuko to Mutta Kurōsu)
“Father, Son, and Mutta Claus”
Just as the title suggests, this was a week of fatherly expectations. ‘You should earn more than your father’ and ‘you should follow in your father’s footsteps‘ are both age-old philosophies dating from an earlier time when surnames reflected an individual’s family profession. I’m sure many people can understand and relate to that pressure, frequently applied entirely unintentionally, to follow in family traditions. I, however, like many others (Teshima included) can attest to it not always being that way – parents can be willing to support you even if you step outside of their expectations. Teshima’s father (Shiori Tsutomu) demonstrates this too after a little prodding in the form of exposure to the vast number of models Teshima has made detailing his dream.
Serika, as we know on the other hand, is still working entirely to fulfil her father’s dreams and wishes for her. Even her journal was started so that he could remain up to date on everything she does while he was confined to the hospital and continued on after his death. Both characters are very different to Mutta and Hibito, whose dreams were born entirely of themselves. While Serika still follows the dream she inherited from her father, Teshima’s came into being through the path his father set down for him. He may have stepped off that path, but it was still the path which set him on the road to his own dream.
So in the end, Kenji had been selected to be a candidate all along. While the people speculating about Teshima dropping out were correct, that didn’t factor into Kenji’s selection. It’s funny how things work out based on how a story is told. Characters who get a fact wrong pass it on to us, the viewer, leading to the same assumption being made by everyone. Although, it’s hardly our fault when the narrative presents us with false information – we can’t exactly sift through it all and decide at which points the narrator is lying to us now can we? While I’m happy that he passed having grown attached to him, I can’t help but feel a little cheated. A frequent literary criticism revolves around authors being unwilling to kill off their favourite characters, resulting in evident plot armour when no-one in the key cast ever dies. This is pretty much the same thing, and it feels a little worse when we seem to be frequently pushed towards the idea that one of the key three are about to fail but oh no plot contrivance it’s all fine. It’s probably already fair to guess who will pass the final exam and who will merely serve to show us that the exams are actually challenging.
At the end of the day though, I enjoy Uchuu Kyoudai and am secretly glad that Kenji made it through since he obviously deserved it. But life isn’t fair and things don’t always work out that way. For a series that has prided itself on realism so far, it sure likes to dance around it (pun was not intended at time of writing) with this trio. Who knows though, maybe the final exams will prove me wrong.
tl;dr: @MoombaDS – Fatherly expectations and poorly made assumptions seem to be the theme this week. #SpaceBros
Random thoughts:
- I feel like the slightly obnoxious young couple who have now appeared twice are meant to be foreigners given how closely they act to the types portrayed in any Japanese media satirising them.
- Poor Mutta, probably not the best first day you can have on a job!
- So uh, was that supposed to be Teshima’s imagination, or are we being shown that he’s correct and his dreams will come to fruition?
- Mutta will get to watch Hibito launch into space in two months! Which is good because it means at least someone will finally be going into space.
Full-length images: 36.
Preview
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Omake
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I was so moved when we learned that:
1st: Makabe did pass the exam
2nd: He also asked the exact same question as Mutta
One of the best friendship ever
Agreed!
Ideally I would like Serika, Mutta, and Kenji get picked as the ones that make it into Space with Mutta and Serika ending up as a couple. The Wiki page says its ongoing with no specific number of episodes so I hope it continues (like Hunter X Hunter another great series) is doing. Would hate for it end at 26 episodes and we have to hope they make more seasons.
From what I’ve read its going to be a 4-cour series, so 48 episodes. On a side note, one internet point to anyone who finds/makes a Serika dancing animated gif. That was just so random, and kinda heartwarming. 😛
I’m with KTNO: I understand sometimes people want to see things worked out as not to be a “cop out” but I also think without it we wouldn’t have this moment about Kenji and Mutta. I was very touched by the illustration of their friendship and the kind of people they are.
This isn’t the first time that characters have misunderstood the “facts” and later come to realize what is going on. The green card scenario is a perfect example of how people can misplay what they see or believe into “truth.”
I’m also interested to see the final exam now. I wonder how TeamB alums will work together. There’s at least one person picked from that team that I think is a horrible person to have your back. Wonder if he’ll grow up or self-destruct.
The bromance is strong and dancing Serika is so HNNNNGGGgggggg!!!
“we can’t exactly sift through it all and decide at which points the narrator is lying to us now can we? ”
…But that’s the main reason I became completely obsessed with Umineko!
And great episode, I was totally expecting a Kenji farewell episode!
I get the father theme, but my best moment in this episode was mutta clause telling the kid he’d send santa claus an email.
I got chills when they were talking about launching a spaceship to Europa and entering where the ice is the thinnest and finding new species of life. I, too, have always wondered about life and it really makes me want to be a part of this project! (Too bad it’s fictional… as of now)
22 degrees cake \o/
I think the young couple are just a parody of how a lot of Japanese youth acts; as depicted by their sense of style and way of talking.