Uchuu Kyoudai – 32

「入ってはいけない場所」 (Haitte wa Ikenai Basho)
“A Private Place”

While it may not have quite the depth that other parts of Uchuu Kyoudai do, one of the things I find myself enjoying most is seeing the various stages of Hibito’s journey, almost as though we were living it alongside him. I’m pretty sure I’ve praised the levels of detail that’s gone into everything relating to astronauts and space more than once in the past. It really helps to add to a sense of realism and believability – we could imagine this happening right now if only our space programs were still interested in sending people to the moon. Perhaps by 2025, such programs will have taken off again! We can but hope.

It looks like we won’t be hearing the results of the selection exam for a while yet, but as a result, we get to learn a lot more about Azuma. I was already pretty sure that he was misunderstood from the moment he was first introduced and it’s interesting to see how he really feels. It’s certainly not unusual to love something but dislike a single aspect that comes along with it. For Azuma, this aspect is the press – he really seems out of his element when surrounded by journalists trying to get the next big scoop. He enjoys his time in space, but finds the experience marred by the absurd amount of publicity it garners. By letting Hibito go first, he can avoid that – he’ll still have his opportunity to go the moon himself and he never wanted those titles in the first place.

I feel like Mutta and Hibito were drawn to Azuma because, despite his outwards appearance, they could sense the kindred passion he felt for outer space. Why they seem to be the only ones to do so is something of a mystery, but that’s just how things are. There’s something funny about the way Mutta repeatedly approaches him even though he’s warned not to – perhaps only reverse psychology works on him! He seems to instinctively know how to act around Azuma, presumably because of how similar they are. Well, sort of. I doubt Azuma has Mutta’s silly side.

tl;dr: @MoombaDS – An in-flight interview and a deeper look at Azuma’s motivations. Next week, the moon! #SpaceBros

Random thoughts:

• Nasuda continues to edge closer to the fourth wall than is normal!
• There’s something pretty funny about seeing Freddy Saturn floating in the background.
• I’m not sure that comparing the spinning craft to roasting a chicken is the best way to educate young astronaut hopefuls… an apt comparison but the implications are a little worrying.
• No Mutta! Don’t ruin everything with a terrible nickname!

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