Day Eight- Space Brothers
One of my favorite anime of all
time has ended this year. Well, actually two, but I will get to the second one
in time. The first series I will talk about though was so good that I decided a
few months ago to read the manga, and as of today I am all caught up on said
manga. That series was Space Brothers.
Space Brothers, for those who don’t
know, is about two brothers, Namba Mutta and Namba Hibito, who decided to
become astronauts when they were kids. The
show starts with the younger brother, Hibito, being chosen to be the first
Japanese man to step on the moon, and the older brother, Mutta, head-butting
his boss and getting fired. We follow
the older brother as he rediscovers his dream to be an astronaut and take the
path to become a moonwalker. And, slight spoiler alert, he succeeds. The latest
chapter of the manga has Mutta being launched to the moon, his rocket just
starting to lift off. I’m not going to lie there were some tears reading the
latest chapter, and when Mutta finally steps on the moon I know I will cry out
right. Mutta has become one of my favorite characters of all time. Let me
contrast him with yesterday’s main star, Kirito from Sword Art Online. Kirito
is literally flawless. He is perfect. Everything he does and that happens in
the show reinforces the idea that Kirito cannot lose. Now, Mutta achieves
everything he tries to. In a way, he also cannot lose. But the difference is in
how they are presented. Kirito is presented as this fantasy, a perfect being
that always succeeds. Mutta is presented as a reality. Everything Mutta has achieved
is based off of his hard work. In fact, not even just his hard work, but the
hard work of everyone around him. The last chapter really shows this by showing
just every single person that has helped Mutta along his path to becoming an
astronaut. Kirito achieves everything alone, and that is presented as something
cool, but it is really the worst way to go about things. You need people to
help you, to support you along the way. And that is what makes Mutta such a
good character. He has recognized that he hasn’t done this alone, that he is
standing on the shoulders of giants as it were. Mutta carries along with him
the hopes and dreams of so many people. Brian Jay, the dead astronaut brother, Rick,
the dead friend of Vince and Pico, Sharon, the tragic astronomer with a dream,
and so many more. Mutta carries all their dreams but is still his own person,
still his own character. His is a hero.
Namba Mutta is the person who I aspire
to be like. A person who can still follow their dreams after tripping along the
way. A person who can face their own luck and still fight on. A person who can
say embarrassing things with a straight face. He is one of the best characters I
have ever had the pleasure to read about. So until next time, have fun
watching.
No comments:
Post a Comment