This seems like the type of show where I’d be better off waiting til all the episodes come out. This way, I can just marathon the whole thing. I mean, 48+ episodes is a whole lot of episodes. Now, I know that number hasn’t been officially confirmed or anything, but it seems to make sense if you think about it. After three episodes, Mutta is still in the midst of the second exam of his astronaut tryouts. Just the second, so you can imagine the trials and tribulations to come. And then even after he makes the cuts, he’ll have to go through astronaut training. How many episodes is that going to take at the pace that he’s going? And then, he presumably does space stuff. After all, I hope the anime isn’t called Space Brothers just for the show to call it quits as soon as the rocket achieves liftoff. So yeah, we have a slow burner on our hands.

It’s not that I don’t enjoy the show or anything. Hell, you could even say I enjoy it too much (don’t get me wrong, though–it’s not my favorite show this season). Unfortunately, each episode covers so little overall plot that I just want to hop right into the next one. This week, we get a tiny glimpse into Serika’s personality and also laugh a few times at Mutta’s lack of physical prowess. These parts weren’t poorly executed or anything, but you have to admit that not a whole lot happens. To spice things up, maybe it would be a good idea to check in on Hibito every once in a while. I mean, I thought he’d be one of the main characters, but so far, it’s really been all about Mutta. Oh well, I guess I’ll just have to stick it out for the time being.

Additional thoughts

• Welp, this is probably the only anal probing joke you’re gonna get all year, so make it last:

• At one point, some guys come up to Mutta to whine about how being Hibito’s brother gives him an advantage. Or maybe they were joking. I’m not really sure, but either way, it got under Mutta’s skin. While I do think not a whole lot happens in any given episode, I sincerely hope that these guys were just teasing Mutta. I just don’t think villains would really make sense for Uchuu Kyoudai.

• On a slightly related note, did anyone else find it hilarious how these two guys suddenly decided to stand next to each other, presumably all sweaty from running, just to smirk at Mutta (or the camera):

After the thorough medical check-up that Mutta just got, I don’t know what to think.

• There’s a study out there that goes into how women actually pace themselves better in distance running than men. Also, women are less likely to be affected by crowds cheering for them. Of course, Serika might just be a really damn good runner.

• I bet Serika beat everyone in the lung capacity test only because she knows circular breathing. I mean, she’s not even straining or anything.

• At the same time, Mutta’s a bit of an airhead. He just decides to lose to Serika.

• I guess I don’t really understand what’s so embarrassing about what Mutta and Serika tried to do with the spacesuit. Seems like a pretty normal thing to do, right? I’d do it. Mutta’s (inner) facial expressions are hilarious, though.

• Serika’s completely boring. I mean, who writes about the salad they ate? Right now, I think the side characters are letting the show down. Neither Serika nor Kenji have much of a personality. The only thing someone decided that they could put down for Kenji on Wikipedia is that he’s good at guessing your age. Really, we need more of Mutta’s quirky mom or his spacefaring brother, ’cause while Mutta’s a decent character, he needs some help carrying this show.