Anime Review: Astra Lost in Space Episode 1

Astra Lost in Space

Studio: Lerche

Genre: Action, Sci-Fi

Streaming: Funimation, Hulu

Astra Lost in Space (Kanata no Astra) is the latest series by Lerche, the studio behind some favorites like Assassination Classroom and Monster Musume. The anime adapts the manga with the same, which printed from 2016 to 2017. The short but beloved series has led to high expectations for this adaptation, so how impressive is the first episode?

To put it briefly, Astra Lost in Space is off to a grand start. The series takes place in 2061 and focuses on an eccentric cast of seven young students who are taking a school trip to a nearby planet. As the name of the series implies, things go wildly wrong and the crew finds themselves stranded in space.

I’d rather not go too far into detail, but there is much more depth to the story than what I just described. Episode 1 is a double episode, allowing for everything to move a natural pace. The crew is made up of a diverse cast, and while most of them appear to be cliches and generic anime archetypes, over the course of the episode the characters start to show that they are much more dynamic than their introductions imply. Not everyone gets the spotlight in this episode, but the episode is long enough to give this series the introduction that it deserves. 

Viewers will find themselves yelling at the characters some, as they do make a lot of dumb decisions throughout the episode. A lot of their misfortune could have been prevented with some rational thinking, and it would have been nice for the writing to be just a little smarter.  Still, the characters’ dumb actions lead to some of the best scenes in the episode as they find themselves working together to get out of trouble. 

The production of Astra Lost in Space is superb, with fluid animation that you usually only see in anime films. The characters look great, even if most of their body and face types fit right into the mold that their personalities usually create. The music adds just enough atmosphere to every scene and successfully evokes the needed emotion to make every scene work. The sounds of space are nearly flawless, easily immersing the reader. If the rest of the series can maintain this level of quality, Astra Lost in Space could go down as a classic.

Those who are looking for a bit of excitement in space will get exactly what they are looking for in Astra Lost in Space. It’s not perfect due to some of the characters’ actions, but it’s a nice, lighthearted story with a bit of terror thrown in.