Forum - View topicSpace Brothers (TV).
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Gina Szanboti
Posts: 11424 |
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I would agree, except that it's such a common theme in anime that I have to suspect there's a cultural component too. |
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yuna49
 Posts: 3804 |
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On another site that must remain nameless, this issue came up at the very beginning of the series. As a Westerner, I quickly got tired of Mutta's constant concern over not being "ahead" of Hibito, but the Asian commentators identified deeply with Mutta's feelings. They all said the notion that the first brother needs to be the leader is deeply ingrained in Japanese and Chinese cultures. |
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Galap
Moderator
 Posts: 2354 |
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Even so, he doesn't need any external pressure to feel that way.
In no way do I find it hard to believe that he is slightly miffed that Hibito has been more successful than him despite the fact that Mutta has had more time. |
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Gina Szanboti
Posts: 11424 |
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No, not now he doesn't, but I've always been under the impression that he gave up his dream because he was expected (if not by his parents, by the culture around him) to be the responsible one, while Hibito was free to be the dreamer. It's right there in the photographs in the end credits: Hibito in full space suit, while Mutta is still tightening his tie, Mutta taking care of Hibito, Mutta dutifully posing for the camera while Hibito is a blur of goofiness, Hibito in a t-shirt rocking out with a guitar while Mutta in traditional garb plays a traditional flute. The only time Mutta really seems happy in those pictures is when they're at JAXA. There was also that conversation between Sharon and Hibito about Hibito leading the way for Mutta, so that Mutta could find his way back to his dream. It's not so much that Mutta wasn't successful (and he got canned for once again taking care of Hibito, or his reputation) as that he never felt unfettered enough to follow his own dream until he found himself at a dead end. Once he was "officially" a failure, he had nothing to lose anymore and could do what he wanted to do. That's why I really wanted him to show some grit on his own terms, instead of bucking up only to prove himself Hibito's equal. Deneil's been shoving Hibito in his face all along, and I think it would have done Mutta a world of good to rise to the occasion because it was what he wanted or chose for once. |
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Galap
Moderator
Posts: 2354 |
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Well it seems to me like most of what's going on with that is the trope of there being a difference between the actual reason a character does something, and the justification they give as to why they're doing it.
I can't think of any examples off the top of my head, but in many anime a character always says they are doing what they are doing for reason A, but it's pretty clear that they're just saying that as a justification to avoid... I'm not sure what they're trying to avoid. Maybe avoid revealing something personal? It's pretty clear to me that though Mutta may feel some need to measure up to Hibito, the real reason he's pursuing all this astronaut stuff is simply because he likes it. |
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Gina Szanboti
Posts: 11424 |
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I wasn't at all arguing that he was becoming an astronaut only to measure up to Hibito. It's what he's wanted all along, but he gave it up to be the responsible older brother.
But the way they've been presenting his training for awhile now is that he's a slacker who is only motivated to go the extra mile to catch up to Hibito, as if that's now what's driving him and not because he would push himself as hard without little brother beckoning to him in the distance. They gave the distinct impression that he would have taken Deneil up on his offer to call it a day without the prod of, "Well, Hibito wanted to keep going. What are you going to do?" Or, "Hibito threw up too, so don't feel bad." Etc. Etc. I believe he wants to be an astronaut and has the fortitude to do it, but I just wish the series would show us that resolve without always hiding it within a "gotta beat Hibito" mindset. |
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Merida
 Posts: 1945 |
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Well, but that comes with the Space Brothers setting. If roles were reversed, the little brother would strive just as hard to measure up to the big brother...what i like about this series is that the 'sibling rivalry' is portrayed rather realistically and amicably and not like some over-the-top 'good brother vs. bad brother' battle. Hibito never rubs it into Mutta's face that he's 'better' than him and honestly believes that he will become an astronaut as well while Mutta - even though he was a bit jealous - is really proud of his little brother making it to the moon. |
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ookamigirl
 Posts: 2274 Location: Croatia |
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#68
spoiler[Summary at the beginning of the episode was nice. Kinda felt like I was watching the news. Hibito had his own popularity problems this time.. It was actually pretty funny watching the hype about him ^^ All the trivial things they made him do seemed like a waste of time compared to what he actually came to do.] |
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MaxSouth
Posts: 1363 |
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Episode #40 is incredibly stupid:
spoiler[I mean the panic that Hibito has -- not realistic at all, his talks to a car, doctor's stupid idea that she has to go out to treat possibly injured astronauts, which would be impossible since there is no way to treat any kind of injuries while people are still in space-suits.] Space operations are highly "protocoled" and "practiced" countless times on Earth; there is no room for useless talks and dramatic emotions. None whatsoever. No cold sweat, no screams, no self-calming talks, no nothing of this BS. (To be fair, there is no point in humans being on the Moon at all -- robotics does everything better, faster, safer, cheaper -- so whole scenario of Space Brothers makes no sense.) The only thing that irritates me more than this Space Brothers let down is the teaser for cinema film Gravity, where Sandra Bullock behaves like teenager and screams "What I should do? What I should do?". I can not stand this nonsense because she knows exactly what to do in countless situation, including the one depicted, and her actions are completely automatic because of years of training. (And, of course, whole idea of ISS being suddenly bombarded by meteorites is complete and utter BS since ISS' space sector and its whole trajectory sector are monitored for even very small objects by multiple independent observatories from Earth, as well as from ISS itself.) |
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Unicorn_Blade
 Posts: 1153 Location: UK |
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I am almost completely caught up with the series, 2 more episodes and I will be up to date.
I am still enjoying it a lot, although it is not one of the series where I am holding my breath for the next episode. There is something annoyingly interesting about Mutta getting the 'worst' engineer/flight instructor, and making the best out of it; I know that probably because of his personality he gets on better with them than with the ones classified as the top ones. However, it would be refreshing to see how he interacts with people who are not the classical underdogs. |
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Petrea Mitchell
Posts: 438 Location: Near Portland, OR |
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Sooo... anyone happen to know if The Adventures of Mr. HIbbit is planned to be a regular after-episode feature? I may as well stop watching right now if that's the case.
I loved the part about spoiler[Mutta finally getting his photo on the wall], but it will forever be tainted for me. |
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Gina Szanboti
Posts: 11424 |
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Yeah...Buddy Gorilla was pretty cringe-inducing. :/ Then again, Hibbit is not exactly easy on the ears either (npi). But you can always just stop watching after the preview. I have a sinking feeling we might see more of it.
I wonder if Deneil got the glasses reference or if anyone explained it to him?  I liked that part, but the spoiler[space spider] thing was pretty idiotic. Also, quite a bit of off-model shots in this episode. I don't usually notice that sort of thing, and it was obvious even to me.
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dirkusbirkus
 Posts: 699 Location: Manchester, UK |
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My jaw dropped at the borderline racism of it, but I'm not entirely sure the 'black man as primate' stereotype is inherently offensive in Japan. Here in the UK it's completely taboo but I get the feeling it's no big thing on that side of the pond. |
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Merida
Posts: 1945 |
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I would guess they chose the gorilla because Buddy is so proud of his muscles and it didn't even occur to them that it could be interpreted any other way, but yeah, it made me cringe pretty badly... I really liked the rerst of the episode though and am looking forward to the new developments, now that Mutta et al spoiler[are fully-fledged astronauts.] |
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dirkusbirkus
Posts: 699 Location: Manchester, UK |
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Usually I dislike huge timeskips such as the one exhibited in ep 69, but I found that not only was it acceptable to me, it was actually quite welcome. Sure, they could have spent however many episodes elaborating on the rest of Mutta's basic training but with the end of the Deniel arc, it was a great time to push the story forwards.
If Mutta accepts the offer I presume we'll see a ton of astronaut training regardless, so in terms of the narrative, I'm quite pleased with recent episodes. The series has dragged at times (as you'd expect from a lengthy run) so it's great to be looking forward to each episode once again. |
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