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MANGA.TOKYO > Anime Reviews > Summer 2019 > Astra Lost in Space Episode 5 Review: Paradise

Astra Lost in Space Episode 5 Review: Paradise

by Thanasis Karavasilis

3 weeks ago

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Every shonen series needs a beach episode and one or many underlying romances. What else happened in this episode of Astra Lost in Space? Well, nothing much. Food, parents, the usual.

Plot

After 27 days with Astra’s crew, we fast forward to Day 49 and we finally learn what’s going on back on Earth. The search for the missing students has been suspended and now the parents are faced with a difficult decision: they need to either keep the search on their own or declare their children as legally dead. It’s understandable why most of the parents want to stop their search: after 49 days, there is no plausible explanation to justify their survival. They must be dead, even if there are some things that don’t make sense, like the missing luggage. How did they die? Why isn’t there a trace of them? Only Aria’s mother is bent on keeping the search and actually proposes a far-fetched scenario: maybe their children are in space.

We learn of one possible reason the children were left to die into space. Luca’s father is a senator who opposed a genome manipulation project. Political games are always dirty and I wouldn’t be surprised if someone kidnapped his son to push a political agenda.

In the end, however, we learn that Ulgar may know more than he was willing to share.

Episode Highlights

Haircut: For all you ladies out there who are afraid to show your face. You are all beautiful.

Beach Episode: Stills, swimming suits, ball games, splashing in the water. This is anime, guys and girls. You should have been expecting this.

Paradise: Just think about it. If you found a place like this with clear blue waters, delicious fruits, fish and game, why would you want to go back to civilization? I wouldn’t. I think. (Well, ok. There is family and friends and other stuff, but come on, you would at least be tempted, right?)

Love: Teenagers are teenagers no matter what situation they find themselves in. A beach episode must mention the one romance duo with have until now: Aries and Kanata. Quitterie may be a bit bland, but I agree with her: boys are idiots.

Themes & Trivia

Parthenogenesis: Parthenogenesis is a natural form of asexual reproduction in which growth and development of embryos occur without fertilization. In animals, parthenogenesis means development of an embryo from an unfertilized egg cell. In plants, parthenogenesis is a component process of apomixis. In theory, if evolution favored parthenogenesis, an entire ecosystem could be comprised only by females.

‘There is no shame in self-expression’

Time to learn the motives behind Ulgar. Why did he bring a gun with him? Why does he want Luca dead?

Did you like Episode 5 of Astra Lost in Space? Don’t forget to check the rest of our Summer 2019 reviews. The anime is also part of our weekly anime previews.