Astra Lost in Space Episode 8 Review: Lost and Found

We don’t have many episodes left, and some plot points are hurriedly pushed forward. The new crew member is Polina, an astronaut and the lone survivor of Arc VI, a sister spaceship of Astra.

Plot

I don’t want to brush aside the tragic death of Polina’s crew, but their story was inconsequential before the real revelation: Astra is one of many sister ships that were sent out to find planets suitable for human habitation, thus the name Arc. From Polina’s prayer and the name of the ships (Noah’s Ark) we can safely assume that there is some religious plot hanging in the background. My guess is this: Before a prophesied Armageddon, a religious group takes the Arcs into space so that the human species can survive. Like many of these prophecies, the cataclysmic event was not confirmed, and Polina realises that either her faith was wrong (not likely) or that God has a masterplan and she must have faith (most likely). Either way, we are close to finding out the truth about the mini black hole that is going after the kids and the assasination plot against them.

The second point of interest arrives in the final scenes. Funi is probably Quitterie’s clone. So obvious. SO OBVIOUS. I mean, come on. I’m not even going to go there because anime.

Episode Highlights

The making of a crew: In the comforting blanket of hope, Kanata and Zack make one of the first solemn promises of creating a proper crew in the future. Kanata is one day going to be a starship captain and Zack will be his pilot. This is how bonds are created.

A or B: After Charce reveals to the crew that the plant on Icriss have an animal heart and can move on their own, Luca takes the chance to philosophize on the ridiculous notion of binaries. In doing that, he indirectly refers to Kanata no Astra by saying that an anime can me both comedy and science fiction.

Survival Tips: For the first time in the series, someone else is repeating one of Kanata’s tips. Zack is to Kanata what Spock is to Kirk.

Let’s Marry: Zack is a very interesting character. Though not as sociopathic as his father, he definitely fell down from the same tree. As Quitterie observes, he has the same emotionless eyes, but his emotional intelligence is not as compromised. His demeanor might signal indifference, but he is really in love with Quitterie and took their promise when they were 6 years old at face value. As far as romance plots go, this was more down to my likings than unresolved emotional conflicts that last for episodes.

Themes & Trivia

Relief: Just imagine being stranded somewhere, helpless as you wait for help to come. Yes, hibernation might have made the wait safer and more tolerable, but the excess emotion that would come from being saved would be too much for even the strongest person to try to conceal. Tears are natural.

Survival Tip No.5: When you give up, it’s game over.

Blood Types: Japanese place much importance on blood type. They are something like the Western Horoscope, as they believe that your blood type determines character traits. We all know the ABO system, but in reality we have more than 28 blood-group systems identified by the International Society for Blood Transfusion.

Clones?

I can’t wait to see how this plays out. A clone? Maybe part of the religious group that wants to colonize the galaxy? Is this a conspiracy?

Did you like Episode 8 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.