English Dub Review: Astra Lost in Space “Past”

Charce gives in to the pressure and finally reveals that much like Aries, he’s also a transfer student who arrived after she did, but admits that he didn’t say anything earlier since he didn’t like sharing too much about his past, and it’s here where we get to his backstory this time within this episode as we learn that Charce hails from the “Vixia Royal Quarter”, the only nation on Earth that is still ruled by royal nobility. In the past, he had befriended a commoner girl named “Seira” and despite the classiness of where Charce lived, he smuggled her into the area reserved only for nobles. Only for this to have devastating consequences later on when she ends up somehow knocked out and injured.

Sometime later, Seira’s family left Vixia, taking her with them, But Charce left as well, swearing to learn biology so he could hopefully find and heal Seira someday. The rest of the group are touched by Charce’s tragic story, and despite a subtle wink or nudge to the audience, Charce remarks that Aries reminds him of that very same girl. Afterward, the group reaches the next planet, Icriss. However, the bizarre nature of this specific planet’s rotation is perfectly in sync with its orbit around its sun, meaning one side is always scorching hot while the other side is an arctic wasteland, meaning the only safe place to forage is within the region directly between both extremes.

Unfortunately, as they attempt to find a landing spot, the Astra is attacked by a massive carnivorous plant, resulting in the Astra suffering significant damage that makes reaching space impossible. Zack points out they do not have the parts or resources to repair the damage, which at first causes them to possibly accept the possibility living on this planet, at least until sheer happenstance when Charce leads a foraging party and much to everyone’s shock, discovers a second ship similar to the Astra. As the group examines this semi-damaged new ship, the episode ends when they make an even larger discovery inside it.

Our Take

That was a pretty ok episode end feels closer in tone to what I was expecting from the start of the series. No more obligatory beach/bikini episodes in space it’s actual survival, with some unraveling mysteries added that have yet to be solved. Also, what are the chances of another one of these ships landing in the same place? I’m more curious about what the hell they just found, but apparently, it’s a twist even I didn’t expect.

If I had any gripes that kept me from giving it a higher rating, is in regards to Charce’s flashback. While his past does come across as tragic, it just feels ridiculously implausible. He just established that a nation exists in a pseudo-medieval age where there’s class division? Whoever wrote this clearly doesn’t know that historically, the kids of nobility played with the servant kids, stable boys, etc. And the soldiers themselves could be considered “commoners” and yet we’re supposed to believe that a planetary colony exists full of rich assholes with no servants of any kind?

Hopefully, more is further explained as I’m left with more questions than answers right now.