English Dub Season Review: Astra Lost in Space Season One

Based on the Award-winning Manga series by author & artist Kenta Shinohara, Astra Lost in Space tells the story about a group of teens who are as the name implies “lost in space” but minus the weird robot screaming “Danger Will Robinson”. Much of the story feels very self-contained and the strength of the story comes from the characters and the strong bonds they share as they all have more in common than they all realize. Throughout their adventure they travel to a series of planets where they learn about other worlds the same as the audience does, but in a later episode after meeting a Russian Astronaut named “Pollina” is when the story begins to really get serious as the plot twists managed to top themselves in unimaginable ways with some being equally as shocking as the twist-ending to Planet of the Apes with their lasting power.

In terms of animation and art style, the show itself remains colorful & fluid throughout, while also reminding us of the harsh journey they’re facing, but from time to time, it does cut back to their parents reacting to the situation, and strangely with the exception of one particular parent, the rest of them are for some odd reason, remain unaffected or emotionless about the whole ordeal. You’d think any normal parent would be worried shitless about missing their kids but it’s later revealed to be an even bigger twist as the story unravels.

However when the series of crazy plot-twists do unravel, sometimes I’m left with more questions than answers in regards to the technology or the way certain society’s function within this show’s universe along with the leaps in logic and canyon-sized plot-holes that come from the twists that sometimes keep me from giving higher ratings to certain episodes, but what makes up for this the most is way they somehow manage to keep the proceedings compelling despite many of those flaws.

Overall, while not a perfect story, it was solid and compelling enough to get my attention and as I previously stated in my review of the final episode, since the success of teen survival films like “Battle Royale” or those bland “Hunger Games” films, the survival genre has consequently been so full of the overly-sensational Lord-of-the-Flies-Esque portrayal of self-centered, irrational, petty and resentful teens in a way that is too obnoxious for entertainment, yet not deep/mature enough to be taken as offering serious philosophical insight that often fails at delving into the light & dark sides of human nature. But thankfully, Astra never goes into that direction and somehow manages to maintain a gung-ho spirit and a positivity that leaves you feeling good at the end.