English Dub Review: Asteroid in Love “Memories Are Treasures”

 

 

Overview (Spoilers Below)

This third episode of Asteroid in Love is split into three parts. None of the parts center around the Earth Science Club but instead focus on the growing camaraderie between Mira and Ao. Suzu also appears in all three parts, often acting as a moderator to keep the ship sailing.

In the first part, we learn that both girls have recently failed tests and they need to retake them in order to get their school lives back on track. While both are serious about hitting the books, they’re also pretty enamored over getting to spend extra time with each other. Suzu busts into Mira’s room to help motivate them but winds up derailing the situation even more. Upon learning Ao’s mom is a science artist, Suzu wants to show her Mira’s secret graphic novel. Mira refuses to reveal it, presumably because Ao plays a big part in the narrative.

Mira’s older sister, Misa, also stops by to embarrass her younger sibling even more. Misa adores her little sis, and is over the moon when Mira gifts her the banded rock she collected by the river. We also learn that Suzu admires Misa more than anybody because she’s a strong female making her own way in the patriarchy.

In part two, Mira and Ao help out at Suzu’s family bakery. They encounter Megu, Suzu’s extremely tall younger sister. This beast of a woman feels bad because her sports obligations require Suze to work more often, thus neglecting her social life. The girls assure Megu that Suzu maintains active and rewarding friendships despite her commitment to the bakery. This makes the gigantic girl happy.

Part three reinforces the girls’ assertion about Suzu. A few days later, they see her and Inose walking together—possibly on a date. Mira and Ao attempt to follow them in secret but get busted almost immediately. It turns out, Suzu was merely helping Inose map out an enclave and record any interesting geological finds. There’s a moment of awkwardness, but the foursome soon mend their differences and choose to explore nature together.

Usually the quiet one, Inose is finally comfortable enough to open up to the group. She tells them a story about how long ago an old friend made her a treasure map—a fun experience that has kept her interested in cartography to this day. She also agrees to make Mira and Ao a treasure map of their own.

Over the next many days, Mira and Ao follow Inose’s map and eventually find the “treasure.” It’s a candid photo they all took together. And while this material object is a fine reward, the true treasure is the experience of sharing each other’s interests.

 

Our Take

Okay, we’re only in the third episode, right? So how come we’ve already abandoned the earth science club as the central meeting place for our characters? It was the ideal setting for this series because it combined the characters’ interests AND the club is mobile. It doesn’t have to be confined to that abandoned chapel—earth sciences can take place anywhere.

What would’ve happened if on episode three of Cheers, Sam said, “You know we don’t always have to hang out at this dreary bar, right?”

I mean, Sam owned the bar, so that would’ve been a stupid thing for him to have said, but the same rules apply. We signed on for a show about a ragtag school club, down on their luck, but scrappy when it counts. The club that is somehow devoted to both our planet and all of space is what drew us all to this program in the first place. We don’t need to see Suzu’s family bakery. The few mentions of it were enough to give the girl a proper background. If we’re ever curious enough about Suzu’s home life, we can wait for the spin-off. We can wait for their Frasier.

Alright, with that out of the way, this was a pretty good episode. Mira and Ao are the two best characters, so we arguably should spend the most time with them. Yeah, it was weird not to see Morino or Sakurai—our fearless presidents—but it made sense to isolate our leads at least this once to truly develop our protagonists’ motivations.

I liked the juxtaposition with the sisters, both Mira’s and Suzu’s. From the very first present-day scene of the very first episode, we knew these girls were the closest of friends. But once the veil was lifted, and we were able to look into their private lives, it became clear that they exist under the classic physics-related paradox of “opposites attract.” While both their sisters are supportive, they most certainly don’t show it in the same way. Misa is over the top and teasing, while Megu is a gentle giant, never wanting to be seen as a pest.

Mira and Suzu’s oneness is also intriguing because even though they’re both loud and flamboyant, their objectives, styles, and trajectories couldn’t be further from one another. I look forward to seeing these two interact in the future.