Lunatic Antics

Spoiler Rating: This is a Series Analysis, which attempts to analyze the series and present the author’s likes and dislikes of the series. On a scale of 1 to 10, ten being very high spoilers, the spoiler level is 5. Short episode summaries are presented for several episodes as well as thoughts about the ending. However, nothing in this post would be considered a major spoiler that would lower the enjoyment of the reader.

Summary and Personal Thoughts

When I first watched Sora no Manimani, it was really just an okay anime. At first, it was really cheesy. Two childhood friends meet in high school after being away for so long and now they will probably fall in love or something. I was seriously rolling my eyes at this point because I do not want another Love Hina, Tonagura!, Princess Lover, or Yotsunoha. It comes off as a bit shallow that is almost slapstick but not quite, since Mihoshi, the female lead, does tackle Saku, the male lead, whenever possible. But there were some good things. First of all, it was pretty funny and enjoyable. Secondly, Mihoshi is really cute.

But most importantly, the selling point of Sora no Manimani, was Mihoshi telling Saku that her dream is to show everyone the beauty of the night sky. Just in the first episode, we get a glimpse of Mihoshi’s character: She is hyper and fun, determinedly seeking out her childhood friend without caring about anything else. She cares about the memories of their past, becoming way more angry than I expected when Saku feigns amnesia, which is the last thing I would expect from her. And finally, she shows herself as not just some random girl who likes astronomy and wants to make trouble. She really loves it, and despite her ruining the astronomy club’s reputation by runnning around looking for Saku, she really wants it to be successful.

“Mii-chan’s always smiling. What exactly can I do for her right now?”

In epsisodes 2-5, we are treated to more romance cliche. Hime, someone who likes Saku, decides to randomly join the club just so she could get closer to him. Wow, amazing. But the key difference here is that Hime is not annoying like others of her type in romantic comedies, and Saku is definitely not perverted. We got to see more of the astronomy, which was absolutely stunning. I feel that, up until this point, the main selling point of the anime is comedy and “slice of life” in lack of a better term. The astronomy holds the story together, and it does so very well. Every activity or event is centered around astronomy somehow so that the comedy and fun are not random and have substance.

One of the most memorable and awe-inspiring scenes of Sora no Manimani took place at the end of episode 5. While on a stargazing trip, the astronomy club invites the feuded literature club to a stargazing event. With everyone lying on the grass, gazing towards the night sky, Hime described the constellations and told the myths of how they became, much to the fascination and amazement of the literary club members. This scene enforces the importance of astronomy to everyone in club by showing off Hime, who up until now we assumed did not care much about astronomy but more about Saku. But what was emotional about this episode was seeing Mihoshi’s happiness, for the club has succeeded in gaining appreciation for astronomy.

A really good anime to compare Sora no Manimani to is Nodame Cantabile. I enjoyed both of them immensely because they are fun to watch anime with a loose plot, but the episodes are connected through a theme. For Sora no Manimani, it is astronomy, and for Nodame Cantabile, it is music. Because of this, all of the comedy and events in both shows are not seen as random and episodic, which lets me look forward to the next episode while a pure comedy/parody show such as Ichigo Mashimaro or Hayate no Gotoku! might not. The big difference is that Nodame Cantabile is less serious, which makes me smile at the end of each episode, while Sora no Manimani makes me go “wow” at its beautiful astronomy.

-”Hello Papa. How’s the sky over there?”
-”It’s fabulous and very pretty.”

But it wasn’t until episode 6 that I thought the series really picked up. For the first time, we have some hints at serious romance as opposed to comedic Hime trying to get closer to Saku or slapstick Mihoshi tackling Saku. I was still wary at this point, but episode 7 really delivered. It should be noted that for most of these episodes, they end on a happy note, although never cheesy or predictable. This is an important aspect of Sora no Manimani that I love, and the reason why this happens is because the focus is shifted back and forth from romance to astronomy. If every happy ending is Saku going on a date or getting a kiss, then after a while it gets old. Sora no Manimani manages to remind us of how beautiful the night sky is bit by bit, giving depth to the relationship of the characters, the ones who share a common passion, and not just random high school students blushing constantly.

From episode 8 on, I keep telling myself, “This can’t get any better.” But guess what? It did. The cultural festival happened (and ended) in episode 8, the stargazing conference happened (and ended) in episode 9, and then different event happens in episode 10. Wow, I just love the pacing! Sora no Manimani never loses its momentum because nothing is repetitive. The same thing doesn’t have to impress you again because it’s another thing that will impress you every episode. There are also tiny things that seems insignificant at first glance but is really necessary to the flow of the series. An example of the trip to Sayo‘s family’s Buddhist temple in episode 8, which seems completely random. But I can now see that it helps with the flow and transition between episodes 8 and 9, and it is a really smart thing to do.

“Giving a souvenir as a gift gets harder with each passing day.”

Even though I’m not doing a really good job of summarizing the episodes (to not spoil you guys), I want to have a discussion about episode 10. It starts out with 3 club members following Mihoshi’s “date”…isn’t this cliche? But then, drama is inserted, which then leads to more drama, then changed to another type of drama, finally connecting to the two dramas, and ended with a resolution. This was really unexpected at first because I thought the episode was going to be a filler of some kind. They way drama is created and then connected together with romance and astronomy just astounds me. This is how you create suspense; this is how you create (and solve) drama! A bit of the so-called drama was hinted at the end of episode 3, and some of the #anime regulars expressed concerns whether or not the drama will be presented well. Once again, Sora no Manimani shows itself to be very flexible, all-encompasing, but at the same time completely entertaining.

Story: 10/10

Overall, I feel as if I’ve just been brought along with a great ride. It wasn’t very dramatic, but it was very fun. In comparison to other anime this season, Saki was a very entertaining anime in a suspenseful and jumping-out-of-your-chair way. Sora no Manimani in contrast is entertaining in a calm and peaceful way. It doesn’t make me look forward to the next episode, but it gives time for it to sink in. It impressively combines romance, comedy, and astronomy to create that perfect balanced plot. And last but not least, it is visually appealing to those who may not know much about anime but also long-time dedicated stargazers.

Characters: 10/10

As mentioned many times throughout this review, Mihoshi is an amazing character. Not only is she technically “good,” but she drives the whole show forward with her likability. The other characters are also amazing. Hime deserves a mention next, because she is an incredible rival who is not in the least bit annoying. In some ways, she is much needed to the show to give Sora no Manimani that romantic twist to remind us that the characters are indeed high school students. There are way more characters that I want to mention but not spoil, so I will leave this section short. I will just mention in passing that Fumie and Ayumi are two of the best female characters of their type.

Enjoyment: 10/10

This category definitely deserves the highest scores. There isn’t really much to say except that it’s amazingly entertaining.

Technical: 10/10

Not only was I impressed with the beautiful skies, the constellations, and story behind them, I was also impressed with the background music. The score of an anime is something we have taken for granted. We might easily notice an anime with no background music, so when it’s there, we don’t pay much attention to it. But few anime use music so well that it stands out, and this is one of those cases. In episode 11, after the blizzard, Hime and Mihoshi looked up at the night sky. The music played there was so beautiful and fitting that I could not take my eyes off the screen. And that is what background music should do, make a scene impress the viewer while standing out at the same time.

“It was a small image, swaying in the sky… In the solar system, it’s the sixth closest planet in the sun.
Who knows how many people have seen it with their own eyes?”

But that’s not all. I have mentioned this before, but Mihoshi is just too damn cute. I mean, seriously. If we include voice acting into this category, then wow, everthing is so great. When Mihoshi yells at Saku with such emotion for the first time, she showed that she can be cute yet serious at the same time. Am I giving points for moe? Uh, yeah I am.

Ending: 9/10

I regard the last two episodes of the series, episodes 11 and 12, as the ending. The reason is I believe the climax of the series was in episode 10, so the rest was just winding down to the ending. And this is one of the few series that takes more than 1 episodes to wind down. Most series often have the climax in its final episode or the one before. But by doing this, Sora no Manimani departs with a calm, dreamy tone. It doesn’t give you a feeling of wanting more, but rather a nice memory along with the ability to let the series go. I’m not very sad that Sora no Manimani ended since the anime properly prepared me for it. And that is the sign of a great ending at work.

Episode 11 is just another fun trip that at first seemed like a filler of some sort. What is amazingly about Sora no Manimani is that in every episode, we get to see another dimension of Mihoshi’s character. We already know about her hyperactive side, her emotional side, her love for astronomy, and her desire to spread the appreciation of astronomy. That should be more than enough to fit a 12-episode anime, but the ending goes further by first showing her caring side for others. This trip plays out the relationship between Hime and Mihoshi and their unspoken rivalry. But it does so in a very subtle and friendly way that never uses the typical romance triangle element.

“Shh… Can you hear the wind?”

And then we get to the final episode, which is possibly the least active episode of series. It introduced some really fresh ideas into anime…such as girls peeping into the boys’ bath at a hot spring. When in anime have you seen that? This episode also introduced Mihoshi’s final shy and nervous side, which is just as cute. Ultimately though, she reverted back to her other defining characteristics, which both celebrates her original passion at the start of the series and showcases how she has progressed since then. There is also only final resolution to a side plot that I will leave out. It is a nice surprise to me (in a good way), and I hope that it will be for you too.

Final Rating: 10/10

A few years ago, I took a university course in astronomy. One of the requirements for completing that course was a stargazing party. So we drove about 15 miles outside of town to an “observatory” where light and pollution would not affect the night sky. When we got there, it was just like Mihoshi’s astronomy club attending the Autumn Stargazing Conference. The “observatory” turned out to be a parking lot where telescopes were set up and people were just talking about the stars. Our class didn’t have any equipment or telescopes, just like Mihoshi’s club. We were just there, among the experts, looking at the stars. What our professor did have was a laser, which could project a thin beam of light to the sky. Who knew something so simple could be so effective? From there, we listen as he told us the names of the constellations and together we silently appreciated how beautiful the sky was.

Now that I look back on it, I am thoroughly convinced that it was the best learning experience I’ve had. And that is, I believe, the magic of Sora no Manimani. What Mihoshi wanted was to spread her passion of astronomy to others in her school. And by doing so, she has also reached out to all of her viewers. For me, it brought back a nostalgic memory that I could now appreciate, and I hope that Mihoshi sparked an interest for others who have no knowledge in astronomy. Because of that, Sora no Manimani has succeeded. It is fictional, it is fantasy, but it also connects to reality. It draws you in and lets you experience a bit of its magic. And for that, it deserves the highest praise.