Futatsu no Spica

Why I should have gone to Japan for high school!

If there's one genre that the Japanese have no problems with, its the high school dorama. This ties into the fact that Hatsukoi is the basis of a lot of jdoramas and that the Japanese seem to have similar experiences in high school. Their high schools all look the same and they have the same extra curricular activities. The premise of Futatsu no Spica though is slightly different. Its not your typical high school but rather a school to train future astronauts of Japan. Yes, in this alternate future, Japan has the technology to send their people to space. At least they are not sending a tourist into space and claim that he is a certified astronaut.

The only way for Japan to keep public interest in their space program is to make sure all their astronauts are hot.

The other premise that you'll have to accept in order to enjoy this show is that one man can be blamed for the failure of a launch just because it had a 0.1% chance of happening. The amount of people and preparation needed to design and execute a space launch is too massive to put the blame on a mere designer. I'm pretty sure an accident of such magnitude would mean a public inquiry. If you can put up with the above two premises and some illogical plotlines, you will find that Futatsu no Spica is a decently paced high school dorama about dreams and one's choices in life.

Alas, there are not accidental pantsu shots. :(

Sakuraba Nanami does an excellent job as the main character Asumi. She didn't stand out in Akai Ito (except for her goth loli cosplay) but her acting in Futatsu no Spica shows that she has the potential to be the next Nagasawa Masami. Actually the acting is all-round decent. The two guys, one of whom is of course the osana najimi are pretty good. As long as they keep casting non-Johnny's, its all good. Rounding up we have a stuck up ojousan girl and third girl who's sole purpose is to entice viewers with her very short skirt.

Kabe onna vs Yama onna.

At seven episodes, the pacing is brisk and it doesn't have time to get too melodramatic, especially compared to Akai Ito which just went too long. Futatsu no Spica has a decent story to tell and it does it efficiently. Very watchable shows. Just try to not think too much about the Nasa and rocket design storylines.