Kanata no Astra

I started reading this manga on Shonen Jump app a few days ago, and simultaneously watched the anime adaptation on Netflix. While I finished the anime before the manga, I equally enjoyed both. Astra Lost in Space is a superb sci-fi action manga that starts pretty casually, only to get intense and thought-inducing in the latter volumes. The exposition can at times get really hard to follow (I myself re-read a lot of dialogue to understand what was said), but even with that, it keeps the entertainment quotient active and the willingness to quickly jump to the next chapter was all because it was both beautifully written as well as drawn.

The writing can at times distract you from focusing on the visuals, but it's strong enough as well to keep you captivated. It's overall pretty fresh and original and not just another simple space survival story where you can easily predict the next twist the manga has in store for you. Keeping its tone mostly positive is another plus; the values of friendship, trust, responsibility and honor resonate throughout the writing and pretty much reflect through the characters as well; Kanata is my favorite character, not just because he's brave or active but also because his character is strong enough to inspire anyone to control themselves in the harshest of times. Similarly, every character is given time to be special, and hence the length is fairly justified.

The action scenes are eye-catching, while also a major relief from the dialogue laden portions. The overall level of violence is pretty minimal, given the space theme, but that intensity can be felt instead in the perilous action sequences drawn with finesse. The humor injected from time to time balances the manga's overall tone.

That being said, I don't think I need to write anything more. Just go and read the whole thing! Outer space has always been one of my favorite topics, and to see a manga portray it in such a refreshing way is just another reason why I am planning to buy the physical copies of the whole series.

This space thriller about the survival of a group of students is sure to make you keep reading until the end!

The premise alone captures your atention, a sci-fi adventure with a bunch of highschool teenagers, where they have to manage survival by themselves. But as the story goes, a bunch of questions pop up, and by the end a huge development is unveiled, and it does a tremendous job setting up and capturing your desire to keep reading! The only problem with it, is that the pacing was so fast, lacking some more interactions between the crew.

The diverse cast had a great developement, the interactions between them feel genuine, as it's about survival and trust is important, despise that their optimist is ever present, there should have been more of a desperate feeling in the air sometimes. They all have an important involvement in the story.

The art is very clean and easy to look at, while having detail. It also demonstrates the emotions and sets apart all of the characters as unique.

It was a great ride from beginning to end, never deviating from the story it set its goal to.

The story was great. Except, be warned. Around Volume 4, there are so many plot twists that you start to get kind of confused. But otherwise a really good manga.

Books 1-3 are pretty mild, they learn what happened, think about why they got "lost" in space, etc. But in Volume 4, they really start to discover stuff. Especially around the end of Volume 4 and the beginning of Volume 5, there is so much learned in such a short time that you might be confused. I would also recommend trying to read Volumes 4-5 right after each other to help with the confusion.

Science fiction is a genre that I've never really found myself gravitating to. Not for any reason or anything, but when I first started getting into anime and manga, no sci-fi stuff really appealed to me. I did watch Gundam 00 when it first came out, but it was filled with incomprehensible technobabble and a bunch of overconvoluted scenarios that made zero sense to me. But then again, I've always been picky about what I read or watch in general. One day, while I was scouring Anime News Network, I came across a review of the first three volumes of a manga called Astra: Lost In Space. My curiosity was piqued, so I rented the series from my local library to see if it was any good. To my surprise, it was, and so much more. While I wouldn't consider this one of my all-time favorite manga for a variety of reasons, Astra: Lost In Space is definitely a new favorite of mine that seriously needs more love, so why not spread the love?

The year is 2063, and the world has gotten to the point where interstellar travel has become the norm, to the point where high school camping trips take place on other planets. Nine children from Caird High School group B-5 have been looking forward to a five-day-long camping trip on the planet McPa for a while, with the added task of taking care of the younger sister of another classmate. But the second they arrive on McPa, a mysterious orb swallows them up and spits them out into deep space, thousands of light years away from home. They manage to find a derelict spaceship nearby, but without a good supply of food and water, they have no chance of survival. As they travel to other planets and find their way back home, questions run through their minds. Why did this happen to them? Could it be a simple accident, or is there something more sinister going on? And who's out there trying to kill them? Is it someone in their midst?

The mystery is the real hook of Astra. It mostly plays out like a lighthearted space adventure manga, and throughout the course of its run, it is. But the questions of what happened to them, who's trying to get them killed, and who the killer among them is the main driving force of the story, even though a lot of it is centered on their planet hopping and trying to survive. Interesting, the adventure/survival and mystery manage to blend surprisingly well, combining the thrill of discovering new planets and the joys, thrills, and dangers associated with them, to the dark, brooding, more emotional aspects with the kids' circumstances, their backgrounds, and wondering just who is trying to get them killed. In terms of the artwork, Shinohara's landscapes are a marvel to look at. Every world the characters visit is unique and full of character, managing to make the environments look both exciting to explore and just a tad frightening. But while the character designs are pretty good as well, Shinohara sometimes struggles with anatomy, with some characters either looking too big or too small for their ages, and sometimes their limbs look weirdly crooked in certain panels.

Worldbuilding is important when making a story, and Shinohara managed this really well too. In every volume, there are pages dedicated to showing floor plans, blueprints of the Astra and what goes where, the various types of space suits the kids wear and their brand names, and even the alien lifeforms on the various planets they visit have a lot of character and thought put into their creation, even the mutant Chocobos they meet on the second planet. The work that was put into making Astra's universe come to life is impressive and it gives everything a much greater sense of plausibility than it otherwise might have had. It helps that every volume focuses on just one world the characters visit, rather than having them jump from planet to planet every chapter, as that'd make it feel rather rushed. The story itself is very tight, with a clear goal in mind, and every chapter does what it needs to do without needing to bite off more than it can chew, and all of them are well paced, never lazing about and dragging something on longer than it needs, while still finding time to let the characters breathe and relax when needed, so no chapter is ever a slog to get through.

In regards to the characters, opinions can be mixed on this one. Let's not deny it, the characters are pretty much stock anime tropes on the surface: The jock shounen protagonist, the pink haired ditz, the whiny tsundere who complains a lot, the shy girl, the edgy Sasuke clone who hates everybody, the pretty boy, so on and so forth. They're all played pretty straight, and the series doesn't really do anything new with these character archetypes, so if you can't stand these kinds of things, then this manga isn't for you. Quitterie in particular can really grate on people's nerves. She's the whiny, annoying spoiled tsundere rich girl who complains about everything and is unnecessarily mean to everyone at first. She does grow out of it starting from volume 2, but I don't blame you for dropping the series because of her alone. Personally, I thought the characters were just fine, and for me, I found the series' other strength is just how these kinds of characters bond, deal with the situations they're in, and how they dealt with bad things in their past. Sometimes there's nothing wrong with cliches if they're used right, and although some characters are rather bland, I still found them enjoyable as a group. Also, Luca is my favorite. He's awesome. Fight me.

The characters aren't the only thing some people might take issue with. Some of the things that happen to the characters can come off as way too convenient for some, and some twists at the end, while they seem awesome on the surface, don't necessarily make sense on an objective level. I won't spoil anything, and I found the many twists the show reveals to be awesome, but others might not and find them too manufactured to be plausible, which is understandable. The manga itself is also very lighthearted, with a lot of comedy. Some of the jokes land, while others don't. Surprisingly, I found even some of the fanservice and associated gags to be surprisingly well done, especially volume 2's spin on one particular fanservice-y trope that I normally absolutely hate with a passion (Y'know, the "guy walks into a girl while she's nude in the bathroom, she gets mad and punches him." That one). It helps that all the characters are confirmed to be 16-17 in-universe, so any additional skeeziness is thankfully avoided, so you don't need to worry about there being any crappy stuff like underwear shots or non-consensual boob grabbing (THANK GOD) in this series.

While not the most original sci-fi manga out there, it's still a fun, entertaining, feel good space adventure, and it needs more love! A review of the anime will come soon after, so look forward to that!

If you're looking for a space exploration manga with likable characters and awesome plot, This is the manga for you

Story = 10
I like how the story unfolds, it isn't slow nor was it too fast-paced but just about the right amount. It hardly have any filler since each chapter builds up the story, stacks nicely, and how it kept me wanting for more.

Art = 9
""The art compliments the story"

It's a tip top quality as you can get. From the ships detail, to the scenery of different Biome, and the food they eat. Great quality.

Character = 9
If the plot is the cream, then the characters are the cherry! Each have their own distinct character traits. Sure their archetypes are quite often used now and then, but they are handled quite smoothly so they aren't too annoying or boring for the readers.

Enjoyment = 9

Heck yeah! I like firefly and some swashbuckling space adventure so I got easily leashed on this series. A little side dish to relieve some taste from reading an abundant amount of Isekais that the manga industry is pumping this year.

In other word, Yes, this is worth the read as each adventure is enjoyable and just as amusing as the previous one.

Overall = 10
Give it a go and let 'er seep deep within your deepest darkest consciousness, to fill your companion longing heart, mind boggling plot that will keep your butt cheeks tighter to the chair like a vacuum sucker to keep you glued on to your reading chair, Let those serotonin spread all over the brain cell and feel...

... Legendary

Astra Lost In Space is the first manga I pick to read from the new Shonen Jump app, I didn't truly know what to expect but it quickly become one my all time favorite manga stories.

Astra Lost in Space is perfect space adventure!! Lots of fun twists and turns!! I love how it actually felt like a space story, and centers on different planets and exportation and that survival is key, it was fast moving story with lots of cliffhanger moments, a really nice thriller too.

The characters really fit together, and it wasn't just other space adventure or even love story, sometimes those moments take away from the space adventure or key characters.

Overall I really love this manga, and I am happy it's getting made into anime!!

Note: (Spoiler-Free-Review)
This Manga is not what it seems like. Its so much more!

Overall 10/10.
What i loved the most was the Type of Story Telling, which is very reminiscent of Manga Titles like Yakusoku no Neverland or Shingeki no Kyojin. What i mean by that is that the Story is told from the Perspective of Characters that have very limited knowledge about the Truth of the World, which hides Secrets that one would never have expected.

What seemed like a Space Slice of Life that raised a couple of seemingly unimportant Questions at the start, and continues to portray this image until halfway through the Manga with a few annoying Characters and Dialogue quickly develops into a brilliant Story revolving around Conspiracy and Secrets. I would have never. Never expected the direction this Manga was going to take. Honestly the 2nd Half of the Show portrays a completely different Array of Emotions, it seems like a completely different Story.

I like to compare the Manga to a rollercoaster because initially you are elevated slowly and once it starts rolling you end up in an intense journey of excitement. I shed tears, my heart beat faster with every Chapter that i was reading. When the Plot Twists start piling up you will not be able to stop reading.

The Story was therefore a solid 10.
The Art, well i really enjoyed it although its nowhere near as Unique as Hajime Isayama or Yusuke Murata, its still absolutely solid and does a great Job at hiding the Insane Story through its simplistic and innocent design.


The only thing i did not like was that some of the Characters were annoying during the first half of the Show, there was some Dialogue bothering me, but i quickly forgot about that and honestly they were extremely minor issues, but i had to mention something negative.

My Overall Enjoyment was therefore a solid 10.

I simply hope more people pick up this Manga as the TV Adaptation will be Airing this Summer. Hopefully it delivers, im excited to watch that one as well, so if the Voice Acting, Music and Animation is on point i wouldn't be surprised to see this Story gain immense popularity, because i felt its underread, but incredibly loved by a select few.

I came across this series right after consuming one of SJ’s recent series The Promised Neverland. A friend I know on Twitter recommended two titles to me, Kimetsu no Yaiba and Astra Lost in Space. The latter was the one he loved the most and he told me it was a more obscure SJ title that has yet to see deserved praise. Given my sense of empathy, I wanted to look into Astra Lost in Space first to see if I would love it as my friend.

I was highly impressed with the art and character design, immediately thinking about why this has become notable to the manga community. Astra Lost in Space does start out fairly generic with a nice little premise about nine kids being mysteriously sent to space, wanting to return to their home planet. As the chapters progress, I gradually started to get attached to the characters. The combination of teamwork and leadership with the element of survival on an unknown planet created intrigue and decent character development.

As the story progresses (Particularly in the halfway point), the plot starts to really kick in with so many plot twists that made all of the character development more impactful. The connections the kids have had some of the most intense moments that highly entertained me and had me caring for the characters by a big degree. Reading that last chapter, seeing everyone happy with things back to normal, I could not help but feel empty.

Astra Lost in Space is a short, but powerful journey about friendship. I highly recommend reading the entire series in a day, as the manga has only 49 chapters. Give it time to let its story take loose, and I can guarantee you will be hooked to the end. I really hope to see an anime adaptation in 2018, because the creator (Kenta Shinomura) deserves to earn many rewards for creating a fantastic manga. I look forward to his next work. I hope his new series will follow similarly to Astra in terms of focusing on great character development and story.

What a journey!

At first few chapters it is pretty much like a generic stranded drama story likeas cage of eden, let's lagoon, etc.

However after some build up, it turns out to be more than that.
The story is great. It is not by any mean something so original, but it is not so original plot is so well done. Not dragged out, but still managed to flesh out the character quite well by resolving their issues.
The story also discuss something that is controversial in this modern science, which made this manga is so good.
The message of those controversial topic is also conveyed really well by the author.

The art is good for my taste. However the character design is generic like how you have the smart guy is the guy wearing a glasses. You could basically tell the character general personality by their looks. To be fair, You have all kind of characters in here, from cute boy to hot man, from hot babe to a little girl. So you have all kind of interaction that make the manga isn't boring.
In conclusion, the art is still well done, and the character has varied personality although their generic design so 8 for both art and character.

I binge read all the chapters in one day. It is really a great journey. Watching them grow attached one another, be best friend, romance blooms between some of them, their grow by resolving their problem.

It was a joyful experience 10/10 enjoyment.
If you have time to spare, read this manga. It delivers more than what its show at first.

I received promises that Kanata no Astra would look really good in some volume more forwadly, but in 2 volumes it was unable to present me anything decent to continue, but cliché stuff, and to make matters worse, it is not even a good cliché, but a sickening, discouraging and with many problems. So, what did the manga present? Conveniences, cliché cast, weak dramas and many flaws.

In this review I will highlight my disagreements with the work on 3 factors:

1- The cast
2- The elements of the work
3- The course it took at the end of the first volume

Definitely the biggest problem of all is the cast, after all, the cast is the most stereotyped and cliché thing I've ever seen. Being composed by:

- The ambitious male protagonist motivated by some very specific phrase from some tragic drama that he went through in his childhood (besides being quite hardheaded at times);

- The cute and innocent girl who just wants to be everyone's friend (kind of stupid, but out of nowhere she takes intelligence from where she doesn't have it);

- The girl revolted with everything and everyone, who doesn't want to know anything, only complains and fixes intrigue (tsundere) but soon afterwards redeems herself after suffering the """physical and moral consequences""" of her actions;

- The guy who's completely calm with everything, without worrying about anything, but absolutely vague of personality;

- The isolated girl, without personality, shy who barely makes a presence in the plot;

- The rebel who rebels against all attitudes and arms conflict and is only used for that;

- The stripped donkey that is useless for nothing but serving for a comic post that is not funny;

- The cute child that should be used for some twist;

- And the smart guy who moves the plot while the others are a bunch of clowns, but still, quite boring;

In the first volume too, the plot was absolutely cliché over an interesting theme that is space. But it tried to build the power of friendship, exploration, mystery, drama, survival, but it didn't work at any of them at all. Not to mention the great convenience of the work in an event at the end of the first volume, but of course, built in an ineffective way to build a cheap drama to shock the reader.

In the second volume, a typical mystery and investigation of an alleged traitor within a group that put them in an unfortunate situation was presented, if this cliché does not even have minimally unique tones or substances (as the work as a whole has not presented since the beginning) and that tends to stretch throughout the manga, i'm done with it, dropped in the second volume.

What's good about it? At first the premise in space is interesting, space tends to be intriguing but the way it is presented by the manga ends up not being so cool. The art is also cool, despite very mediocre designs, it is very smooth and pleasant to follow.

If you don't have problems with absurdly cliché works and not innovative at all, and you can find fun in Kanata no Astra somehow, go ahead.