Welcome to readers one and all! Episode 8 was as exciting and interesting those previously aired. I’ve come to expect no less from this promising series, Kanata no Astra. Both quality and personal enjoyment were high. In the early episodes, I wasn’t too exited about the art style of this anime, but by now it’s grown on me and I like it a lot. I also like the instrumental OST for this show so far, though the OP and ED are just… “meh.” I’m getting used to the Japanese seiyuu’s voices, and I think they’re doing great with their roles.

(Speaking of seiyuu cast, Polina/ Poli-nee is voiced by Hitomi Nabatame. I like the sound of her voice and she’s obviously decent at acting. I’ve only seen/heard her in a few anime, like Kishimoto in Gantz, Sena in Chaos;Head, and Eriko in MariMite.)

Moving on, there were some very humorous moments in this episode. Quitterie and Zack promised to marry each other in the future, and the whole scene was super cute and super funny. I’m so proud of Quitterie for expressing her love, and I’m so happy for her that it might actually work out. Also, be careful: the fourth wall is cracked just a little. Luca almost broke it. xD He said the following, “Just like me. It’s not all one or the other. Male and female, plants and animals… comedy and sci-fi anime.” That made me chuckle. However, the slapstick comedy gag scene near the end was too forced and not funny.

I thought this episode would provide a lot of answers, but actually, there were only new questions raised and more room made for speculation. One of the mysteries is centered around Polina. She knows more than she’s saying. Once she heard what year it was (2063), Polina acted like she expected something horrible to happen to Earth. She seemed surprised and relieved that it didn’t. What happened, or what was supposed to have happened, between now and twelve years ago? Polina may have lied or neglected to mention something about her crew’s mission; I bet they were looking for habitable planets because something terrible was going to happen to/on Earth. I wish Polina wouldn’t keep secrets.

The big reveal at the end was interesting and sparked a lot of thought, even though I saw it coming as soon as Quitterie said she had the exact blood type as Funicia. In previous episode reviews, I noted that everything so far has to do with genetics, starting with the law/ movement Luca’s father fought against, “Genome Monitoring.” Genetic experimentation of course makes me think of clones. Funicia is a clone of Quitterie. (I initially thought Seira and Aries were clones, and it’s still possible they could be, but I think it’s too strange that they have the same name with letters ordered differently. They might be the same person. But if they’re clones, I won’t complain, because that makes sense, too.)

There are numerous reasons why a government could be interested in making clones. I had no guesses until I though about the work that Zack’s father is doing: memory transplanting. The goal could be immortality, for example. An individual can have his memories transplanted into a younger clone of himself, and keep doing so, thus “living forever.” Again, maybe the kids on the Astra were sent away to avoid becoming genetic experiments; or perhaps they were deemed genetic failures, hated by their parents, and sent away to die.

The clone theory isn’t the only explanation of things so far, though. Other possibilities are parallel universes and time travel. For instance, that silvery light sphere may have transported the kids to a separate world line, where other selves exist, and where Earth was wiped out. Or, the spheres sent them to the past or to the future. With Polina’s reaction to and confusion over what year it was, something time-travel-related might be the answer. Perhaps the adults on the home planet experimented with time machines and that’s how Funicia ended up in their time as a younger version of herself pulled from the past. Time paradoxes may then be the causes of those bizarre silver spheres.

Anyway, I’m done speculating for now. For reading my episode review today, I sincerely thank you! Please come back and see me again soon at Anime Rants! Be safe, be well, and never give up. In Kanata’s words, “Once you give up, it’s game over!” See you next time!

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An Early Look at the MBTI Types of Kanata no Astra Characters

Zack: INTJ
Quitteri: ESTJ
Kanata: ESFP
Aries: ENFJ?
Ulgar: ISTP
Cherce: ENFJ?
Yunhua: INFP
Luca: ISFP
Funicia: ????

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Other Posts About This Series
Kanata no Astra Episode 1 Review
Kanata no Astra Episode 2 Review
Kanata no Astra Episode 3 Review
Kanata no Astra Episode 4 Review
Kanata no Astra Episode 5 Review
Kanata no Astra Episode 6 Review
Kanata no Astra Episode 7 Review

PATREON

(Images from: Kanata no Astra. Dir. M Andou. Lerche. 2019.)