Welcome to Anime Rants! I’m continuing to catch up on Fall 2023 anime. The season will be over soon. Today, we have episode reviews for Stardust Telepath. I got so caught up in the episode recaps and my responses that I didn’t really have time or energy to make an important prediction in the actual article. So, I guess I can just make that prediction here, in the introduction, which I usually write last.
It’s obvious that Yu Akeuchi is not a real alien, but my specific prediction is that she was being abused at her real home and ran away. That’s why she started living in the lighthouse. The alien fantasy stuff began as a coping mechanism. Then, once she saw that Umika believed it and loved it, Yu just kept up the lie. This prediction doesn’t come true in episodes 7 to 9, but I’m guessing it will be important for the last two or three episodes. But back to the topic, let’s look at these episode reviews!
Episode 7: Daring Leadership
There are lots of cute interactions and small events in this episode, including Umika’s speech at the Club Presidents Meeting. She’s getting increasingly confident about speaking, even when she messes up. In order to enter the contest in two months, Umika and her group need licenses to work with model rockets. Matataki already has a license and quickly helps the other three get theirs.
To thank Matataki, the girls take her to an all-you-can-eat cake buffet. They also give her a present: a model robot from Gunvalion (clearly a spoof of Gundam + Evangelion). Matataki takes a photo with the other girls after some persuading. the next day, Umika and Matataki have a disagreement about how to prepare for the upcoming contest. Umika then spends the afternoon with Yu to calm down and decide what to do next.
That’s a decent recap of events. Now I have a few thoughts to add. first of all, Matataki is absolutely adorable. In a way, even though she’s not in any kind of romance polygon, Matataki could still qualify as a tsundere. I’ve always had a soft spot for the tsundere character type, despite its overuse in anime and the tendency to over-sexualize characters of this type. Anyway, I loved the part when Mataki finally agreed to take a photo with the other girls. Cute.
The last note for this episode is that I enjoyed the scene at the end where Yu and Umika talk together after winning prizes at the crane game. The way these two talk to each other is very romantic in nature. They also had some cute hugs. I’m pleased with this depiction of a budding romance that isn’t sexual and focuses on the emotional journeys of the characters. They might not be profoundly deep or well-written characters, but they are good enough to make me care about them.
Episode 8: Into Battle, Ultra High-Powered Team!
Despite Umika’s desire to have a more team-oriented project, Matataki keeps insisting on doing everything for the contest by herself. She’s the smartest and most experienced with rockets, so she reasons that doing most of it herself is the best way to ensure victory. After being yelled at by an impatient Matataki, Umika finally speaks up and asserts that they all need to work on this together. Raimon grumpily agrees and assigns tasks so the club can work as a team.
With midterm exams over and summer vacation mostly done, it’s time for the qualifiers for the rocket contest. Umika and Yu named the rocket “Ultra High-power Dream” despite Matataki saying that was a stupid name. Kei Akizuki visits Umika’s group and wishes for them all to have a clean, fair fight. Umika is extremely nervous about the fact that she needs to give the introduction speech. Meanwhile, Matataki worries that this launch site’s elevations and winds could throw off their predictions. To be continued.
As for my thoughts, I’m enjoying the growing friendship between Haruno and Matataki. I don’t think their relationship will ever be romantic like the one between Yu and Umika. Nevertheless, they seem likely to have a lasting bond. This is largely due to Haruno’s patience and graciousness with Matataki’s sharp tongue and critical nature. I liked the scene where these two made chiffon cakes together. It was very sweet – pun intended.
I’m also having a good time watching Umika become stronger and more resilient. She gets better with each episode. It was a little bit sad when she pushed Yu away, but that was a sign that she’s becoming less reliant on constant comfort. Umika’s courage and determination are admirable. Her propensity to adapt and learn is good, too. While she isn’t great at calculations like Raimon, she’s still quite studious, doing everything in her power to understand. Good episode.
Episode 9: Planetary Gravity
In this emotional episode, Umika and the rocket research club lost the contest. Umika’s speech didn’t go well, and the first rocket launch they tried would not ignite. They tried one more time, and though the rocket had a strong launch, they overshot the target altitude, resulting in a poor score. Matataki lashes out at Haruno in bitterness and anger. As for Umika, she’s devastated. She tells Yu that the dream will never be possible and she can’t take her to space as promised.
Thinking that she has ruined everything and that her dream has always been impossible, Umika sinks into depression. Fortunately, Kei runs into her the next week and they have a heart-to-heart talk. Thanks to Kei’s genuine kindness and words of encouragement, Umika realizes that the rocket research club is where she truly belongs. It’s her safe space, and she needs to protect it.
Umika goes to the lighthouse to talk to Yu and apologize for giving up. Though Yu wasn’t there at first, she showed up later that night, and the two girls had a sleepover in the lighthouse. Yu also sang a song to Umika which she claimed she remembered from her home planet. The episode leaves off there, but I have a lot to add.
This episode brought to me very close to tears at several points because I empathized so strongly with Umika. I had similar thoughts to her when things started going wrong in college and my relationships were falling apart. I was raised without socialization, in a cult, so I was extremely emotionally immature when I finally got out. I may have been in college, but my mind was still fourteen. That’s why my most emotional experiences were in college.
Anyway, Umika at one point says, “If this is how it ends, then I would have been better off being alone from the start.” When you’re in such deep devastation, you truly think this way. You wish you had never experienced anything good – because now, in it absence, life is too empty and painful. It took me years to shake this mindset even a little and start to believe experiences could be worthwhile. (Granted, I also had a personality disorder.) But this is anime, so Umika got over all the pain in one conversation.
Besides empathizing with Umika’s depression, I also feel a lot like her in other ways. For example, I also had incredibly fanciful dreams and ambitions for a long time, despite knowing nothing and not being useful at all. It was largely because, like Umika, I didn’t have a place I belonged. I could never be myself in the suffocating place I grew up. My wild dreams helped keep me afloat. As Umika said, “All I wanted to do was look up and yearn for the distant stars – the farther, the better. That way, I could look away from the darkness at my own feet.”
I could go on, but I’ve probably already inundated this post with too much personal reflection. I’m glad Umika is doing better by the end of the episode, and I hope she is able to get the club back on its feet. That’s all for today.
Thanks for reading~
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