Anime Best in Show

Review: Astra Lost in Space Episode 08 – Best In Show

Quick Summary

In Astra Lost in Space episode 08, “Lost and Found,” Kanata HoshijimaUlgar Zweig, and Zack Walker found a woman in suspended animation in the other damaged ship on the planet Icriss. She’s alive, but only barely, so they get her back to their ship. She’s terribly disappointed to learn that they aren’t a rescue party, and that they’re trapped on the planet, too. What happened to the rest of her crew? How did her ship come to be on this planet? And what will they find when the travel to the last known location of the rest of her crew?

Note: This post may include spoilers, so be cautious.

Best Moment in the Show

What’s kinda funny and sad, both at the same time, is I completely get where Zack is coming from. There’s no hope for me, is there? Capture from the Hulu stream

In this episode, we got several intriguing hints about what’s going on behind the scenes — hints that might explain at least some aspects of why the kids might be lost in space. But my Best in Show moment is something a little more prosaic, yet universal. At least in my world.

Quitterie Raffaeli and Zack were trying to gather some of the editable plants. They were mobile, so the trick was Quitterie had to throw a cape over them to stop their equivalent of photosynthesis. That stopped them from moving. Then, she had to pick it up and put it into a container. Trouble was, it had tentacles, and as soon as she lifted it up, it would try to attack her. Seeing her struggle, Zack said he’d tackle that kind of creature, and she could gather the less “attack-ful” ones. She seemed a little dejected that she needed help.

She seemed almost shy with him as he gave her some mushroom tea and biscuits. She finally worked up the courage to ask what he’d meant when he said they’d live together after the ship had crashed. He didn’t understand her question, and she was furious that he simply meant that with the ship broken, they’d all have to live together. 

The little animated puffing clouds of steam coming out of her head were almost cute.

I really can’t blame Quitterie for being upset — given her perspective and understanding of the situation. Capture from the Hulu stream

She started talking about dreams, and he assumed she was talking about becoming a doctor. It was obvious (to us viewers, at least!) that she was also speaking about him — she wanted a future with him — but he didn’t seem to quite get it. But my Best in Show moment was about to come, and it showed that no, Zack was on top of it all along.

After he spoke of his dream to get back out into space — maybe even with Kanata as captain — she said she wished her dream could come true. He said she should go for it. He’d support her. She flew into a rage, saying he’d never understand, that her dream was impossible, because her dream was (15:11) “to become your wife!”

“But… we’re getting married, right?” he asked.

Apparently, when they were much younger in May of 2052, they had promised to marry one another. She had taken it as just two kids talking. He had thought they were engaged all this time. 

When she tried to say that most people just forget those things, he looked her straight in the eyes and said, “Really? I’ve always been in love with you” (15:53). 

I honestly can’t tell if he’s casually romantic or completely dense. Or maybe both.

What do you think of their relationship? What was your Best in Show moment? Let me know in the comments!

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4 thoughts on “Review: Astra Lost in Space Episode 08 – Best In Show

    1. “That was a nice twist to the whole “extremely dense character”

      I do like it when a show takes a trope, twists it, and represents it. It’s just more fun that way!

      “Made me like zack a lot more.”

      You know, I did feel like it humanized him a bit more. I like the impact it had on Quitterie, too. She seemed a lot more relaxed and easy going at the end.

  1. This scene stood out for me, too, but for me it was more the meta game: Kanata no Astra actually gets to the point, when the usual thing for anime to do is to allude to the status quo every now and then in a nudge-wink sort of way and change nothing. It’s scenes like this that make me realise just how much a character show it is (the “like-father-like-son” moment in the scene is thematically relevant to the unsurprising final reveal, too).

    I also like how, while they confirm what pretty much everyone suspected long ago, they’re already setting up the next layer reveal with the new girl (what did she think would happen, but didn’t? What was the mission of this ship?). The show’s hiding a lot of stuff in plain sight, but covers it up with light humour. It works really well.

    1. “when the usual thing for anime to do is to allude to the status quo every now and then in a nudge-wink sort of way and change nothing.”

      I like that point. The show feels dynamic because of it.

      “The show’s hiding a lot of stuff in plain sight, but covers it up with light humour. It works really well.”

      I also like how some of these reveals change how I think of previous scenes. Now that I know Zack thought he was engaged to Quitterie, him walking in on her in the shower takes on a different tenor. He still should have shown more reaction, but of course he would be less inclined to leave.

Please let me know what you think!

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