Kanata no Astra

There's plenty of its kind out there, but the characters keep it much more interesting than it had a right to be. As the story progresses, more and more focus is shifted away from the survival and towards drama, world-building, and politics. Good balance between serious parts and comedic relief, maintaining a generally upbeat tone without damaging its other qualities. Is helped by the fact that it has a very specific story to tell, and executes it as well as anyone could hope to, without sequel-baiting or filler; it is compact and to the point. Making the first and last episodes double length was a great idea, because the foreword and afterword are both lengthy and necessary, but they would have ruined the pacing if they were their own episodes. Visuals are nice and the 3DCG doesn't get in your face too much, and characters are distinguishable through more than just their hair colours, although they can be a bit too tropey at times. Nevertheless, it plays its tropes straight and unironically as a love song to sci-fi fans, so don't expect a ton of realism. Unfortunately, there was nothing in it that truly wowed me, so while it is a great and enjoyable watch, it isn't a timeless work of art or something.

*NO SPOILERS* I struggled a bit with episodes 1-3, as the mystery was not addressed yet (only subtly), but the real science-fiction element kept me interested. There were too many sub-plots which did not add up to the sci-fi overtones of the premise. BUT I WAS WRONG - each of the elements were answered, and in a logical way.

Overall, I was impressed with the writing. It DID deliver on the premise, and it kept the pacing, mystery, and character development. Great job crew!

I would RECCOMEND this mini-series. It was wrapped up nicely. Do not expect a second season, this was a complete telling of the story, and it was done well.

While it feels a bit rushed at times, this is a pretty great anime. The character development is pretty good too. The main cast starts off as fairly cliche anime tropes but as they develop you begin to connect with them more and more. And boy does it get HEAVY near the end as everything is explained to us.

Overall, I kinda wish this anime had more episodes as it would give me more air to breath as it REALLY dumps everything on you all at once it seems. But I strongly recommend it nonetheless if you like sci-fi. Has some great themes of friendship and love too!

Objectively an 8.5/10 but I love it, so it gets a 10 from me. :)

Definitely worth watching.

Lot of twists in this anime,those are so damn good.

Another one of my favorites. In 2063, eight high school students and one kid are flown out to a camp, but a glowing orb warps them nearly 5,012 light years away, meaning they need to get back home on a slow, dangerous trek across the universe, engaging in a vigorous journey. In the process, Luca Esposito reveals himself as intersex, although he may also be genderqueer. I enjoyed this as much as any of the others on this list, but at times the number of characters could be confusing to follow, which is why this it is has its current rating.