What an intense interview scene. Nine on one. And only they get a table.
It was beautifully done, too. Mutta keeps slouching and adjusting the screw. The guy at the end looks away off to the side after Mutta attempts to ride on the coattails of his little brother. Everyone speaks, but their voices are silenced, and all we can hear is the sound of Mutta’s heartbeat.
Mutta’s dreams can be shattered due to a single screw. Of course, as it may turn out, they can also come true due to a single screw.
I also liked the cinematography when Mutta received the acceptance letter from JAXA. His mom spends a couple minutes talking about what’s for dinner. Then, “Oh, by the way, you got a letter from JAXA.” Then once he opens the letter and runs out of the house, she yells at him to bring back milk. Skim milk. Way to go, mom, keeping firmly grounded in the day to day.
The creators do a great job at managing the audience’s tension as well. After the first test, and the approach of the interview, Mutta and the audience are stressed out. Then he goes and flushes his cellphone down the toilet. The tension is broken, and we relax. Which only makes the shock the more intense when Mutta takes a seat in that downright scary interview room.
Flashbacks
I like the way they’re fleshing out Mutta’s childhood, particularly how everything they show is grounded in the present through his visit to Aunt Sharon.
I’m particularly curious who Aunt Sharon is. She always wears a lab coat, and she seems quite wealthy. I’m guessing we’ll learn more later. Is she a scientist? In real life scientists don’t make much money though…
Mutta was a wise child, never taking the easy road. Going back to the earlier discussion of how the show uses the past to enhance the present, this is an important detail. Remembering how he always took the hardest path is what leads Mutta to go and take the test at JAXA.
He’s spent the last ten years making noise. Now it’s showtime.
Hah, I think the wildest part of the JAXA letter scene was how Mutta was in the process of removing his pants. That felt very random, but kind of hilarious for the character. I wonder if we’ll see more of Aunt Sharon as well, she’s has a good eye.
Haha yes! I loved how he tripped and fell then too. I’m sure we’ll see more of Sharon, she clearly has something to do with space since she owns that huge telescope…
The interview scene was really well done. I loved the use of the heartbeat in that scene, since it established Mutta as reasonably confident in his knowledge and presented him as a nervous wreck at the same time. I could totally relate to his post interview worries too, since I’m neurotic enough to worry about the horrible impact that the most insignificant things can have on my life and job interviews are just that nerve wrecking.
That’s an excellent way to describe it, both confident and a nervous wreck simultaneously.
I generally don’t worry about that kind of thing after interviews, I just push them out of my mind. I’m only a nervous wreck beforehand. 🙂
Amazing how the little things, no matter how bad they may seem, can come around and be ultimately beneficial toward somebody. I was pretty damn impressed by the way the screw scene was handled.
so much depends
upon
a red wheel
barrow
glazed with rain
water
beside the white
chickens.
Oh Please Please Please get this anime licensed in the Philippines! Animax! Just Please do it! — Been seeing good episode reviews about Uchu Kyoudai and this reminds me of the anime Twin Spica.. I really need to see this one to make a review of it