Futatsu No Spica (aka) Twin Spica

I remember being a primary school kid when Animax first came to India. And this was one of the first shows aired on it. It was a period in Animax India's history that I loved the most, for they aired classic masterpieces back then. Twin Spica was one of them.

Asumi Kamogawa is an aspiring astronaut who applies to the newly established Tokyo Aerospace School, despite her father's wishes against it. When Asumi was a child, her mother died in front of her eyes during the crash of the famous Lion Space-shuttle. And her father, being one of the rocket engineers who designed it, is torn between murderer's guilt and victim's sorrow.

 From the minute she enters the school, there is a Professor Sano who seems to be completely against her. He even tries to get her expelled from the program by using the excuses like she was shorter than average and brand new astronaut training uniforms would have to be made especially for her. The board does not agree with him, of course.

Her childhood friend Shun follows her to the school. And she makes three new friends there - Kei Omi and Marika Yukita, whom she met during the entrance examination, and Suzuki Shu, a queer guy who topped the entrance exams. The five of them soon become close, despite Marika's aloofness, Shu's mysteriousness and Kei's bluntness.

The series goes back and forth between incidents from Asumi's childhood and the present, in a beautifully connected manner. Throughout the series, we see a Mr. Lion who, unbeknownst to her, is actually the ghost of one of the original Lion astronauts.

On a quick side-note, there is a Live Action version of the series, which is wonderful but at the same time, quite different from the anime or the manga. In fact, they have changed some of the key plot lines in the drama and have completely struck off Mr. Lion's character! And Mr. Lion happens to be one of my favourite characters in both the anime and the manga! Therefore, if you are interested in watching the Live Action, please do so before you watch the anime so that you may objectively appreciate the work.

Now for the negatives. I had always thought that the ending was a bit too abrupt; that it had quite a few loopholes. But I understood the reason only much later, when I came across the manga version, in which the story goes much further (which is also incomplete on all the translation sites I know!). The story does not end where the anime ends. In an effort to finish the series in 20 episodes, they have overlooked some loose ends. In my opinion, this is a series that deserved a season 2 to do it full justice!

But be as it may, the series wins your heart nonetheless. The quiet Asumi is unlike other children you might come across in other stories. Her queer nature might be perplexing at times, but she stays with you all the same. There are a number of side-stories of all the characters, which are equally rewarding by their own merit. The subtle music, the dialogues and the sheer simplicity of a story of reaching of your dreams, warms your heart and resurrects the dreaming child in you.

Positives: Story, animation, dialogues (Both English and Japanese), concept

Negatives: Unfinished and disconnected ending

My Rating: 8.5/10

Studio Ghibli: Kokuriko zaka kara (aka) From Up on a Poppy Hill

The first thing that caught my eye about this movie from the moment I saw the first promos, was the brilliant colour scheme throughout the movie. The picturesque images in every scene in this movie perfectly depicts what 'moving picture animation' is! Combined together with the brilliant background score, perfectly timed songs and a sweet storyline, this movie makes magic on screen. And that is exactly what Studio Ghibli is known for.

The stage is set in 1964, Japan in a small, shipping town near Tokyo. Matsuzaki Umi, a second year high school student, lives on top of the hill in her Grandparents' house along with her younger brother, sister, grandmother and a bunch of lodgers. Umi runs the household whilst her mother is studying overseas. Her father was the captain of a supply ship that sank in the Korean War. Although it has been many years since her father passed away, she still raises signal flags on the flagpole outside her home for her father's safe return - a practice she refuses to forgo even though she has accepted her father's demise. Unbeknownst to her, a young boy (Kazama Shun) raises answering flags on his father's tug, every morning as they pass by the hill.

In the meantime, the Konkan Academy students are busy trying to save their decades-old clubhouse, 'The Latin Quarter' from demolition. Umi helps Shun with the school newspaper and also gives ideas to save the clubhouse. As they begin working together, feelings develop between the two and an innocent, wistful young romance blossoms.

Contrary to popular belief, this movie was in fact, not directed by Hayao Miyazaki (who scripted it), but by Goro Miyazaki. It is a simple story, but one that will definitely touch your heart. The artistic beauty of the film will win you over by itself. The brilliant soundtrack and the feel-good storyline is just an added treat. I highly recommend watching it in the original Japanese with subtitles if need be, because many of the underlying nuances of Miyazaki's script are lost in translation and dubbing. This film is a must-watch Studio Ghibli production.

Positives: Art, music, simplistic elegance

Negatives: -

My Rating: 10/10