ROCKET GIRLS

Space travel and exploration have been a part of anime since the very beginning (see  Astro Boy ); however, most of that has involved futuristic science fiction. The number of animes involving space travel and exploration, at somewhere around the level we’ve actually seen in real life, is pretty darn small, and I’ll mention two.The South Korean anime film  The Satellite Girl and Milk Cow  (2014), the looniest love story ever told, involves a ridiculous number of utterly insane things, but the one, in particular, I am referring to is how the satellite girl of the title was magically transformed from South Korea’s first satellite, KITSAT-1, into a girl. (Don’t ask; just watch it!) One of the most memorable scenes involves a heartbroken Kit deciding to return to space but learning (or being reminded) that she can’t because as a satellite she’s now obsolete, useless, and unnecessary.The one you’ve probably all heard of is  Royal Space Force  (1987), a fascinating mixed bag. On the one hand the animation and everything technical about this film is absolutely amazing, and the inspiration it gives for space travel and exploration is equally amazing; on the other hand the “hero” starts out as such an ignorant Doofus and behaves (at times) so poorly that he may lose a good percentage of the audience before he finally wises up. (Watch it online first,... without impressionable children present,... until you’ve made up your mind.)Suitable for all audiences and if anything even more inspiring is “Rocket Girls”, a living embodiment of one of Johnny Carson’s basics: “If you buy the premise, you buy the bit.” In this universe, in which Japan has its own space program (sort of), the Solomon Space Association, they’ve struck a serious problem, potentially fatal to the whole enterprise. The problem is that their latest rocket, the LS-7, large enough to carry an astronaut into orbit, tends to explode upon launching (like, every single time they’ve tried it); their backers are threatening to pull their funding if they don’t actually launch an astronaut… soon; and their very reliable older rocket, the LS-5, cannot lift a full grown man unless they starve him down to the point where he flat out quits the program.That’s where the premise comes in. While trying to recapture (but not kill) their one and only astronaut, the forces of the SSA encounter a short, skinny Japanese high school girl, Yukari Morita, arrived upon her own mission, seeking the father who conceived her, then disappeared on her parents’ honeymoon on Guadalcanal. Suddenly, during the yelling Yukari dishes out to all concerned afterwards, the man in charge of the SSA, Isao Nasuda, realizes that a short, skinny, female teenager might be able to do everything a fully grown man can do WITHOUT blowing the weight limit and gets an idea,... an awful idea,... a wonderful, awful idea….On the promise by Nasuda to start looking for the truth about her father (something at least, in theory, he can do better than she can), Yukari agrees to start training as an astronaut, and the bit is launched! What follows are an accelerated astronaut training program on a shoestring budget, the strange actions of all the assorted weirdos and loons willing to try so hard to achieve Japan’s first manned space program, a couple more short, skinny, Japanese or part Japanese teenage girl astronauts, and a couple of space missions: one at the halfway point and one at the ending that work about as safely and smoothly and routinely…as  Apollo 13  did. Definitely, a hoot and a half!Note: Housuke Nojiri wrote four SF novels in this series and the first two,  Rocket Girls  and  Rocket Girls: The Last Planet , which the TV series was based upon, are available translated into English, as well as a later SF novel of his  Usurper of the Sun .Note: It is common to combine the review pages of the DVD and Blu-ray editions, but this example is a little more complicated because the DVD edition came out more than a decade earlier from a different company. As you’d expect the picture is twice as good on the Blu-ray, and as you’d expect the subtitling was noticeably superior on the DVD. However, the DVD edition also has the three and a half minute Pilot Episode in the Extras section of Disc 3, displaying noticeably different artwork:Bandai  DVD ,Sentai  Blu-ray .Note: This series is only subtitled in English; there is no English voice dubbing.* The Smallest Astronaut

I first came across Rocket Girls online while browsing TV Tropes; specifically, their page on the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and the media involving them. Seeing enough in the show I figured I'd like and with a little gift money to burn, I purchased this Blu-ray of the complete series and thoroughly enjoyed it – thus inspiring me to write this overall review for anyone else who may be interested.To start off, the Blu-ray itself is rather barebones in terms of content: Only the twelve episodes and "clean" creditless versions of the opening and closing sequences are included, with only English subtitles for the undubbed audio. Videophiles might also turn their nose up at the episodes being locked to standard definition on an HD-capable source (the use of which seems to be more for higher storage capacity to fit all twelve episodes on a single disc). Considering the general obscurity of RG and its low potential for profit, though, this straightforward release of the series virtually unchanged from its 2007 broadcast is understandable enough.Content-wise, RG isn't too different compared to most anime adaptations of light novels in terms of story and characterization: Average teen/young adult gets unexpectedly thrust into a world of high adventure, finds their legs in the new situation, and forms bonds with the allies they make; basic stuff. However, the level of accuracy regarding the aerospace science and technology on display is admirably high (yes, even for the skintight spacesuits – typical fanservice potential aside, those actually have been discussed and prototyped within the aerospace industry for the reasons brought up in the show), thanks to JAXA officials serving as series consultants. The respect and passion for the subject material that shows through this accuracy helps to propel RG along, making the titular girls' situation, with all the risks and rewards it entails, feel all the more real and engaging despite its real-life improbability. (I say "improbable" because I'm convinced Elon Musk would be doing something like this if he were more strapped for funds, but that's neither here nor there.)To summarize, Rocket Girls doesn't do enough new with its story conventions to truly be called special, but if you're looking for a lighthearted short anime that takes space science more seriously than its premise suggests, I'd definitely recommend it. A general 3/5, but a personal 4/5. Buy the Blu-ray only if you're interested in having a tchotchke/conversation piece; the series is available to stream online through HiDive.

Good older Anime, was missing in my collection. I love the plot, young Girl becomes Astronaut to find her Father, (Spoiler Alert) is nearby. Helping NASA to fix device in Space. Good for all ages, No Fan Service, Showed it to my Girls, they loved it. Thank you for the Adventure............

I am a fan of English-dubbed Anime. This one I may have purchased a little prematurely, because it was in Japanese. That is fine, but I prefer watching over reading. I gave 4 stars because the series is awesome, but I wish it had a dubbed version.

480i standard def video delivered on a Blu-Ray disc. Very weird, and very disappointing.