Space Brothers

Synopsis

"Space Brothers" is a TV anime produced by A-1 Pictures, broadcast from 2012, based on Chuya Koyama's manga of the same name. As children, brothers Mutta and Hibito Nanba promised to become astronauts together. The younger, Hibito, fulfills that dream first, becoming an astronaut bound for the moon, while the elder, Mutta, has known only setbacks. When Mutta receives notice of JAXA's astronaut selection exam, he sets out once more toward space. Against the backdrop of the real world of space development, it is a moving work depicting the challenges and failures of adults chasing their dreams, and the bonds of family.

Why visit the real-life locations

The world of Space Brothers becomes vividly real when you visit the actual space-development facilities it draws on. The JAXA Tsukuba Space Center in Ibaraki is the heart of Japan's space program, where astronaut training and mission control take place. Its exhibition hall lets you see real rockets and test buildings up close, letting you feel the atmosphere of the stage the Nanba brothers strived on. Meanwhile, the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima, famed as a rocket-launch base, spreads out as a dynamic complex facing the blue sea. These are precious pilgrimage sites where you can walk the very grounds of the dream depicted in the series.