2015: Space Series

sothis Sep 22, 2020

9.5

While the art wasn't always consistent and one or two stories didn't quite hit the mark, this is hands down one of the best set of stories I've read in ages. The first chapter has replaced the one shot Hotel - the story that got me into manga over a decade ago - as the most epic story I've read. So many chapters reminded me of the short stories I used to read in Analog magazine as a kid, or similar to episodes of Black Mirror, where there's a devious twist at the end. The main miss was chapter 13 about the space elevator, but the rest were A+/ Fantastic art in almost all of the stories - even ones with more cartoony styles felt like it fit the tone and didn't detract.  Really one of my favorites of all time that I'll recommend to everyone. Totally unexpected. 

nathandouglasdavis Jan 2, 2023

4

This is a collection of fourteen oneshots about space travel and aliens and arks finding new planets for humanity to live on and loneliness and self-sacrifice. The majority of the artwork ranges from bad to mediocre, with only a few pieces being actually on the good end of the scale. Similarly, the majority of the stories within this collection are pretty underwhelming and even bad. The constant of gravity shifted within our universe and caused life on Earth to become unfeasible, so an ark has been traveling with its crew members in hibernation to try to find a new habitable planet. The crew members are slowly going insane because of the long passage of time. I'd rate this as a 1/10. Someone who's loved the idea of space exploration since childhood ends up in a situation where fe might have to engage in some diplomacy with some aliens. I'd rate this as a 7/10. A boy stuck in a hospital basically becomes a penpal with an alien. This is the one with probably the best artwork, in my opinion. I would've liked this one quite a bit more if it didn't end it in the way that it did. But, as is, I'd rate it as a 6/10. This is moreso abstract psychedelia than story. I'd rate this as a 1/10. We see two astronauts excitedly discussing the reconstruction of an alien lifeform which they are attempting based on a piece of brain matter they've found and how this alien must've lived. The plot twist felt like I could see it coming from a mile away and that hugely detracted from any potential enjoyment I could've had from this story. I'd rate this as a 3/10. We see someone in space recording the destruction on Earth after a nuclear war. Fe is trying to preserve the final moments of humanity's existence. This blended together personal drama along with largescale drama pretty well. I'd rate this as a 4/10. This story was my favorite of the bunch. It's another story about an ark transporting the seeds that can reignite life on another habitable planet. We see a single pilot having to deal with a few last minute problems in order to make sure the spaceship can land safely on the planet. I'd rate this as an 8/10. This is a story of political relationships and criminal exiles as well as a story of self-sacrifice and learning to be at peace with the past. I'd rate this as a 5/10. This is another story about self-sacrifice, but this one focuses on the idea of the afterlife and whether the afterlife (if it exists) hosts aliens alongside humans or how that works. I'd rate this as a 3/10. Set in the middle of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union, we see some bonding occur between those manning the rival space stations. I'd rate this as a 5/10. There is a colony in space that has periodic shuttles transporting people back and forth. Someone heads on a shuttle to Earth to try to find a radio broadcaster who fe had enjoyed listening to. I'd rate this story as a 2/10. Someone with an exceedingly high IQ recounts a trippy experience fe had while working for NASA to a documantarian. Why is fe recounting this and did it actually happen? I'd rate this as a 3/10. And similarly to the last story, this one also has someone involved in space research getting interviewed. In this world, there is a giant Space Pillar with huge cables stretching across the North American continent needed to support it. This story deals with themes of space travel as a form of escapism. I'd rate this as a 2/10. And finally, this is a kinda silly little story creating an origin story for how humanity originally arrived on Earth (hint: it involves space travel). For the humor alone, I'd rate this as a 4/10.

CrazyMazie Dec 3, 2022

10

Basicallly, it is a collection of many short stories related to space. Stories are all different from each other and its refreshing, it opens a new way of thinking about the universe. Doesnt contains many chapters tho,just 14 chapters long, you can binge on it now if you are interested regardless of whether you are interested in space stuff because regardless the stories will engage you to the very end.