Comments on: Space Manga

By: Lori Henderson

Lori Henderson — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 01:18:39 +0000

Yeah, I saved Twin Spica for my astronomy manga post. It was very happy to see not just that it was licensed, but was picked up by Vertical, who will do right by it!

By: Wraith

Wraith — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 00:29:35 +0000

I don’t know if you’re still reading these comments, but I wanted to point out that Twin Spica has been licensed:
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2009-09-25/vertical-adds-twin-spica-chi-sweet-home-needles-manga

You’ll probably have to wait until next summer, but it will be coming out in English.

By: Wraith

Wraith — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 02:59:22 +0000

It’s not officially available in english, but if you’re looking for space related manga, don’t miss Twin Spica (Futatsu no Spica). It’s a near-future story focusing on Japan’s manned space program, which has had a major disaster when their first manned rocket exploded and crashed into a populated area.

The story’s main focus is on Asumi Kamogawa, who was a baby at the time of the rocket crash. She gets inspired to become an astronaut, and most of the story follows her at what’s basically Tokyo Space Academy. The school is essentially a nation-wide magnet school that focuses on space-related courses, from medicine to engineering to the newly created astronaut training course, which is naturally what Asumi applies for.

The series also had a 20 episode anime, and a 7 episode live action series is currently airing in Japan (with JAXA and NASA involvement), but the manga is the best incarnation of the story. The manga itself is currently at 15 volumes, with the final volume to be out later this year.

Definitely one of the top manga titles I want to see licensed, following only Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou.