Review of Astra Lost in Space

This show is so painful. (I have not read the manga, this is purely based off the anime.) It feels like a poorly written Wattpad fanfiction, which wouldn't be a problem if it was a poorly written Wattpad fanfiction, but sadly it's not, it's a 12 episode anime. The anime consistently fails to switch between intense moments of drama and light-hearted comedy, the main reason is because of the characters. I really believe the show could be enjoyable if the characters weren't so one-dimensional and boring, all the questionable choices and plot holes could be brushed over if the characters were just a bit better. Characters in this showare incredibly dull, they all fall into an immediate stereotype which is eventually attempted to be developed into something more but fails for every character. There is this message of friendship throughout the show which is nice, but felt like it never meant anything because the group of characters never really felt like a group of friends, because they don't feel like people, they are all so robotic and stereotypical you can almost predict how every single scene will turn out. If any of the characters in the show have tension or a problem arises between them an unrealistic moment of 'friendship' and kindness always solves the problem and they learn their lesson, this is what makes the show feel like bad fanfiction. You know there are no real stakes and when nothing matters, it becomes really hard to care about the characters in the show and their situation. When the dramatic twists and reveals happen, I couldn't bring myself to care because the characters are so unappealing whether you predicted the twist or not it still feels just as dull.

I am not trying to critique the show on some 'deep' level or complain about it for not having a intense plot, full of mysterious undertones or anything like that. The problem for me was that I couldn't enjoy this on a surface level. I ignored the weird plot holes, accepted the power of friendship as a solution to everything and yet it was very hard to watch, I only continued watching because I hoped for it to get better yet it never did.

Overall, I would not recommend this show, 12 episodes felt a lot more like 24 of pure pain and boredom. Maybe if you enjoy sci-fi and really love themes of the, like, power of friendship, I can recommend this? Otherwise I would recommend watching anything else, it's not the worst anime but it's pretty bad.