Review of Astra Lost in Space

“Astra Lost in Space” is what happens when You take a movie from 1998 and turn it into an anime… sort of. In 1998 “Lost in Space” directed by Stephen Hopkins was released. It was a story about a family that, thanks to a sabotage, was lost in deep space. Their goal was to get back to earth. Along the way they visit planets, conquer adversities and grow closer as a family. Now take that premise, turn the family into teenagers (because of course, it’s anime) on a school trip and You basically know what to expect. Now this isn’t a 1:1 comparison. The animeactually has some twists and turns that were… a mixed bag to be fair.

“Astra lost in space” follows the adventures of 9 teenagers after they become victims of a mysterious phenomenon that sends them into space and forces them to use an abandoned spaceship to get home. Not willing to trust each other at first, they become closer as they visit new planets, fight alien fauna and flora, and become aware of a secret about themselves and the world they come from that could change the course of history.

Despite having 9 characters for most of the show, they are not equally written and some of them get the short straw when it comes to quality. Kanata, Ulgar and Charce are the highlights of the show when it comes to character writing. Kanata because he’s basically the vessel for the viewer. It is through his perspective we experience most of the show and from the very beginning he establishes himself as motivated and protective towards his companions.
Ulgar has a pretty nice arc during which he changes from an asshole who gives off the vibe that he would kill You in Your sleep to someone who is trusted to handle the most dangerous weapon that the crew possess.
Charce in the beginning is an annoying, intelligent, pretty boy, but towards the end all his secrets are revealed and is given a totally new light to shine.
Zack and Aries are ok. They have their roles and their interactions with the rest of the crew are pretty entertaining. The problem with them is that they are flat. They do have a little growth but all in all it’s an example of “the more things change, the more they stay the same” regularity.
The rest of the crew, despite being interesting in theory, are done dirty. You could easily delete Quitterie, Funicia, Yunhua and Luca and the show could still work. Their only role is to act as catalysts for the growth of others. Especially Luca who becomes the key to Ulgar's change. They do have episodes when they can shine but it’s not even full episodes, it’s just a few scenes and that’s it. Talking about wasted potential.

The plot itself is pretty interesting… up to a point. Let me explain. The first 3/4 of the show is pretty interesting. A type of “planet of the week” formula. They find a new planet, they explore it, have an adventure, resupply and go on their merry way. Repetitive? Yes. Boring? No. Not really. The planets they visit and the adventures and struggles they encounter on them are distinct enough to keep You invested in the plot. That’s when the show is at its best. When the crew explores new worlds and come together to conquer adversities. If the whole show would be like that I would not complain much.
Unfortunately in the last 1/4 of the show they throw in a twist. A pretty big one. One that could, in theory, elevate the show. But it doesn’t. Don’t get me wrong, the idea itself is pretty ok. The problem is that the show has only 12 episodes and adding that kind of twist toward the end kills the pacing by rushing a lot of elements. They tried to pack too much new info in very few episodes. The whole thing feels rushed. The dialogs that were simple but solid become needlessly complicated and pretty much giant info dumps. Given another 12, hell even 6, episodes more the story would have more time to breathe and sink in more naturally. The mystery that was set up in episode 2 is resolved by an ass pull. I know the show relies heavily on coincidence (without it the plot wouldn’t even happen after all) and plot armour but that was on the level of Goku pulling out a new attack from his ass mid fight. I guess the mystery itself was handled in a lacklustre way by not giving any clues to solve it, so the writer probably wrote himself into a corner and that was the only way they knew how to resolve it. Bad writing nonetheless.

Despite the flaws with the character writing and plot the show is really enjoyable. Seriously, with all the incompetent writing this show has no business being this hooking. I watched the whole show without even noticing the flow of time. Yes, most of it is because the banter is pretty good and the initial premise is thought out. If it wasn’t for the last few episodes the show would probably become one of my favourites. The twist part… yeah… it kills it a bit for me.

All in all I think this show deserves a shot. If You can forgive plot holes and over reliance on deus ex machinas You can have a blast with it.