Series Information

ANN Encyclopedia | AniDB | AnimeNfo
Genres: Adventure, Science Fiction
ED: [Scarecrow] by the Pillows
MOONLIGHT MILE
MOONLIGHT MILE｜WOWOW ONLINE

[Mission 01: To Beyond the Sky]

[Enjoyment Value: 8/10]

Initially, I was attracted to this series solely because of Tanaka Rie being involved with it. Before watching, I thought that this would’ve been somewhat similar to Planetes (which I’m in-progress of watching) atmosphere-wise. Well, that impression has been somewhat dispelled as this series is dangerously GAR-contaminated if the two main guys (Goro and Lostman) introduced so far are any indication. The only thing I think it probably has in common with Planetes is that this appears to also involve some human drama in its plot. Also, the show is not for kids (read: sex scene) so you can expect some R-15 screenshots. Oh, as for my summary, I wont’ be doing one but do visit Impz’ post if you do want to see one (summaries will probably start with the next episode). As it stands, Moonlight Mile seems to be a good sci-fi human drama so far (Also this entry should’ve been out over a week ago but now that a sub is out…yeah).

[Thoughts]

I found it interesting how this show grabbed me from the opening minutes. There were no dazzling explosions (well there was one but certainly not dazzling) or magical powers being thrown around but instead an astronaut who was survive after a crash on the moon. Too bad she had to go and find something that she obviously wasn’t supposed to see because the price of seeing whatever it is she was not supposed to see (the robots or the ship?) was her own life. I wonder how this scene is going to work out in the future though since I think the main characters will most likely run into a similar situation.

The two main guys, Gorou and Lostman, are quite interesting characters. Not only are they beyond manly but they’re undoubtedly chick magnets too. As evidenced by the sex scene at the beginning of the episode (right after the opening). I like how they dealt with the situations on Everest a lot. Even though they wanted to carry some of the dead bodies that they found after the avalanche, they had to eventually dump them since they were being slowed down in the snowstorm. Flora, the snow princess, was handled very well for such a short-lived character. She was shown as a woman who wanted to live her dreams out with her husband atop of Everest to an internally-injured survivor and, sadly, to a woman who had lost all hope of living due to the loss of her husband and the freezing cold. I was glad to see that Gorou and Lostman granted her wish (of seeing a satellite from the peak of Everest) by carrying her wedding ring to the peak.

I was surprised at the kind of jobs both guys obtained after their climb. Lostman is in the Navy and Gorou working in an construction company. Very different jobs but both I think are jobs that are preparing them for their eventual jobs as astronauts. Lostman will most likely be a pilot and, if you’re familiar with Planetes, Gorou will very likely be controlling any cranes aboard a space shuttle.

On another note, the animation for the first episode was very nicely done. Though I wonder just how long it will last before (if it does) it drops. Well, I can only hope they maintain at least a decent level.

Lastly, I was very much awaiting the debut of Tanaka Rie’s character and almost thought that she wasn’t going to be shown in the first episode. Ikeuchi Riyoko, her character, seems to be a no-nonsense kind of woman and is apparently in a high position of authority at the moment. She also seems to be a candidate for the upcoming astronaut selection. I can’t wait to see more of her!