is a Japanese

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

series written and illustrated by Chūya Koyama. It has been serialized in

Kodansha is a Japanese privately-held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha is the largest Japanese publishing company, and it produces the manga magazines ''Nakayoshi'', ''Afternoon'', ''Evening'', ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' an ...

's ''seinen'' manga magazine ''

Morning Morning is the period from sunrise to noon. There are no exact times for when morning begins (also true of evening and night) because it can vary according to one's lifestyle and the hours of daylight at each time of year. However, morning strict ...

'' since December 2007. A 99-episode

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

television series adaptation by

A-1 Pictures is a Japanese animation studio founded by ex-Sunrise producer Mikihiro Iwata and it is a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment Japan's anime production firm Aniplex. History The studio was established by SMEJ's animation production division, ...

aired from April 2012 to March 2014. The manga was also adapted into a

live-action film Live action (or live-action) is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation. Some works combine live-action with animation to create a live-action animated film. Live-action is used to define film, video ga ...

that premiered in May 2012. An anime film, ''Space Brothers #0'', premiered in August 2014. In 2011, ''Space Brothers'' won the general category at both, the 56th

Shogakukan Manga Award The is one of Japan's major manga awards, and is sponsored by Shogakukan, Shogakukan Publishing. It has been awarded annually for serialized manga and features candidates from a number of publishers. It is the oldest manga award in Japan, being ...

and the 35th

Kodansha Manga Award is an annual award for serialized manga published in the previous year, the event is sponsored by the publisher Kodansha. It is currently awarded in three categories: '' shōnen'', '' shōjo'', and general. The awards began in 1977, initially w ...

. As of March 2022, the manga had 28 million copies in circulation, making it one of the

best-selling manga series The following is a list of the best-selling Japanese manga series to date in terms of the number of collected ''tankōbon'' volumes sold. All series in this list have at least 20 million copies in circulation. This list is limited to Japanese ...

Story

In the summer of 2006, Mutta Nanba and his younger brother, Hibito, witness what they believe to be a UFO, which flies off towards the Moon. Hibito decides he will go onto the Moon whilst Mutta decides he will aim for Mars. Nineteen years later, in the year 2025, Hibito has become a fully fledged

JAXA The is the Japanese national air and space agency. Through the merger of three previously independent organizations, JAXA was formed on 1 October 2003. JAXA is responsible for research, technology development and launch of satellites into orb ...

astronaut assigned to go on a mission towards the moon. Mutta, on the other hand, has not been so successful in achieving his dreams. As Mutta eventually recalls his past ambitions, he receives a letter stating he has been accepted to join a JAXA training program for new astronauts. The series follows Mutta as he seeks to become an astronaut and achieve his longtime dream just like his brother did.

Media

Manga

''Space Brothers'', written and illustrated by Chūya Koyama, has been serialized in

's ''Morning'' since December 6, 2007. Kodansha has collected its chapters into forty-two ''

tankōbon is the Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or cultur ...

'' volumes as of December 2022. The manga is available in digital form in North America and Europe from ComiXology and Amazon in both volume and SimulPub chapter format. It is also currently available in English as part of a read-only subscription from

Crunchyroll Crunchyroll is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Sony through a joint venture between Sony Pictures and Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Aniplex. The service primarily distributes films and tel ...

and

Kodansha USA Kodansha USA Publishing, LLC is a publishing company based in New York, USA, and a subsidiary of Japan's largest publishing company Kodansha. Established in July 2008, Kodansha USA publishes books relating to Japan, Japanese culture, and mang ...

Anime

A 99-episode

television series adaptation by

aired on

Yomiuri TV JOIX-DTV (channel 10), branded as , is the Kansai region flagship (broadcasting), flagship station of the Nippon News Network and the Nippon Television Network System, owned by the subsidiary of the eponymous Yomiuri Shimbun#Yomiuri Group, Yomi ...

from April 1, 2012, to March 22, 2014. It was simulcast by

. The series is licensed by

Sentai Filmworks Sentai Filmworks, LLC or just Sentai, is an American entertainment company owned by AMC Networks. Located in Houston, the company specializes in the dubbing and distribution of Japanese animation and Asian cinema. Its post-production arm is S ...

in North America. The 31st episode, which aired on November 4, 2012, features the first piece of voice acting to be recorded in space, performed by astronaut Akihiko Hoshide aboard the

International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA ...

. A special episode titled was screened in planetariums during Summer 2012 and was released on DVD with the 20th manga volume on February 22, 2013.

Music

;Opening themes #"Feel So Moon" by

Unicorn The unicorn is a legendary creature that has been described since antiquity as a beast with a single large, pointed, spiraling horn projecting from its forehead. In European literature and art, the unicorn has for the last thousand years o ...

(ep 1–13) # by

Sukima Switch is a Japanese rock/jazz fusion duo consisting of core members , born May 9, 1978, and , born February 25, 1978, formed in 1999. Formerly with BMG Japan (bought by SMEJ in early 2009), they signed with Sony Music Japan's Ariola Japan label in Se ...

(ep 14–26) # by DOES (ep 27–38) #"Small World" by

Fujifabric is a Japanese rock band formed in 2000. While their music can be mostly categorized as alternative rock or power pop, their music usually consists of an eclectic mix of genres, including jazz, disco and progressive rock. Name origin Before the ...

(ep 39–51) # by Magokoro Brothers (ep 52–64) # by Merengue (ep 65–75) #"HALO" by tacica (ep 76–87) #"B.B." by THE Yatou (ep 88–99) ;Ending themes # by Rake (ep 1–13) # by Angela Aki (ep 14–26) # by Akihisa Kondō (ep 27–38) # by

Motohiro Hata is a Japanese singer-songwriter. He debuted under the major label BMG Japan in 2006 with the single . Early life and career Hata is the youngest of three brothers. He moved to Yokohama when he was 2. He began playing the guitar at age 3, a ...

(ep 39–51) #"Beyond" by

Miho Fukuhara is a Japanese pop singer who made an independent label debut in 2006, releasing a single titled "The Roots" and mini-album titled ''Step Out''. In early 2008, she made her major-label debut under Sony Music Entertainment Japan. Her single, "Cha ...

(ep 52–64) # by

Flower Companyz Flower Companyz is a Japanese rock band from Nagoya, Aichi. The band has released 15 original studio albums and 6 compilation albums since their formation in 1989. Their most recent album, ''Stayin' Alive,'' was released on January 21, 2015. ...

(ep 65–75) #"New World" by Kasarinchu (ep 76–87) #"Anata ga Ireba OK!" by Serena (ep 88–99)

Films

Live action film

A live-action film adaptation of ''Space Brothers'' was produced by

Toho is a Japanese film, theatre production and distribution company. It has its headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. Outside of Japan, it is best known as the producer an ...

and released in Japanese theatres on May 5, 2012, later being screened at the Japanese Film Festival in Australia later that year. The adaptation was written by Chuya Koyama and directed by Yoshitaka Mori, with

Shun Oguri is a Japanese actor and voice actor, son of stage director Tetsuya Oguri, and the youngest of 3 siblings, including older brother Ryo, who is also an actor. He started in small roles as extra in the works in which his father and brother worked ...

and

Masaki Okada is a Japanese actor. He is best known for his roles as Sekime Kyogo in the drama ''Hanazakari no Kimitachi e'' and as Takuma Kakinouchi in the 2009 film '' I Give My First Love to You''. Filmography Films * ''The Foreign Duck, the Native Duck ...

playing the roles of Mutta and Hibito respectively. Real life astronaut

Buzz Aldrin Buzz Aldrin (; born Edwin Eugene Aldrin Jr.; January 20, 1930) is an American former astronaut, engineer and fighter pilot. He made three spacewalks as pilot of the 1966 Gemini 12 mission. As the Lunar Module ''Eagle'' pilot on the 1969 A ...

plays a cameo in the film as himself. The theme song for the film is British alternative rock band

Coldplay Coldplay are a British rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer Will Champion and creative director Phil Harvey. They met at University Col ...

's "

Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall "Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall" is a song by British rock band Coldplay, it was released as the lead single for their fifth studio album '' Mylo Xyloto'' on 3 June 2011. An exclusive digital EP version of it, with the B-sides "Major Minus" and ...

" from their album ''

Mylo Xyloto ''Mylo Xyloto'' (pronounced ) is the fifth studio album by British rock band Coldplay, released on 24 October 2011. The band worked closely with producer Brian Eno following their successful collaboration on ''Viva la Vida or Death and All His ...

''. The film won the "Best of Puchon" and "NH Nonghyup Citizen's Choice" awards at the 16th

Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival The Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (), or BiFan, is an international film festival held annually in July in Bucheon, South Korea. Prior to 2015, it was known as the Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival or PiFan. Inaugurate ...

Anime film

A prequel anime film titled ''Space Brothers #0'' (''Uchū Kyōdai #0'' in Japanese) was released in Japanese theaters on August 9, 2014. Manga creator Chūya Koyama wrote the script for the film.

Reception

It has been nominated twice for the

Manga Taishō The is a Japanese comics award recognizing achievement in manga. It is awarded annually to a manga series published in the previous calendar year of eight or fewer collected volumes in length. The Manga Taishō was founded with the aim of re ...

, in 2009 and 2010. In 2011, it won the award for best general manga at the 56th

s and at the

(shared with Chica Umino's '' March Comes In Like a Lion''). In 2014, it won the Reader Prize of the 18th

Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize Named after Osamu Tezuka, the is a yearly manga prize awarded to manga artists or their works that follow the Osamu Tezuka manga approach founded and sponsored by Asahi Shimbun. The prize has been awarded since 1997, in Tokyo, Japan. Current ...

. As of March 2022, the manga had over 28 million copies in circulation. An asteroid, 13163 Koyamachuya, was named after the creator.

References

External links

* * * * * {{A-1 Pictures 2012 anime television series debuts A-1 Pictures Comedy anime and manga Fiction set on the Moon Films scored by Takayuki Hattori Films scored by Toshiyuki Watanabe Films with screenplays by Makoto Uezu Hard science fiction Kodansha manga Live-action films based on manga NASA in fiction Science fiction anime and manga Science fiction comedy Seinen manga Sentai Filmworks Slice of life anime and manga Television series about space programs Television series set in the 2020s Winner of Kodansha Manga Award (General) Winners of the Shogakukan Manga Award for general manga Works about astronauts Yomiuri Telecasting Corporation original programming Japanese science fiction films Japanese comedy films