Publisher's Weekly Review
While replete with giant robots, alien invasions, and incredibly creative mecha that fires the imagination, many Japanese sci-fi entries use their fantastic trappings as an accent to the fascinating and all-too-human protagonists of their narratives. This effort from Yaginuma (Asumi) utterly involves readers in the dreams and ambitions of young Asumi Kamogawa, and it's easy to see why the series was a smash hit in its native land. Thirteen-year-old Asumi lives in Japan in 2024 as the country's space program is resurrecting itself in the wake of a launch tragedy 10 years earlier, and Asumi aims to be among the first wave of young astronauts to take Japan into the stars. Raised by her construction worker father, Asumi is the apple of her dad's eye and he will do everything in his working-class power to make her dream of attending the Tokyo Space School come true. The relationship between father and daughter is very moving, and Asumi's interaction with her equally ambitious schoolmates is also compelling stuff. There's no action to speak of, instead each page contains more genuine emotion than an entire space fleet's worth of similarly themed stories. Opening with a strong introductory volume, this series shows great promise and bodes well for future installments. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Library Journal Review
The candidates of the first class of the Tokyo National Space School have overcome many obstacles while trying to become astronauts, but they cannot avoid loss when one of their friends dies suddenly. Shu's passing leaves a hole in the tight-knit group that has formed in the three years of their training, with one person losing a best friend and another losing her secret crush. Loss and perseverance fill the pages. The obstacles and tragedies play out in a microdrama among classmates, parents, and the community. The mangaka uses an understated, sentimental shojo style to display the small stories that can have big consequences, such as the plotline about cloning. In the final volume of the series (Vol. 12), the only successful candidate of the Tokyo National Space School is accepted to the first manned mission into space since the Lion disaster that curbed the ambitions of the Japanese Space Program. The principal characters have overcome many challenges to become the first graduating class from the astronaut high school, generally by supporting and encouraging one another. For a manga about a fictional Japanese space program, the characters spend almost no time in space; however, the point of the manga is the exploration of the relationships and the determination of the candidates to reach their dreams despite overwhelming obstacles. Verdict Twin Spica is a slice-of-life manga about astronaut high school, but unlike Planetes and Evangelion, the action never leaves Earth, and the genre is not hard sf or apocalyptic. There is a touch of mysticism and Japanese perseverance and camaraderie. Although the series is identified as a seinen (adult male) manga, many principal characters are female, and the narrative pace is slow and thoughtful, not adrenaline-pumping, so it will appeal to both genders and readers looking for a sentimental story. For teen and adult readers of manga high school dramas.-Christine Gertz, Univ. of Alberta, Edmonton (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
