Manga Monday: Sometimes a day trip doesn't work out quite as planned

Asumi has a crisis of confidence, but her friends rally to pull her through in Twin Spica Volume 3.

Note:  Twin Spica Volume 3 is, of course, the sequel to Twin Spica Volume 2.  The review for Twin Spica Volume 1 is here, and the review of Twin Spica Volume 2 is here.  Otherwise, read on!



So it seems like the whole school is working against Asumi.  She'll need a custom-made space suit, so a committee whose main goal is to see that the school comes in under budget would necessarily see her as a financial liability.  Of  course, they would never tell a student to leave in so many words, but if she were to lose faith in herself, and leave of her own volition, that would be a different story.


There's a personal aspect to it too, though.  One of her teachers worked on the Lion Project with Asumi's father.  They had different opinions on the project, and the teacher was transferred off the project prior to launch.  When the mission failed, he blamed Asumi's father.  So to get Asumi to leave the school would really be no more than the family deserved.  He even told Asumi as much in the final chapter of the last volume.


But now Kei is seeing a difference in her demeanor and she's hardly going to let some teacher mess with their friend.


We finally start to get some of Marika's backstory as well.  Raised completely sheltered and separated from other children, Marika only had adult servants to interact with and almost never left her rooms.  She used to look out the window at the stars, though, and now she's determined to get there herself.  The strange behavior of her family hasn't stopped now that she's going to a public school, and as the rest of the group go on a summer trip they spot her being manhandled into a car.  Kei ends up grabbing her and Marika eventually accompanies them after all.  The trip doesn't go exactly as the planned, though.


It's great to see how this little group is coming together to support one another.  The way this school is looking, they'll need to learn how to rely on one another if they want to make it to the stars.


Highs:  Seeing Kei confront Mr. Sano after Asumi disappears.


Lows:  Poor Asumi seeing how hard her father is working back home with no one to look after him.


Verdict:  Conspiracies abound, but I'm sure our intrepid astronauts will be able to handle it if they stick together.


Further Reading:  Planetes, Ender's Game