Sora no Manimani Episode 09: Encounters in Space Science

The High School Astronomy Network gathering is the focus of this week’s episode as Oumi is properly introduced to us along with her club members and the students from various other schools’ astronomy clubs. Roma reconnects with his past and finally comes a bit out of his ‘background character’ shell while talking to Oumi, and Hime meets a potential rival, though a lame one at that in my opinion. Mihoshi and Saku take more of a backseat this episode, and the absence of our Queen will only make her return more glorious!

Starting off, the Souei Astronomy Club heads to the Network event and meets Oumi, who seems to know Roma from somewhere, after tripping over herself on her way to greet the club. Several other members then introduce themselves, chief among them Musa who seems interested in Hime, though she is wisely having none of it.

Heading to the Network event. Even Souma tamed his scruffy hair for the occasion.

Mihoshi has some odd expectations about Nogishiro High Schools club members.

Hime doesn’t need yet another opponent, unless she could somehow play her off against the others.

She’s like a calm, clumsy Mihoshi.

What a creepy guy. And he reminds me of Freddie from Scooby Doo to boot (must be the jacket.)

Obligatory great Hime reaction shot.

Up on the roof of the school is a big surprise for the Souei High School club. This school, somehow, has a 20 cm refractor telescope mounted on top of it, costing tens of thousands of dollars! Also giving Mihoshi sensory overload are all the other schools’ clubs with their own telescopes and astrophotography equipment already set up. They also meet some interesting individuals from other schools, including two girls obsessed with the mythology of constellations. Mihoshi tries running off to everyone with arms outstretched, probably trying to hug all of them and their telescopes, before Sayo restrains her and writes a reminder on her hand to control herself in front of the new people.

A 20cm refractor?! That must have cost ridiculous amounts, especially for a high school.

One school’s reflector telescope, and the start of lots of Vixen product placement.

She fits right in with some of the people here.

But of course an all-girls school. I guess Kanako forgot to join this club.

Inscribed with powerful magicks.

I never would have thought I’d see Greek mythology fangirls. They probably write fanfic about it.

Oumi seems to want to BE FRIENDLY with Saku, but this draws little attention from the other girls as Mihoshi is off checking out the telescopes and Hime is fending off Musa. This fits into a larger picture of Oumi that develops over the course of the episode however. As night falls everyone is divided into groups to observe the center square of the Pegasus constellation to calculate light pollution/visibility levels for the night. Hime unfortunately gets stuck with Musa again while Saku and Roma go with Oumi and Mihoshi with the constellation fetish girls. The cruel hand of fate consigns Edogawa to a night with only other guys in his group, to his eternal horror.

She talks about being remembered like Mihoshi, she’s physically enthusiastic like Mihoshi…

Back off Musa, you’re no Nomiya.

There are those who look at things the way they are and ask why. Edogawa dreams of things that are and asks why not a reference?

The night that went on forever and ever.

Look up at the sky tonight in the northeast and you’ll likely see it too.

While the various groups are counting the visible stars within the center of Pegasus, Musa tries his moves again on Hime, offering her his jacket to keep warm, which she rejects. After saying that she’s cute and indirectly asking if she has a boyfriend, he says that she can repay him for the jacket with a date and walks off. Saku and Oumi meanwhile are patrolling the school grounds, since as she explains anything going amiss could damage the club’s reputation, showing that she has a bit of Fumie in her. The two chat a bit about the autumn sky, Oumi’s favorite, and their mutual love of astronomy. Then a scream is heard around campus and they go to investigate.

Hime likes her boys tsundere, thank you very much.

She’s very enthusiastic about astronomy, is very non-romantically affectionate, and takes responsibility for a club and large undertakings. It’s like someone crossed Fumie with Mihoshi.

Oumi’s favorite autumn star Fomalhaut, set in a very nice framed shot with both characters.

Cat-like hearing to go with those cat eyes from episode 2.

Inside the school Hime has tracked Musa down to return his coat. On the way out she awkwardly bumped a cabinet, causing a model planet to fall over. Through Hime-vision Musa trying to save the model looked like an attack, and she responds with force appropriate to the perceived threat. Beating the snot out of Musa, Oumi and Saku find her standing over her vanquished foe with a broom. When he tries to tease her about it in front of them, he gets another devastating Hime attack, this time deservedly. As they recount the story Hime realizes that it was a misunderstanding and apologizes, and as they return to the roof Saku gives her his jacket to keep her warm, Hime quite happy to accept this time.

Hime secures her invitation to the next Kumite Tournament.

Oooh, elbow to the kidney. Don’t taunt her right after she spared you Musa.

The incident in question.

It is as he deserves.

All warm and blissful like Yamada wearing Mayama’s coat.

Hime has claimed her trophy and wears it with pride!

The moon has set and everyone returns to the roof to observe the darkened sky. There Saku and Oumi have a short chat about bringing the Souei club to the meeting and Oumi’s reasons and ambitions in starting the HSAN. Here we get another piece of a theme developed over this episode. Oumi admits that not everyone there is in the astronomy club, that they might not invest the time or money to participate in astronomy themselves, but if offered would do so. In order to expose as many people to the wonders of the universe as she can, she invites anyone who’s interested to participate. This links up with her enthusiasm, playful physical contact, and concern about being remembered by Roma to make her pretty much the Mihoshi of her school. More restrained and organized, yes, but at her core the same kind of person.

He’s still working on “Fuwa fuwa time.”

She enjoys SUGOI as much as a certain other character.

Continuing the Mihoshi similarities.

Saku’s conversion to astronomy is complete.

Now Oumi approaches Roma and brings up their past again, asking him to do the mythology narration for the group. Up he gets to explain the story of Perseus, Andromeda, and the Pegasus as he points out their constellations. Everyone is engrossed in the story as they view the constellations above them, and the constellation fangirls squeal about how they love Perseus and want to be Andromeda. After the story is over, Oumi points the dome’s telescope to M52, an open star cluster in the constellation Cassiopeia for a nice view through their huge telescope. Observations continue through the night until the next morning.

The narration seems to be a tradition between the two.

He’s never looked so healthy or confident.

Perhaps they’re recruiting Sayo for the male lead in a Takarazuka play.

Oumi clearly enjoying  the narration and constellations greatly.

They even have a fully motorized mount for it. No expenses spared it seems.

The M52 open star cluster. I like how they even added some atmospheric distortions from the moving air now and then on the star scenes this episode.

The next morning Oumi and Roma are sitting on the roof talking, when she brings up again whether he remembers her. They were both apparently in an astronomy club at a museum when they were younger, but Roma had to leave just when they were getting to know each other due to his health. But, like Mihoshi, she’s very happy to be remembered by someone from the past and as they shake hands she pulls close to him, smiling, and admitting to him in an indirect way that she’s glad he remembers her too. Closing out the episode Musa just can’t leave Hime alone, and she erupts into a ball of fluffy rage as he passes by.

They’re like a subdued, sidestory Saku and Mihoshi.

The club where they met.

Oumi, graceful and bold. Roma, you lucky dog.

Since chasing him down and crying in front of her love interest isn’t her style.

Pure fluffy rage.

Final Thoughts: – While I liked the characters that were introduced, it kind of felt like a slow episode in both humor and plot.

- However, Edogawa provided some good comic relief, as did Hime’s thrashing of Musa.

- With all these characters only being introduced now, here’s to hoping for a second season.

- I definitely think that Hime is being set up for a Mayama-Yamada-Nomiya kind of thing with Musa. Hime/Yamada longs after Saku/Mayama, Musa/Nomiya shows up and unsettles her about her prospects of getting with Saku/Mayama. Eventually Hime/Yamada knows her cause is lost to Mihoshi/Rika but by this point Musa/Nomiya actually cares for her and they have a set up for a relationship.

- My IRL SoraMani: My telescope was delivered last week, so I took it out with a friend of mine on the night of the full moon. While observing during a full moon is not really ideal since the moon’s light blocks out a lot of stars, I still got some nice views of the moon and Jupiter. With Jupiter I could clearly see its cloud bands and two of its moons, and that’s just with the stock eyepieces. The moon was intensely bright since I don’t have a lunar filter yet, so I got the idea to put on my sunglasses. It worked pretty well as a ghetto lunar filter, but a real one would still be better.

- I tried to take pictures by putting my camera up to the eyepiece, but for anything smaller than the moon I’m going to need a camera mount. Unless you’re Snake hopped up on diazepam it’s not possible to hold the camera still long enough not to seriously blur the image at longer exposures. Still, I got one or two decent pictures of the moon, holding the camera up to my sunglasses and the sunglasses up to the eyepiece. Camera mount is next up on my shopping list, and I’m going to see about borrowing a better camera.

The best of the pictures of the moon.

My friend observing through the scope. She’s also wearing sunglasses. That little blurry dot next to the moon is Jupiter.