Astra Lost in Space

• Ja Kanji — 彼方のアストラ • Ja Romaji — Kanata no Asutora • Genre — * Drama • Mystery • Science fiction

• Type — manga • Author — Kenta Shinohara • Publisher — Shueisha • Imprint — Jump Comics+ • Magazine — Shōnen Jump+ • First — May 9, 2016 • Last — December 30, 2017 • Volumes — 5

• Type — TV series • Director — Masaomi Andō • Writer — Norimitsu Kaihō • Music — * Masaru Yokoyama • Nobuaki Nobusawa • Studio — Lerche • Licensee — * Crunchyroll • Network — AT-X, Tokyo MX, TVA, KBS, SUN, BS11 • First — July 3, 2019 • Last — September 18, 2019 • Episodes — 12

• Portal — yes Astra Lost in Space is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kenta Shinohara. It was serialized online from May 2016 to December 2017 via Shueisha's Shōnen Jump+ website/app. It was collected in five tankōbon volumes. Viz Media published the series in English. An anime television series adaptation produced by Lerche aired from July to September 2019.

In 2063, space travel has become possible and commercially viable; a group of students from Caird High School departs to the nearby planet of McPa for their Planetary Camp. Soon after the group arrives on the planet, the nine children encounter a mysterious and unforeseen intelligent sphere of light; it attacks them, transporting them into the distant depths of space. Floating in orbit around an unknown planet, they discover an old abandoned spacecraft nearby. Finding it in working order, they resolve to use the ship to return home. To do so, they must cross the 5,012-light-year gulf of space separating them from home by visiting alien planets, the names of which are all anagrams, harboring life to replenish and manage their limited resources. The long and dangerous journey home aboard their vessel, which they name Astra, brings with it new character revelations, strengthening the bonds they share, and the eventual realization that the stakes of their journey are far higher than any of them could ever have realized.

• Kanata Hoshijima: • An optimistic guy with good athletic ability and captain of the Astra. While he has interest about space thanks to his now-deceased teacher, his father forced him to take a part in athletic activity. His lifelong dream is to be able to explore outer space while captaining his own ship. • Ariesu Supuringu: • Aries sometimes acts like an airhead and sometimes has flashes of inspiration. She also has an eidetic memory. While her eyes are both green, her left eye color is slightly pale compared to the right one. She transferred to the school only a month before the trip. • Ruka Esupojito: • A naturally curious boy and a talented engineer capable of repairing any damage to the Astra. His father Marco is a controversial senator. • Sharusu Rakurowa: • A handsome, intelligent student botanist who uses his cooking and botany skills to ensure the crew is properly fed. He acts as Kanata's first mate. • Quitterie Raffaëlli: • A rich heiress who is the daughter of a famous doctor. She finds it difficult to trust other people besides Zack, who is her childhood friend. She received very little attention from her mother. She serves as the Astras "doctor". • Zack Walker: • A cool and intelligent student who seeks to become a space explorer and has a space pilot license, making him the Astras main pilot. His father works in the bio-technology industry who is currently working on a project with Quitterie's mother, thus making Quitterie and him childhood friends. His dream is to pilot his own ship with Kanata captaining. • Funicia Raffaëlli: • Nicknamed "Funi", she is Quitterie's adopted sister, who was adopted into the family after the death of her parents. She is a cheerful, positive girl who wants to get along with Quitterie. She carries around a puppet named Beego with her. • Urugā Tsuvaiku: • A quiet, antisocial, but highly intelligent boy who does not get along well with the rest of the crew. His father is the vice principal of Caird High. He is good at handling a gun, most of which were banned over a century ago. His late older brother Finn was a freelance journalist who stumbled upon a secret he should not have, which resulted in his death. He is seeking to avenge Finn. • Yun-Hua Lu: • A shy, quiet girl who constantly apologizes for everything she does as a result of being emotionally suppressed by her mother, Lucy Lum, a world famous singer. Yun-Hua has a great singing voice, but her mother constantly berated her and told her she should not bring attention to herself, so she distances herself as much as possible. • Porīna Rivinsukaya: • A woman whom the crew of the Astra discovers has been in cryosleep for twelve years on a ship of a similar but older model than the Astra. Her allies were killed, leaving her the only survivor of her crew. They were members of a planetary exploration team looking for other habitable planets.

Kenta Shinohara originally intended to serialize Astra Lost in Space in Weekly Shōnen Jump, but the proposal was rejected. Unwilling to abandon a story for which he had already conceived a core plot twist, he sought to publish it in another format. The manga was subsequently serialized on Shōnen Jump+. Initial popularity was limited; however, following the reveal of its central twist, the series gained more recognition. Seeking to create a work tonally distinct from his previous series, Sket Dance, Shinohara integrated elements of fantasy science fiction and closed circle mystery. His initial concept was directly inspired by the 19th-century novel Two Years' Vacation, featuring a group of 15 children. This was scaled down to a core cast of nine characters to better suit a planned shorter serialization of four to five volumes, with some characters' personalities being merged. The narrative retains several elements from the novel, including internal conflicts, banishment, changes in leadership, and character development.

Astra Lost in Space, written and illustrated by Kenta Shinohara, was serialized on Shueisha's digital magazine app and website Shōnen Jump+ from May 9, 2016, to December 30, 2017. Shueisha collected its chapters in five tankōbon volumes, released from July 4, 2016, to February 2, 2018. In North America, the manga was licensed for English release by Viz Media.

An anime television series adaptation was announced in February 2019. The series was animated by Lerche and directed by Masaomi Andō, with Norimitsu Kaihō handling series composition, and Keiko Kurosawa designing the characters. Masaru Yokoyama and Nobuaki Nobusawa composed the music. It aired from July 3 to September 18, 2019, on AT-X, Tokyo MX, TVA, KBS, SUN, and BS11. The first and last episodes aired as one-hour specials. Nonoc performed the series' opening theme song "star*frost", while the ending theme, "Glow at the Velocity of Light", was performed by Riko Azuna. Funimation licensed the series in North America and the British Isles, and streamed it in both subtitled and dubbed formats.