"Moonlight Mile" has finished airing its first season consisting of twelve episodes on May 26, 2007. It’s a science-fiction and drama themed Japanese anime series that is directed by Iku Suzuki and produced by "Studio Hibari." It was broadcasted and aired on the Japanese TV network called "WOWOW." After watching the first episode, I would have to agree with the phrase "in space, nobody can hear you scream." It looks to be a politically driven dramatic science-fiction series. Looking at Moonlight Mile, it looks as if it’s a combination of "Battlestar Galactica," "Read or Die," and the "Gundam" series. This is adapted from the manga that is still in circulation authored by Yasuo Ohtagaki and published by "Shogakukan, Inc."
The look of the anime itself looks very sharp and clean. It looks as if there were a lot of details and hard work in drawing up the characters and the scenes. Moonlight Mile revolves around two avid mountain climbers that decide for some reason to become astronauts. The inspiration comes from a real life professional mountain climber named Ken Noguchi. This looks to be very inspired by the very culture of mountain climbing. However, it looks as if the creator(s) wanted to combine both mountain climbing and space exploration into this anime series.
This series focuses on Gorou Saruwatari and Lostman whom climb mountains professionally. They are revealed to have ascended and made it to the top of the world’s highest mountains such as Mount Everest. On an expedition to Mount Everest, they find the dead bodies of a French expedition party. One survivor is found but she dies from hypothermia along with damaged internal organs. They make it to the top and see the ISA Space Station above in the sky. From then, the two of them become fascinated with the notion of going up into outer space. From there, the adventure behind Moonlight Mile begins as the two of them decided that they will head into outer space as it is the next frontier. They tell each other that there is no limit in outer space.
They stopped mountain climbing and do "normal" jobs. Gorou takes a job as a construction worker in Japan. At the same time, Lostman goes into the United States Navy as a fighter pilot. The two of them become very proficient in their new occupations. Lostman is viewed to be a very good fighter pilot while Gorou is viewed to be one of the best construction workers that had saved his boss from falling off the side of a building. At the same time, NASA starts a space program to obtain a new energy source located on the moon.
It looks as if the two of them are using their new respective occupations to get into NASA. Also, it looks as if the new fuel source looks to be the source of the conflict between groups in Moonlight Mile. The series proves to be an interesting take on the political and militaristic elements of space travel. It also goes in-depth on possible new sources of fuel and how they can fuel possible conflict. For anime fans that are into politics and/or political science, this is one series you may want to watch. Space and astronomy enthusiasts might also find good intellectual value out of watching Moonlight Mile.
There is a second season currently in production at the moment. It’s unknown when the North American license will be acquired for the first season. However, one could anticipate a possible North American release in about one to two years at least. Moonlight Mile looks to be one of the most politically driven Japanese anime series out today.