Stardust Telepath

“Bonavu,” If you don't know much about this exclamation, it will inevitably become part of your greeting ritual after watching this anime. Hoshikuzu Telepath is the definition of cute-ness and an anime like no other. The series follows shy, space-loving high school student Umika Konohosi, who has difficulty communicating with others. As a result, she sees space as her true home and wants to befriend an alien. One day the joyful exchange student Yuu Akeuchi comes into her class and promptly claims to be a real alien. Although other classmates quickly take this as a joke, Umika sees this as a chance to finally make her dream cometrue and befriend the mysterious and enchanting alien. Unfortunately, Yuu has no memories of her home planet and the reason why she was stranded on Earth. Umika and the friendly vice-class speaker Haruno Taragaki (in whose late grandfather's lighthouse Yuu has taken up residence) now want to help her reconstruct her memories and build a rocket with which they can fly into space. However, since their mathematical skills, which are necessary for building rockets, are developable, they decide to start small and build model rockets ("Moderu roketto"). The unequal quartet is completed by the explosive but technically gifted mechanic Raimon Matataki, who is conspicuous by her absence at school but has a very loose mouth. Together they want to fulfill their dream and fly to the stars. That's it. If you are looking for an anime with a dense plot, action, a complex story and multiple tricky plot twists, this is not the one for you. However, if you like quiet, heartwarming slice of life anime, Hoshikuzu Telepath is a goldmine. The anime is so wonderfully relaxing that it's a real treat to watch. If you look up “Cute” in the dictionary, there should definitely be a picture of Hoshikuzu Telepath in the future. Just Umika mentally talking to her pink mini aliens is one of the cutest things I've ever seen. For example, one episode largely consists of watching the characters shopping for materials to build rockets - which was very entertaining. For me, it's a great art to use those unspectuacular settings and tell such great and beautiful little stories from it. This anime is definitely carried by its characters. The relationship between Umika and Yuu is particularly captivating. You really notice from the first second that the two are made for each other. But also the other characters. It's one of the few anime where every character can be a potential Best Girl. There isn't a single one where you think, "Uh, she's getting on my nerves." My secret star of the series, however, is Raimon Matataki. Not only does she provide one or the other laughs with her lines, but she is also constantly responsible for explaining the physical background in the series. As a physics student, I am particularly fascinated that in this show, a rocket is not just builit casually during the lunch break in a SciFi-way and that technical details such as trajectories, angles and modeling are discussed in detail. The characters are confronted with realistic hurdles of building model rockets and it is incredibly inspiring to watch them continue to believe in themselves and achieve their dreams. It's an anime that not only promises a lot of yuri cuteness, but from which you can also learn a lot about yourself. The art style is very attractive. In particular, Umika's purple hair and everything that has to do with space and sunsets is particularly beautifully implemented. The seiyuu are mostly newcomers who have been lightly cast in the past - with the exception of Natsumi Takamori, who appropriately plays a teacher who looks after the newcomers. By the way, these are welcome to be filled more often. Miku Itu's OP invites you to dream of distant stars, before SoundOrion's ED sends you off into the night. The background music also brings out the space-theme very well at times. The anime really takes you away. You get excited about the characters, to see their development and you can take a lot with you. Umika and her friends teach us to believe in our dreams. This show will always have a special place in my heart. Hoshikuzu Telepath is our Monday dose of cuteness for the fall season and the characters grow on you so quickly that you feel like you're part of the model rocket club yourself. "Mativuu".

Hoshikozu Telepath was a late 2023 anime from Studio Gokumi based off of a manga by Ookuma Rasuko. I have reviewed some Gokumi anime before: Yuuki Yuuna wa Yusha de Aru, Tonari no Kyuuketsuki-san, A-Channel and the god awful Dansai Bunri no Crime Edge. Let's hope this is more like the other stuff I've reviewed of theirs and not that one. Story: Konohoshi Umika is an incredibly awkward girl who doesn't fit in with people in general. I relate. She dreams about going into space and meeting aliens who will understand her. I still relate. Her life is turned upside down when a strange girl arrivesat her school and declares herself to be an alien. Umika is immediately drawn to her. Can't relate to that one but I wish I could. The story involves their budding friendship, which quickly starts growing into more and their quest to build a rocket to take them both into space. Naturally, they start small with various forms of miniature rockets. Fortunately for them, they make some friends who can help them along. My only real issue with the story is that it stops dead in its tracks multiple times to explain the specifics of building model rockets. It really takes you out of the narrative when Raimon or Kei just starts going into ultra specific details about model rockets. I'm sure someone will argue that "it's educational" but that doesn't make it narratively cohesive. All those PSAs that used to get added to the end of American cartoons were educational too but they were still the worst part. On the positive side, the anime is insanely cute. I appreciate the fact that its sci-fi elements are toned down to make it more relatable, including having the girls start small and do something within the realm of possibility for High School girls. Though I can get fully behind a more zany, over the top comedy there is something to be said for the more toned down, relatable approach. Most of the jokes are also really good. It also provides a solid sense of hardships and the girls going through a steep learning curve. They don't just become masters through a short montage or have some uncanny knack for building rockets. There's also a great little theme of finding a place to belong that we see all our main characters engage with to varying degrees. Characters: The thing I adore about the cast of characters is that they all have complexity, realistic motivations and character flaws. While I maintain that comedic characters don't necessarily need those attributes, it is nice to see ones who have them. Umika has extreme social anxiety and starts out only being comfortable with Yuu and her own relatives but we start to see her gradually putting an effort into socialising and the group of people she can talk to expands. Yuu has a much more extroverted outlook but that covers up a loneliness and sense of loss over not remembering who she is or where she came from. Haruno has a dream of helping others achieve their goals but in working with the others she starts to discover ambitions of her own. Raimon is obsessed with tinkering and feels isolated because no one can keep up with her so she pushes people away but Umika and the others may just be able to understand her. It's worth noting that these four also work very strongly together for comedic purposes. Their dynamics provide all kinds of possibilities for strong gags. They're also just downright adorable. Where the anime falters a bit is with the minor characters. Most of them are perfectly fine. They serve the function they need to and feel real enough. Then we have characters like the teacher or the little sister who just feel under-utilized. The situation will beg for them to do something more substantial than they end up doing. Art: I really love the character designs. The differently coloured highlights a lot of the girls have in their hair is really striking and the general designs are basically weaponised cuteness. They also go into great detail to make the various types of model rockets super accurate. The backgrounds are very good too. Sound: The cast is excellent. Funato Yurie, Fukagawa Seria, Aoki Shiki & Nagamuta Moe all have amazing performances. The music is great. Sakai Asuka did a phenomenal job. Ho-yay: There's a lot. All four of the major girls, Umika, Yuu, Haruno & Raimon have a level of les-yay that would make a polyamorous relationship amongst them believable. And it's ceaselessly adorable. Even the fact that they touch foreheads in multiple affectionate scenes like they adopted Jeremiah Rossa is cute. The les-yay is strong betwixt Umika & Yuu. They have so many exceptionally cute moments. Areas of Improvement: 1. We don't need long explanations of model rockets. Yes, they make it clear that you did your research but they also aren't very entertaining. 2. The series really needs to do more with the bigger supporting characters. Even just a few extra lines to help flesh them out. 3. More cute Sapphic moments would work a treat since they are one of the strongest aspects of the series. Final Thoughts: Hoshikozu Telepath stands alongside Gokumi's best work, Tonari no Kyuuketsuki-san. It's an excellent series with some minor issues. My rating is going to be a 9/10.

This is what Koisuru Asteroid should have been. A sweet yet sometimes melodramatic show of Girl meets Girl, with equal focus given to its subject matter (model rockets in this), and the relationships between characters. I suppose there's two things these hobbyist CGDCT shows need to get right: - Making the hobby appealing to people who otherwise do not care about the hobby - Make the characters interesting and fun to follow/easy to empathize with Now, where a lot of hobbyist shows falter in, is to make the show appeal only to people who are already into the hobby, or to make it very boring to everyoneelse. Hoshikuzu Telepath on the other hand, made me care even just a little bit more on model rocket building. In fact, model rocket building itself is also integral to the plot as well as the characters' relationships with each other, with mttk's bitchiness arc book ended by model rocket competitions on the beach. Speaking of characters, the archetypes presented are nothing new. The show isn't breaking new ground with its characters, but it's a case of doing existing characters well. Of note is Matataki, and I'm surprised the show went kinda far with her bitchiness and perfectionism. Usually characters like these mellow out within an episode or two, but Matataki's character flaws basically drive the plot for a majority of the season's runtime, and the melodrama is done well, showing how much she has pushed back building relationships with others for the sake of her goals. Now, I do like the show and I do like Matataki a lot, but notice how I barely mentioned the other characters? Well, the show kind of does as well. The manga of course continues developing the rest of the characters further, but what you get in this season is just a sampler of how each character ticks. There is some decent development of Umika and Yuu's relationship, but it feels like a tease for a season 2 that will never come. Haruno is basically only defined by her connection to Matataki and can't stand out on her own. In spite of this, Hoshikuzu Telepath is still a comfy and at times emotional watch. It's surprisingly rare to get CGDCT shows nowadays, but I'm glad the ones we do get are of a high quality. 8/10