Title: Fly Me to the Moon Vol. 1
Author: Kenjiro Hata
Publisher: Viz Media
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Pages: 200
Genre: Slice of Life, Romance, Comedy
Publication Date: September 8, 2020
The Story
Fly Me to the Moon is a new manga series from Hayate the Combat Butler’s Kenjiro Hata that follows a boy oddly named Nasa. Growing up, people snickered at his name but he didn’t know why. Eventually, he learns about N.A.S.A. and discovers why people thought his name was funny. Since that day, he decided that he is going to become a man so great, that when they hear the name Nasa, they’ll think of him instead of the space agency. Nasa studies hard and aims to get into the top high school in all of Japan.
While he’s walking home after receiving his mock entrance exam scores, he sees a girl that captivates him immediately. He relates her to the Japanese folklore character Kaguya. His mind is set on talking to her so he goes to cross the street to do so but forgets to look for oncoming traffic. A truck speeds towards him and Nasa is struck. Suddenly, he is transported to another wor—actually, that doesn’t happen here. Just couldn’t resist going for the trope!
Turns out the girl ended up shielding him and Nasa “only” walked away from the accident with blood spurting from his head and two broken legs. Yes… the adrenaline had kicked in so much, he didn’t realize he was walking on two broken legs. He tracks the girl down to thank her and right before the adrenaline wears off and he passes out from the pain, he asks her out on a whim. She says yes… but only if he marries her. He agrees then faints.
Years go by and Nasa turned 18. He’s living on his own when, suddenly, there is a knock on the door. It ends up being the girl he met that night but had disappeared on him. She introduces herself as Tsukasa and brings a marriage registration form with her. Thinking that it must be a prank, he fills it out and then they bring it down to the ward office and turn it in. Turns out it was real and the two of them are officially married! So begins their married life!
The premise of the story is really out there and far-fetched; however, that’s what makes this great! Of course, Tsukasa has a reason as to why she married him but that’s being kept secret for now. Nasa just believed it was love at first sight which is why he went through with it but, even still, he was under the assumption that it was a prank. When he discovered it was real, he was in shock and denial. With the story set, you can tell that this is going to be an ‘episodic’ manga in the sense that I believe we are going to just witness their married life together. So far, though, this series has me hooked!
Characters
There is a really small cast of characters thus far in this series… and by small, I mean there are only two of them… three if you count the truck driver and four if you count the guy at the ward office!
First off, we have Nasa. I kind of already ran him down in the story section so I’ll focus on his personality. Nasa is kind and gentle but he also has a burning determination inside of him. When he found out what he was named after, it really irked him to the point of obsession. Still, once he laid eyes on Tsukasa, it was as if all of that determination melted away and he became that innocent child that he was depicted as in the very beginning of the volume. The return to innocence while retaining his intellectual prowess is a nice mix for him but he’s not really arrogant about it, though. Still, it’s ironic that someone as smart as him would rush into a marriage like this without thinking. Then again, we also don’t really know if it was a mistake because we don’t really know Tsukasa’s true intentions.
Speaking of Tsukasa, she is a bit of an enigma. She seems a bit cold at first… like she’s a loner. Then she turns on her charm and has a sweet side… however, it’s not a pure sweet. It’s more like a sassy or sarcastic sweet side. You can’t really tell if she’s teasing Nasa or not which makes me raise a couple of caution flags…. Though, there are some hints thrown about that were a little subtle but in your face at the same time. When she brings her belongings to Nasa’s house, she mentioned that she kept them all in a coin locker. When Nasa asked about if anyone was worried about her back home, she was confused by what Nasa meant when he said the word home. To me, that’s pretty evident that Tsukasa was homeless and looking for a way out. The fact that she wants to keep her reason for marrying Nasa a secret strongly props up that theory. Then again, we don’t know if she was truly homeless or she ran away for another reason. Still, it’s pretty suspect of her to act that way when the topic of home is brought up.
Final Thoughts
Another first volume of a manga that has me hooked! While the premise is a bit unrealistic, this is the world of manga we are talking about here. Unrealistic premises are perfectly normal so it’s easy to accept it for what it is. There are some really great comedic moments throughout the book and the living situation between the two of them just feels so awkward but in a good way. It makes you grimace as you turn each page and, believe me, I was turning them pretty quickly. I didn’t even realize that I had blown through 200 pages when I reached the end of the book. That’s how much it held my attention!
I think both characters are great. They seem to have the right balance to their personalities to where they’re not flat, stale, or typical. They each have their interesting sides to them which makes them relatable and likable. Still, my caution meter is holding steady with Tsukasa but I’m sure there is a valid reason behind all of this and that, right now, is the biggest hook for this series. The first volume didn’t really end on a cliffhanger at all, though. It simply just ended and gave you that satisfying feeling that you made it through this book. Not sure if it could have benefitted from a cliffhanger or not but the ending still worked and I was satisfied with it.
The only thing that nagged me throughout the book was the overuse of a running gag where Nasa couldn’t believe that he was married or he had to remind himself that he was married. It felt as if it were on every single page and it got old really fast. It’s like “okay… we got the point… don’t have to point it out anymore.” Outside of that one little gripe, which isn’t even a huge gripe, to begin with, this volume was highly enjoyable and I am definitely looking forward to volume two.
In fact, if you want a new slice of life romantic comedy to check out, pick up Fly Me to the Moon! It gets my recommendation!
Be sure to follow me on Twitter @JJPiedraTOH
You can also check out other The Outerhaven reviews on your favorite social media networks:
Subscribe to us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/theouterhaven
Subscribe to us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheOuterHaven
Subscribe to us on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/theouterhavennet
This item was provided for review by Viz Media
