Title: Fly Me to the Moon Vol. 24
Author: Kenjiro Hata
Publisher: Viz Media
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Pages: 197
Genre: Slice of Life, Romance, Comedy, Science Fiction
Publication Date: July 9, 2024
The Story
The grave-tending for Nasa’s grandfather is over which means it’s time to count the ways that Tsukasa loves Nasa… and there are 100 of them! Tsukasa realized that when they met, it was Nasa’s birthday and she completely neglected it. So, she decided to give him a belated birthday gift… a flipbook that she made herself of the 100 things that she loves about him. In return, she asks him to make a book of his own but his is a little different. Nasa has to come up with 100 things that he wants to do with her! She gave him until their first wedding anniversary to figure it out.
Along the way, we learn about why Nasa became so studious and determined. It all stemmed from when a girl named Himari poked fun at his name… well… not really poked fun but more or less asked if he was going to become an astronaut. This set him down his path of intelligence and that brings us to a completely different side story!
We switch gears to a boy named Asimo Honda. He was named after the first robot created by the Honda corporation! Kenjiro Hata then reminds us not to name our children after consumer products. Sagely advice right there!
We follow Asimo as he prepares to take the mock exam to get into college and ends up placing second in the nation. There’s only one person ahead of him and it’s someone that decided to take the exam for fun. Hmm… who do we know that’s like that? Anyway, the mystery person also has a history with a girl that likes to tease Asimo. I think you see where this new storyline is heading! Regardless, Asimo sheds some light on when he started placing first on all academic rankings and how he vows to not let whoever this mystery person enshrouded in enigmatic shadows beat him ever again!
Meanwhile, it’s Aya’s turn to start studying… Yeah. Good luck with that!
Characters
It was rather hilarious to see how one little girl asking a blatantly obvious (yet mildly profiling) question sent Nasa down the path to becoming a super genius. Himari says she learned her lesson then goes ahead and starts teasing Asimo, proving that she, indeed, has NOT learned anything at all. She only gets away with it because while Asimo does get annoyed be her, he takes it all in stride because, to him, girls don’t mean anything (although his facial expressions say otherwise.)
Asimo is a super genius himself but, it’s clear that he’s not as smart as Nasa. This little rivalry might be fun as Asimo is a lot more serious about being smart than Nasa is. Nasa is very carefree most of the time and even when he gets serious about things, he’s still kind and gentle. Asimo seems to take being serious about studying a bit too… well… seriously. It seems as if being smart is the only goal that he has without much room for anything else. I wonder if there is a reason behind it but since we just met the character, I doubt we’ll learn why for a while. (or maybe the next volume, who knows?)
Final Thoughts
This is an interesting new arc although, I am a bit miffed that this is serving as a distraction from what the 5D data is that Tokiko left behind! I was hoping that the series would continue down that path so we could learn everything but, apparently, it wasn’t in the cards as we’re getting this new arc with Asimo and Himari. To be honest, I really like Himari’s character design.. and she’s a tomboy, my favorite archetype. Did… did I just get a new favorite character? Hmm…
The 100 things mini arc was cute but it was left wide open without a conclusion which means we’ll see Nasa figure things out over time. I like this approach as it allows Hata-sensei to sprinkle in content while furthering a subplot that has meaning and impact on the main characters while broadening their relationship. Simple, yet effective!
The only thing I had to question was the ending to the grave-tending story. Tsukasa played it off as if she had no idea that she was the one who offered advice to Nasa’s grandfather. Either she didn’t want Nasa to know or she had come across so many people in her 1,400-year journey that she legitimately doesn’t remember. It is quite possible that Nasa’s grandfather was just another face in the crowd and the story didn’t trigger memories or the last volume used Tsukasa as a metaphor and it wasn’t her. Either way, it was a little odd but, at the same time, it was just one of those silent nod moments and I thought it came off rather well.
Overall, a great volume. Looking forward to seeing more of Asimo and Himari!
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This item was provided for review by VIZ Media.
