When Kamogawa Asumi was just a baby, her mother was grievously injured when a rocket crashed to the ground. Five years later, having been in a coma all the time, Asumi's mother finally dies, and the little girl struggles to come to terms with the death of a mother she barely remembers. In the midst of her turmoil, she meets "Lion-san", a strange figure wearing a lion mask and claiming to be a ghost. Lion-san helps Asumi to bury her mother's ashes, and finally, Asumi reaches her own decision: "When I grow up, I'm going to be a rocket pilot."
Episodes
20
Aired
Fall 2003
Score
7.0
Popularity
#4394
GhostFemale ProtagonistAstronomySeinenSchoolSpaceTragedyAfterlife
If you like this, try
Planetes 80%26 eps · 2003
It trades a young astronomer's grief for grown workers' quiet philosophy, keeping that same hushed, contemplative pull of the void.
Space Brothers 78%99 eps · 2012
You get the same dream-of-space sincerity, following a brother's stumbling path toward the stars instead of a girl's.
Rocket Girls 76%12 eps · 2007
It's lighter and funnier, but that scrappy determination to reach space against long odds feels just as earnest.
Stellvia of the Universe 73%26 eps · 2003
Space Academy hallways and a girl chasing the stars echo Asumi's school days, with more mecha spectacle layered in.