The BEST episodes of Space Brothers season 1
Every episode of Space Brothers season 1, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Space Brothers season 1!
One night in 2006, when they were young, the two brothers Mutta (born 1993) and Hibito (born 1996) saw what appeared to be a UFO heading for the moon. They decided that night to both become astronauts and travel out into space. In 2025, Hibito has become an astronaut, and he's going to go to the moon. Mutta ended up following a more traditional career path with an auto development company. However, Mutta just ruined his career through a violent altercation with his boss. Now, not only has he lost his job, he appears to be blacklisted in the entire industry. Maybe this is a rare opportunity for Mutta to once again chase his childhood dream and become an astronaut like his little brother!
#1 - Little Brother Hibito and Big Brother Mutta
Season 1 - Episode 1 - Aired 4/1/2012
The year 2006. Two brothers, Nanba Mutta (age 12) and Hibito (age 9), happen to spot a UFO headed for the moon. The experience inspires them to make a certain promise.
#2 - My Shining Star
Season 1 - Episode 2 - Aired 4/8/2012
With his mother's assistance and Hibito's encouragement, Mutta has been accepted for the New Astronaut Selection Exam. However, unsure of his next step, he visits Sharon, who works at a nearby observatory. After receiving advice from Sharon, Mutta is finally able to make up his mind.
#3 - The Worst Possible Punishment
Season 1 - Episode 20 - Aired 8/12/2012
As the last day of the exam arrives, the teams are told to do what they want for the rest of the day before deciding on thier selections, so Team A decides to clean up the place. As Team A struggles to decide on a method of choosing two astronauts, Mutta recalls the advise Sharon gave him and suggests they decide via a game of rock, paper, scissors so that everyone has a fair chance. As Yasushi accepts to this, he shows off his recordings of everyone's scores, revealing he's been in a last place. Mutta reveals that he got the idea to use rock, paper, scissors from Yasushi, and he agrees to go along with it.
#4 - The Man With the Advantage and the Running Female Doctor
Season 1 - Episode 3 - Aired 4/15/2012
After advancing to the second exam, Mutta realizes that the other applicants are much better prepared than he is. Desperate to prove himself, he stakes everything on the lung capacity test, as he has confidence in his trumpet-trained lungs. However, as the other applicants drop out, he finds himself in a heated battle with Itou Serika. Who will come out on top?
#5 - Next to Hibito
Season 1 - Episode 4 - Aired 4/22/2012
After a long week, only the final interview remains in the second JAXA exam. Mutta is drawing attention as Nanba Hibito's older brother, but he insists he won't spend his entire life as Nanba Hibito's big brother.
#6 - The Day Before Goodbye
Season 1 - Episode 19 - Aired 8/5/2012
As the exam approaches its final few days, Kenji gets to know his teammates better, which Hoshika musing that he didn't give Kenji a green card earlier in order to test his leadership skills. Meanwhile in Team A, as Mutta reveals they don't have any food left for tomorrow, he manages to gather some ingredients for making udon noodles. Remembering how he learnt it from Sharon along with Hibito, Mutta gets everyone to make udon together. Having not had anyone share his interest in space whilst he was in school, Mutta becomes pleasantly surprised when everyone else becomes surprised over how he knows Sharon, and they spend time talking about space together. The mood soon heavies when they are reminded they still need to choose two people to become astronauts.
#7 - My Name Is Itou Serika
Season 1 - Episode 12 - Aired 6/17/2012
Mutta comes up with a method for his prediction, hiding the fact he had simply noticed what time it was when he left the bus. As Serika's hunger keeps her up, she recalls when she asked her father what the meaning behind her name was. The next morning, as the teams have to decide how to handle the food supply, they also discuss how to go about deciding which two candidates to pick to be astronauts. After everyone on Team A introduces themselves, Serika decides to let Mutta call her by her first name.
#8 - Hibito's Choice
Season 1 - Episode 42 - Aired 1/27/2013
Hoshika tells Mutta that Houston will be able to tell if Hibito moved if he fires his remaining flare. Meanwhile, Hibito, who has less than twenty minutes of oxygen left, decides to use his last flare as a makeshift fireplace to provide Damian with some neccessary heat. Hibito eventually reaches the top of the crater and exposes Damian to the sunlight, but becomes stressed when he can't communicate with anyone. Meanwhile, Houston learns of their location, which was at the point Mutta predicted, and learn that Hibito has less than ten minutes of oxygen remaining. After making sure Damian is properly shaded, Hibito decides to take a walk on his own, preparing to walk into the ravine again so he can see the stars once more. Just then, he spots the flash he saw earlier and decides to investigate it, discovering it to be a small astronaut figure left behind by Brian.
#9 - Days of Missing
Season 1 - Episode 5 - Aired 4/29/2012
After completing the second JAXA exam, Hibito invites Mutta for a free trip to Houston, Texas, through NASA's family support program. Upon arrival, he finds himself chased by a pug named Apo, and is then reunited with Hibito. However, Hibito expresses disappointment.
#10 - Et Cetera in My Head
Season 1 - Episode 6 - Aired 5/6/2012
As Mutta arrives at the Johnson Space Center to observe Hibito's training, one of the JAXA judges brings up the reason Mutta was fired from his previous job. As Hibito appears on a television show that night, Mutta is surprised when Hibito starts praising him. Just then, Mutta receives a call from his former workmates informing them of what his former boss had told JAXA. As Mutta becomes convinced he has lost his chance of becoming an astronaut, one of the other JAXA judges, who had been observing Mutta and Hibito's constant visits to JAXA, meets up with Mutta's former workmates to get the whole story.
#11 - Nitta the Leader
Season 1 - Episode 49 - Aired 3/17/2013
As Mutta's team find their rations and set up camp for a night, they are informed they are currently last in the rankings, which requires one person beside the leader to take a punishment. Mutta volunteers for the punishment, in which he must stand at attention for a whole hour, but the group soon cheer up when they are treated to a beautiful view of the stars. Later on the fourth day, as Nitta is chosen as the leader, he appears to be a bit more strict with his desire to increase their ranking, whilst also expecting a call from a certain someone. Just then, Mutta pushes Nitta out of the way of their ration box when he notices a rattlesnake. Following the incident, Davis issues the leader with a handgun to defend themselves against dangerous wildlife. On the fifth day, as Mutta acts as leader and helps the group push onwards, Nitta suddenly tells the others that he must head back.
#12 - Living Stone
Season 1 - Episode 51 - Aired 3/31/2013
As Mutta and Nitta head back to camp, discussing their relationships with their respective brothers, Kazuya looks up information about the astronauts, finding a video interview with Nitta. In the video, Nitta explains how feelings that you may not belong in this world can help drive you to go beyond it, stating some of the things Kazuya taught him when they were younger. After returning to camp, Nitta explains to the others about his brother whilst Mutta once again worries about Amanti's prediction. As a starstorm flies above the desert, Kazuya starts to venture outside his own little world.
#13 - Eighty Minutes to Live
Season 1 - Episode 41 - Aired 1/20/2013
As NASA discusses rescue operations for Hibito and Damian, Azuma suggests that they send remote controlled probes to assist them whilst the other astronauts wait for their buggy to be charged. Although Hibito recovers from his fall, Damian informs him that his main oxygen tank has been punctured, leaving him with just eighty minutes of oxygen remaining. Despite this, Hibito resumes his attempt to rescue Damian, managing to reach the probe and reactivate it. Meanwhile, Mutta, having just heard the news, arrives at JAXA and gives them some input based on how he feels Hibito would act, though this advice is ignored by NASA.
#14 - Trapped Rivals
Season 1 - Episode 11 - Aired 6/10/2012
Arriving at an undisclosed location, the applicants are shown footage of the last moments of a group of astronauts before they died due to a chute failure upon reentry, in order to determine their willingness to continue with the exam. After everyone agrees to continue with the exam, the group is split up into three teams with each team spending two weeks together in a sealed environment before determining which two of them would make the best astronauts. Mutta is placed in a team with Serika, Reiji Nitta, Naoto Fukuda and Yasushi Furuya. The first assignment involves figuring out what the current time is, where Mutta comes up with a surprisingly precise answer.
#15 - Working on the Dream
Season 1 - Episode 22 - Aired 9/2/2012
Team A get together to celebrate the winners of the match, Serika and Reiji, on passing the third exam. Meanwhile, the JAXA staff have discussions about which of the remaining candidates to select, with Hoshika pointing out how Team A was the only one who promised to get together upon leaving. Four days later, it is revealed Houston will select one male from the remaining candidates to become an astronaut, with Mutta assuming Kenji is likely to be chosen over him. As Mutta worries about his lack of luck, Hibito carries on his training, curious about what Mutta's reply will be. As Mutta hangs out with Naoto, it is revealed that Mutta had been chosen to go to Houston which boths excites Mutta but also causes him to be concerned about Kenji.
#16 - Two Men in the Park
Season 1 - Episode 37 - Aired 12/16/2012
As Mutta becomes anxious about whether he has enough luck to pass, Hoshika decides to share the load of revealing the results. The first person he calls is Mizoguchi, who is shocked to learn he has failed as he was always the top in everything he did. When asked why he failed, Hoshika explains it is his lack of depending on others that caused him to fail. Afterwards, Hoshika asks Mutta to meet him at the park, where he personally reveals that Mutta has passed his exam. Hoshika then takes Mutta straight to the press conference.
#17 - Nitta and Mutta
Season 1 - Episode 50 - Aired 3/24/2013
Nitta explains that he had left his phone behind somewhere, which he needs as he is expecting an important call. Nitta opts to go alone to search for it, but Mutta, being the leader, decides it would be best to search alongside him at night once they set up camp. Along the way, Nitta explains he is waiting for a call from his younger brother, Kazuya, who he hasn't spoken to in two years. Mutta suspects that Nitta may have dropped his phone near the previous food crate when Mutta tackled him, which motivates Nitta to rush to its location. Arriving at the crate, Nitta finds his phone as it flashes, only to find he had barely missed a call from Kazuya.
#18 - Running Bus
Season 1 - Episode 10 - Aired 6/3/2012
Before heading off to JAXA for the third exam, Mutta visits Sharon who tells him not to worry about not having a reason to go into space like Serika and Kenji has. As the exam begins, the applicants board a strange bus supposedly heading towards a top secret facility, with only Kenji noticing there are cameras onboard. An hour into the journey, they begin an exercise in which each applicant spends ten minutes talking to each other. Afterwards, they are asked to fill in a survey ranking everyone's potential to be an astronaut, followed by a meal and a rest before the bus arrives somewhere.
#19 - A Long-Awaited Glimpse of the Sky
Season 1 - Episode 21 - Aired 8/19/2012
After Team A decide their selections after one round, the third exam comes to its end and Team A is met with applause from the staff. Upon venturing out into the open sky again, the applicants discover they had been at JAXA the entire time. As Mutta and Keiji discuss how those who weren't selected may still have a chance, Yasushi, who lost out in the match, visits a much-admired professor, Hiroto Baba, who shows him his newly designed spacesuit. Whilst heading for a celebratory meal with the rest of Team A, Yasushi recalls how he got interested in space, but was troubled that he was too short to become an astronaut. This led him to admire Baba when he invented a smaller spacesuit which lowered the minimum height requirement to become an astronaut.
#20 - Smoky Heaven
Season 1 - Episode 8 - Aired 5/20/2012
As Mutta's somehow manages to apprehend the robber by chance, he gains a lot of attention and is praised as a hero on a live TV broadcast, which is seen by Hibito and the JAXA judges. Afterwards, Mutta receives a video message from his parents, revealing he has passed the second exam. Before leaving for Japan, Mutta discovers a hidden set of wills written by Hibito which leaves him concerned.
#21 - Father, Son, and Mutta Claus
Season 1 - Episode 23 - Aired 9/9/2012
Mutta takes up a part-time job as a shopping mall Santa to earn some money before his trip to Houston. Meanwhile, Yuri Teshima, one of the candidates from Team B, shows his father his passion for extra terrestrial life. As Mutta hears from JAXA about when he is to depart for Houston, he learns that Kenji was in fact chosen alongside him, as Yuri had decided to turn down his application to pursue a career in marine biology. Sera visits her father's grave, leaving a diary of everything she got up to in the past year, whilst Mutta visits Kenji. With the final exam in two months, coinciding with Hibito's mission into space, Mutta decides to head to Houston ahead of schedule.
#22 - One Question
Season 1 - Episode 27 - Aired 10/7/2012
As Mutta decides to converse with Azuma, he asks him a question that another astronaut previously asked him; "Are you prepared to die?". Mutta gives an honest reply that he would try to survive if possible, which is similar to how both Azuma and Hibito answered the same question. As Mutta and other candidates head off to Florida, he recalls how he and Hibito spent months trying to get footage of the UFO they say, since noone else saw it due to the Zidane headbutt incident. Upon arriving in Florids, Mutta and his parents go to see Hibito, giving him a DVD of the footage they filmed together to take to the moon with him.
#23 - Broken Glasses and the Sole of the Foot
Season 1 - Episode 14 - Aired 7/1/2012
As Naoto recalls how his work in developed a manned spacecraft alienated him from his family, his glasses get broken when they are accidentally stepped on by Yasushi. Despite his reduced visibility, Naoto becomes determined to not let it stop him. After Yasushi hears from Serika about how Naoto quit his job in order to get a chance for astronaut selection, he swallows his pride and asks mission control to order new glasses for him.
#24 - Dear Hibito
Season 1 - Episode 7 - Aired 5/13/2012
As Hibito notices Mutta acting strangely, he suspects that something is up. Mutta eventually confesses about his high chance of failure, and appears to have resided to think he has no chance. Meanwhile, Hoshika has trouble trying to convince another judge to change his mind about Mutta. As Mutta spends time with the pet walkers following being told off by Hibito, the restaurant he is visiting is attacked by a fire extinguisher weilding robber.
#25 - Painful Interview
Season 1 - Episode 26 - Aired 9/30/2012
As the day of the final exam arrives, Nanba is hindered by aching leg muscles due to all the squats he did the other day. After entering the interview room and meeting the examiners, including Azuma and Soichi Noguchi, Mutta sits down only for his chair to break due to a combination of a screw loosened by one of the examiners and Mutta's tenseness in hiding his cramps. After the interviews end, the candidates have a celebratory meal with the examiners. Unbeknownst to the candidates, the interview was a decoy intended to drop their guard as the examiners make observations outside of an exam environment. As Mutta is secretly probed for his observations on the other candidates, he comes face to face with Azuma.