Space Brothers (2012 Film)

Space Brothers (Japanese: 宇宙兄弟, Hepburn: Uchū Kyōdai) is a 2012 Japanese live-action film directed by Yoshitaka Mori. The film is based on the manga series of the same name written and illustrated by Chuya Koyama, which began serialization in 2008.

Promotional poster for the film Space Brothers.

Plot

The story follows two brothers, Mutta and Hibito Nanba. As children, they witness an unidentified flying object heading toward the moon and make a pact to become astronauts. Years later, in 2025, their paths have diverged: Hibito has achieved their childhood dream and is a professional astronaut, while Mutta is working for an automotive company. After losing his job, a phone call from his brother prompts Mutta to pursue his original ambition of traveling to space.

Production

The film was produced by Toho and features a screenplay adapted from Koyama's manga. Production included location shooting at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, which took place in June 2011. The film's theme song is "Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall" by the British band Coldplay.

Actor Shun Oguri — Shun Oguri, who portrays the adult Mutta Nanba.

Cast

The film features an ensemble cast, including:

Shun Oguri as Mutta Nanba
Masaki Okada as Hibito Nanba
Kumiko Aso as Serika Ito
Gaku Hamada as Yasushi Furuya
Hirofumi Arai as Yamato Mizoguchi
Yoshio Inoue as Kenji Makabe
Sansei Shiomi as Naoto Fukuda
Shinichi Tsutsumi as Tadashi Hoshika

Actor Masaki Okada — Masaki Okada, who portrays the adult Hibito Nanba.

Reception and Awards

Space Brothers premiered internationally at the 16th Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival in July 2012. During the festival, the film received the "Best of Puchon" award and the "NH Nonghyup Citizen’s Choice" award.

Related Works

A prequel film titled Space Brothers 0 was released in 2014.