Ad Astra per Aspera Chapter 03 Manga Review (Introducing a new girl to the mix.)

Ad Astra per Aspera chapter 03
アド アストラ ペル アスペラ ch 03

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis:

Ad Astra per Aspera Chapter 03 Shinobu gets instructions from Versailles as well as a lighter in the shape of a gun and a smoke bomb in the shape of a hand grenade.

Elsewhere, the Imperial Army’s Sol Branch’s Peerless Ace, Satella (Stella) is at the firing range when her captain reports to her. She recalls her mother’s words about treating everyone with kindness, but she also remembers witnessing her mother execute a student. Her captain reports on the terrorist Shibou, which troubles Satella. Her captain asks if she’ll be able to kill Shinobu on site, as the orders indicate, which she says she will, providing that’s the correct course of action.

The captain asks about the business Satella has to deal with, so she reports that as the guardian of her younger brothers, she’s having to go buy medicine since they have colds. She’s also concerned that the oldest of her little brothers has become quite rebellious. The captain promises to send her the info on Shinobu when it comes in as she takes off to get the medicine.

Meanwhile, Shinobu makes it to the pharmacy with no problem and finds the medicine, but he only has ¥628 and the brand of medicine he’s trying to get costs ¥721. The other brands are more expensive, so Shinobu contemplates stealing the medicine, but when he witnesses a boy stealing stuff, he stops the boy after seeing a live interview with his robot mom, who encourages Shinobu to do what he feels is right.

After the boy puts the item back, Satella thanks Shinobu for stopping her troublesome younger brother. Shinobu downplays it and confesses that he was about to shoplift as well since he was ¥100 short. She gives Shinobu ¥100 as a reward and reminds him not to commit a crime as she’d have to take him in.

Shinobu buys the medicine and is attempting to leave when Satella gets a report on her phone, identifying the terrorist Shinobu. She’s shocked to see his picture, but stops Shinobu to ask if he’s HAZUKI Shinobu.

Thoughts/Review:

Ha!ha! Was that Athena from Hayate the Combat Butler I just saw there as Satella’s mom? I doubt it, but the resemblance is uncanny.

Satella (I think the name will probably be Stella, but I’ll go with the other for now) is an unexpected inclusion into the story. I say this because the way her character is given a bit of background with her mother’s advice and the fact that she witnessed her mother shoot a teen boy suggests that she’ll be a long term character. I kinda hope she is, but we’ll see where the story goes.

Ad Astra per Aspera Chapter 03

Regardless, for her to be only 15 (Shinobu’s age) and have such a high ranking office in the Imperial Army is impressive. We were shown her incredible gun skills, and this chapter gives the implication that she worked quite hard to get where she’s at. That alone makes her an interesting character whom I’d like to see continue in the manga. I’d like to see her be an ally of Shinobu. I think this could be the case as Shinobu has shown her that he’s not the evil person depicted in the TV broadcasts (dealing with her brother the way he did).

I wonder what happened to her mom. I’m guessing she was killed in the line of duty, which is why Satella has to take care of her little brothers.

Versailles is a bit of a troll character for an A.I. mecha unit. I laughed at it giving Shinobu what looked like a Walther P38, only to have it be a lighter, and a hand grenade that is merely a smoke bomb that will harm the one who throws it. Versailles really comes off like Yukiji at times.

In the end, we have an interesting chapter that does a good job introducing new character Satella, whom I believe will be around for a while. Now lets see if Shinobu can get back with the medicine for Patty.

You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

4 Responses to “Ad Astra per Aspera Chapter 03 Manga Review (Introducing a new girl to the mix.)”

  1. liz says:

    this manga seemed promising for two chapters but current chapter in particular was a let down for me. but i will wait for story to progress further before forming concrete opinion.

    i really like how hata recycles his art designs for his other mangas. it gives me the feeling as if designs are individuals that appear in various stories with different get ups.

    • AstroNerdBoy says:

      What was a let down for you? I’m just curious.

      • liz says:

        the story is good but still does not stand out much in its genre. like i said its new so it well be too soon to say anything.

        the backstory was the part that i did not like that much. she trusted the the guy so easily which makes her come off as a bit incapable as a cop . still we all make mistakes and it was her mom’s moment of indiscretion. this incident serves a purpose in the story but could have been done in a better way.

        • AstroNerdBoy says:

          she trusted the the guy so easily which makes her come off as a bit incapable as a cop

          If you are talking about Satella’s mom, she wanted to see the good in folks. The boy there was making a similar plea as Shinobu. The Empire here is pretty harsh in what they consider terrorism and such. In Shinobu’s case, he’d done nothing worthy of death. In the boy’s case, he was clearly the terrorist they claimed he was.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Powered by WordPress