おとなりに銀河

OTONARI NI GINGA

ANIME

STATUS
COMPLETE
EPISODES
12
RELEASE
June 25, 2023
LENGTH
24 min

DESCRIPTION

Ever since their father died, Ichirou Kuga has struggled to support his two younger siblings on nothing but a small inheritance and his passion for drawing manga. But it’s becoming harder to keep up with his growing responsibilities and deadlines, especially after his last two assistants quit to follow their dreams.

Just as he’s nearing his breaking point, the beautiful and scarily competent Shiori Goshiki applies to become his new assistant. But there’s something almost otherworldly about Goshiki, and soon Kuga finds his reality turned upside down when she suddenly declares them engaged to marry!

(Source: Crunchyroll)

CAST

Shiori Goshiki
Yuu Wakui
Ichirou Kuga
Taku Yashiro
Machi Kuga
Rina Endou
Fumio Kuga
Maria Naganawa
Chihiro Ibusuki
Rie Takahashi
Momoka Morikuni
Youko Hikasa
Kaoru Goshiki
Hiroko Kiso
Ken Goshiki
Shinji Nagano
Yuuta Sano
Jun Fukuyama
Masahiro Morikuni
Tomokazu Sugita

EPISODES

Dubbed

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RELATED TO OTONARI NI GINGA

MANGA ComedyOtonari ni Ginga

REVIEWS

emmerlad
55/100
How a show that fears innovation and change becomes a forgettable and inoffensive show.
Most genres have formulas, in fact these formulas are quite often the things that define the genres. Therefore authors have to contend with a balancing act in their works; what formulas do they want to break and how. Most of the genre defining works are genre defining because they broke a formula of a form, but it also incurs a risk of creating points that some readers / watchers may find horrible or your experiment may just end up being a straight up bad idea.

Now what if you created a show where you took no risks? No opportunities to turn the genre on its head? A Show so safe it’s basically guaranteed to get some kind of a footing from fans of the genre? You would end up with “A Galaxy Next Door”. A Romance so genre-undefining its impact is comparable to a grain of sand thrown into a tsunami. The most inoffensive show created which will be forgotten within the next few months due to it falling into the mediocrity valley, not bad enough to make fun out of nor good enough to remember as a good show.

As this show stands on the shoulders of giants it doesn’t really have any enormous flaws in its writing. It is actually quite concise and quickly develops a romance in between the main characters Shiori Goshiki and Ichirou Kuga although through a forced marriage of sorts with the show’s only real quirk which is touching female lead Shiori’s stinger working as a marriage pact.

Spoiler Segment:
The stinger that is on Shiori is actually a part of her being the princess of a race called the “Star People” which causes a giant commotion in her family about inheritance. They have a way to annul the pact even though this scenario has apparently NEVER happened before. In the end the couple do with quite a bit of resistance fearful of what it would do to their relationship. The annulment of the pact did absolutely fucking nothing to change their relationship (which honestly would’ve made this far more interesting) besides create an absurdly melodramatic moment for us viewers to “enjoy”.

In conclusion: The stinger quirk could be deleted entirely and nothing would change about the show. You can make characters get together without a forced marriage pact. The stinger does not simply create enough of a difference to make it stand apart from the sea of other romance anime / manga.

A Galaxy Next Door feels like a successful ChatGPT-creation in creating a show which does not suck and takes quite a bit from other successful romance manga but as a sacrifice it ends up having no unique conversation worthy material of its own despite a clear attempt by some form of human intervention to inject a little bit of conversation worthy material into it. Despite this I can see an avid romance fan enjoying this show despite its lack of originality just due to it being so inoffensive.
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oobsiz
65/100
Easy to watch, easy to forget.
As someone who doesn't watch a copious amount of anime (yet), this was decent. It is not groundbreaking or one I would suggest everyone to watch, if it seems interesting to you based of the synopsis, give it a go. I found this to be the best watched while doing other things, simply due to its simple plotline and very easy to follow story. This is not a bad thing. I will not lie, I am kind of a sucker for romance, especially the cheesy kind. I enjoyed the kind of live inside of their relationship style of the show and watching all of the super sweet moments they shared. The writing around those scenes is the bread and butter of this show and put a huge smile on my face and made me feel all of those fun, jealous, feelings these kind of shows are meant to pull out of you. This show does follow a lot of the typical romance tropes that I'm sure have been done better elsewhere but I do not think there is any shame in simply enjoying the simpleton nature of this show, sometimes it's just what you need. Shiori Goshiki is honestly one of my favorite anime characters I've come across (so far). I found her to be very likeable and very charismatic. Ichirou Kuga fell a little flat for me in all honesty but he's not poorly written by any means, he does the job he is intended to do. I did like the addition of the different characters living inside of the complex, my favorite being the siblings, they added a lot of character to the male lead where he would have been pretty boring without them. The stinger plot isn't my favorite thing either, personally. I am not a big fan of plotlines of its kind but I do not think this show did it in a way that was too cringe or story wrecking that made it unenjoyable. The intro an outro songs are really my favorite I've heard, they really get you into the mood of the anime and overall are very pretty songs. Now, to touch on some of my criticism of the show, it's not hidden that this show is not very complex in nature. I wish for a bit more of character from the show, even maybe just a bit more of realism in the whole communal living aspect would've went miles for this. Like I mentioned previously, I feel the male counterpart fell a little flat and I did not love his presence in the show, he is not memorable in any way whatsoever. He felt like a tool for the story and not much more than that. I had a hard time filling this review with words, there's not much to be said if I'm being honest. Everything done in this anime has been done in other animes of similar style 100 times over, better and worse. To sum it up, I won't rewatch, I won't heavily recommended it, but I will be listening to the OST and I had an enjoyable experience in a slice of life kinda way.
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MissMajorOtaku

78/100

A no-brainer sort of romance. The cuteness and sweetness distracts you from the lacking plot...could've been better ngl


__[LIGHT SPOILERS ARE MARKED]__

#__Overview__

Contrary to what you might think of this anime based on the title alone, A Galaxy Next Door is *not* about a literal galaxy that can be accessed with a portal next door. (Although there’s an idea for a manga if anyone feels like it) 
It’s actually a wholesome anime with a fairly fluffy romance in center stage and heartwarming sibling relationships. Even if it's mostly a thin layer that doesn't really strike your heart deep. 

The three Kuga siblings live in a townhouse (I don’t recall if they managed it too or were just tenants, but I think they did), without their parents. The eldest, Ichiro, is a mangaka who works at home, taking care of his kid sister Machi and brother Fumio. They live peacefully, until one day, Ichiro’s new assistant arrives: Goshiki Shiori. 
Shiori is a little strange, from her awe at small things to the way she says “lovely!/suteki!” when she likes something. Even so, she’s skilled, with a pleasant, cheerful demeanor. The Kugas take an instant liking to her, Machi and Fumio especially. 

A coincidence, accident, and misunderstanding later…it seems that Ichiro's inadvertently got them stuck in a betrothal pact. 
Shiori ends up moving into the townhouse as a new tenant, and the two of them are now figuring out how things will be from then on. 
It's pretty mundane, honestly. If you were hoping for a deep story, you won't be getting one here.

Got a clue of what it’s like yet? 

#__The Good/Positive__

Every time I think of words to describe this anime, “cute”, “sweet”, and “wholesome” are the first ones to come to mind. I feel like I tend to underline this whenever I talk about *A Galaxy Next Door*. (which…isn't all that often, mostly after I finish an episode and it's on my mind) 

Most of my enjoyment might be biased since I felt that I could relate to some of it. Being able to relate makes the watching experience more engaging for me. (Not that I relate super often…) *cough cough* anyway

As I mentioned before, this show isn't one that's really thought through. However, I feel that the simplicity might be a good thing; sometimes you just wanna unwind and watch something that makes you go "aw, that's sweet" without thinking too hard about it later, y'know? 
Good and bad sides to everything. 

The siblings were heartwarming. I’m not just talking about Machi and Fumio–although their interactions are definitely cute–but all three of them. Ichiro seems to be quite a handful of years older than Machi, while she and Fumio are close in age. But they’re still close, even with this age gap. Ichiro always works his hardest at his job, making sure his younger sister and brother can live comfortably and happily. Meanwhile, Machi tries to hide it, but she worries for her big brother sometimes. Fumio is just plain adorable, and while he seems rather young, based on how he speaks, he also cares for his older sister and brother. 
Especially in episode 12, when 
<span class='markdown_spoiler'><span> Fumio purposely invited Ichiro to play and wanted to play with his older brother, thinking that Machi had turned down her friends' invitations to go play to hang with him. 
I find this really endearing of him, definitely amped up his cuteness levels for me. </span></span> 
~~Honestly… I think I might like Fumio cause he reminds me of my own younger brother, back when we were kids around that age~~

The opening music was decent, I let it play instead of skipping like I do with most anime. Around the final episode, I decided to download it. The lyrics seem to match the show pretty well…didn't give the ending music a listen though, I ended up skipping it. 

The art style was nice to look at. Shiori is pretty, and the two younger Kuga siblings look cute. (Though that might be the little kid effect)

#__The Bad/Negative__

If you’ve read the other reviews on this, you can probably tell that most people don’t think very highly of *A Galaxy Next Door*, describing it with words like "mediocre".
When thinking about it as a whole and from a more “professional” point of view…this might be the case. 
I’ll be honest; I was so wrapped up in my positive opinions and thoughts that I didn’t really think too hard about the flaws until I read the other reviews. ~~(Guess my positive outlook on just about everything and my habit of looking on the bright side are starting to become a problem, huh?)~~ 
Some of the views I had to disagree with…others, I couldn’t quite defend. 

I can’t lie, when thinking of the highlights of this season, *A Galaxy Next Door* didn’t come to mind. I didn’t give it much thought unless I was currently watching an episode, just finished watching an episode, or looking through my tabs thinking about what I’ll watch. As cute and sweet as it was…this show doesn’t leave a lasting aftertaste, pleasant or otherwise. 
It doesn’t really have a particularly special quirk, other than being one of the few that reminds me of, well, I’ll let you wonder. 
From most viewers’ perspectives, this is just another romance anime. 
The one thing that may or may not have made it different sadly did not feel fresh to the mind (I feel as if the “stuck in an arranged marriage” or “accidentally in an arranged marriage” thing isn’t very new) and overall, didn’t stand out that much. 
Shiori’s mysterious upbringing and such could’ve been left out of it, too. It didn’t really have much effect on the show. 
In fact, we could throw out everything that makes the word  “galaxy” in the title and turn it into realistic fiction, a slice-of-life romance sort of show. It wouldn’t change much; it actually might make it more popular with viewers. 

Now, here’s a random thought: *was it too __easy__ for them to fall in love?* 
I feel like there could’ve been more obstacles other than Shiori’s parents disapproving in the later episodes. (10-12 in particular, if I recall correctly) 

There could’ve been more character development as well…Ichiro and Shiori are pretty much the same people they were before at the end. The only difference was that they were head over heels for each other. 

All in all, I can’t disagree with some opinions others brought up, but at the same time, I enjoyed watching *A Galaxy Next Door*. Even if there wasn’t really any intense hype or excitement. 
This show just can’t shine when next to some other greatness airing in the season. 
Things may have turned out better for it if it picked a different time to air…

#__Do I Recommend?__ 

Honestly?
I think it’s not a priority. 
I would insist you watch some other really good romances out there first unless you’ve already seen them. 
~~there’s really only like one person out there who I'm being pushy with and pressuring to watch…you know who you are~~

Given how most people feel about this, I wouldn’t recommend it if you’re new to romance anime and looking to try out the genre since it might make you dislike the category altogether. 
If you just feel like adding another one to your belt, go ahead. 

What can you expect if you do watch? 

- endearing moments that you’d really only rave about until you’ve cleared your mind
- some cute SoL that doesn’t make you think too hard
- adorable kids (no, I’m not “one of those people”, I just happen to think they’re cute okay, no more than a kitten or something)
- mostly style but not much substance

Time to get this over with, I have stuff to catch up on. 
~~Sorry if I brought up your hopes too high and disappointed you, mutuals~~

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