Asteroid in Love (恋する) is a Japanese four-panelmanga series by Quro, serialized in Houbunsha's seinen manga magazine Manga Time Kirara Carat from January 2017 to June 2024.It has been collected in six tankōbon volumes.An anime television series adaptation by Doga Kobo aired from January to March 2020.
Plot
During her childhood, a girl named Mira Konohata befriends Ao Manaka, who she believes is a boy, and makes a promise with Ao to discover an asteroid. Upon entering high school, Mira joins the earth sciences club, a merger of the school's astronomy and geology clubs, and reunites with Ao, who she discovers is actually a girl. Alongside their fellow club members, Mira and Ao take part in various astronomical and geological activities in the hopes of one day discovering an asteroid.
Characters
Mira Konohata (木ノ幡 みら)
rusty-red hair, gradient blue-to-yellow eyes
The main protagonist of the story, who joins the earth sciences club in her first year and becomes vice-president in her second year. She took an interest in astronomy after meeting Ao as a child and is determined to discover an asteroid with her.
Ao Manaka (真中 あお)
blue-violet hair, cyan eyes
An astronomy fanatic who was initially mistaken by Mira to be a boy when she was a child. She becomes the club's treasurer in her second year, when she also moves in with Mira to fulfill her dream of finding an asteroid with her while her parents are away.
Mai Inose (猪瀬 舞)
blond-yellow hair, grass green eyes
Earth sciences club member and former member of the geology club, nicknamed "Ino-senpai", who becomes the new club president after Mari steps down. She has a crush on Ibe.
Mikage Sakurai (桜井 美景)
red hair, red eyes
Vice-president of the earth sciences club before graduation and former president of the geology club, nicknamed "Sakura".
Mari Morino (森野 真理)
gray hair, brown eyes
President of the earth sciences club before graduation and former president of the astronomy club, nicknamed "Monroe-senpai". She aspires to become an astronaut.
Moe Suzuya (鈴矢 萌)
dark violet hair
Mira's childhood friend, known as Suzu for short. She is particularly fond of girls and has a crush on Misa. Her family owns a bakery.
Yuki Endō (遠藤 幸)
brown hair, brown eyes
Advisor for the earth sciences club.
Yuu Nanami (七海 悠)
green hair, blue eyes
A girl who joins the club in Mira's second year, nicknamed "Nana". She wishes to pursue meteorology to help others after seeing her aunt suffer from flood damage.
Chikage Sakurai (桜井 千景)
red hair, red eyes
Mikage's younger sister, nicknamed Chika, who joins the club after Mikage graduates. She shares her sister's enthusiasm for geology.
Misa Konohata (木ノ幡 みさ)
purple hair, gradient violet-to-yellow eyes
Mira's older sister who is student council president until she graduates.
Megu Suzuya (鈴矢 芽)
blue hair, blue eyes
Suzu's younger sister.
Sayuri Ibe (伊部 小百合)
green hair, brown eyes
President of the newspaper club and Mai's friend, who prefers to be called "Eve".
Ayano Usami (宇佐美 綾乃)
brown hair, red eyes
Newspaper club member and Ao's classmate.
Media
Manga
Written and illustrated by Quro, Asteroid in Love was serialized in Houbunsha's Manga Time Kirara Carat magazine from January 28, 2017, to June 28, 2024.[2][3] Its chapters have been collected into six tankōbon volumes.
Anime
An anime television series adaptation was announced in the April issue of Manga Time Kirara Carat on February 28, 2019.[5] The series was animated by Doga Kobo and directed by Daisuke Hiramaki, with Yuka Yamada handling series composition, and Jun Yamazaki designing the characters. Takurō Iga composed the series' music. It aired from January 3 to March 27, 2020, on AT-X, Tokyo MX, SUN, KBS, TVA, and BS11.[6]Nao Tōyama performed the series' opening theme song "Aruiteikō!"(歩いていこう！), while Minori Suzuki performed the series' ending theme song "Yozora" (夜空).[7] It ran for 12 episodes.[8]Crunchyroll simulcasted the series with English subtitles, while Funimation began streaming an English dub on March 6, 2020.[9][10]
Video game
Characters from the series appear alongside other Manga Time Kirara characters in the 2020 mobile RPG, Kirara Fantasia.[12][13]
Reception
Faye Hopper of Anime News Network noted that the show has "fundamental cuteness" but criticized it for not having enough to sustain all the episodes.[14] She further stated that Ao and Mira are "in the same position" at the end of the series as they were at the beginning, describing the connections between Ao and Mira as shallow. She specifically noted that the viewers "never understand how much Ao and Mira matter to each other," saying it never digs deep into the relationships between characters.
Impact
The amateur asteroid search project COIAS (a backronym for "Come On! Impacting ASteroids") is named after the manga Koisuru Asteroid (abbreviated KoiAs).[15][16] Its first numbered discovery, 697402 Ao, is named after the character Ao Manaka.[17][16] Other COIAS discoveries have been named Quro after the manga artist[18] and Hoshizaki after the school where the manga is set.[19]
