Space Family Carlvinson

In the year 4001, an interstellar acting troupe of six aliens are trying to fly to their next performance, as they are doing so, they accidentally crash into another spaceship over the planet Anika and lead to the death of a human couple. As the acting troupe explores the downed craft, they discover that their baby survived the crash, the police officer sent to record the crash refuses to look after the baby. Thus the alien acting troupe take it upon themselves to take care of the orphaned child as her new family, through the guidance of the ship's logs to raise her in a way that her biological parents would. The acting troupe expects to only take care of the baby for a few weeks, but five years have elapsed since then, and the acting troupe has settled down into life on the planet Anika as Corona's family and friends. The leader, Mother, and battle robot, Father, play the roles of the baby, Corona's, mother and father. The story starts off as Corona is about to enter kindergarten. The OVA is a self contained story split into four sections, and adapted from the manga's material. Transitioning between spring, summer, autumn, and winter, it highlights on the deep bonds that the alien acting troupe has grown over the years and the genuine care they feel for Corona. When someone comes to pick up Corona, her adoptive mother struggles to decide between whether to do what is best for her child and her urge not to return her to her rightful family. It is eventually revealed that the craft sent to pick her up was not from her home planet, but an alien, Pona, who was looking for lost children to raise on her own. Corona rejects her, saying that she likes staying with her family, and waves goodbye to Pona. Corona's mother finds her, and they reunite, having thought that Corona would return with her people. At its end, she muses to herself that some day, she and her family will eventually have to give up Corona. ==Development==

The title of the series is a parody on Swiss Family Robinson. The "Carlvinson" portion of the title likely refers to the USS Carl Vinson, which was active in the Sea of Japan between the 1980s and 1990s. It was often seen in Tokyo harbor during the time Asari had drawn the manga. In turn, the aircraft carrier is named after U.S. congressman from Georgia Carl Vinson, however it is unlikely that Asari was paying homage to the congressman, who was an active supporter of the US Navy during the Second World War, and rather simply having the name be a play on the similar sounding title. Asari, a fan of the science fiction genre, inserted in-group references to contemporary films and other related forms of media. There exists speculation that Space Family Carlvinson is a reference to the series Lost in Space, which was previously Space Family Robinson. Additionally, there are references to other science fiction films such as John Carpenter's The Thing. According to historian Fred Patten, around the time of the animated OVA's release, the Cartoon/Fantasy Organization was undergoing a breakup, and thus the ensuing internal conflict resulted in a failure for the OVA to be brought to a wider audience in the United States. ==Characters==

Acting troupe/Saucer family ; : A human child whose parents died when they crashed into the acting troupe's spaceship. Rescued as a baby, as her parents protected her as their spaceship crashed and died doing so, the story skips ahead to when she is 5 years old. The acting troupe takes it upon themselves to raise and care for her as if they were her parents, waiting for someone of her own species to take care of her to arrive. Naturally inquisitive and naive, she cares a lot for her family. ; : ; Belka's rival from her past as a mercenary, she is a green-haired alien with an irritable personality. Out to defeat Belka, she constantly fails, and lives with the Shovel Mouse. Laika holds immense power due to her heritage, and has wings and a tail. ; A dog-like alien with the uncanny ability to disembowel himself and detach his head. He is a movie buff in addition to being a film director, and works as the town's theatre owner. ; An elderly alien who consists of a single eye and cannot talk. She runs the local candy store. ; : A mysterious humanoid woman alien with long dark hair who shows up for the purpose of becoming the town's kindergarten teacher. Her role in town is to run Anika's kindergarten as Corona's teacher. She is the candy store owner's niece. ; A koi fish-like alien who, in the spirit of Japanese folktales, became a dragon upon jumping over a waterfall. He inhabits the local swamp in Anika, and is able to transform into any form he wishes to, but is unable to transform into his idealized form if he is critiqued. ; An alien that resembles a mouse which constantly holds a shovel. He provides housing for Laika and enjoys to dig holes. ==Media==

Manga Written and illustrated by , Space Family Carlvinson was first serialized in Tokuma Shoten's manga magazine Monthly Shōnen Captain between 1985 and 1996. Tokuma Shoten collected its chapters in 13 volumes, released from April 1986 to July 1997. The series was later re-edited by Asari and republished by Kodansha in 11 volumes, released from July 19, 1999, to May 19, 2000, and in a six-volume edition, released from November 11, 2005, to March 10, 2006. A reboot of Space Family Carlvinson, also written and illustrated by Asari, was serialized on Kodansha's manga magazine Monthly Afternoon from April 24, 1999, to January 25, 2000. Kodansha collected its chapters in one volume, released on May 19, 2000. Tokuma Shoten Kodansha Afternoon KC Kodansha Afternoon KC - SC Full Version Kodansha Manga Bunkoban Original video animation Portions of the manga were adapted into a single 45-minute original video animation (OVA) and animation done by Doga Kobo. The screenplay was done by Michiru Shimada and it was directed by Kimio Yabuki. Corona was voiced by Mayumi Shō, her mother was voiced by Toshiko Fujita and her father was voiced by Tesshō Genda. The OVA features the opening theme and the ending theme both by Miwako Saito. ==Reception==

Historian Fred Patten writing in Cartoon Research thought that the OVA "had the potential to be so much more" and ended too abruptly, praising its humor and quiet charm due to its combination of sci-fi elements with more mundane everyday elements. Mike Toole writing for Anime News Network' described the OVA as "cute, simple, fun to watch" but also noted that it was "100% unmarketable to anyone who isn't either familiar with the comics or an adventuresome cartoon dork" and critiqued the OVA for having little substance. Jason Huff writing in The Anime Review described the style as simplistic but effective, and praised its emotional core and underlying themes. He critiqued its gentle comedy and short length leaving little to develop the secondary cast. Sean O'Mara writing for ZIMMERIT described Space Family Carlvinson as "charming if forgettable", stating that it "holds up better than it has any right to and [it is] easy to recommend". ==Notes==