Sunset Rocket

"**Sunset Rocket**" (夕焼ロケット, *Yūyake Roketto*) is the second episode of the anime series *Hoshikuzu Telepath*. It premiered on October 16, 2023.

## Synopsis

Umika wants to go to space and Yu wants to go back to space. They both decided to pursue the same dream, "to go to space"! Umika tries to build a rocket for this purpose, but the difficulty of the project suddenly makes her feel frustrated. Umika is depressed and Yu is going at her own pace. Haruno Takaragi, a classmate and vice class president, is concerned about the state of these two. Umika desperately tries to cover it up so that Haruno will not find out that Yu is an alien. But Yu tells Haruno about "their dream" and invites her to join them. The three then take the first step toward building a rocket!

## Plot

Umika is writing a textbook at night and imagines she is not very good at talking to people, and Yu uses her forehead ability to read her feelings, and they promise to go to space together. Umika received from her encounter with Yu. She used the search engine for how to start building a rocket, but she found it for kids. Instead, she searches for adults, but they are not.

The next day at school, Umika is depressed in the classroom about building rockets. She uses the search engine again with only one word and it makes her cry. She only thinks of rockets while Umika and Yu ride it and she will make a promise to her. Yu greets Umika by saying "bonan" (transl. "heya") in Cosmic language and uses her forehead ability to her. Yu needs to answer her to say "matenon" (transl. "wassup"), they should practice the Cosmic language. Her classmates greet her by speaking in Cosmic language. Haruno comes to the classroom and greets them with Yu and Haruno saying in Cosmic language. Hauno tries to greet Umika, but Umika hasn't managed to talk to her. Haruko asks Yu did hand in her assignment, but Yu forgets it and Emihara is worried about her. Umika can't stay in the classroom but she is powerless to bring not only herself. Haruno asks them if they did go to the lighthouse on the cape, but Umika only sees the sign for no entry. When the bell rings, they will talk again later.

During the class, Umika is worried about Yu being in the lighthouse, scary folks investigating to capture her, and being tied. Umika needs to make sure that no one discovers Yu's secret. Emihara calls Umika but forces her for not paying attention and Umika reads the book that starts on line thirteen. After Umika's reading, Emihara might have some more confidence. Haruno cheered her for the reading, but Umika wasn't able to thank Haruno.

After school, Umika needs something to stop Yu from talking about the lighthouse. She tries to talk to her but she can't speak well and uses sign language (in Umika's thinking, they should keep it a secret when the lighthouse should be off-limits), but Yu plays with her. Umika covers them to their mouth to keep it secret and they go to the secret room. Umika tells them when the base could end up dissected (in reality, Umika uses sign language to them). Yu tells them that she lives in a lighthouse, but Haruno doesn't know it and Umika is in trouble when they try to capture Yu. She finally talks to them about what happens to the lighthouse after school. Haruno apologizes to them for asking a weird question and she thinks that they were lighthouse connoisseurs and that lighthouse was abandoned ages ago, and she hopes they might have felt the same.

Yu plans to advertise it and they turn it into Earth's most popular tourist destination. Haruno believes Yu when she is an alien. She always wanted to speak with an alien and rolling into the sparkling scene, Umika and Yu agreed. Yu and Haruno hug Umika in their smile. Haruno is really happy to talk to Umika and Umika thanks her for saying hello and helping her out, but Haruno thinks about her that it occurred to herself during class. She holds a tiny seashell and tells God to thank him for his wonderful meetings and blessings and Haruno prays that her future may shine as bright. Yu thinks to Umika that will be okay to tell Haruno what they promise. In Yu's imagination, they going to build a rocket to take it and it explodes, but Umika is still worried about her and they build the rocket together. Haruno has agreed to join in and they spin themselves, then they work and talk together. Yu and her classmates will make the ultimate rocket and they become friends. Haruno asks Yu if she wants to try Yu's Odekopathy.

At her home, Umika draws a rocket with her friends. She needs help to think about building something and finding a better one with the materials needed. Umika tries to communicate with them the next day, but she can't do it. Saya asks Yu if she needs to recharge her space energy, but they do it together. Yu finally talks to Umika, but Emihara yells in front of her that she didn't hand in her assignment.

After school, Umika doesn't give up on time, but Yu suddenly disappears and bumps into Umika. Umika talks to them about building a soda-bottle rocket and already found instructions on how to build one. Yu wants to show instructions for it, and then Haruno remembers it from making one in elementary school. Yu thinks wrongly when how the hot tea in the vending machine works. Haruno knows when the rocket launched with water and air and believes larger bottles fly farther. Yu needs to make a big one and Umika brought an empty soda bottle and they need larger bottles. Yu chugs the soda until it's empty and she becomes drunk, Haruno seems that they need two more. Since Umika doesn't like fizzy drinks, she attempts to drink them, and Haruno serves fizzy drinks to her classmates. While Yu is still drunk, Umika needs to rest her. They've five empty large bottles and they build a rocket with the following instructions, and Umika is good at cutting materials. Yu tries to cut it but it actually punches Umika. Umika acts like a professor when they put it all together and she brings kinds of colored tape, and Yu designs it using colored tape. Haruno has an idea the launch of the rocket should be at the lighthouse.

While they walking to Yu's house, Yu and Haruno sing about the rocket, Umika seems worried about when the rocket will fly. Yu feels a melody in her body while singing and it's the same across the universe, and she can remember the songs from her own planet. Haruno knows Umika fills the air with her singing, but she is embarrassed by them.

Umika places the launchpad and it'll go fly when they squeeze it. This will be about a hundred meters, Haruno doesn't think that a bottle rocket will be quite enough to reach outer space. Yu still can't remember from her home planet and she's a little relieved, and she needs to learn about Earth but uses her Odekopathy to Umika. Yu needs to fill the rocket up with water, Haruno seems to have taken a liking to this planet. Umika dreams of wanting to escape from Earth and make friends with aliens, she imagines Takaragi's unclouded words and can feel a prickling in her chest. Haruno is sure that Yu will look back as a wonderful memory.

Yu comes back with a full-filled rocket, Umika squeezes the handle, and they are good to go, grab the handle together as a launch button, then Yu starts counting, and the rocket launches. They see the sparkles in the water. Umika knows the prickling in her chest while imagining where Haruno mentioned the wonderful feeling. They do it again, but the rocket lands in the ocean, Yu surprises it and she does have a net. The rocket shows that it draws from Umika's classmate.

In the post-credit scene (before they launch the rocket together), Yu stares at the rocket to draw her friends and writes a Cosmic language, "kamaradoj."

## Characters

List of characters in order of appearance:

* Umika Konohoshi
* Haruno Takaragi
* Yu Akeuchi
* Akane Emihara
* Saya Kagami

## Trivia

* This episode title is based on the chapter 5 title.
* This episode's eyecatch is based on the chapter 4 cover.
* This episode was prescreened at Shinjuku Wald 9 on October 3, 2023, after episode 1.

### Adaptation changes

* The anime adds that:
	+ Umika is worried that Yu might have been captured by scary folks during class, and she can't communicate with them during break time.
	+ Yu and Haruno sing while walking to the lighthouse.

## References

1. ↑ Translated from the official anime website.