Reception
In an interview with the Yomiuri Shimbun, Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata named Twin Spica, because of its nostalgic story, as one of five manga series which highlight the dream of reaching space. While assessing the series for licensing in English, Vertical marketing director Ed Chavez, a fan of science fiction, found its story "technically sound" and noted it as "possibly one of the most heartfelt series I've read in ages". He hoped that the series would rank in top 10 of The New York Times Graphic Books Best Seller List for manga and believed that it would make Vertical a "known name, not only amongst better comic shops and independent book stores, but also with anime fans and casual graphic novel readers". While the series was originally published in a seinen magazine, Chavez expected that it would also appeal to fans of shōjo manga. He believed that the word seinen "means adult and does not make reference to gender". He hoped Twin Spica will prove to be a financial success and enable Vertical to fund future licenses of classic works by Osamu Tezuka and the Forty-Niners. The first volume in English was listed by Publishers Weekly as one of the most anticipated graphic novels of 2010.
Jennifer Berman of THEM Anime Reviews rated the anime adaptation of Twin Spica five out of five stars but told readers, "Subtract a star if you don't like anime that have a somewhat slow pace." Berman praised its artistic design and noted that the character designs reminded her of works by Studio Ghibli. She found the characters "likeable" and saw Marika Ukita as the most intriguing character. Despite her praises, Berman noted one weakness in the anime adaptation. She observed the ending as "a rather open-ended one, and while it wasn't a bad ending, they probably should have thought of something better". Similar to the manga, the anime series was seen as gender neutral. Sony Pictures Entertainment vice president Todd Miller stated that Twin Spica was one of the titles aired on Animax which appealed to both genders. The first episode of the drama series aired with a 3.4 percent domestic viewership rating. Reviewers from the Yomiuri Shimbun rated the live-action adaptation an average two out of three stars and ranked it third overall among 11 series airing in summer 2009.
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