Manly anime is often said to be a thing of the past, rooted in the 80's when Fist of the North Star was in its prime. Certainly, recent times have seen a trend towards more effeminate male leads, from the angsting teen youth in Evangelion's Shinji Ikari, to the mecha-driving dandy in Code Geass' Suzaku.

Moonlight Mile defies that, with two manly leads driven by an insatiable need to conquer new heights. Be it mountains, women, the corporate ladder, or even outer space, no challenge is great enough.

One of these is the American Jack F. Woodbridge, known to most by the nickname "Lostman". Square-jawed and stoic, he presents a kind of internalized determination. Less reserved is his companion and mountaineering partner, Goro Saruwatari. Goro is a beer-swilling, table-dancing, loud-as-the-Mongol-hordes party animal. But both are infamous for their determination, their womanizing, and their physical prowess.

We're introduced to the pair as they challenge Mount Everest and rescue a member of a stranded French team -- the only survivor, that is. The survivor is a woman, close to death, and mourning for her lover. Unsure of her survival, the pair treats her as best they can, with Goro filling an emotional role in her last moments, setting her at ease. When the woman passes on, they bury her and resume their climb, till at last they conquer the icy peak.

At the summit, they plant their flag and a token tribute from their fallen French comrade, considering then what they want to do. Staring into the blue yonder, they are struck by inspiration as a satellite comes into view. Their next challenge will be outer space.

Suffice it to say that the story jumps ahead a few years and we're introduced to new paradigms in both mountaineers' life. With the discovery of Helium-3 on the moon as a viable energy source, NASA founds a new project called Nexus, and our two heroes are eager to participate in its challenge. Lostman has become part of the air force in a bid to become an astronaut, while Goro is an intrepid worker in a corporation with a contract to send one of its employees on the Nexus mission. Guess who's going into outer space?

Goro and Lostman are easy to regard as one-note pastiches of masculine behavior, but the writers do their legwork in either case. Goro does get some better attention (this is a Japanese production after all), but that isn't to say Lostman is left behind. We see their daily lives, get glimpses into their ways of thinking, and even find some surprises along the way.

There is quite a bit of sex in the series, even opening with a scene concerning the two mountaineers with some rather naked and excited female company. This is a trend that continues, with one particularly hilarious moment seeing Goro and a fellow employee making whoopee in a skyscraper crane operator's booth. It's rather explicit -- though not to the point of being hentai -- and sometimes makes you wonder if the director was trying to make a rather serious plot more interesting to your average viewer. While not wholly detracting, it does sometimes confuse the message of Moonlight Mile, and a little less frequency would be welcome.

For some audiences, the series may come off as chauvinistic. While I don't think that's wholly true, female characters are definitely on the back burner for this one. Even the personality of Riyoko Ikeuchi, despite being one of the strong female roles, is that of a corporate opportunist, using her sexuality to climb the ladder. She's got a figure and knows how to use it -- and boy does she use it a lot. The only man she can't seem to conquer is Goro himself, a fact that frustrates her to no end.

If you can get past the note of masculine glorification, there is a genuinely fascinating series beneath. It's meant to appeal to a male viewer and speaks volumes about the masculine ego. Sharing similarities to the outstanding Planetes, it diverges from the more general audience and establishes itself as a fairly adult seinen show from the start.

It helps that the show is well-animated. Studio Hibari, the folks behind Kashimashi and the cutscenes in Persona 4, did a beautiful job of bringing Moonlight Mile to life. The characters are all rather real-world in proportion and features, though Riyoko is a testament to a wasp-waist hourglass figure.

If you're a fan of things like Fist of the North Star, or even want to see a show similar to Planetes and don't mind a bit of sex in the way, Moonlight Mile is worth sitting down with. It's not perfect, and it may offend some sensibilities, but it's definitely a good time.