Review of Space Dandy
Do note that this review reflects my thoughts on both "seasons" to Space Dandy as a whole. This said, on with the review: Space Dandy is the fourth TV anime directed by the highly acclaimed Shinichiro Watanabe which is a sci-fi comedy focused on an alien hunter named Dandy who finds himself in some sort of comical shenanigans during his hunts in each episode. The series is mostly a parody of sci-fi space opera tropes with the series occasionally breaking the fourth wall, Dandy often getting in some sort of dimensional hopping shenanigans, usually being killed in some episodes and being fine in the next one,members of an enemy empire incompetently seeking him out and failing to even reach him, and never stopping with his continued obsession with visiting the Hooters-like Boobies "breastaurant". At first glance, the series may seem completely episodic and self-contained with many of its plots considering Dandy is well and good the following episode if he or all of the universe get killed in some fashion throughout the series. But later episodes do drop hints that things are not as they would seem on the surface with our "dandy guy in space" and all.
The comedy throughout the series is hit-or-miss for me as the clueless characters of Dandy, Meow, and QT did get stale for me as episodes progressed, though some of the supporting characters such as the surprisingly insightful Honey and the no-nonsense Scarlet caught my interest with their behavior and actions. In addition, some episodes are focused on providing some more fleshing out of the characters which while appreciated, often did not do much for me to get to care for them due to mostly being focused on in a single episode.
The highlight of the series comes from its very impressive animation as Space Dandy sports smoothly detailed and vividly-colored designs, while offering diverse variety in the number of human and alien designs seen throughout the series. Movements are very fluid with a variety of action sequences and some unique animation styles being milked at points thanks to Dandy's interdimensional travels, with CGI renderings of spaceships and the effects of Dandy crossing into dimensions milking CG animation that blends seamlessly with the regular animation for the most part.
Overall, I felt Space Dandy's hype mostly came from Watanabe's fame and its space comedy premise being accessible to Western audiences. While Dandy's antics and the seemingly episodic developments within the show do come with a surprising reason that makes sense when revealed in its climax and was a clever twist for the series, the comedy for it did gradually lose its luster for me with time and the characters were mostly too limited with their traits and personalities for me to want to rewatch it too often. While I am a fan of Watanabe's previous works like Cowboy Bebop and Kids on the Slope, Space Dandy appears to be the weakest of the TV anime titles I've seen directed by him.