Review of Space Dandy

(7.5/10) This is a show about a Dandy... in space... And in a way, it isn't. This episodic space-romp full of pop-culture references, boobies, monsters, chase-sequences, and physical gags serves as an outlet for animators and storyboarders to create some of the coolest and most well-choreographed pieces of animation in televised anime history. Not only that, it gives Shinichiro Watanabe, the director of Cowboy Bebop the ability to travel back out into space with a bigger budget and bigger, wackier ideas. Letting go of the reigns and seeing where the space cruiser takes him. However, at its core, it's also a very inconsistent show. It makes sensewhy, since there are so many different people working on all the different episodes, but regardless if it's logical, it's still frustrating. Space Dandy has bouts of absolute mind-blowing greatness but also depression-filled states of dull, boring, and unfunny episodes. It's the definition of a mixed bag, which makes the idea of pushing it from a "good" show to a "Very good" show very hard, grading wise.

But lets get into why!

______________________________________________________________

[ART]

______________________________________________________________

As I've said, this is the most impressively animated piece of televised anime I've ever seen. Maybe it isn't a marvel when it comes to something like shot composition and art direction, but it's vibrant and full of energy. It's the opposite of something like Fate/Zero, which tries really hard to look pretty at all times but sacrifices any actual movement or animation for that.

Space Dandy jumps around on screen making goofy faces with spectacularly beautiful scenery and hair-raising action sequences. The characters bend and contort out of their designs constantly, making it undoubtedly cartoonish. But that's what they're going for.

The consistently creative monster designs are paired with equally creative space ship designs which put the likes of Cowboy Bebop to shame. It appears that when Shinichiro decides to go goofy, his designs improve drastically. Everything from the villainous Dr.Gel and his awesome spaceship that's pretty much the statue of liberty's head with a ball gag to the Aloha Oe's sleek yellow exterior reminds me of distinctly 60's sci-fi that's unfortunately often forgotten about.

I got a lot of Dune vibes, especially the unfortunately unmade Dune film by Alejandro Jodorowsky. Small plug here, if you haven't seen "Jodorowsky's Dune", the documentary, you should!

...

The spaceship and creature designs aren't the only thing standing out, either. With our main characters being distinctly malleable and creative, especially Space Dandy himself, who sports a leather jacket and sick pompadour is one of the most creative looking anime MC's I've ever seen. He's also one of my favorites. More on that later.

...

To round everything up. We have spectacular animation that puts 99.99% of televised anime to complete shame. We have great creature designs. We have great character designs overall. Fantastic action sequences devoid of any filler, focusing solely on creating something frantic, memorable, and funny., and lastly, a solid list of guest animators that all do their jobs splendidly.

Some episodes may look similar to others, but certain episodes completely stand out in terms of animation. Not just in quality, but in style. Specifically, episode 9 was jaw-droppingly pretty and one of the most memorable parts of the show.

______________________________________________________________

[SOUND]

______________________________________________________________

It's very good. Especially for a TV anime. The sound effects range from corny to impactful, but that's what the show needs. It's entire personality is that. From the goofy character reactions to the ships zooming through space, everything has a sound effect and these sound effects add to the entire likability of the show.

The soundtrack is almost wholly exceptional, too. Ranging from guitar riffs to whole songs created specifically for this show. To my surprise, there's a distinct lack of that generic J-pop that plagues just about every anime known to man. Instead, the director and writers, I assume, decided to use a less generic and more interesting approach with a wide variety of tracks.

The intro is catchy and vibrant, fitting the theme of the show, and the ED is equally great. The sound design is very solid overall.

______________________________________________________________

[CHARACTER + STORY]

______________________________________________________________

These are going to be in one section because more often than not, the story comes from the characters and vice versa. As I said in my introduction, this show is very clunky in terms of its storytelling being consistent.

One episode is making me misty-eyed and another episode is just frustrating me with it's daftness. On one hand it makes some of the great episodes truly stand out. On the other hand, it makes the not-so-great episodes truly stand out too.

...

The writers created our protagonists as lovable doofuses, but more importantly, as people (or robots) with actual character. I often criticize anime with just throwing a bunch of quirks into a character and calling it a day. Which makes a quirky thing, but not really a character.

A real character that you remember is one that not only speaks to you, but also shows themselves to you. Someone you feel like you understand, especially if they are the protagonists.

Here, just about every main character is someone I grew to not only like, but also understand. This is doubly the more impressive since the show is by no means serialized and every episode is something completely different. This level of characterization is very hard to accomplish. This show does that.

Where this show falls a little flat character-wise is in it's secondary characterization. Just about every secondary character is either forgettable or simply there to propel the characters forward. Even the villains just kind of get brushed to the side, and the gag that they play through every episode can feel a little dull and played out by the end of this shows thirteen episode run.

...

Space Dandy does nail it every so often though. I don't mean in a "hey, that's a good episode of cartoon!" Kinda nail. I mean a "Holy shit, now that's something that I might never forget," level good. Specifically three different episodes became some of my favorite pieces of short-form storytelling this year. Surprisingly, each one did that in a completely different way.

With Episode 5 we have Shinichiro do his signature 'emotion in the face of comedy' routine by bringing in an adorable little girl that Dandy must be around... no spoilers. She is the shows most memorable secondary character, from her heart-splittingly adorable design to great VA work she left her mark on the episode, and me. This episodes saccharine personality never felt like it wasn't earned.

With Episode 7 there was a redline-esq race that is one of the most breathtaking pieces of action in television anime. This matched with some genuinely funny lines makes for a really solid and memorable episode.

With Episode 9 comes the best use of a guest animator in the show. Eunyoung Choi handled the dazzling storyboards for the this episode. But where I thought the animation would surely be the highlight (and it was, in a way), the episode packs a really great melancholy touch towards the end.

...

These three episodes elevate the show from a beautiful experiment that generally ignores great storytelling in favor of eye-catching animation to a show that occasionally gives a perfect mix of both.

Matched with a narrator that serves not only as a devise of exposition, but also as a humorous touch, consistently breaking the fourth wall, there really isn't too much to dislike in terms of progression.

...

That being said, the show is generally never side-splittingly funny. Which is, unfortunately, an issue. There are undoubtedly parts where I let out a soft guffaw or smirk, but for the most part, I simply sat back and enjoyed some of the bathos and more surreal elements mixed in with a small amount of sobering storytelling.

There really isn't much in terms of actual humor of substance apart from some very specific and memorable scenes. The humor in Space Dandy can be described in the same way the entire shows personality can. It's vibrant, goofy, frantic, but may often feel empty when held up to scrutiny. However, occasionally, it really really nails it.

______________________________________________________________

[CONCLUSION]

______________________________________________________________

So's the life of a show that by nature isn't consistent. Bringing in different writers and storyboard artists between episodes can make the show feel understandably disjointed. Sometimes for the better, but sometimes for the worse.

It is, however, truly impressive that the show managed to do what it has done with it's characters in a setting that really doesn't call for it. The amount of connection I felt with the protagonists as well as a very small amount of secondaries was nothing short of impressive. Especially for a show that doesn't really have any hints at serialization at all.

It's a dynamic journey into a world with no rules, laws, or restrictions. Let go of the reigns and soak on the madness.