Review of Space Dandy

The Space Dandy anime is an anime with Dandy in space. Coming from Shinichiro Watanabe, the director of Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo, and animated by Studio Bones, Space Dandy is easily one of the most high profile show to air in the Winter 2014 season. It takes in space and follows three alien hunters on the spaceship, the Aloha Oe, as they get caught up in various antics. Setting itself apart from most shows, which have an overarching plot, Space Dandy takes a different approach to its narrative. Watanabe sets up the core foundations of the three main characters and lets thewriters and animators on his team loose in the Space Dandy playground. Highlights include a fresh take on the zombie genre, reuniting a small alien girl with her grandfather and a race that is reminiscent of Outlaw Stars and Redline. However, there is little to connect all the various stories together and some episodes don't hit it quite on the mark. To its credit, the consistency in the quality of episodes is quite good as opposed to other shows like Panty and Stocking, which had some sub-par moments.

Making up for the inherent weakness that the episodic structure brings, the visuals do not disappoint in the less. Depending on the episode, the vast range of artistic style that is presented is a testament to the talent of Studio Bones. Colors are bright and varied and the motion is well animated. The aliens design are creative and fit with wild universe of Space Dandy.

Unprecedented for an anime, Space Dandy is available in subs or dub at the same time. As for the question of sub or dub, I prefer the dub as the main character has that 50s American character design and it matches up much better than the Japanese. The other voices do an adequate job and flows well with the fun light hearted nature of the show. In the music department, the soundtracks have great chemistry with whatever episode is playing , whether is a frantic race through space or a psychedelic journey on a planet filled with plants.

Overall, Space Dandy is a pleasant show that excel in taking a set concepts and taking it to new creative heights on a week to week basis.