Review of Space Dandy
Opening Statements Space Dandy (Aka Bebop on Crack) is a 13 episode sci-fi anime that has garnered a lot of attention even before it initially aired during the 2014 winter season. While part of this hype stems from the triumphant return of renounced anime director Siratou Watanabe, the man responsible for hit shows such as Cowboy Bebop, Kids on the Slope and of course Samurai Samploo, A majority of it stems from the fact that this the first anime ever to air on American TV before Japan which up until this point has only ever been a dream. I think we can all agree that thisis a craze that needs to catch on more as it would not only help in drawing in more fans to the medium but would also lead to the development of more western influenced shows and therefore, Dandy does hold some rather high expectations. It doesn't need to be the next Attack on Titan but it defiantly can't bomb. After all, if there's one thing that the Toonami revival proves it's that the internet hasn't completely destroyed TV just yet.
Space Dandy's story can be found within its namesake, It's about a Dandy guy name dandy who explores space with his trusty robot R2, I mean QT, and feline sidekick meow hunting for rare aliens in hopes of being able to place food on the table all the while being unknowingly hunted down under some pretense of Dandy being the secret of the universe. What follows are breasterants, galactic wars, races that break the sound barrier, and enough wacky animation that will make you feel like you just took a bottle full of acid.
Analysis + Witnesses
Now I will admit that Space Dandy is in no way as mature as Watanabe's other works but to be honest, I don't think that's the point. In fact, at times, you can even argue that the series acts as a spiritual successor to the other Space Westerns that comparatively reached the peak of their popularity on Toonami such as Bebop, Trigun and Outlaw star.
However, even with this considered, I can understand why most people would not being able to get into such a series initially due to its straight forward episodic format which prevents it from having any semblance of a serious overarching story. However, the interesting thing about Space Dandy is that unlike others, it not only seems to be self aware to its episodic nature but at times even manages to take full advantage of the creativity that such a nature offers.
After all, it might be considered a problem if the first episode ends with (Spoil Alert) our main characters dying in a planetary explosion. However, Space Dandy is able to sidestep this by giving each episode its own individual reset button, ignoring everything that might have follow or preceded it and continuing with a completely different adventure. Which was only made more humorous with a comedic intentional To be continued. This structure means that the vast number of writers who were brought in to work on this little experiment can essentially get away with anything as fears about effecting the overall continuity of the show are removed, allowing for the freedom necessary to create some interesting story lines as well as some rather clever parodies of other well known western settings such as episode 4 which can be seen as a deconstruction to the typical zombie apocalypse plot line by addressing how life would ironically go on even after everyone in the universe was turned was into a zombie who live off of their own life insurance.
However, like most episodic anime, there was a bit of inconsistency in story quality between each episode as some self contained stories did not follow the standard three act structure. However, this could be due to the fact that, as an experimental series, different writers were assigned throughout the series and to be fair the focus was never really taken away from where it needed to be, portraying just how ridiculous and likable our cast was when looking at how they dealt with the situations they found themselves in.
In fact, within the first season, each of our main characters have at least one episode dedicated to them. And I must say that they in particular were some of the most well paced, heartwarming stand alone episodes that I've seen in quite some time. They might not have been the most original with one episode in particularly acting as a through back to one of my favorite Pixar films while another seemed to take a stab at everyone's favorite franchise (I'm looking at you endless 8), but these stories just helped in adding so much more dimension to our characters that it didn't even matter.
(P.S. I find it a little bit funny that one of the better episodes in the show just happened to be written by the same person who wrote valvrave which I will refuse to make a definitive comment on considering I hadn't watched it yet )
Our star of this show, Dandy himself pretty much follows his namesake to a T. He is a very laid back individual who prefers to go at his own pace, can be very stubborn, pigheaded and, judging from the first line of dialogue the series gives us, can be extremely perverted. However despite these flaws he's never really painted to be unlikable and in fact can be quite capable when the story demands it. Meow shares many personality traits with Dandy albeit he is a bit more on the lazy, shut-in side, but still loves the idea of being out in space and exploring that which he never thought he could back on his home town while QT acts as sort of the level headed voice of reason as well as the passive aggressive dick within the group despite the fact that as a robot his needs and desires are much simpler compared to most.
Of course we also can't forget our hero's pursuers Dr. Gel and his assistant Be who seems to fill the role of the incompetent buffoons who not only constantly get done in by our heroes string of dumb luck but also don't even seem to have their presence known by them.
The rest of the cast is rather large when you consider all who are encountered throughout the shows individual stories with some even being presented differently depending on the episode. However, whether it was their comedic quirks, menacing atmospheres or touching back stories I was pleasantly surprised at just how memorable some of them were considering the amount of screen time they were given which can range from a whole episode to even just 5 minutes.
Art/Animation
The overall design of Space Dandy is defiantly one of its high points as Watanabe takes full advantage of this setting in order to give birth to something that can only be described as the love child of Redline and Star wars.
In fact, similarly to how certain episodes were met with different writers, each episode had its own specific art director which meant that some adventures had strikingly different styles compared to others. However, while the fluctuating story quality might be considered a determent to the show, the fluctuating art designs were defiantly more of a complement, as it did help in solidifying the idea that each adventure had its own unique atmosphere whether it was going for a fast paced or cereal one. Plus the crafted polish and bright color pallet helped in making the show feel that much more alive and fit its comedic nature.
In regards to the animation, there were very few instances of still frames with a variety of standout moments were movement became incredibly fast paced and fluid to the point where I felt like I was tripping on something very hard while I was watching them. Alot of people are saying that Space Dandy will help mark the return of animation Studio bones when they were in their prime, and I will admit that these scenes greatly support this statement from an animation. However, overall it might not be the most consistent animation quality as there were some noticeable instances where Bones was in fact cutting corners, what with the lack of detail and color quality in certain scenes. In fact while the different art designs were an interesting touch, you could also argue that they were used as a cover for any noticeable instances where the quality dropped. It might not be bone's best work but it's defiantly above average and a step in the right direction.
Sound/Music
Going back to Watanabe, his past works have shown that he has very distinct visions regarding the importance of the film scores and Space Dandy is no different. While often times the trumpet will be used in conjunction with the more upbeat moments, a majority of the ost is used the match the futuristic sci-fi feel of the show by using groovy techo and disco style music that felt very reminiscent of Daft Punks interstellar 555 which also air in the 90's. Then we have the slower, more emotional moments which were met with calming synthesized beats and even some beautifully crafted pieces of auto tune.
The dub for this series was handled by Funimation and it's interesting how, in terms of comedy, both versions have their own renditions' of humor with the dub having more western influenced jokes. In terms of the casting it was great to hear Alison Viktorin behind the mic of a main character (even if her voice was auto tuned) since her most memorable main role seems to be that of Conan from case closed. Joel McDonald did a solid job capturing the laid-back-ness of Meow and Ian Sinclair as Dandy was........just Dandy. In terms of the rest of casting I have little to no complaints, then again, what do you expect from a show that was specifically geared for the west.
The show also features a narrator who helps give exposition to whatever the show tends to leave out and while annoying at times, I will admit that it is rather humorous considering how much he doesn't seem to give a shit about his job at times, sort of like the narrator of The Big Lebowskii.
Closing Statements
Space Dandy, in and of itself, is a space adventure show at its purest, showing just how much fun, dangerous and unpredictable the Galaxy can be. Yes it's a little immature and its style of humor might not be for everybody, plus I really can't see anyone marathon this due to its structure. However, personally I think it's a great show to have on Toonami as well as one to just sit back and watch casual. The animation, for the most part, is above average, it's got some very likable characters and it really does help in capturing the essence of what anime is. It's stupid yet cleaver , perverted yet aware and wacky yet heartwarming. I had a lot of fun with this show and I can't wait for its next season.
If you're looking for a crazy space adventure story that you could watch at your leisure and have a Dandy good time then I see no reason why you shouldn't give this show a shot.