Ulysses 31 is a series that's going to be heavily freighted with nostalgia for some people (mostly Europeans), and none at all for others (such as myself and other Americans). The show was a French-Japanese co-production that aired around the world, but only caught on in a significant way in the UK and parts of Europe. In the US, it's largely unremembered among a glut of 80s cartoon properties. All of this is to say that some people are going to have very different reactions to this series based on their personal history with it, and specifically are likely to be more generous with itbecause of happy childhood memories if anything.

Looking at it with unclouded eyes in 2024, it's apparent that its reputation as a childhood favorite is largely a result of children being less discerning viewers. Some parts have not aged well, and others were never good to begin with.

To begin with the positive aspects, the show looks great. The animation is crisp (be sure to watch the restored versions), the art design is fantastical and imaginative, and the character designs are strong (with the exception of the Zotrians, who have the misfortune of looking like they are wearing full-body diapers at all times). The basic setup of the show is also intriguing, as it's largely a remix of Greek mythology in a far future space opera setting, though it incorporates biblical mythology as well as riffs on considerably more modern Western fiction like The Most Dangerous Game and No No Nanette as well. It ends up being a pretty refreshing twist on stories that most will be familiar with, like Sisyphus and the boulder. The OP is also a glorious slice of synthy 80s cheese that will probably be divisive for people that didn't grow up on it (a friend described the sound as "like throwing banjos in a washing machine"), but which I found irresistible.

Unfortunately, the list of negatives is longer and much more fundamentally problematic than the positives. The worst aspect by far is the absolutely wretched voice acting in the English dub (the only version that was readily accessible online). The acting is wooden and the script stubbornly refuses to use contractions, leading to painfully stilted line readings like "Telemachus, my son, you are alive!". The timing of the dubbing is also poorly done, with lines being compressed to the point that it sounds like they're not even taking a breath between sentences.

The format is quite dated as well. There really is not a consistent story that flows from episode to episode. It's purely episodic and can be watched out of order with the exceptions of the first and last episodes. It's also quite formulaic, with almost every episode featuring Yumi receiving some sort of telepathic intuition that they need to visit a nearby planet, the planet being a trap set for Ulysses by the gods and everything returning to status quo when Ulysses escapes the trap. Even the series finale is basically a continuation of this same formula, just with a short epilogue tacked onto the end. If you were inclined to be generous, you could say it resembles Star Trek, but Star Trek had multi-episode story arcs and character development across seasons to give it a bit more juice than "explore new planet, solve relevant problem, rinse, repeat".

There are also a host of other problems here that are less fundamental than the 2 mentioned above. I won't go through the entire list, but a few bear mentioning. One is that Nono, the robot mascot character, is incredibly annoying. He talks like a more nebbishy version of Porky Pig and it quickly gets very grating.

Another is a familiar problem from fiction from this era: misogyny. Most female characters, especially the only one in the main cast, are portrayed as hysterical, irrational and helpless. The ones that aren't are usually cruel ice queens instead. More than anything, it just feels like lazy writing that's bound to cliches about what female characters are allowed to be instead of embracing creativity.

Finally, there is an issue with the main villains of the series, the gods. They are barely present in the story and don't make for interesting opponents for the crew of the Odyssey. Only Zeus is ever seen or heard from, as a disembodied voice over a semi-opaque illustration of a stone statue. These are supposed to be the big bads of the series, and all the way until the very end, they are barely part of the story, except as a vague threat setting up various traps that others carry out.

Overall, despite some nice visuals, it's an easy choice to skip this one unless you're rewatching because it holds special childhood memories for you as an elder millennial.