Space Dandy full series review
I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I intended to be. – Douglas Adams
My first bona fide experience with anime was the Studio Ghibli catalogue. It was at that time that I distinguished Japanese animation as a singular entity. My second was Neon Genesis Evangelion. My third was Cowboy Bebop.
These three works were imperative in transforming the way I saw animation. Studio Ghibli gave way to comparison of Disney and Pixar, and a better appreciation of both. Evangelion gave precedence to the production company Studio Gainax. This company eventually became one of my favorites, and I consider six of their works to be some of the best anime of all time.
However, Cowboy Bebop did something incredible. Even after seven years of viewing new series and new directors and new genres, this show remains my favorite anime. The choice for my favorite book didn’t last that long, as I recently read Paul Murray’s Skippy Dies, and let me tell you… I’m getting ahead of myself.
The presence of director Shinichiro Watanabe is one to send shivers up the spines of fans and critics alike. His work on Macross Plus, The Animatrix, Samurai Champloo, Kids on the Slope, and even the shows of his contemporary pupil Sayo Yamamoto has been praised and praised again. It’s hard to really overstate his abilities because this has already been done. It’s not to say he deserves credit and appreciation, but there are detractors who point to the idea that he is not the greatest thing ever. To me, his works are not perfect, but they are some of the most universally accepted anime ever created.
The only way to heap more praise would be if he made more works. Lo and behold, we have a new Watanabe show to enjoy. Space Dandy is not only unique for a stylish director with a Tarantino-esque flair; it’s unique for his type of story. Instead of an episodic journey of drama, bloodstained hands, and the encroaching doom of the past, Space Dandy is the highest-flying space comedy since Galaxy Quest. It’s a blessing on a career that very much fell into a weird point after a lukewarm response was given to the beautiful Kids on the Slope (mostly because it wasn’t his original story).
Additionally, this marks one of the only times that an anime series will premiere outside of Japan. Watanabe made the executive decision to have the series premiere on Toonami, and it paid off in spades. Whereas Japanese reaction to the director is steady and solid, America loves his work with unhealthy aplomb. Giving us a reward for loving the crap out of his creations only made us feel a little entitled. Regardless, it made the New York Times, it received rave reviews at its conclusion, and most likely it will sell buco come an eventual home release.
Using all of his contacts humanly possible, Watanabe corralled a massive talent pool and made a bomb of creativity that shook 2014 to the core. From directors to musicians to actors to artists, each individual was given free roam to develop individual commentaries using a set of characters. The following is the result.
The year and universe are unknown. Man has made contact with alien life forms, and proceeded to commercialize the hell out of space with exospheres, suburban developments, high schools, and off-brand Hooters establishments. With the birth of this new age, bounty hunters have come to the forefront in order to capture and document extraterrestrials, like a twisted amalgamation of Cowboy Bebop and Men in Black. It is in this career path we find Dandy, an Elvis impersonator with a thing for the ladies and a trusty ship called the Aloha Oe. His luck isn’t the greatest, and his work ethic has not brought home any income recently. This comes much to the chagrin of his robotic assistant QT, a vacuum cleaner/alien encyclopedia combination. Upon visiting Boobies (said Hooters knockoff), they meet the perverted yet charming Betelgeusean feline known as Merowmreowreow (spelled Me#$%*) via bar brawl. They call him Meow for short and he joins the hearty crew. Together, the three find a deserted asteroid home to leviathan aliens for Dandy to snag for bounties. His luck doesn’t improve, and they end up having to use the secret weapon. Which kills them all. The end.
If you were confused as to how a series could translate to twenty-six episodes when our main leads die on the first mission, then you probably wouldn’t understand Space Dandy’s style. Sometimes they travel through time, sometimes they cross dimensions, and sometimes other aliens eat them. One time, they fought zombies. Another time, they were turned into amoebas.
This is the one quality Space Dandy possesses that other Watanabe shows do not, unless you count that one Cowboy Bebop episode “Toys in the Attic”. Each episode, regardless of what has come before (until the last episode), is isolated in its own context. If Dandy dies in one episode, he’s perfectly fine next week; this means with this show, anything is free game, and the staff just cashed a roll of blank checks. This isn’t new for anime, but it may have yet to be done in such a manner as this. Ultimately, this aspect is what gives Space Dandy a bite, and even becomes justified once we hit the fourth quarter of the episode count.
Granted, there are running jokes. The villainous Dr. Gel, played by a gleeful J. Michael Tatum, and his assistant Bea, played by an off character Micah Solusod, are always trying to capture Dandy and foil his fun. The Aphrodite waitress that is Honey (Alexis Tipton) offers advice/support/an ass-kicking in the face of our main characters problems. The 9 to 5 cynic Scarlet (Colleen Clinkenbeard) will spit a quip and look for love in all the wrong places. All these characters make up the menagerie of running plots that run parallel to the main plot.
On finer aspects of this work, there can be almost nothing but praise. So let’s start with art. It’s known that many directors have unique stylistic choices, and anime directors are no different. From Sayo Yamamoto’s application of pop art and sexual methods to Masaaki Yuasa’s linear abstract and humanity abnormal to Eunyoung Choi’s highly organic presentation of plant life. Each director I’ve listed gets their own episode, and their styles are on full display. Even then, this is only a fraction of the number of episode directors employed. Even general episodes in which Watanabe directs have very tasty animation. Unifying elements throughout include fanciful color palettes and a justification for each style within the episode. It is all very polished and has some of the best animation you’ll see all year. However, action sequences look rushed at certain frames, and lean on budget and key frames to save time and money. This isn’t so much a problem as it is a universal fact for anime. Regardless of where you begin with this series, do not miss the weirder looking efforts solely because they are weird. They are often the finest this show has to offer.
On the musical side…it’s Shinichiro Watanabe. The man breathes good soundtracks. Even if you don’t like his work, the choice of music he applies has made him a legend in this respect. The same can be said of the collective known as The Space Dandy Band, with his most famous collaborator Yoko Kanno leading the charge. From the brash new wave disco opening to the entrancing and airy ending, each selection is well crafted for their section, yet there is an air of hit song to each 2:50 background track. This is due to an earlier note I made regarding the talent pool. Some of the most respectable names in Japanese music joined this production, giving their full-on best. It shows in too many ways to count, and I highly recommend finding an online version of this soundtrack at your leisure.
From a voice perspective, the arguments for both language tracks (Japanese w/ English subtitle and English voice acting) can be made. With the Japanese track, it was reported that Watanabe himself would handle much of the casting, and it pays off with a veritable who’s who of legendary actors; not least of which was IchirÅ Nagai, who sadly passed away only a week after he voiced the ramen vendor in Episode 2, leaving behind a five-decade legacy. With the English track, you get a natural sounding and wholly enjoyable cast (despite most everyone being from the FUNimation talent pool). It too is a who’s who of the modern era, with standout performances from Johnny Yong Bosch, Bryce Papenbrook, Kyle Hebert, and many others. As I have only listened to the English track, it will be the version I will comment on.
Our analysis of the three leads starts with Dandy (Ian Sinclair/Junichi Sawabe). He is a lovable knucklehead with a mean streak and an appreciation for the female image. His antics are madcap, and his one liners make for a massive portion of the comedy. Expect the wackiest from him, and still be surprised by the sheer amount and quality. Even though this may seem tiresome after a short while, he actually grows and matures throughout the show, coming to be a more capable and better person overall. His wide-eyed gusto in everything in the universe just creates this image of Don Quixote in space, errant ways and all.
I have nothing but praise for Ian Sinclair in this role, and I expect that this, as well as the titular character of Toriko and the skeletal musician Brooke in One Piece, will be to him what Edward Elric is to Vic Mignogna. His talent is palpable and I want nothing but the best for him.
Meow (Joel McDonald/Hiroyuki Yoshino) is an odd character, jumping through hoops to please all roles. He’s a comic relief, a straight man, a voice of chaos, and even a damsel in distress all in one package. Regardless of his role, it’s his slacker personality and disregard for authority that drive him to succeed while we cheer for him. From the fact he can rock Crocs in the far future to his god tier bass playing to that fact that, yes, he has all the qualities of a cat. His singular episode about his relationship to his hometown stills warms my heart. How he flung himself from suburbia on a dream and a prayer, all the while regretting the act of abandoning the family business, is a reminder to go hug your families and visit your friends.
Since first seeing Joel MacDonald in Baccano! as the nervous bootlegger Jacuzzi Splot, he has morphed into a fine actor, with credits like Attack on Titan’s Armin Arlert now lining his resume, Like Sinclair, I wish him nothing but the best.
Finally, there is QT (Alison Viktorin/Uki Satake), the straight man robot to all the antics of his two crew mates. Even as a voice of reason, QT manages to snag some of the show’s best moments when the spotlight is on him. Even though he may be a computer at heart, he has the drive to romance coffee makers and take up fresh water fishing as a hobby. He’s like a child getting to explore all the nooks and crannies life has to offer, and the result is a charming depiction of an inquisitive mind should it be shoved into a vacuum cleaner. Of course it would want to try new things if all it’s known is being a vacuum cleaner.
Alison Viktorin’s career isn’t what I’d call memorable. She’s not window dressing, as she has starred quite frequently. She even voiced Conan Edogawa in FUNimation’s admittedly weak dub of Case Closed. It’s still a Japanese icon and she turned in a great performance. After that, I’m not completely versed with her career. However, her performance as QT is brilliant in emotive expression (for a robot!), and shows she has true talent.
In short, Space Dandy is a weird duck wearing a spacesuit, holding a ray gun, and missing his other dimensional lover. Amidst the comedy and adventure, the setting is a backdrop of reflection on man’s role in the universe. This is best summed up in the more placid episodes, including my favorite “A World Without Sadness, Baby”. That particular episode made me consider many aspects of life and death itself. Common themes to explore, yes, but given the right materials in this pressure cooker of a creative staff, we have magic on a cosmic scale.
It’s like a full package of art supplies without any color or medium missing. Everyone’s used these tones and shades before, but Shinichiro Watanabe and his baby Space Dandy grabs them and mixes them all up. Not making a mess, but allowing strange melds to form from the minds of thinkers. In this, the artistry and vision shine without sacrificing entertainment.
If you liked Guardians of the Galaxy this year, consider this show Awesome Mix Vol. 2. If you have the doldrums of greys in your life, consider this the antidote. Space Dandy may not have changed the world when it premiered in the United States, and it may soon be overshadowed by the future, but in the end, it’s still pretty dandy.
