![]() on their adventures, explaining the background of this universe, lampshading plot holes and mocking the characters. Bruce Elliott – Case Closed) who follows Dandy and co. The series is narrated by a mysterious disembodied voice (R. That's the kind of thing you see in this series. Michael Tatum – Stein's Gate), a hulking gorilla-like creature who is after Dandy for some mysterious purpose, travelling in a supremely dodgy-looking starship that, for some reason, is shaped like the head of the Statue of Liberty with a ball-gag in its mouth. The major villains of the piece are the Gogol Empire, a vast galactic polity ruled the skull-faced Admiral Perry (Kent Williams – Dragon Ball). ![]() In the first episode, they pick up Meow (real name MrrrmmrrrmmrrmmFurther recurring characters include Honey (Alexis Tipton – My Bride is a Mermaid, Fairy Tale), a waitress at BooBies who is far more intelligent and mysterious than she appears, and Scarlet, voiced by the wonderfully-named Colleen Clinkenbeard ( Case Closed, One Piece, Fairy Tale), the no-nonsense, terrifyingly capable inspector at the ARC. ![]() This echoes the series as a whole: while the colourful, comical show, with plenty of smutty fan service, mindless action and explosions, looks shallow, it features ingenious, creative science fiction concepts, brilliantly witty writing and remarkably moving stories.ĭandy travels the universe in his Hawaiian-themed spaceship, the Aloah Oe, along with his obsolete robot QT (Alison Viktorin – Case Closed, A Certain Magical Index), an “intelligent” vacuum cleaner who runs out of power at vital moments. On the surface he is puerile, shallow and foolish, but underneath, he has hidden depths, showing himself to be far more intelligent, sensitive and complex than we first realised. With the rich, charismatic voice of Ian Sinclair ( One Piece, Baccano!), Dandy has an eye for the ladies, isn't quite the catch he thinks he is, and altogether comes off as a childish idiot.ĭandy is, in fact, a perfect illustration of the series itself. When he does make money, he invariably spends it at BooBies, a “breast-aurant” with space stations across the known universe. In theory, he then takes these to the Alien Registration Centre (ARC) for a hefty reward (paid in woolongs) but he's not usually very successful, and prefers to spend his time loafing about. A sort of combination of Guardians of the Galaxy's Star-Lord, Star Wars' Han Solo and Johnny Bravo, Dandy is an alien hunter, who “combs the galaxy like his pompadour” searching for rare, undocumented alien species. I don't speak a lick of Japanese, so this is naturally a review of the English-dubbed version.Ī space opera set in the distant future, Space Dandy centres on the eponymous Dandy, an intergalactic rogue, layabout and charmer with an Elvis quiff. It helps, of course, that the Funimation voice actors are charismatic performers at the top of their game. Watching the series with the English subtitles, based more literally on the Japanese scripts, reveals lost details and differences, but the spirit of the series is best captured for English speakers by the dub. Space Dandy's English dub is an absolute triumph, adapted by Funimation and using its regular talent pool of American actors. It's always a tricky thing adapting the scripts for western audiences. While a Japanese series, Space Dandy actually premiered in the United States, on the Cartoon Network block Adult Swim, albeit only beating the Japanse airing by mere hours. ![]() That's a strong pedigree, but in spite of the irreverence and anarchy those series display they have nothing on the sheer, joyful oddness of Space Dandy. Its chief writer, general director and ultimate creative force Shinichiro Watanabe is also responsible for the hugely influential Cowboy Bebopand Samurai Champloo. Produced by Studio Bones, responsible for hit anime series including Fullmetal Alchemist and My Hero Academia, it has animation directed by Shingo Natsume ( One Punch Man, Sonny Boy), responsible for much of the bizarre and vibrant visuals of the series. Beyond that though, what this anime delivers is anything but predictable. So goes the narrator's opening line in the lurid titles for each episode of Space Dandy, setting us to expect at least one thing: this isn't a series that takes itself too seriously. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |