I find that show to be pretty unambitious and repetitive, not to mention fairly unimpressive visually. With no disrespect to Kill la Kill fans – it’s fine for what it is – my low bar going in was that Space Dandy was going to end up like Kill la Kill, and that would be a disappointment. In both cases we have the men involved saying they were going to do a lowbrow, populist show that aims to entertain first, with lots of comedy and fanservice.
#LAIKA SPACE DANDY SERIES#
This is of course the second series in three months from a big-name director working with probably his most successful writing partner, and the similarities between Space Dandy and Kill la Kill going in were quite striking. The problem is that the episode in total is wildly uneven, and so is the humor – though there were several moments that made me laugh pretty hard. The series looks fantastic start to finish, and the voice cast is excellent (yes, the Japanese dub is much better than the American dub). The OP and ED (and BGM) are fantastic and beautifully suit the material (as you’d expect from a Watanabe series) and the second half of the episode is wildly creative, bizarre and legitimately psychedelic. In fact, it was pretty good and the second half even better than that – but you have to judge the episode as a whole. Well, thank goodness what I got was definitely not the worst. Frankly, going into the opener I was expecting the worst. This was a show a lot of people were waiting to rip apart, and when they saw their chance they took it.
#LAIKA SPACE DANDY FULL#
Between that mediocre ten minutes and the general resistance anime fans have towards series that debut in English, get written about in The Atlantic (don’t worry, the article was full of mistakes) and, quite frankly, any anime that’s overtly trying to appeal to an international audience the blood was in the water after the US premiere. I know this for sure – it’s a shame BONES decided to preview the first half of the premiere episode last week, because the second half was much better. Expectations for any new Watanabe Shinichirou series (for BONES yet) were already going to be sky high, and when you add in the likes of Satou Dai, Yamamoto Sato, Okouchi Ichirou, Kanno Youko and even Otomo Katsuhiro on the staff, Space Dandy was always going to have a lot to live up to. I don’t know whether that’s a good or bad thing (I do know it was a mediocre review), and likewise I’m not sure about it premiering on US television (in English) before it premieres in Japan.
#LAIKA SPACE DANDY TV#
There are many unusual things about Space Dandy, but perhaps the weirdest for me is this: it’s definitely the first time I’ve seen a TV anime’s first review in the New York Times. So – is anime saved? For now, the jury is out and the bag is mixed. Test your knowledge of space exploration and the achievements that are part of the history of the world, with the help of Laika, the first space astronaut puppy.OP: 「ビバナミダ」 ( Viva Teardrops) by (Yasuyuki Okamura) Original sound effects designed exclusively for the best experience.