Ain’t that Dandy? Space Dandy

Space Dandy! He’s a dandy guy in space.

It’s the first few words we hear from this fairly new series.  Though a bit redundant, that’s basically what this show is all about.  So, I’ll skip the fancy introduction and get to the review.

So aside from what the show’s introduction says, Space Dandy is an episodic comedy that was released in January of this year.  It follows Space Dandy as he hunts for rare aliens.  Accompanying him are Meow, a cat-like alien known as a Betelgeusian, and QT, a robot.  Their adventures range from traveling to rare alien worlds inhabited by bazaar alien creatures to traveling to the nearest BooBies, which is the intergalactic equivalent to Hooters. 

I know that that is pretty brief, but that is Space Dandy in a nutshell.  As I said earlier, the show is episodic-meaning each episode is its own story- and the plot is very vague anyway.

Speaking of that, having seen a good bit of this series already, I give Space Dandy three and a half out five stars.  And since I’m on the subject of plot, I’m going to start with the biggest weak spot of the show; the only major problem with Space Dandy is the plot.    The biggest reason why this is so is because, well, there is no plot.  As I’ve said twice already-and it’s about as redundant as the use of the word ‘space’ in the show-, this show is episodic.  Each episode is an entirely new story, a clean slate if you will.  There’s no continuation, no underlying plot, nothing.  Each episode has its own problem and its own resolution, as well as its own zany ending.   However, the show does have antagonists-and I use the term loosely-, but the primary bad guys that the show are those involved with the Gogol Empire, with the main one being Dr. Gel.  Even so, they play a very small role in the series itself.

Now, fortunately, that’s the only bad thing about the show.  I actually like this show, despite what others  might say about it- although I’ve never really seen any reviews for the show, both good and bad.  So among the good things about this show, it’s very well animated.  The creators of the show really had an eye for detail when they made this.  There are especially moments when there may be a wild chase going and it’s still very well done.  It’s vibrant, it’s colorful, and I love that about Space Dandy.  It’s one of the main aspects of an anime that I look for, and Space Dandy aced it!  Also, the humor in Space Dandy is pretty decent.  This is actually one of the few anime comedies that I’ve seen that I actually like.  This is an anime whose objective, if nothing else, is to make you laugh.  Yes, its plot is full of holes.  Yes, it follows a predictable pattern in each episode.  But it’s still funny!

Now some of you who have already seen this show probably call it crap because it mirrors another anime show.   Which show am I referring to?  I am referring to Cowboy Bebop.  Yes, I think that many people look at this and see a failed attempt at redoing Cowboy Bebop, and you’d probably be right.  But I don’t think that it’s trying to rip the series off.  It is good to take into consideration that both shows have a lot of similarities.  Among them,  both series take place in a futuristic setting (possibly post-apocalyptic for Space Dandy)and the basic plot consists of a group of “bounty hunters” who take jobs for money.  However, keep in mind that both series have a lot of differences.  Here are the big ones:

1.       Cowboy Bebop has four members (five if you count Ein).  Space Dandy has three.

2.       The ships obviously have different names.  You have The Bebop for Cowboy Bebop, and the Aloha Oe for Space Dandy.

3.       Unlike Dandy, Spike Spiegel-who is considered to be the main protagonist for Cowboy Bebop- is not a pervert.

4.       The crew of the Bebop hunt criminals, drug dealers, and terrorists for money, while the crew of the Aloha Oe hunt rare aliens for money.  However, the rule that anything brought in must be alive may still apply for both series, even though Space Dandy doesn’t specify this clearly. 

5.       Speaking of aliens, there are none in Bebop.  Everyone in the show, including the crew, is human(except for Ein, but Welsh corgis aren’t aliens either).

And finally…

6.       COWBOY BEBOP HAS AN UNDERLYING PLOT!!!

So yes,  Space Dandy may have some parallels to Cowboy Bebop, but I don’t think that it’s trying to rip  Cowboy Bebop off.  In my opinion, it parodies the series.  Like I said before, this show is supposed to make you laugh.  It’s okay to have a show that takes the same idea and make fun of it.  Again, that’s my opinion.  Now, if you want to talk about a show that rips off Cowboy Bebop, look up Black Lagoon-but that’ll be for another post.

So to conclude this week’s post, Space Dandy is a dandy anime with a not so dandy plot but is all the while funny and light-hearted, and did I forget to mention dandy? And oh yeah, that it’s in space?   If you want to watch it, you can catch on Toonami-Cartoon Network’s Saturday night programming- at 12:30/11:30c.  There will also be a second season coming out in July.  Well, that’s all I have for this week.  Stay tuned for more!

-Hanime on Anime