Character of the Month: Captain Harlock


Greetings, fellow Earthlings!  This week, Flashback February will be coming to a close because Character of the Month has been chosen.  This year’s event brought some pretty great and some pretty weird classics, but only one character stood out the entire month.  Although, this was my first pick from the get-go.  So enough beating around the bush and let’s get on with Flashback February 2016’s Character of the Month, Captain Harlock!
In a futuristic world where the Earth has become a world controlled by television and where everyone is just plain lazy, Captain Harlock leaves the planet to travel the galaxy as a pirate (though ironically, he still shows some devotion to the planet and a certain little girl named Mayu by protecting it).  However, Harlock soon gains a bad name and becomes the planet’s most wanted fugitive when he is blamed for a series of murders.  It is not long until Harlock realizes that the Earth is in serious danger when a mysterious race of aliens called the Mazone invades the Earth.  And in natural Harlock fashion, the space captain vows to defeat the Mazone and protect the Earth.
I’ll get to the point here; Captain Harlock was a really different anime protagonist.  That was one of the big reasons why I picked Harlock for this month’s title.  A lot of the anime protagonists I’ve seen are really stubborn, headstrong, and maybe even a little hot-tempered.  Some are even as naïve as they come.  And then along comes Captain Harlock; a calm, cool, charming, and pretty intelligent guy.  Though not an original take on the main character of an anime, it is always something refreshing to see.  In a way, Captain Harlock reminds of another off-beat anime protagonist.  Some of you may know him as Vash the Stampede.  When Vash took the title in November 2014, I made comments on how dynamic Vash was as a character because he plays several different roles in Trigun.  Not only being the main character, Vash was also the wise character, the comic relief character, and at times, even the lecher.  Though not as dynamic (but certainly not a womanizer and a comic relief character by any means), Captain Harlock’s strong and noble personality is something that gives Captain Harlock: Space Pirate a fresh feel, even for the seventies.  So keep sailing the galaxy, Captain Harlock (though I suggest you dump the lazy bums of Earth), because you’re Hanime on Anime’s Flashback February 2016 Character of the Month-and probably one of my new favorite characters in anime!
And so, that concludes this year’s Flashback February!  Next week will follow a regular schedule, though I do have a special post that I plan on doing sometime in March.  You will know about that when I figure out when that will happen.  Also, I may be going on a bit of a hiatus-that means I may not post for a few weeks.  I may have gotten a job opportunity that will require me to move.  I may not be able to do any posts as a result.  I will let you know about this if something happens.  If not, expect things to continue as always.  So with that, I’m off!

-Hanime on Anime


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