Space Dandy

Title:Space Dandy
スペース☆ダンディ
Overall:Rent
Keywords: , , , , , ,
Notables: Animation - BONES
R1 License - FUNimation
WATANABE Shinichiro
Space Dandy is a space hunter, someone who is paid to search for new, undiscovered alien species. It's an industry where the prize goes to the person who finds aliens the fastest. Dandy searches unknown planets for strange beings with his companions, QT the worn-out robot and Meow from Betelgeuse. Meanwhile, they're being chased by minions of the Gorgol Empire, for reasons that are still a mystery.
(Summary Courtesy of Anime News Network)

[TV series, 2014, 26 episodes, 25 min; original story (manga and shoot-em-up game developed in parallel)]

Animated by Bones
Licensed by Funimation
Series is being simulcast as an English dub on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim block.
OverallArtAnimationCharacter Design MusicSeries StoryEpisode StoryReviewer
Rent 10 10 9 6 7 6 Ggultra2764 [series:2830#1552]
(Rent-/ Watch+)

Space Dandy is the fourth TV anime directed by the highly acclaimed Shinichiro Watanabe which is a sci-fi comedy focused on an alien hunter named Dandy who finds himself in some sort of comical shenanigans during his hunts in each episode. The series is mostly a parody of sci-fi space opera tropes with the series occasionally breaking the fourth wall, Dandy often getting in some sort of dimensional hopping shenanigans, usually being killed in some episodes and being fine in the next one, members of an enemy empire incompetently seeking him out and failing to even reach him, and never stopping with his continued obsession with visiting the Hooters-like Boobies "breastaurant". At first glance, the series may seem completely episodic and self-contained with many of its plots considering Dandy is well and good the following episode if he or all of the universe get killed in some fashion throughout the series. But later episodes do drop hints that things are not as they would seem on the surface with our "dandy guy in space" and all. The comedy throughout the series is hit-or-miss for me as the clueless characters of Dandy, Meow, and QT did get stale for me as episodes progressed, though some of the supporting characters such as the surprisingly insightful Honey and the no-nonsense Scarlet caught my interest with their behavior and actions. In addition, some episodes are focused on providing some more fleshing out of the characters which while appreciated, often did not do much for me to get to care for them due to mostly being focused on in a single episode.

The highlight of the series comes from its very impressive animation as Space Dandy sports smoothly detailed and vividly-colored designs, while offering diverse variety in the number of human and alien designs seen throughout the series. Movements are very fluid with a variety of action sequences and some unique animation styles being milked at points thanks to Dandy's interdimensional travels, with CGI renderings of spaceships and the effects of Dandy crossing into dimensions milking CG animation that blends seamlessly with the regular animation for the most part.

Overall, I felt Space Dandy's hype mostly came from Watanabe's fame and its space comedy premise being accessible to Western audiences. While Dandy's antics and the seemingly episodic developments within the show do come with a surprising reason that makes sense when revealed in its climax and was a clever twist for the series, the comedy for it did gradually lose its luster for me with time and the characters were mostly too limited with their traits and personalities for me to want to rewatch it too often. While I am a fan of Watanabe's previous works like Cowboy Bebop and Kids on the Slope, Space Dandy appears to be the weakest of the TV anime titles I've seen directed by him.

Last updated Friday, July 29 2016. Created Friday, July 29 2016.
Unevaluated Stretch [series:2830#628]
(Two episodes watched):

I guess it was a fault in my fansub conversion, because my version of this was just ten minutes long. That doesn't give me enough time to decide what to make of Space Dandy. One thing I would like to know, is SD parodying breast fetish stuff, or just wallowing in it like everybody else while pretending to do so? The 5% joke was good, but the chase scene with Betelgeuse left me unimpressed. As usual, what makes or breaks this show for me will likely be whether Dandy develops much of a personality, and there hasn't been time for that yet.

Space Dandy has turned out to be another example of an anime which is flashy, stylish, witty, everybody (even me) seems convinced it will be a hit even before it begins--and yet my interest evaporates after an episode or two. I wish I understood why this sometimes happens; other examples would be Gurren Lagan and Kill la Kill. Maybe there is plenty of glitz but a distinct lack of interesting plot and characters, and I sense this subconsciously and as a result am repelled. Maybe it's because Dandy is essentially a pervert, and I can't sympathize with him or care much about what becomes of him. I guess what I want most of all from any anime (unless it is ROFLMFAO funny) is an engaging story with likeable characters, and that is actually very difficult to produce. Maybe some shows fail because too much talent and effort is devoted to the frills and not enough to the basic structure of the story. All I know for certain is that I quickly came to feel that when it was Space Dandy's turn to be watched, I would feel distinctly weary and wish I could watch something else.

Last updated Sunday, March 09 2014. Created Wednesday, January 08 2014.

Other Sites
NameURL
Official Japanese Series Web Site http://www.space-dandy.com/

Community Anime Reviews

anime mikomi org