Martian Successor Nadesico Series Review

Length: 26 Episodes Studio: TV Tokyo
Availability: Series dubbed and subbed on DVD and VHS from ADV.
General Notes: Nadesico is a heartwarming combination of humor and action that is billed as "Japan's Most Popular Anime Series."

You Get to Burning!

If I were pressed to pick a favorite anime series, I would have to pick this one. One of the things I like most about Nadesico is the way that it parodies mecha anime. While Nadesico is very much a mecha series and thus susceptible to all of the conventions attached to that genre, it also pokes fun at those conventions at the same time. Nadesico isn't a complete of mecha anime in the way that Spaceballs is a parody of Star Wars; at it's core, there is still a story that is interesting in its own right. However, there is still a large amount of silliness involved that serves to keep the series light and provide a stage for its eclectic cast of characters to act on. 

Without a doubt, it is the characters that sell this show. They all reflect one or more sterotypical traits of anime fans, from the model-building techie to the fan artist. Such a cast allows for anime freaks like me to heavily identify with the show and almost feel as if they were a member of the crew themselves. By the way, the "star" of the show is an adorable girl named Ruri, who constantly points out the foolishness of the rest of the cast. Interestingly, the show includes not one cast, but two. Just as the Simpsons  have Itchy & Scratchy, Nadesico  has a retro-70's style robot show called Gekigangar 3 as its "series within a series." Gekiganar serves as source of inspiration and consternation throughout the show, and I hear that a stand alone OAV has been made of it that I am very curious to see. At any rate, by the end of Nadesico it is very difficult to let go of both casts of characters. This is definitely one of those shows that you want to keep going.

The plot of Nadesico does have an overall arc that revolves around a mysterious enemy from Jupiter that is attacking Earth and it's colonies on Mars. As a response to these attacks, the Japanese firm Nergal has constructed a new battleship named Nadesico to fight the invaders. However, not every episode directly deals with this plot. There are several "filler" episodes thrown in, which may erk those who prefer a more focused storytelling approach. However, I found these filler episodes worthwhile, because they further developed the characters and also provided an opportunity to poke fun at familiar mecha anime set pieces.

The animation and art direction of this show is very well executed. Interestingly, there is very little CG used in Nadesico. Almost all of the action shots, for example, are hand animated. Even the wide shots of capitol ships in space are hand animated, and I think this is to the show's benefit. Unlike more modern shows, where CG elements either look out of place or give the animation a sterile feel, the hand-drawn animation of Nadesico adds much to its charm. The music, for both Nadesico and Gekigangar, is above average. There are several tracks, including the themes for both shows, that stick with the viewer. I still find myself humming them from time to time! The dubbing on this series is well done, and the English voice cast includes none other than Spike Spencer, who also voiced Shenji in the Evangelion dub. It is hard for me to recommend one track over the other; a lot of the comedy in Nadesico is timing dependent, so something is lost when you have to try to keep up by reading subtitles. At the same time, the fast pace of dialogue occasionally forced the dubbers to simplify the script. So, to get the full experience, it might be best to watch both tracks. I viewed this series on the 6 disc set released by ADV. With only 6 discs, Nadesico is a pretty good value as there are 4-5 episodes on each disc. However, there is a trade off here because with the high episode count the extras on the discs are thin to non-existent.

If you are a mecha anime fan and haven't seen Martian Successor Nadesico yet, you must look into it. While the series has a hit or miss pace at times and the animation isn't cutting edge, I guarantee that you will fall in love with the cast and personality of this show. It is just good fun!

By Andy Rucker