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 |