What They Say
Space Dandy is a dandy in space! This dreamy adventurer with a to-die-for pompadour travels across the galaxy in search of aliens no one has ever laid eyes on. Each new species he discovers earns him a hefty reward, but this dandy has to be quick on his feet because it’s first come first served! Accompanied by his sidekicks, a rundown robot named QT and Meow the cat-looking space alien, Dandy bravely explores unknown worlds inhabited by a variety aliens. Join the best dressed alien hunter in all of space and time as he embarks on an adventure that ends at the edge of the universe!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
This week we have an episode with a lot of varied contributors rather than a single authoritative voice. Episode writer is once again Kimiko Ueno, who wrote the previous booby monster (3) and zombie (4) episodes. Episode director is So Toyama, a fairly prolific Japanese director with very few titles localized into English, whose most well-known works are in the Legend of Himiko, Pokemon, and Professor Layton series. Storyboards are by Goro Taniguchi, original creator of a little-known series called Code Geass. Due to the action-emphasis of this racing episode, we have two animation directors, Eiji Nakada, also of Code Geass and The Big O, and Yuriko Chiba, also from Code Geass (I sense a pattern!) and Gunsmith Cats.
This week is about a deadly no-holds-barred space race, and to confess a personal bias, I find it impossible not to compare the results to Takeshi Koike’s masterpiece Redline. This isn’t particularly fair, as while I do think the episode does make a direct reference or two to Redline, it’s clearly more interested in being a homage to Wacky Races (Honey even does a cosplay as Penelope Pit-stop). Space Dandy didn’t have 7-years to hand craft its race, so it can’t possibly measure up, and it doesn’t. But those who can get around the impossible standards are more likely to enjoy the episode than I did.
The core of the plot is that Dandy goes to Boobies and all of the girls there are crazy for a racing star known as The Prince. In order to steal all of this attention, Dandy decides to try his hand at racing himself. He doesn’t particularly feel like playing fair, though, so he could easily be considered the Dick Dastardly of this Wacky Race. There’s a mischievous, litigious rodent who resembles a giant corporation’s mascot, a dominatrix in a high heeled shoe car, and two robotic twins who can merge to form a giant spacecraft, among others. When Bea notices Dandy on TV, Dr. Gel also decides to join the race in order to shoot Dandy Down. The stage is set for combat and silly turnarounds, and the episode delivers as expected.
Perhaps the most inspired bit is the rivalry between Prince and Dandy, as the two are more alike than either would care to admit (they both throw their robotic companions overboard in order to lighten the load – poor QT!) The race ends with an apparent riff on Redline’s infamous “LOVE” end, with Prince and Dandy meeting in a rear-end collision, a destined yaoi pairing charged with super speed, mysterious pit stop ingredients (courtesy of Meow) and cartoon physics. The end comes right out of The Quiet Earth, with Dandy seeing a relic of his transcendence from outside of time itself.
In Summary
Space Dandy turns in another silly episode, with some solid laughs, but action that can’t measure up to the impossible standard set by Redline. I look forward to being able to watch the episode again in the future, with my Redline expectations in check, so I can evaluate the episode more fairly on its own merits. Next week marks Keiko Nobumoto’s return to anime after a 10-year absence, so Space Dandy is not to be missed.
Grade: B
Streamed By: Toonami
Review Equipment: Sony Bravia 32″
