Ping Pong and Tatami Galaxy director Masaaki Yuasa brings his signature style to Dandy.
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!
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Long before Masaaki Yuasa’s guest contribution to Adventure Time, even before Ping Pong was announced, it was known that Yuasa was going to be contributing to the Space Dandy project. Since this was going to be only his second major project since 2010’s Tatami Galaxy (the other being the Kickstarter funded Kick-Heart), those in the sakuga animation crowd were excited to see his work again. The anticipation for Yuasa’s episode lead to some high expectations.
And when I say episode 16, “Slow and Steady Wins the Race, Baby” is Yuasa’s episode, I’m not kidding around. Not only did he direct the episode, but he also wrote, storyboarded, did guest alien design, was animation director, and did key animation work along his longtime collaborators like Shinya Ohira. It’s quite difficult to be more of an auteur work, considering that Yuasa was working on Ping Pong AND Adventure Time at about the same time. So, how is it?
Well, it’s Space Dandy’s most bizarre episode yet, and among the show’s most visually imaginative episodes. After a start at a food planet that looks like we might be in for a rehash of the show’s ramen episode, Dandy comes across a handy matter transporter in the form of a flashlight. Meow is starving and is upset by Dandy’s whimsical purchase. In a tussle, Meow accidentally activates the device and beams Dandy’s head light years away to planet Pushy Boyfriend, where he witnesses a fish alien with whom he is unable to communicate (his translator device is on his wrist, after all?) Meow transports after him, and the two learn that this fish, named “Baked or Boiled or Carpaccio” is from the nearby Planet Girlfriend, and he has been trapped on the planet for ten years.
During this time he’s discovered that the nearby sun will crash into Planet Girlfriend and kill everyone. He’s built a ship to ride a massive water pillar back up to Planet Girlfriend (it’s complicated! Yuasa is nice enough to include charts that explain the planets’ unusual features) in order to warn his people. Dandy agrees to help Carpaccio in return for his going to the alien registration center, and the three travel back to Planet Girlfriend.
Unfortunately for Carpaccio, his girlfriend on Planet Girlfriend was upset by Carpaccio’s disappearance to Pushy Boyfriend, and in the meantime, has found a new, pushy boyfriend. Carpaccio himself is insufficiently pushy to get any of the other fish people to believe his warnings, and he’s mocked and exiled in a bubble. Shamed and furious, he soon wishes death on all of those who ignored his warnings. And just in time, the sun arrives to grant his wish.
Of course, all of this makes more sense visually, and includes all of the wonderful things I left out: Invisible hallibut, the caves left by the roots of a giant tree, smokeable cyclops worms, grappling hook antics, and a chase on a planet being obliterated by a sun. The most visually interest bit has to be the transportation device, as it transports out heroes in pieces, leaving several body parts behind. It takes some imagination to figure out how to transport yourself entirely, seeing as how you have to hold the device with one hand, and Yuasa is able to provide that imagination quite easily. A standout episode.
In Summary:
Yuasa’s episode is a standout, as expected, and Dandy really allows him to go wild. Adventure Time’s Food Chain and Ping Pong seem restrained by comparison. Regardless of whether Dandy coheres as a solid work at the end, visually distinctive and imaginative episodes such as this one will be remembered quite fondly. Now expectations can move onto Katsuhiro Otomo, and his unknown role in a future episode!
Grade: A
Streamed By: Funimation
Review Equipment:
Sony VAIO 20″
