Alternative TitlesSynonyms: Space Pirate Captain Herlock: The Endless Odyssey
Information
Type: OVA
Episodes: 13
Status: Finished Airing
Aired: Dec 21, 2002 to Dec 21, 2003
Duration:
25 min. per episode Rating:
PG-13 - Teens 13 or older
L represents licensing company
StatisticsScore: 7.461 (scored by 773 users)
Ranked: #15272
Popularity: #3277
Members: 1,804
Favorites: 18 1 indicates a weighted score
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SynopsisOn an archaelogical mission to the end of the known universe, Professor Daiba unwitting unleashes an ancient horror from its confines. Five years later the malevolent alien force sets in motion a plan which reunites the various crewmembers of the Arcadia to sail the stars once more as well as bring Tadashi Daiba to meet Harlock for the first time (again).
(Source: ANN) |
Related AnimeParent story: Uchuu Kaizoku Captain Harlock
Characters & Voice Actors
Staff
Reviews
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AironicallyHuman
15 of 43 people found this review helpful
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13 of 13 episodes seen
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| Overall |
7 |
| Story |
6 |
| Animation |
6 |
| Sound |
6 |
| Character |
6 |
| Enjoyment |
7 |
Captain Harlock/Herlock (Herlock from this point onwards) was a name I'd heard a couple of times before seeing an auction for The Endless Odyssey appear on eBay.co.uk. A popular series from the late 70's that's had many sequels and spin-offs (including this 2002 series), it was hard to resist trying to get my hands on a part of the Herlock saga, and I wasn't able to resist.
The series starts without explaining anything in detail. It's revealed that Herlock and his pirate crew parted ways sometime prior to the story of The Endless Odyssey, Herlock taking his ship (Arcadia) and vanishing into thin air. The old crew split up after this; some still pirating on other ships, some living a more relaxing life and most in prison.
Of course, the crew soon join back together to fight a new evil, the evil in question being known as Noo. Simply put, Noo is fear itself and it uses fear to takeover the minds of humans, using their bodies as hosts or simply making them kill each other. Noo once ruled the universe (before the laws of physics kicked in), its rule ending when it was sealed away in another dimension; a dimension described as hell by the few who've seen it and lived.
The above two paragraphs pretty much tell you all you need to know: Herlock's crew join back together to save the world from an evil that wishes to destroy it. Although the Noo stuff is very confusing at times, it's far from deep and can be actually quite boring to sit through. The story also progresses at borderline slow pace, leaving you with the feeling that very little happens during most of the episodes.
If I'm being honest, this isn't a series to watch for story, it's a series to watch if you've watched the older series or wish to see what Captain Herlock is all about. There are parts of the story (the last episode in particular) where references are made to what happened in the past and characters who died in the past, without any explanation being given... This series was obviously made with older fans in mind; not new ones.
Captain Herlock is a famous character in the world of anime/manga -- seeing his character was the main reason I watched this series. So, you can imagine how disappointed I was when it became clear I'd learn nothing of any importance about his character in this series, with nothing of his past being shown and there being no attempt at character development. If I want to know anything about him outside of the fact he's emotionless and likes saying, "Join my ship if you wish to become a man." (he clearly knew Johny Terry in another life) I'll have to try to watch the older series he's featured in.
Since Herlock has (presumably) already been developed fully before this series, Tadashi, a young guy who loves fighting on a planet nicknamed the planet of the rubbish heaps (great name) played a key role in the story. His father gets killed during the first episode and, after an invitation from Herlock, he ends up joining the crew of the Arcadia in order to get revenge against the supposed killer of his father: Noo. I didn't really like him and, as a result, his development from thug to...err, less of a thug over the course of the story didn't do much for me. I did like how his story ended after Herlock explained the reasoning behind him inviting him on-board his ship at the end of the series, though.
The only other crew member of the Arcadia worth mentioning is one who appears naked (breasts, nipples and arse) right at the start of the first episode -- Kei. She was on the Arcadia in the past as the second in command, has a crush on Herlock and is the only attractive female lifeform shown in this series...that's pretty much all you need to know about her. Outside of her playing a role in developing Tadashi's character after she saves him, she could've not appeared in the series and there wouldn't have been any real damage, which is something I could say about the vast majority of the cast.
Aside from Tadashi, the ONE character who gets developed to a certain extent (and the last worthy of being mentioned) is Yukihito Ilita, the man in charge of hunting Herlock at the start. He encountered Herlock when he was much younger and has been determined to catch him ever since. The course of events change once Noo make their move, with Ilita ending up in the middle of a space war the Noo created using fear as their weapon, forcing him to evacuate his ship. After this, he starts to question if his choices in life have been wrong, if it was ok for him alone to survive...that sort of thing. Although he's one of the more likeable characters thanks to his development, his character wasn't very important.
It's a shame that Herlock and his crew weren't fleshed out at all in this series. Not many outside of Japan are familiar with Herlock, and it's pretty safe to say that those people would've liked to learn more about the crew. That said, I suppose it wasn't made with people outside of Japan in mind.
Equally disappointingly, the attempted Tadashi/Ilita character development was rather badly done. Both characters were used to avoid there being no character development whatsoever and the attempt at mixing developing characters with non-developing characters didn't really work very well. Tadashi did nothing for me and Ilita also did very little, the main reason being that neither character was truly important to the overall plot.
Moving onto the visual and sound side, the art looks fine, the character design of the main characters being pretty good. It was pretty consistent throughout and there were no problems worth mentioning.
I must admit to finding the animation side rather disappointing, though. Like the story, everything seemed to move too slowly, the movements of the Arcadia in particular seeming way too sluggish during space battles. I was also disappointed by the general lack of action throughout, Herlock not getting into any fast-paced fights, mostly simply shooting his gun and that being that. I expected a lot of action in a series like this, but all I got was sluggish spaceship battles and one-shot kills.
The opening demonstrated the slowness of the series very well. The opening of a series with action is supposed to get you pumped up, yet I found myself skipping the Herlock opening before finishing watching it for the first time due to boredom...
Simply put, the art looked good enough but the sluggish animation let it down.
As for the sound, although I haven't heard any Herlock music outside of The Endless Odyssey, I'm willing to bet music from an old Herlock series was used here in order to make it more enjoyable for older fans. The soundtrack seriously sounded like something from the 70's. But, whatever the reason, I just didn't like the soundtrack very much. Aside from one or two tracks, the music combined with the slow pacing to make the series even more boring during the most uninteresting sections.
The voice acting was rather average. There were no performances that stuck in my mind as being bad or brilliant. Herlock's deep and emotionless voice fitted his character well, but apart from that...
Overall, this series didn't blow me away. It was clearly aimed at fans of the older series, so you'll probably walk away disappointed if you expect something amazing. Only watch it if you want to see part of a famous anime/manga series or if you're a fan of the Herlock saga.
Rating: 6.5/10 read more
Recommendations
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Another Matsumoto adventure, Cosmo Warrior Zero is another romp through space. Through the eyes of Warrius Zero and the crew of the Karyuu, it's a chase to catch Harlock and the Deathshadow in the name of the greater good. Interesting twists and turns, as the story reveals the real motives behind Harlock's actions, and the strain of the mixed man and machine crew of the Karyuu.
Not as gritty or as dramatic as most Leijiverse dramas, what with plenty of silly moments, but entertaining to the end.
Also by iconic anime and manga creator, Leiji Matsumoto. Rich characters and stories with a signature look and feel. Frequent "cross pollination" of characters between series.
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Last Exile and Captain Harlock might not seem similar at first glance, but they actually have a solid link: Alex Rowe, one of the main characters of Last Exile, was written specifically with Captain Harlock in mind. Let us count the ways.
Longish hair? Check. Badass cape swishing? Check? Captain of a cool airship/spaceship? Check. Notorious outlaw? Check. Enigmatic and Mysterious? Check. Cool Sword? Well, it's a gun-cane, but check. Waging a one man war against tyrannical overlords/aliens things? Check. There are even more similarities but it would take forever to explain them.
Basically, Alex Rowe is an extremely well done, very deep, three dimensional steampunk version of Harlock that is very worthy of the original and fans of Harlock will find in him all the character development and characterization they might have been missing in Endless Odyssey, in Last Exile. While the actual plots of the stories aren't that similar, the Steampunk airships of Last Exile are very like the Space opera-type ships of Harlock, and both have a younger 'hero' playing first-fiddle while the Harlockian characters get to be badass, though by all accounts Claus is a much better hero than Daiba.
If you liked Endless Odyssey, check out Last Exile, you'll no doubt find it awesome. If you're a Last Exile fan and want to see the original that gave rise to Alex Rowe, you could do no better than Endless Odyssey as your window to Harlock.
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Opening Theme"Albator, Le Corsair de L'Espace" by Eric Charden
"Captain Harlock" by Ichiro Mizuki
"Take to the Sky" by Mark Mercury
Ending Theme"We're Going On A Journey" by Ichirou Mizuki
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Related ClubsAmarillo College Anime Club, The Aironic OVA (Original Video Animation) Club, Space Opera Fan Club, Leijiverse
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