Ranked #526

Martian Successor NADESICO

I consider myself relatively new to the mecha anime genre, with my main exposure to it being in the form of Evangelion, Gundam, and a little bit of Macross. So when I heard about Nadesico and its parodies, I figured that it wouldn’t hurt to give it a go. To be honest, I don’t think I’ve laughed more throughout any other series.

Whether you’re a seasoned veteran or new to mecha anime, Nadesico doesn’t fail in its quest to poke fun at its ancestry and let you know about it. It’s rather fun to watch the show and point out the parody moments in each episode. It even contains a parody within a parody in the form of Gekigangar 3, a spoof of the mecha anime of the late 70s and 80s. Don’t think that parodies are the only things that will make you laugh. There are many points where the crew takes over and keeps the laughs coming with their daily interactions.

Speaking of which, I couldn’t help but fall in love with the crew of the Nadesico. Each crew member is unique and memorable in his or her own way. The entire spectrum is there: the otaku, the diva, the quiet one, the pervert, etc. It’s almost impossible to not find one character that you can relate to in one form or another. The seiyuu do an equally great job at fleshing out their respective characters. Houkou Kuwashima (InuYasha’s Sango, Azumanga Daioh!’s Kagura) does a wonderful job as Yurika, switching from heartfelt to hyper with ease.

As the series cruises along the half-way mark, the focus changes. The rampant parodies are taken back a bit, and a solid plot emerges. There are several psycho-analytic moments that blatantly poke fun at Evangelion, but I just didn’t find myself laughing as often as before. As everything hit the fan and the end began to come in sight, I was waiting for the epic conclusion that I had planned out in my mind. What I saw was nothing close to my hopes. Rather, Nadesico simply ended.

The ending left me with mixed feelings, and it will most likely be seen as a love it or hate it ending among others. On one side, there are numerous plot holes that are left wide open, and several events are left unexplained. To put it simply, under most circumstances, I would see such an ending as a failure. However, I found it to be fitting finale for such a quirky series. There didn't need to be a perfect ending. I was able to leave the Nadesico with a smile on my face and a satisfied feeling, and that’s what matters.

Whether you’re a fan of mecha anime or not, I still highly recommend this anime as an enjoyable comedy. Sometimes, you just have to take some time to laugh at yourself, and Nadesico does just that. read more

Ah Nadesico, how I love thee. Personally, this is my favorite anime for multiple reasons, so let's just take a look at what makes this show worth it. Nadesico follows a fry cook reluctantly turned pilot through his screwball life in outer space with multiple dysfunctional characters exploited a hysterical level. Normally, this spells generic, but Nadesico takes a different approach to it.

The show's most endearing trait is its ability to stay upbeat despite the fact that this show follows a war in space that threatens the extinction of the earth. You will never truly feel saddened by any major plot points except for a possible one or two that will be painstakingly obvious once you watch the show. This ability to stay upbeat keeps a viewer from wanting to stray away from the series out of depression or just plain seeing too much of the same sad story. Nadesico can hook you in. Yeah, there's some dark spots, but Nadesico has the ability to go straight from light to dark back and forth over and over like points on a heart monitor.

The next most important trait is Nadesico's characters. I've already noted that they're dysfunctional beyond belief, what more could you want me to say? Oh yeah, they're so likable it'll kill you inside. There's a strange ability that the writers gave this show that allows the characters to all grate on each other yet grow closer to you. The interactions always breed chaos and this just makes things like a trainwreck, impossible not to watch.

Clocking in at the bronze medal trait is the themes of the story. Yeah, I know I sort of talked about this at first, but you don't understand something. This is more about just how quickly your viewpoints change on things throughout the series. Your feelings towards everything just fly out of control and from then on it's just fun fun fun...

The honorable mention goes to the VAs. Normally, I do find subs to be slightly better, if it's close i'll watch it, but Nadesico's dub is at least equal to, if not better than the sub. You owe it to yourself to watch the dub and at least try it before immediately going sub.

There's alot more awesome stuff about Nadesico, what I said barely scratches the surface, but I can't write you a 30-page essay on it so take the scores and what's already been said to heart and watch/buy this. read more