Ranked #573

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

Even though the intention of this anime is meant to be a satire on mech, in a way, it has its own distinctive story that you can easily follow, and is very intriguing with its conspiracies, which for some reasons, you can take seriously. I credit the show for being more character driven which has mostly been the nature of the mech genre, and though the characters are meant to parody of archetypes and standards, they are still likeable and distinguishable. Though the main cast such as Akito, Yurika, and Gai are air headed and stupid, they are still good natured and passionate which are portrayed in a way where you can like them. Especially Gai. You just have to watch the show to see what he’s all about. He’s the heart and soul of the show. With the female characters you got the tomboy with a soft spot for Akito, the childish and energetic Hikaru, the side dish Megumi and many others that have their own contributions to it. But back to the story, the best thing about it is also somewhat its worst quality at the same time, and that the story has unpredictability and has its use of plot twists and resolutions. Though they may come out of nowhere and strike you, they can be anti-climatic at times, especially the ending.


Being a parody of the mech genre, the mechanical designs of course are taking influence from other mech series. Such as the title Nadesico battleship is based on the White Base or the Pegasus class ship from the Gundam series. While the Aestavalis, the mechs in the series tend to have a Gundam esque design to it in relation to frame, but has an Evangelion and Virtual On edge with the color scheme. The engineering is also unique such as you can inter-change the cockpits of the mechs which is demonstrated early in the series and sets up really intense and hilarious action sequences. The fights are really engaging in their own rights themselves. Gai with his “blue prints” was like the coolest thing I’ve ever seen, which you can see for yourself. Also, there is no use of lasers in the fights so you have use of more traditional war fare projectiles meaning missiles and bullets. Sorry, no lasers. Also features they have are that they can punch their hands out like rockets in relation to old school mech, and they can generate force fields which intensify their punching attacks sometimes so it adds more elements than just traditional military mech to it.

The character design also perfectly reflects the intended nature of this show. Daigouji Gai with his side burns and long hair represents the main characters from the 1970s super hero mech shows, Yurika is meant to be a homage to Linn Minmay from Macross, and Ruri is of course a nod to Quess Paraya from Char’s Counterattack. Even though the designs are basic, the costume designs and the use of colors and resolution makes it look more cool and complex.

The music is very intense and knows how to set the mood whether comedic, dramatic, or energetic. It has impact. The opening theme, You Get to Burning really makes you feel like you’re watching a true legitimate mech anime rather than a comedy. The lyrics itself is more about giving it your all and being with the one you love. The ending theme, Watashi Rashiku sung by Yurika’s voice actress, Kuwashima Houko tends to be very cutesy, and centered more on her character. It has a Girl’s Just Wanna Have Fun kind of feel to it. Other songs featured is Ruri’s single, Watashi no Ichiban ni Naritai. It gives her character more personality. And during a Christmas episode, they make their own Christmas song. The music overall is very outstanding and the regular background music also sets the atmosphere that it really creates your reactions.

I have to say the Japanese version of Gai is just awesome who is played by Tomokazu Seki. He uses the voice he used as Domon Kashhun from G Gundam but makes him sound more funny and I believe plays homage to that character in that form. Akito played by Ueda Yuji is also pretty cool. The way he makes his character react negatively to situations makes him very funny and can make him sound serious when he reflects on his situations. Kuwashima Houko does a great job as Yurika. She can make the character sound air headed, or serious or sad. There is one early episode in the Japanese version where they speak English and it’s so hilarious. As usual, it’s very rare for me to dislike or badly criticize the Japanese acting because of how multi-talented some of the featured actors like like Tomokazu Seki.

Unfortunately, I haven’t really seen the dub which I have no intentions of seeing. To me, I just don’t think this anime can work in English in the way this anime is intended to be because in the English speaking world of anime, there really is no base or approach on how the characters should be portrayed.

If you make the choice to watch Nadesico, than you got something that has action, comedy, some romance, and a bit of everything except sex and nudity and extreme violence. You got a story that advances and will take you by surprise. However there is a movie sequel, but I personally didn’t like it because it’s not as fun as the series. Plus, you have to play some Saturn game to understand the plot. I believe this anime appeals more to casual audiences than Gundam, Evangelion, or Macross can because of the comedy and has minimal harem qualities that are more prevalent in Tenchi and Love Hina though it does not have the same amount of fan service. Despite that, it’s still something different because of how this anime approaches itself by being satire and something serious at the same time. read more