Ranked #552

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

Now people that have been reading other reviews that I have written might know that there is one thing that I severely crack down on, and that is overused character types and clichés, and this anime is just overflowing with them.
The characterlist consists of the biggest amount of over-the-top cliché characters, the situations are all so familiar and the story seems to be rather generic at first.

Yes that's right, at first. In this anime the clichés actually work and the characters fit perfectly into the story, even if you get the standard practically emo main male character, the airhead that has an overobvious affection for him, the tomboy, the robot-loli girl and everything else that you can possibly imagine. And it works beyond comprehension.
The reason for this is that the anime is set out as a parody on all the clichés and the generic mecha story telling. It's so far over-the-top that they even do that with all the clichés and surprisingly that's what makes them all funny again.
You know the cliché about a girl wanting to make lunch/dinner for the guy of their affection and it turns out she can't cook to save her life and it ends up being pure poison? Well, that one is in here too, however the guy is the ship's cook, and it's not one girl but three that try to push their poison onto him. The situation surrounding that whole tired old cliché is so absurd and completely ridiculous and the way the characters react and interact make it absurdly funny again, and it continues that same trend all the way through the anime.

However, this anime isn't just a vehicle for bizarre takes on clichés, it also has an incredible story and takes some completely unsuspecting plot twists, and because of the characters, and the empathy you'll start to feel for them as the story progresses, it turns into something that many mecha anime of today can learn a great deal from.
Nadesico can truelly strike some serious hits in-between the maniacal comedy, and that's a feat of amazing writing.

Now after this lengthy intro, let's look at my scores:

Story: 9
What can I say, the story is a work of art. Even if it's over-the-top in some places and filled with clichés, it works amazingly and it can really immerse the viewer. It works in both the comedy and the serious parts and the plot twists can take the viewer completely by surprise and throws all speculations to the ending overboard.
There were several moments when I was really wincing at what was going on because at times the story just goes too far with being over-the-top and that lowered the score for me a bit, because wanting to press forward to get past several parts isn't really what needs to be included.
But overall, an amazing story, so a 9.

Art: 7
The art in the anime felt rather generic for a mecha anime at most times, but since it's intended to appear like that, I really shouldn't complain.
It works well with the story, even if and maybe because it looks so generic.
And since it works, it earns a 7 for just being good.

Sound: 7
Well, to be honest, I'm a story and character kinda guy so I don't really pay much attention to the sound, I do put on the original Japanese version because I can't stand most of the American voice actors and I think in most cases part of the story gets lost in translation, and a little feel for the characters since the Japanese are usually better at fitting voice actors with the characters they represent.
But I digress, the sound didn't bother me in one bit and the mood fitted well, so a 7.

Characters: 8
I'm a bit split on this subject. The characters are completely generic, cliché and over-the-top, so I should be rating this a big fat 1, however they fit so perfectly with the feel of the anime and the whole story that it wouldn't be the same (or any good) without them being the way they are.
So I guess I can do little else besides rate is as an 8.
It's very good, even though over-the-top, generic and cliché.

Enjoyment: 10
Seriously, this is one of the most enjoyable anime I have seen.
Immersive story, loveable characters, great humour, immense depth and still able to be serious to the point that the viewer will actually take it seriously instead of thinking that they are trying to be pretentious.
There is hardly any comment to make... It's enjoyable to the extreme.

Overall: 9
Taking all of the above comments and scores into account, I can only say that this anime is just great!
It's sadly underrated in my opinion and should deserve much more attention than it has gotten.
There is hardly anything left to say, so I give it a 9 for being overall great.


Afterthoughts:
Too bad that people that are going to watch Nadesico from now on will try to make comparisons with Gurren Lagann...
I can only say to those people that Gurren Lagann is indeed just as far over-the-top and cliché as Nadesico, however Nadesico shows clearly that it's a parody, using great humour and a captivating story, while Gurren Lagann doesn't clearly show that it wants to be a parody (I don't even think that it is meant as a parody).
In my opinion there isn't much on which you can compare them, except that they are both mecha anime that are a bit over-the-top and full of clichés. The major differences lie in how they present themselves, which is something that in my opinion works extremely well for Nadesico and what breaks Gurren Lagann for me, since it seems TTGL tries to be serious and not a parody.

If you didn't think my review was helpful, please leave a message on my profile and explain why you thought my review wasn't helpful. That way I can improve my reviews to make them better in the future.
Thank you in advance. 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

This show works on so many levels it can whizz right past viewers heads because of its frenetic pace and glorious slapstick behaviour, but make no mistake there was plenty of thought put into the script of this 90's classic.

Nadesico is a love letter to the space/mecha genre, both laughing at it and along with it with the same level of panache as Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann.

It parodies the genre with clichés, and honours it by keeping to them itself. For example, Nadesico lampoons over the top sacrifices via its in-show 70’s/80's inspired mecha anime ‘Gekigangar 3’ then does the same thing itself anyway, revelling in the genre trope. It has a young adult unwillingly thrust into a mecha on an almost daily basis, yet his mecha is pink for crying out loud.

It’s actually a smart comedy because beyond the love for the mecha genre they're playing with, the writers are self-aware enough to acknowledge the details that a serious story would tackle, such as the (contractual) consequences of a corporation funding a military ship, funerals for the deceased, the effects of anime on viewers, and the different cultures of Earth, but never stopping the laughs along the way. They even justify the sillier stuff in the show such as having such an airhead for a captain, by again satirising corporate tendencies. (the concept of tailor-made captains because of technology handling the rest of the ship)

The backbone of this show, the factor that keeps it from descending into meaningless skit show histrionics is the attention to detail, on both a narrative level and thematic level. It has the enthusiasm for sci-fi so much that it goes to lengths to explain many of its technologies using nano-machines, cyber-networking and boson particle manipulation and any number of concepts that any avid reader of hard sci-fi will automatically recognise. Bear in mind this was released in the mid-90s before nano technology had hit the mainstream media as it has today, in the way it’s overridden nearly every mainstream sci-fi story as an explanation for fantastical stuff occurring on screen.

On top of that, the show for the most part avoids one of my own little pet peeves, that of ships in space taking hits from lasers and not blowing up instantly, as if they were back on Earth and only got hit by a few stray bullets. This little annoyance is avoided by the usage of actual force fields bouncing lasers off of the hulls. The animators even show waves in the ocean peeling backwards as the Nadesico hovers above.

It's this trivial, yet much welcomed, attention to detail that helps elevate the anime above mere comedy. It's not just about making you laugh, but immersing you in its world with consistency and delivering a genuinely engaging story. Rather than be a gimmick, the Gekigangar anime actually becomes more and more relevant to the main story in interesting ways that are better left unsaid in a review.

The story flows between cliché and creativity every five minutes constantly surprising you. Individuals who in no way belong on a ship are brought together anyway, characters who look like they'll be in main roles are dispatched speedily, enemy ships get progressively stronger, generic alien bad guys are revealed to be not so faceless or generic after all, a brilliant time-jumping Memento-esque episode that riffs on Evangelion's psychoanalytical finale in a humorous (yet always honourable) fashion also pops up, it’s just a complete mix.

And every single character on the Nadesico gets some level of development, which is no mean feat considering the comedic nature of the show. Even Nadesico's successor, TTGL, didn’t develop every character to any kind of level (Leeron for example), so when Nadesico goes out of its way to give a little detail to the past of a random pilot who you figure is only there to give bad puns, well you really appreciate it.

The actual plot of Nadesico when you strip everything else away is actually pretty interesting, which is why the anime works, it’s built on a good foundation. What starts as a generic ‘faceless aliens invading Earth’ story ends with the characters and viewer not wanting a victory for either side at all. The Nadesico ship itself belongs to a corporation, hence justifying the motley crew of misfits and the airhead of a captain. Because their superior technology is mostly automatic the captain was chosen for her looks, tailor-made for the crew's emotional wellbeing. It’s crazy, it’s cynical, but you just know corporations could be that stupid to do such a thing one day, obsessed as they are with end results and not the methodology to get there.

The mega corporation responsible for the Nadesico ship is also a brilliant way to force conflict and danger upon it, from both Earth's self-defence forces who don’t like the idea of corporations messing with military matters, and of course the invading aliens who don’t like the Nadesico for its pesky meddling. This is much more interesting than having a generic plotline where a military ship goes 'rogue' for the billionth time in a sci-fi tale. (ok, that happens later as well) As the threats to Earth get larger, and more time passes, uneasy alliances are formed, love triangles are formed then imploded, revelations are uncovered, suppressed memories are, well, unsuppressed.

The first three episodes are perfection, throwing you headfirst into its pitch-perfect comedic tones with hilarious stuff involving humour on both a physical and meta level. The voice acting is oldschool 90's assured goodness. Nadesico has some of the best and funniest ‘Engrish’ I've ever heard in anime. The soundtrack is also very decent; nothing too memorable except for the OP music, but the soundtrack isn’t too generic either.

So as stated earlier, Nadesico shares much in common with TTGL for its skill in blending irreverent humour with its homage to a very popular genre of anime, but a key difference between the two is that TTGL is not afraid of leaping outside the box and tossing physics to the side to bring almost-abstract comedic imagery, whereas Nadesico is always weighed down by consistent logic whether in physics or narrative.

This is to say, no matter what crazy stuff happens in Nadesico, unlike in TTGL, there's always a reason behind it. In TTGL Kamina's sword can stretch to infinity for no reason other than to make you laugh. In Nadesico, for example, there’s a reason why only certain people can boson jump, it’s not used for convenience’s sake. Nadesico is actually a better homage in that it uses meta-humour with the Gekigangar TV show, not for a gimmick but as part of the actual plot. Nadesico is actually a decent analysis and commentary on anime. The latter half of the show ups the drama and emotion, and pretty much blatantly celebrates the very medium itself with bold proclamations that are infectious.

Nadesico is an essential anime for sci-fi/comedy fans. Observe a young guy with suppressed memories get pushed around the solar system by a blue-haired witless captain of a White Base-ish ship blowing up insect-looking baddies while watching mecha anime in his spare time. The ending is far from cliché, however much it will leave some viewers disgruntled for its unresolved story, the fact is that everything of importance in the narrative actually IS resolved; it’s a cliché-avoiding ending that doesn’t resort to what Gekigangar, the mirror of most mecha anime, does.

It doesn’t force an ending on you with cheap happy shortcuts, Nadesico is better than this, going at its own assured pace always treating story and characters with respect. If you’re the type that just has to have every single plot point wrapped up and a more ‘complete’ ending, then there is the subsequent Animage Grand Prix Award-winning movie Nadesico The Movie awaiting you, though the movie is a separate beast entirely, different in tone from the series.

So there is only one Nadesico folks, one specific combination of humour, drama and space hijinks that hits the right spot each time. “Gekiga In!” read more

I recently rewatched this anime so it's a great time to write a review on it while it's still fresh in my memory.
First thing to explain, this is anime manages the razor's edge of being both serious and a satire. It is a rather biting satire of space animes and particularly the gundam series of anime. This is all done subtle however, in the background while a (mostly) serious plot continues and the Earth's protectors fight against other worldly invasion.
The effort succeeds greatly and this anime was a great hit in Japan when it was released but didn't enjoy much success in the US.

Story: The story starts with the Earth's military getting beaten badly by the attacking Jovian forces. Fed up with the military's ineptitude, Nerghal Heavy Industries commissions and launches the battleship Nadesico. Being a private corporation they use unorthodox criteria in recruiting the crew. Using technology on par or even better than the Jovians, the Nadesico enters the fight, dealing with the enemy, a very jealous regular military, a popular anime show that seems to both mimic and mock events as they occurs, and of course the many neuroses and quirks of it's own crew.

Art: Animated when Cel animation was still the method of choice, it can look older than it is. This maybe partly intentional however since many of the animes it spoofing are from the 80's (Robotech, Starblazers, Gundam)

Sound: Using a dramatic soundtrack throughout the course of the show really helps The theme song, "You get to Burning", is a classic of course.

Character: The storyline is overall pretty serious, so it's up to the characters to drive the satire; which they do beautifully.
The main character is Akito Tenkawa. He joins the crew after encountering Yurika, the ship's captain and childhood friend, and seeks questions concerning a past mystery. Akito joins as a cook on the ship, but is repeatedly required to fill in as part-time robot pilot (called an Aestevalis). He's also a rabid fanboy of the anime "Gekigainger". The anime within an anime is a subtle jab at giant robot animes, even to the point where there is an episode where the Gekigainger cast is watching Nadesico.
The other main character, Yurika, is a nod to female anime characters that have very important responsibilities but still act like little girls around a love interest (in this case Akito). Her obsession with him continues throughout the series.
It's really an ensemble cast that makes this work, but the 3rd essential character is Ruri (also called Ruri Ruri). A young girl who is very smart, but also very droll and fond of calling everyone idiots. She narrates the plot and also acts as the voice of sanity. It's her calm analysis that keeps the rest of the crew on task, and also makes the rest of them seem that much more wacky. Even the "serious" characters seem zany compared to the grounded Ruri.

Enjoyment: The dual-purpose of the anime can also lose the viewer, otherwise I'd give it a 10. The shifts from humor, satire, to seriousness can be sudden and jarring. There's also some satire of "harem" animes as Akito is pursued by at least 3 of the female crewmembers, to the dismay of his "immature" personality. This often leads to many joke of the rest of the crew demanding he send them there way if he doesn't want them.

Overall: This would be a decent anime if they had decided to play it straight, but the satire of it makes it a classic. A lot of the humor is subtle and understated. For instance, in one episode Akito is stranded on the moon and is waiting to get picked up by the ship. The woman at the restaurant calls it "the Yamato" and her husband corrects her. Of course this references the ship from "Starblazers" (I'm using the US title, I know that's not the original name). It's all the small things like that, that makes this one a gem. read more

Ok, Nadesico is NOT your average mech show. It is a kind of satire, taking a spoofy look at the Real Robot genre, made famous by the Gundam franchise. It does this in an incredible way: by comparing it directly to Super Robot shows, of which the classic example is Mazinger, though most people would probably be more familiar with the more recent Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann.

Put simply, the crew of the Nadesico watch the show-within-a-show "Gekiganger 3", which is a stereotypical Super Robot show, and pays homage to the classic 70's style of Mecha anime. However, the crew themselves pilot Real Robots, and don't have the plot convinces of Super Robot shows to fall back on when things go wrong.

For this reason, Nadesico is unique among Mech shows, (and trust me, I've seen my fair share of Mech series) and as such can get away with things that make it a stand-out among the genre.

Firstly, I'd like to draw on what the Real Robot genre is. It is the "realistic" genre, instead of focusing on super-powerful, over-the-top, impossible but awesome robots, it focuses on the humans inside the mechs. The mechs themselves are usually nothing more than weapons, like tanks or planes (with the only real difference being their humanoid appearance/abilities). Now the Gundam franchise is easily the best example of this, but in a way is one of the worst examples at the same time. You see, most gundam series fall into the trap of being a Real Robot show only when it is convenient for them to do so. They often bring characters back from the dead or spontaneously upgrade their mechs for little to no reason (usually just to appease their fans). -this is clearly an unrealistic premise.

Nadesico has none of this. As far as I'm concerned, this makes it essentially the only "true" Real Robot show, because it never strays from reality, no matter how convenient that would be for the plot.

Now that I've explained what makes the premise so good, I'll go into detail about each element of the anime, starting with the story.

Story:

The story on Nadesico is pretty average, to be honest. It's a bunch of people who board a ship and go do missions. What makes it more interesting is who does it and how they do it. Basically, the "who" is a ragtag bunch of lovable characters and the "how" is by ripping their moves of the Super Robot show, Gekiganger 3. -this has obvious problems given the fact that Gekiganger is chock full of cliche character shields and such- which leads to both hilarious and disastrous outcomes.

Now, as the plot goes on, it twists and turns and is far deeper than it would appear at face value. However, Nadesico is not about the plot, it is about the characters, and as such, even without an amazing storyline, the quality of the show wouldn't diminish. It just so happens that it actually does have a good plot to anyway, indicative of the overall quality of the show.

Art:
Well this was made around the same time as Gundam Wing and Evangelion, and as such is fairly dated when it comes to some of the bigger action sequences. However, all the artwork is detailed and all the designs (both characters and mechs) are very good to say the least. It is "hand drawn", not CGI'ed, and the quality and effort put into it by the artists is to be commended.

Sound:
Ok, well I primarily watched the English dub, although I did watch it in dual audio. The reason I prefer the English version is because the voice actors are brilliant. It was dubbed by ADV, and as such many of the cast are recycled from old anime, most notably, Evangelion. Akito is Spike Spencer (Shinji) and Ryoto is Tiffony Grant (Asuka) -which serves only to increase the satirical value of the show.

But none can pass the great Brett Weaver, who voiced Gai Daigoji. People who have watched the Japanese dub have said to me "I'm reluctant to watch the English dub, because I'm afraid that they could never match the hot-bloodedness of Gai's Japanse VA"... And they're right, he doesn't match them. He surpasses them. He does THAT good of a job. You positively FEEL the emotion seething out of the screen, pouring from the speakers as he chastises the crew for not appreciating Gekiganger's greatness.

The rest of the cast is nothing to scoff at either, as there is not one voice actor on this cast who I'm willing to say did anything short of a good job.

As for soundtrack, not only does Nadesico have a large and diverse track of background music, it also has a large track of voiced music (despite having only one OP and ED song). Furthermore, Gekiganger 3 ALSO has it's own complete album of musics, both background and voiced. The sheer volume is simply astounding for the relatively short anime, to say nothing of the quality (which is relatively high).

And last but not least is the character section:

The characters are the star attraction of this show. Akito, the scardeycat anime lover who's only goal in life is to be a cook is a lovable and very human character. He alone shows more emotion and development than I've seen in entire series worth of characters. Then there's Yurika, Ruri, Ines, Nagare, Ryoto, Prospector, the list goes on, all of them with marvellous development, interactions and personalities. And I haven't even mentioned Gai yet. He may be, as far as screentime is concerned, one of the lesser characters, but despite this, he remains engraved into the minds of any Nadesico viewer. The writer simply did such a good job with making him that even though he essentially has no role in the plot whatsoever he still remains at the forefront of this show's character lineup.

This is indicative of the quality of characters. The ones who you're supposed to feel sorry for, you feel sorry for. The ones you admire, you admire. The ones you adore, you adore. The ones you hate, you HATE.

So, overall, I simply loved this show. It has it's quirks, like the ending, which pretty much just up and ends, even taking some time out to point out that there are a couple big plot holes left hanging, but this does little to diminish the flavour of this series. As a matter of fact, these little quirks serve to make it all the more enjoyable, as it never takes itself too seriously while not being so silly that it falls away from the genre it is supposed to fit into. It gets the balance right, and the series is simply a perfect example of how to do good space opera.



Oh, and for the love of god, don't watch the movie. Please. Don't. It's an absolute travesty. read more

I just ADORE this anime!!! It's one of my favorites!! I hadn't even heard of it until one of my friends mentioned it to me.

The story is amazing. It's an awesome mixture of funny and serious. The plot is interesting and it keeps your attention. I know a few times I was just like wha-?! and totally caught off guard by the plot twist. I especially love the anime within an anime concept. Hehe.

I thought the animation was good. The dubbing is amazing too! I love the dubbed version personally. As for the characters, they're all so different and have little problems of their own. They're all very likable and after watching just a few episodes you feel like you know them and are a part of the Nadesico crew. You'll get so drawn in and you'll HAVE to see what comes next!

Overall, this goofy, satirical and sometimes serious anime is really a lot of fun to watch. read more

Whoever said that a series couldn't have too many wacky female characters hadn't seen Martian Successor Nadesico. 80% of the cast are women with personality defects, not that the men are completely sane.
This show takes the "one guy living with a group of crazy girls who are all in love with him" formula and combines it with a Mobile Suit Gundam reminiscent plot. Y'know, a sympathetic war/ space odyssey type deal. Does this work, one man, trapped on a space battle ship with countless beautiful women? Well, strangely enough, it does.
A friend of mine described this series as having some of the greatest anime characters of all time, and though I don't agree with him, I see where he was coming from. If I were to describe the protagonist, Akito Tenkawa, I'd say imagine Hideki Motosuwa or Keitaro Urashima but put them in the same situation as Amuro Ray or Shinji Ikari. It sounds interesting, doesn't it?
The plot sounds pretty typical at first. I mean, do we really need another humans fighting aliens with giant robots anime: Evangelion, RaXephon, Dai-Guard, Argentosoma, Voices of a Distant Star, ect. Though, as you get farther into it, the plot becomes much more deep and complex than one would imagine. There are many unexpected twists that I wouldn't dream of ruining for everyone.
Overall, Martian Successor Nadesico is something I loved but didn't expect to. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys space odysseys or anime with intense character relationships. Enjoy.
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