Kidou Senkan Nadesico

They are both space operas with a twist of comedy. Both shows have quirky characters and deals with going to war with an alien race. They are kind of like the rebels in space.  

They are both comedy with funny spaceship team )  

Martian Successor Nadesico starred a ragtag space crew as they traversed the stars and battled a race of aliens called the Jovians who, in the end, might not be such bad guys after all. Irresponsible Captain Tylor has a similar premise, as the eponymous Captain Tylor and his crew battle the Ralgon Empire, who were also sympathetic antagonists. More similar though is the wacky, comedic tone both shows take. Both Nadesico and Tylor will please fans of comedy anime. 

You have a spaceship, an unorthodox crew, a goofy captain, and 90's animation.  

One cannot dismiss the striking resemblance as long as you have come across both space opera masterpieces. Having watched Nadesico firsthand before approaching Tylor, I have to admit: the similarities are way too many, yet one cannot help say that both are distinctively unique and different. Since this is but a recommendation, I would reduce the amount of spoilers as much as possible. Tylor, a seemingly "useless" dude who appeared out of nowhere, is your unexpectedly meaningless protagonist who does not even have a single bit of motivation nor ambition, and just happened to decide on working for the war campaign to get a pension and recognition after retirement. Seriously, yes. And he ended up being the captain of a spaceship due to an unforeseen hostage situation...anymore would be spoilers. Okay, at least Akito aspires to be a chef, and does not want to be involved in anything related to space, due to his scarred past. However, he gets dragged into all the mess; luckily, all's well that ends well. Akito may be similar to Tylor in one aspect: their nonchalance, at least until their situation flips. (Disputable in the case of Tylor) Both protagonists happen to share a great responsibility on their spaceships, the Nadesico and the Soyokaze; not to mention, the crew that surrounds them. The slapstick comedy portrayed in both series are extremely similar, and they are well-established jokes and puns you often see in 90s Anime space operas. However, if observed carefully, both series have deep conspiracies from within, and the situations slowly unfolds throughout the respective plots. Yet, they still end up as your playful and happy titles, and they close up with a conclusion one could expect, yet succulent. As long as you have come across either one, do not hesitate: watch the latter immediately! read more 

Similar in tone. Goofy space opera with a darker edge. 

Both are space operas. Captain Yurika Misumaru and Captain Justy Ueki Tylor always make us think, are they simple-minded and extremely lucky? Are they strategic geniuses? Are they pragmatists? Both characters are happy go-lucky and carefree. 

Screwball antics one minute, fierce realism the next. It's a bit more serious and harder to swallow, and definetly not as family friendly, but FMP! draws a few parallels. 

Mecha batles, boys meeting girls, saving the world. Similar artistic style and humor throughout both animes also, though the high school setting of FMP is substituted for a battleship in MSN (more akin to FMP's submarine setting) 

Both are funny action mecha shows with a blue-haired girl in love with a pointy-haired guy who pilots one of the robots. FMP! is more of a real robot show while MSN is about super robots. 

Both are amazing fusion series of romantic comedy and mecha action.  

Nadesico, as FMP, is a very funny mecha anime with a little bit of romance. However, the battles in Nadesico are far from being memorable as in FMP. 

Both these shows are a homage to their genres: in the case of TTGL it's a celebration of mecha anime from the 70s to today, and in the case of Nadesico, it's a celebration of the space opera genre, spiced up with mecha (since they are a crucial ingredient in many space operas). If you're looking for similarities beyond that, look no further than Kamina and Gai Daigoji. Gai was the original which inspired Kamina in many ways. They are both 70s mecha pilots trapped in modern mecha shows, they are advocates of GAR and believe that the manly spirit solves everything. So follow the story about how a rag tag group of crazy individuals takes on an empire which poses a threat against the entire human race. Two of the best mecha shows ever produced. read more 

Gurren Lagann and Nadesico are both tributes to mecha anime in general albeit with some differences. Gurren Lagann is a tribute to the old super robot shows from the 70s such as Getter Robo and Mazinger while Nadesico is a parody of mecha anime in general with some tribute to mecha anime of all eras. 

Similar in spirit. Both are throwbacks to the days of 1970s/1980s super robot shows. Lots of hot headed pilots and goofiness.  

The power of Otaku! Both series are self-ware parodies of anime, particularly the mecha genre, with hilarious over-the-top and energetic characters. Akito Tenkawa partakes in the "civilian falls into cockpit" trope, being reluctant as a pilot as he was severely traumatized by war, only wanting to be a cook, but at the same time he is a huge fan of an old Super Robot series, Gekiganger. He has fellow mecha Otaku Gai Daigoji as a pilot (who is way more enthusiatic about it) and his ditzy love interest/captain Yurika Misumaru is keen on keeping him on her ship as her knight in shining armor. Hosomichi is a host who just wants to make a living in heavily censored Japan. He similarly ends up piloting Shark One out of circumstance and meets its battery girl Akagi Rin, an avid fan of a the superhero/mecha show Zaburn (which Hosomichi liked as a child). The antagonists of Nadesico and Rumble Garanndoll can be compared and contrasted as the Shinkoku Nippon of Rumble Garanndoll revile anime, games, manga, idols etc. heavily censoring them but behave in a very old-fashioned militaristic manner; they are extremists against Otaku. The Jovian Lizards of Nadesico, on the other hand, also hold old-fashioned militaristic views, but that's because they have built their entire culture on Gekiganger; they take being an Otaku to its extreme.  read more 

Both share the same sci fi/mecha tropes. They are also similiar in tone and its characters are inspired by fictional mecha shows within the anime 

Nadesico is a parody of Eva in every way. From Akito in Nadesico essentially being the Anti-Shinji to the way the crew resemble certain characters from Eva.  

These two series deconstruct mecha genre, Neon Genesis Evangelion takes the super robot genre to the extreme, the giant monsters they have to fight, the Angels are incomprehensible. Kids piloting mecha; in this instance Children are the only ones who can pilot the Evas. Martian Successor Nadesico came after Neon Genesis Evangelion and the creators had another flavor or mecha to work with, for this show is a parody of the mecha genre, from real robot, to super robot (via show-within-a-show Justice Robo Gekiganger 3) and one of the series it parodies is Neon Genesis Evangelion. Akito does not want to fight, like Shinji does, and his reason is that he wants to live a normal life, as a cook (he even has the same English voice actor as Shinji). Ryoko is the classic hotblooded mecha pilot like Asuka is (she also has the same English voice actor) but beneath all the aggression, she has a tragic past just like Asuka. Ruri parodies emotionless characters like Rei. There are also some plot parallels, the Nadesico belongs to Nergal (a private organization) and most of the characters are employees there but this organization is being overseed by part of the government, this is similar to how the corrupt SEELE oversees NERV's activities in Neon Genesis Evangelion. read more 

AGE is literally a poor man's Nadesico - both start off fighting an unknown enemy (the UE in AGE, the Jovians in Nadesico), only to have both turn out to be something different than expected. 

Martian Successor Nadesico is actually a comedy series, which by and large is a major tribute to the entirety of Macross. On it's own, Nadesico is already a very competent classic, but to have viewed Macross before it, you'll be able to pick up a lot of the referential jokes and observe where the majority of the tropes Nadesico parodies come from. Aside from that, both shows are sci-fi space adventures, where a single ship has to fight an alien enemy on it's own, with mecha, where the protagonist is in a love triangle with two girls, one of whom is an idol of some sort, and the protagonist has an very important mentor pilot. And a lot of other similarities.... read more 

Spaceships, mechs, cute girls, female captain. Nadesico blends action with parody / slapstick humor. Aldnoah is more serious.