Waga Seishun no Arcadia: Mugen Kidou SSX

Captain Harlock Arcadia of My Youth: SSX Endless Orbit
This review covers my thoughts of my rewatch of a dramatic legendary sci-fi space opera. Interwoven stories of loss, hope, and rebellion set the stage for the Captain Harlock crew. There are battles waged in the name of masculine honor, love, and above all freedom from opression in their search for Arcadia, a planet without war, and also the namesake for their space battleship.

I think this is a good ease into the Harlock franchise due to its much lighter tone and less grounded science-fiction themes. Alternatively, the very same elements hit fast and heavy in the darker ... OG Space Pirate Captain Harlock which is what you would watch after this series if you're following event timeline watch order.

SSX ENDLESS ORBIT revels in character backstories and the fight for a better tomorrow with their rag tag crew shaped by fate to battle against the evil Illumidas and Mr. Zone. The villains in SSX imo are a stepdown; as the main antagonist, Mr. Zone doesn't command the same ominous presence of Queen Rafflesia from the 1978 show but that doesn't make the show any less entertaining.

If you enjoy Gurren Lagann's super manly honor themes, humor, and its crew fight against its oppressors to reach for the sky; the Captain Harlock franchise will be in your wheelhouse. GL pretty much emulates all of the elements of Harlock but with newer animation and less people dying lol


Other reccomendations if you liked SSX ENDLESS ORBIT:
• Captain Harlock 1978
• Queen Emeraldas
• Martain Successor Nadesico
• Gurren Lagann
• Cowboy Bebop
• Macross: Do You Remember Love?
• Prime Rose

Harlock is a bit confusing franchise in a way that almost nothing is a direct prequel or sequel – it’s either reimagination or a spin-off, as Leiji continues to reinvent the characters, never truly satisfied. SSX is no exception, being an alternative story to the original series, so I wouldn’t recommend to start your Harlock journey here. At minimum watch the original series and the prequel Arcadia movie first.

Overall, SSX is pretty much a typical space opera anime. This isn’t meant in a negative way though, as an average space opera anime tend to be quite enjoyable. You get the usual mostly episodic adventure with ... some overarching plot and story driven by character dramas and manly ideals such as friendship, freedom, honor and fight against oppression. The drama can be touching even when concerning only characters introduced in given episodes and never seen again further. Admittedly the ideas are nothing never seen before, but the execution of 80’s aesthetics still make it work.

There is some action here too, both closer combat and space battles. Unfortunately it’s more about being cool rather than in-depth portrayal of warfare, but well, this series is more about the adventurous side of things rather than the logistics, so it’s not really a fault.

I’m sure fans of the currently somewhat niche genre of space operas will enjoy this series, and everyone else will likely find this to be at least an okay series.

Unfortunately Endless Orbit SSX is a series that is inferior to both the original Captain Harlock series as well as the movie that it is a continuation of. Unlike the Arcadia of my Youth film, Endless Orbit SSX has a much lighter and more whimsical tone compared to the very dark and gritty movie. That is not to say a whimsical show is an inferior one but when compared to what it is a continuation of then it is hard to take seriously the occupation of Earth by the Illumidas and Harlock's struggles.

The science fiction is also a lot more toned down and less believable ... compared to the original show. One example being the rogue computer satellite that lures ships to their doom through a siren's song. It's very fantastical and even though the original series was as well at times it felt a lot more grounded than how SSX would present such story elements.

There are times though when SSX really shines. One example being episode 20 when Kei goes to an enemy occupied space station to retrieve medicine for Tochirou. It was easy as a viewer to take seriously as the stakes were very high and the action and suspense were on point. However, overall throughout the show there is too much silliness which ruins moments such as these.

I believe this may be because Endless Orbit SSX was targeted for a younger demographic. Though I am only assuming that based on the inclusion of the child characters aboard the ship, Tadashi and Revi. In the original show there were no children aboard the Arcadia and I feel like they are included here for who may be the intended audience. Though the original Captain Harlock did have a Tadashi character, he was in his late teens and was no stranger to combat by the end of the show. Compared to SSX's Tadashi who cooks and cleans and adds a much more light hearted tone.

If I could compare this show to another, the tone shift to me in SSX compared to the original Harlock is very much like Sailor Moon Super S compared to the original series and S that preceded it. Another show which was regeared for a younger audience but unfortunately lost a lot of its charm in the process.

For a hardcore Leiji/Harlock fan, SSX is probably worth checking out. For someone new to Leiji Matsumoto's works however I'd direct them to the original Captain Harlock instead. I write this review with no bias as my introduction to the Leijiverse was from the Arcadia of my Youth film and I went straight to the SSX series after before watching the original Captain Harlock.

SSX simply can't compare to what came before. Both due to its much lighter tone and less grounded science-fiction. The villains in SSX are also a stepback as the main antagonist, Mr. Zone, simply does not have the same ominous presence of Queen Rafflesia from the first show.

As SSX was cancelled at 22 episodes from the original 44 episodes it was meant to be, due to low viewership as it was originally aired, I believe this shows that it is indeed a lower point in the Leijiverse/Harlock franchise. However, there is still a decent enough show here and I would not say it is outright bad, just not Harlock at his best.