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.
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