*Story & Characters*
Space Cobra's story takes place (where else?) in the space! It's basically just random 80's sci-fi that is kinda silly by today's standards. It contains wacky sci fi concepts, loads of improbable physics and even some magic… What's great about it, is that the sci-fi itself doesn't really matter in Cobra's case, since it's all about the action and the adventure while the sci-fi and space setting are just the dressing to make the adventure more epic and cool.
The story itself is separated in to several arcs and a few stand alone episodes, many of which are self contained. It does also have a main story that's primarily relevant in the first and final arcs of the series.
Most of the arcs/episodes consist of Cobra taking up missions, fighting pirates or other alien creatures. They also end up involving (in one way or another) sexy chicks that wear skimpy outfits that Cobra ends up either having "fun" with, saving or fighting against.
It is fast paced, has tons of action and it does give off a sense of adventure and discovering new and exotic locations. It's all pretty simple, but it also ends on a very good note.
The characters consist of Cobra and his female android called Lady (yep, that's her name). Cobra is supposed to be a real role model for all men.. He's overpowered, doesn't take crap from nobody and he's a womanizer through and through. He also doesn't think twice about sending his enemies to their deaths, but the downside is that he hardly flinches when innocent people get killed as well.
Lady is an android who's supposed to be the strong waifu figure that takes care of Cobra and attempts to keep him in check. There doesn't seem to be too much opportunity for chemistry between them, since she's not around that often but it's cool to see how they behave like they're very used to being around each other like an old married couple.
Aside from them, the characters are either one or at best two dimensional villains, sexy women with little variety in personality, or ex-villains who are helpful, but usually end up dead rather quickly.
That's about it for this section. It delivers on what it promises with good execution, but don't expect too much substance out of it.
*Art & Sound*
The art style is very nice and surprisingly detailed. It also looks a little like a western cartoon and not so much like an anime. It's actually pretty similar to the 80s animated film - 'Heavy Metal'. A film that's mostly known for its aesthetics.
The animation is great and there's a ton of action, most of which has nice choreography, decent looking explosions and brutal violence in which people get killed at the drop of a hat (not much blood though).
As for the character designs, the female figures here look way ahead of their time in terms of how curvy and sexy they are, and a lot of the alien and spaceship designs look very creative as well. Cobra himself is a muscular dude who's color coded red, has a goofy face and a gun for an arm. Now that is an awesome design. In addition, since this is a Space adventure there's also a lot of variety in terms of locations which all look very nice.
Visually, Space Cobra has to be among the best tv anime ever, it holds up beautifully.
In terms of soundtrack, there are some memorable tunes and the opening song specifically is very catchy.. It has cool Sound effects and cheesy, but solid voice acting. The only problem with it (which is a problem with many 80s anime) is that the sound quality doesn't sound very good by today's standards, even in the blu ray version. I guess you get used to it after a while, but unfortunately they were recording with toasters back then.
*Conclusion*
Overall Space Cobra is fairly creative and has superb production values. Doesn't have that much substance to it, but it's perfectly comfortable with what it is.
It is also one of the most enjoyable shows I've seen in a very long time.
