Nothing transcends the anime medium like Space☆Dandy. And after accumulating many space operas under my belt, my high opinion of Space Dandy hasn’t faltered. Infinite Ryvius, Legend of the Galactic Heroes, Mobile Suit Gundam, SDF-Macross, all rank as some of my all time favorite shows, yet none of them feel like an out of body experience in the same way Dandy does. You see, many space operas do a great job at being just that, space operas. An epic story with grand battles and more intergalactic love-drama than one could muster. However, few of them go beyond feeling like just another space opera, even if it’s told in a spectacularly unique way. “Space☆Dandy”’s title alone, I mean just look at that star in its official title, already gives it more flair and finesse than your average intergalactic saga. Space Dandy isn’t concerned with being a true to life war drama, having the grandest mecha battles, or grasping for your attention with melodrama between competing love interests. Space☆Dandy only has one goal in mind, and that goal is to blow your goddamn mind and to have a fun time doing so, baby. So what is it about Space☆Dandy that makes it one of my all time favorite shows?
One of the reasons I hold it in such high regard is because of how well it manages to execute everything it does. One of which is that above all else, it has a signature style. Which is partially but exquisitely conveyed through its extraordinary use of colors. During the opening alone, setting a spectacular precedent for what lies ahead, it makes excellent use of neon colors, detailed stills, and gorgeous background animations that compliment the black silhouettes of members of the Aloha Oe. Couple that with the bombastic funky party music, a narrator hyping you up for what’s to come, and the array of polished visual styles making marvelous use of the neon color spectrum so visually pleasing that even a rainbow could shed a tear. I may say it often, but this is one of the best openings for a show, ever. On impulse, I might even call it my favorite. I can say with certainty that this show’s opening does a miraculous job conveying this show’s unique larger than life, space-disco, chic to the audience. Warning them to strap on their seat belts for the journey that lies ahead.
And “space disco” sounds more appropriate for Space☆Dandy instead of space opera. Speaking of Space Operas, what comes to mind when you think of one? For me, I think of Die neue these, or Legend of the Galactic heroes (LOGH for short). Another impeccable series might I add, but I’m not here to talk about that. I’m here to talk about Space☆Dandy, but I bring up LOGH because you need to imagine that show’s visuals for a second. What do you picture? I think of still characters, regal attributes, and the stiffness of a wooden 2x4. You cannot get any further from LOGH’s visuals than Space Dandy. Though funnily enough both have well polished and detailed stills of moments, usually an important scene, throughout. Though LOGH uses stills as a means of beefing up its dramatization, Space☆Dandy typically uses it to enhance a scene’s comedic value.
The last bit of visuals I wanted to touch on was the animation itself, which again, is the utter inverse of LOGH’s animation. From Dandy’s gait, to the movement of whatever space arachnoid he might be encountering, the animation can go from being smooth, swift and so satisfying to watch, to being as slappy, weighted, and bouncy like an action taken straight out of Looney Tunes. Everything else as well is given just as much polish in how it’s animated. From a mech with so much swag that it wears a Hawaiian t-shirt, to the vast array of facial expressions and body distortion each character makes in a scene of dialogue. The animation is always more than on point and does an out of this world job at conveying the looseness, tightness, and general weight of any given scene. And detailed praise aside, the cartoonish movements of the characters in general are simply just a blast to watch.
Speaking of characters, they are the backbone of this anime made by studio bones, heheh. But this show isn’t called Space☆Dandy for nothing. The titular MC is possibly the most pivotal aspect to this show’s atmosphere. We follow a space hunter named Dandy, who makes his living by finding unknown alien species to be identified and recorded into a database. Dandy himself is an overly charismatic, confident, dashing, cocky, and somewhat sleazy human being with a pompadour and style that’s straight out 50s America, minus the shoes. He’s accompanied by his fellow compatriots of the Aloha Oe including QT, a robot who resembles a vacuum cleaner that tries his best to keep Dandy focused, and Meow, a cat-like alien who sleazes about the ship, but occasionally provides Dandy with intel regarding where rare aliens could lie. They are on a life-long journey to travel to planets and galaxies across the universe in search of unidentified alien life forms, and “boobies” (a restaurant) to stop at. All the while an evil syndicate is on their tail, unbeknownst to our main characters.
Aside from the main characters were introduced to an amalgamation of characters of all life forms and types throughout the show. Sometimes these non-main characters develop such a bond to the story or an episode’s plot that I wish this series wasn’t as episodic as it is at times. Because you’ll meet love interests, dogs, aliens, villains, ghosts, and planets themselves that will either tug at your heart strings or desire for more information about them only to disappear after their arc has concluded. And I mean it has a gigantic cast, the amount and variety of characters this show and their personalities that embodies this world is too broad of a scope to cover in this essay alone. And yet, despite such a large cast it never gets messy, too convoluted, or that it’s not in-line with the show.
That’s thanks to both the writing and the show being mostly episodic. With each episode having a different writer and director. Every single episode is distinctly unique from the last. Yet each director respected and took great care of the foundation they were given to work with to make sure it still felt like Space☆Dandy. Dandy and the way he interacts with the situation he’s presented, the characters he’s surrounded by, and the places he finds himself in never feels out of character. His wit and charm that plagues the series also never falters even in the most dire of circumstances. Even in such cases as dying himself, or losing someone who’s close to him. The episode that best articulates the scope of imagination and beauty of the show is episode 21 where the tone of the show takes a dramatic turn. Dandy finds himself in the afterlife on a planet only inhabited by ghosts. The episode touches on the philosophy of death and the after life. As well as the acknowledgement of its inevitability. Not only is the episode much more somber and solemn, but it still manages to use the same methods used to create a fun filled wonderland in previous episodes to convey one with a darker tone. One that’s drabbed in heavy use of gray and pink haze in an environment that is as messy, convoluted, random, and decrepitly disturbing as its inhabitants. With even Dandy himself having a grayish outline for once.
Though every episode feels like an adventure that’s larger than life, episode 21 in particular evokes an existential feeling the series hadn’t touched thus far. The director and writer of the episodes were Yasuhiro Nakura and Shinichirō Watanabe respectively. So huge props to them for crafting a masterpiece that not only went against the norm of the show, but benefitted the anime’s eclecticness as a whole.
Speaking of eclectic, the music of the anime is beautifully composed and varied to say the least. I’ve already stated my love for the OP as well as the ED. But beyond that the soundtrack presents the listener with a soundscape that’s as vast as the galaxy the show takes place in. From somber synths, to grand boogie numbers, this soundtrack has it all. Interesting tidbit about the soundtrack, but from episode 20 onwards there is a new ED presented unique to each individual episode and they’re all stellar. The way the show is able to use the music to enhance the viewing experience is almost bar none. In fact some of the most powerful moments of the show come from an absence of music in favor of atmospheric whisps and winds that make you as entranced in an episode’s landscape as the characters themselves.
And I can’t end this review without commemorating the voice actors for both English and Japanese dubs. I recently found out that the English dub aired in America a day before it was released in Japan. How odd, and I wouldn’t berate anyone for only having experience with the English dub. Ian Sinclair’s performance was my first impression of Dandy before eventually watching the original dub where Junichi Suwabe stole the show.
Nothing transcends the anime medium like Space☆Dandy. What is it about this show that gets me to make such a bold statement? I consider it the pinnacle of episodic anime. Each episode excels in managing to make me feel as if I’ve been transported to another world. It nails every genre it touches and makes each adventure feel like an out of body experience. Every episode is treated with dignity and could very well be its own feature length ova/movie. The humor is timeless. Its flashy, aesthetic flair is so off the cusp that you’ll never forget it. And lastly, the show is filled with so many pieces of advice and morals unique to each episode that makes the experience that much more engrossing and fruitful to watch. I cannot recommend this show enough, there’s truly nothing quite as dandy, as Space☆Dandy.
