Space Dandy was the most anticipated anime series of the winter season. And then it started airing.
And then anime fans fell on it like a ton of bricks. To which I say...
YOU'RE ALL WRONG, BABY!
Space Dandy is not only better than people have been saying, but it has the potential to rival Cowboy Bebop for one very simple reason, which I'll discuss below.
Space Dandy is about Dandy, a young man who catches aliens so he can register them at the Alien Registration Center and get the fee. His companions are QT and Meow.
QT is more or less a souped-up vacuum cleaner with additional robot abilities (as in - actually piloting the Aloha Oe, Dandy's ship, when necessary).
Meow, a dim-witted cat alien from Betelgeuse, does no work and slouches around like a teenager (but can run like a cat on all fours in an emergency).
The art design is beautiful and amazing. The animation production quality is first-rate. The series is currently at episode 8 (I'm one episode behind since I'm watching it on Funimation as a free subscriber) and has had several brilliant episodes already. Like episode 2, where Dandy and the crew search for the phantom space ramen, and find it in another galaxy on a barren planet with a single ramen stand run by an elderly alien with quite a story to tell.
And episode 4, where the crew transforms into zombies. And episode 5, the sweet story where Dandy takes the orphan Adelie to find her lost grandfather. And episode 6, where Dandy and Meow come across a planet engaged in a never-ending war between aliens who favor vests and aliens who favor underwear.
Space Dandy even has Admiral Perry as a character - an evil space American whose ship has the head of the Statue of Liberty on its nose!
There is one great thing and one unfortunate thing about Space Dandy.
The great thing is:
1. Shinichiro Watanabe is the director and creative force behind the series.
Shinichiro Watanabe was the director and creative force behind the classic anime series Cowboy Bebop.
And the unfortunate thing about Space Dandy is:
2. Shinichiro Watanabe is the director and creative force behind the series.
The fact that Shinichiro Watanabe is the director and creative force behind Space Dandy means that all the fans were expecting Cowboy Bebop from the outset.
I've only seen various episodes of Cowboy Bebop at conventions, but I'm going to guess that everyone's first reaction to episodes 1 and 2 was not, "OMG. INSTANT CLASSIC. WHERE DO I PRE-ORDER THE DVDS."
In other words, I'm saying - give Space Dandy some time. It's currently at episode 8 of what will obviously be at least a 24- or 26-episode series. There have already been a few episodes that I would consider classics. And we're still getting to know Dandy, Meow and QT.
Are there legitimate reasons to criticize Space Dandy so far? Yes, of course. Dandy is not particularly heroic, and there is (at this point anyway) no great goal that his character is trying to attain. The villain, Admiral Perry, seems ridiculous and not especially threatening. And Dandy, Meow and QT have all shown a disturbing propensity to abandon each other rather than stick with each other when things get tough.
But with so much going for it, and with a few really excellent episodes having aired already, can people just give Space Dandy the time and room to develop? It has the potential to rival Cowboy Bebop, it truly does - if people would just give it some time.
So I say to everyone who has already judged Space Dandy and found it sadly wanting...
YOU'RE ALL WRONG, BABY!
Just admit that you were wrong about Space Dandy.
You'll feel better. =D
