Space Dandy (from the creator of Cowboy Bebop)

[Fellini912]

Fans of Shinichiro Watanabe (creator of Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo),

Space Dandy premiered last night January 4, 2014 on toonami; Funimination is streaming the episodes on their website.

It is definitely different than Cowboy Bebop; it is a space comedy anime. I venture to describe it as a parody of all space anime. It has a lot potential.

Feel free to post your opinion about this new anime.

[beatnikslacker]

HA. I was on the fence about starting a thread about this here yesterday evening. glad someone else did it though.

I liked what I saw last night. gonna watch it again later and compare the english to the japanese when I can. Beautiful to look at, the production is top notch for sure. the plot seems intentionally silly now, but I have a feeling it will eventually narrow down to something interesting. either way, I hope this does well enough so we get more anime airing in the states like this going forward.

[Fellini912]

Originally Posted by beatnikslacker

HA. I was on the fence about starting a thread about this here yesterday evening. glad someone else did it though.

I liked what I saw last night. gonna watch it again later and compare the english to the japanese when I can. Beautiful to look at, the production is top notch for sure. the plot seems intentionally silly now, but I have a feeling it will eventually narrow down to something interesting. either way, I hope this does well enough so we get more anime airing in the states like this going forward.

Yes, I like the fact that Japan and US are airing anime simultaneously.

The series seems to me more in tune with the comedic episodes seen in Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo (Mushroom Samba, Beatbox Bandits, Cowboy Funk), which were pretty funny.

The main character is a mixture of the singing samurai from "The Art of Altercation" episode (Samurai Champloo) and Cowboy Andy.
I am very curious how this series will turn out. Watanabe has not disappointed me yet, I loved all his previous works.

Hooters in space ("breastaurants" quote from the first episode)

[Talyn]

Breast show of the year....I mean, Best....yeah....sure!

I liked it enough, but we'll see if it can keep the gimmick up the entire season without getting old.

[MOONPHASE]

Originally Posted by Fellini912

Yes, I like the fact that Japan and US are airing anime simultaneously.

The series seems to me more in tune with the comedic episodes seen in Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo (Mushroom Samba, Beatbox Bandits, Cowboy Funk), which were pretty funny.

The main character is a mixture of the singing samurai from "The Art of Altercation" episode (Samurai Champloo) and Cowboy Andy.
I am very curious how this series will turn out. Watanabe has not disappointed me yet, I loved all his previous works.

Hooters in space ("breastaurants" quote from the first episode)

There's also times like Tenkai Knights where it airs in America on Cartoon Network but no mention on when it will air in Japan despite the fact that it is an Anime with even already a DVD release coming out.

I pretty much knew I would love Space Dandy just based on the Toonami commercials for it.

[beatnikslacker]

"I CANT READ CIRCLE!"

[Clark Kent]

At first blush Space Dandy didn't feel like an anime series with mainstream appeal in the U.S. I doubt Cartoon Network would have broadcast the show if it was not created by Shinichiro Watanabe.

[Sky_Captain]

Aside for some humour that felt forced, I thought it was a hoot.

[MOONPHASE]

Originally Posted by Sky_Captain

Aside for some humour that felt forced, I thought it was a hoot.

I don't think any of the humor was forced. It's a funny series with a funny plot and funny main characters.

[MOONPHASE]

Originally Posted by Clark Kent

At first blush Space Dandy didn't feel like an anime series with mainstream appeal in the U.S. I doubt Cartoon Network would have broadcast the show if it was not created by Shinichiro Watanabe.

I don't know about that. With Adult Swim, it feels like Cartoon Network doesn't really care what Williams Street does as long as you can't see the nudity and anytime the f word comes along, censor it like that Deadman Wonderland episode.

But the whole Shinichiro Watanabe being majorly involved with it did make it easier to want to show it ASAP though.

[Fellini912]

Originally Posted by MOONPHASE

But the whole Shinichiro Watanabe being majorly involved with it did make it easier to want to show it ASAP though.

Agree.

I read somewhere that Cowboy Bebop was not very successful in Japan. Maybe this time around, he is trying to make his show more Japanese friendly. Akira Kurosawa was also criticized for being to western.

The jazz music segments for Space Dandy is again fantastic. The first episode gave me a good push to watch the next episode.

[K i r a]

Originally Posted by Sky_Captain

Aside for some humour that felt forced, I thought it was a hoot.

+1

I'm still on board definitely, but I wanna see more of the humor and how long the appeal can last.

[Aznable]

I just got done watching this and loved it. This could be one of the next generations gateway anime.

[Kriztoffer Swank]

I get the feeling this would be funnier in Japanese. Voice performances seem stilted for the kind of oddball comedy with chaotic action the show's going for.

Won't know till I've seen it subbed.

[GC Riot]

Ummmm... thanks, but no thanks.
I'm probably alone in thinking this, but it was just silly, and not in a fun, carefree way.
I guess I would consider myself a feminist to some degree, and this objectifying is just off-putting. Saying "It's Japanese!" really isn't an argument for this kind of lack of taste and I for one find it disturbing no one seems to react. Sure, we've seen way worse in anime, but I've had it up to here by now, and Watanabe never struck me as the kind of guy who would sink to these lows.
The humour didn't sway me even once, and the meta-jokes and constant breaking of the fourth wall just weren't funny... I just get this feeling that the show is trying way too hard to be funny and therefore just ends up failing miserably.
The animation was gorgeous, I'll give it that, but apart from that the show has absolutely nothing going for it. No heart, no soul, just plain attention whoring. I'll give it another episode or two, but it's got A LOT to prove for me now...

[MOONPHASE]

Originally Posted by GC Riot

Ummmm... thanks, but no thanks.
I'm probably alone in thinking this, but it was just silly, and not in a fun, carefree way.
I guess I would consider myself a feminist to some degree, and this objectifying is just off-putting. Saying "It's Japanese!" really isn't an argument for this kind of lack of taste and I for one find it disturbing no one seems to react. Sure, we've seen way worse in anime, but I've had it up to here by now, and Watanabe never struck me as the kind of guy who would sink to these lows.
The humour didn't sway me even once, and the meta-jokes and constant breaking of the fourth wall just weren't funny... I just get this feeling that the show is trying way too hard to be funny and therefore just ends up failing miserably.
The animation was gorgeous, I'll give it that, but apart from that the show has absolutely nothing going for it. No heart, no soul, just plain attention whoring. I'll give it another episode or two, but it's got A LOT to prove for me now...

Anime is full of like having jokes about womens' bodies no matter if it's big breasts, small breasts, plus of course even ones for the lower areas. As for males there's the whole pretty-boy types that have the girls in the series drooling over. So that kind of stuff is pretty common. But it's about how they go about doing those kinds of jokes on what makes them funny even if it does feel like we have seen this kind of stuff in Anime and Japanese videogames a million times. Then there's Hentai which takes it even further.

[K i r a]

[Show spoiler]

Originally Posted by GC Riot

Ummmm... thanks, but no thanks.
I'm probably alone in thinking this, but it was just silly, and not in a fun, carefree way.
I guess I would consider myself a feminist to some degree, and this objectifying is just off-putting. Saying "It's Japanese!" really isn't an argument for this kind of lack of taste and I for one find it disturbing no one seems to react. Sure, we've seen way worse in anime, but I've had it up to here by now, and Watanabe never struck me as the kind of guy who would sink to these lows.
The humour didn't sway me even once, and the meta-jokes and constant breaking of the fourth wall just weren't funny... I just get this feeling that the show is trying way too hard to be funny and therefore just ends up failing miserably.
The animation was gorgeous, I'll give it that, but apart from that the show has absolutely nothing going for it. No heart, no soul, just plain attention whoring. I'll give it another episode or two, but it's got A LOT to prove for me now...

[GC Riot]

Originally Posted by K i r a

Yeah, you keep telling yourself that. Being critical of something you like just has to be me trolling, right?

[GC Riot]

Originally Posted by MOONPHASE

Anime is full of like having jokes about womens' bodies no matter if it's big breasts, small breasts, plus of course even ones for the lower areas. As for males there's the whole pretty-boy types that have the girls in the series drooling over. So that kind of stuff is pretty common. But it's about how they go about doing those kinds of jokes on what makes them funny even if it does feel like we have seen this kind of stuff in Anime and Japanese videogames a million times. Then there's Hentai which takes it even further.

Yeah, I know it's common. I've been watching anime for the better part of the last 15 years. Does meaning it's common also mean we should accept it? When a big budget series comes along that can break new ground, these choices feel more regressive and potentially hurting than progressive.
Take Attack on Titan for example. A series where both men and women were treated sort of equally, a series with strong characters from both genders. No real sign of sexism there, no skimpily clad women with large, bouncing breasts, truckloads of panty-shots and where supermodel-like bodies are the norm and not the exception.
For 13-14 year old boys, Space Dandy is probably sort of like a male power fantasy come true, but it shouldn't be, and for girls, it's just another excuse for them feeling bad about their bodies (animated or not) and once again being reduced to not an actual person but simply an object of desire for the men to oogle at, and it shouldn't be. It really shouldn't be.
This might of course change during the remainder of the series, but the pilot didn't leave me with a good impression in that regard. Just my two cents, and once again, this is NOT meant as trolling.

[llj]

Originally Posted by GC Riot

Yeah, I know it's common. I've been watching anime for the better part of the last 15 years. Does meaning it's common also mean we should accept it? When a big budget series comes along that can break new ground, these choices feel more regressive and potentially hurting than progressive.
Take Attack on Titan for example. A series where both men and women were treated sort of equally, a series with strong characters from both genders. No real sign of sexism there, no skimpily clad women with large, bouncing breasts, truckloads of panty-shots and where supermodel-like bodies are the norm and not the exception.
For 13-14 year old boys, Space Dandy is probably sort of like a male power fantasy come true, but it shouldn't be, and for girls, it's just another excuse for them feeling bad about their bodies (animated or not) and once again being reduced to not an actual person but simply an object of desire for the men to oogle at, and it shouldn't be. It really shouldn't be.
This might of course change during the remainder of the series, but the pilot didn't leave me with a good impression in that regard. Just my two cents, and once again, this is NOT meant as trolling.

Really depends on the audience you're targeting. If you're making an undisputed GUY show, then objectification isn't as offensive, because the whole idea of a "guy" show is already limiting by itself. If you show any girl an episode of Golgo 13 or Space Adventure Cobra, they'd laugh at how over the top "Guy with a capital G" it is rather than be offended by it. I know a lot of girls watch unabashed "guy" shows like Cobra, Golgo 13 and Fist of the North Star with fascination and enjoyment, but would be more offended when a more general audience type show displays sexual objectifcation. I haven't figured out if Space Dandy is a real "guy" show yet, which may be the problem you're having, I guess. If it made its intentions clear from the outset, then you can accept a certain number of rules it's allowed to play by.

It should be noted that girls' anime similarly objectify men, but in a different way (as befits how women tend to objectify men, which is different than the reverse).