Uchuu Kaizoku Captain Herlock

It is 2977 AD and mankind has become stagnant. Robots do all the work, the masses are kept tranquil by subliminal messages, and government officials are lazy, caring only about recreational activities like golf and horse racing. Captain Herlock has defied this insipid mentality, leading a group of like-minded rebels to a more adventurous life aboard the spaceship Arcadia.

A mysterious force known as the Mazone has invaded the Earth, taking the form of mysterious cloaked women that kill anyone who suspect their nefarious doings, such as Tadashi Daiba who is now on their hit-list. After his scientist father is ignored by the government and killed by the Mazone, he joins Captain Herlock and his ragtag group of pirates to assist them as they try to save humanity from the impending alien threat.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Captain Herlock Main

Inoue, Makio Japanese

Miime Main

Ohara, Noriko Japanese

Yuki, Kei Main

Kawashima, Chiyoko Japanese

Daiba, Tadashi Main

Kamiya, Akira Japanese

Emeraldas Supporting

Yoshida, Rihoko Japanese

Ooyama, Tochirou Supporting

Yamada, Keaton Japanese

Rafflesia Supporting

Kitahama, Haruko Japanese

Shiraku Supporting

Koyama, Mami Japanese

Ooyama, Mayu Supporting

Kawashima, Chiyoko Japanese

Yattaran Supporting

Ootake, Hiroshi Japanese

Rintarou Director, Episode Director

Ozeki, Masayuki Episode Director

Akehi, Masayuki Episode Director

Gatineau, Michel Script, ADR Director

Reviews

Sep 3, 2016

camay1997

Recommended

"UNDER THIS FLAG WE SHALL LIVE IN ULTIMATE FREEDOM!"
"Only real men can understand stuff like this."
Ah yes, the reason why I tend to watch ANYTHING with the name Leiji Matsumoto attached. Let me first say that my five star rating is biased as I have happy childhood memories attached to this property and it was great to finish it after 30 years. What more could we want than the stoic badass known as Captain Harlock sailing the sea of stars fight evil and injustice with only his guts, moxie, and wits. For 36 years the space pirate has inspired hope and instilled fear in a ... universe corrupt with hedonism and sloth. And here is where you get to see the birth of it all, this is what inspired sequel and spinoff after sequel and spin off and rightly so! How could this series end, and not leave you wanting more? Has any show been more inspirational to anime than Harlock? When I watch this show, I'm five years old again watching my dream unfold. So much so I can barely write a coherent review. I want to put, "WATCH IT IT'S GREAT!!! WATCH IT IT'S GREAT!!!" a thousand times and call it a review. but for the benefit of those who've never encountered Harlock I'll try harder.
It's about fighting with honor and conviction, for what you believe in; about taking up the reins of destiny yourself, answering to no one. Yes, I love it so much because I dream of being Captain Harlock. I wish for such as his. Now excuse me while I sip some (beer) and stare longingly at the sea of stars. "The sea of stars shall be our home, our only home!"

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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Jun 11, 2015

BowlingJD

Recommended

To me, 1978 is a special year in anime. We got so many good anime; I just have to watch them all. Of course, when someone says there is an anime about space pirates and by Leiji Matsumoto (Yamato series), shut up and take my money. It was also directed by Rin Taro, whom has directed many shows from Astro Boy Brave in Space to the 1999 X Movie. Basically, his stuff is a coin flip. Luckily this anime did not disappoint.

Set in 2977, this is a world where technology does most of the work like in The Jetsons, and humans have become so lazy ... and relaxed like in Disney’s Wall-E. However, when a foreign “blue” alien invading race is bent on conquering Earth for their own reasons (sounds familiar), there stands only one man and his crew... Captain Harlock with his “strange” crew on the massive battleship Arcadia.

Much like in Yamato, the alien invader is incredibly interesting. However, unlike in Yamato, the characters are also fairly interesting with some development and decent enough back stories. However, when it came to deep explanations, deep back stories, deep anything, this is where the anime lacked the most. The viewer always felt like some episodes that became “destroy the alien ship of week” could have easily been replaced with more explanations towards almost anything or just left out completely. This was a real shame, but still manages to not take too much away from the action and story progression. One example of this is Harlock’s closest companion, the alien Miime. We are shown in one episode of Miime’s total backstory that tries to explain everything. It feels rushed and you want more. This is how the anime works. You will get answers, but they are extremely simplistic and are never touched on again.

The artwork, writing, story, and more are very similar to Yamato with some improvement, but there is no problem there and to be expected in Matsumoto’s work. Be prepared. This show has multiple side stories, a sequel that came out 20 years later, and a 2013 movie. This is a slower paced 42 episode anime. There are the occasional deep-gripping moments which were a real surprise, and had me fall in love with the show more. All-in-all, give the Space Pirate a try and if the first six or so episodes don’t convince you, then maybe it just isn’t for you.

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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Oct 5, 2024

watashiwared

Mixed Feelings

Spoiler

Space Captain Harlock is a show about a suicidal man and his wacky friends as they engage in piracy, defend the Earth from alien invaders, and send people off to die needlessly.

The show is, at its core, an inventive and lavishly presented example of the space opera genre. It features unique alien species, ambitious space battles and the sort of worldbuilding that more or less demands to be taken seriously. Many elements of the show's art style and animation seem dated, and the action is not quite as crisp as other shows that came out around the same time, but the one thing it commits ... to is a unique and interesting visual style. I have not seen anything quite like Harlock, and its feel can be picked out of a lineup with relative ease. Above all else, Space Pirate Captain Harloc is a unique show.

That having been said, the plot of Harlock is... strange. "Facile" is the word that continually springs to mind. A million and one situations arise where realism is elided for the sake of the plot or the show's broader philosophical message. Nearly all of mankind is said to be "spiritless." Why this happened is a question that has a different answer, depending on who you talk to: the reasons I caught involve things like environmental destruction, nuclear war, extreme post-scarcity decadence, subliminal messaging in television programs and the existence of crossdressers. Regardless of why it happened, the effect is obvious: when a group of alien invaders drop a declaration of war on Tokyo, in the form of a neighborhood destroying glowing black orb with their name on it, there are (conservatively) about one hundred humans in the whole galaxy who give a shit.

A ton of episodes feel frustrating in that they lack a critical element of consistency. The Mazone are an invading alien force who announce their presence in the form of a genocidal opening attack... but they also hide in the shadows and kill anyone who can blow the whistle on their invasion plans... despite the fact that nobody on Earth will listen to anyone who correctly predicts the Mazone invasion. The Mazone are a race of all female plant-based lifeforms... until the show introduces "civilian Mazone" who we're supposed to sympathize with, which apparently includes regular looking dudes. For a good four-fifths of the runtime, the Mazone do bold plan after bold plan, putting Harlock, his crew, and his ship in mortal peril... only for everyone to come out the other side without anything more than a couple of scratches. The show introduces a race of weird warrior aliens with a funky egg-headed design, and then immediately turns them into slightly green-skinned humans the moment one of them is supposed to be in love.

A lot of my problems with the show's plot has to do with its philosophy. What that philosophy is, I can't quite pin down. I think it's just a general screed on being manly and doing man things. Earth is full of soft people who won't fight back when aliens invade and the only people who can save the Earth are people who are "looking for a place to die." Harlock, on multiple occasions, lets perfectly good fighters throw their lives away on pointless solo attacks against the whole of the Mazone fleet, an act that's treated as unavoidable and tragic despite the fact that Harlock can often trivially prevent it. I'm supposed to look at this man, who will gladly throw Earth away to save a girl he otherwise leaves in the care of abusive authority figures, and think he's "the good guy," and not some deeply troubled individual who everyone follows because he's friends with the ship's computer.

In the end, I didn't like Harlock, very much. I've seen that this show has quite a vocal following, and it was influential enough to get spinoffs and remakes, and I can certainly see why, with its sheer inventive energy. Ultimately, however, I just couldn't see this as anything more than forty-two episodes of an old man, vaguely rambling about "kids these days" and their "loose morals," except it's in space and the old man shoots people.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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