Kidou Senkan Nadesico

Akito doesn't want to fight. Despite a childhood spent on the anime Gekiganger 3, a Mecha show, he'd rather cook than pilot a Mecha. Fate intervenes when his home on Mars is destroyed, and he is transported instantly to the Earth, mysteriously. He has questions no one can answer fully, but follows a girl from a chance meeting in hopes to discover any. The girl, Yurika, is captain of the private battleship Nadesico, and in order to follow her, he enlists as their cook. Possessing the nanite implants that allow to control mechas, he's a handy backup pilot for the mechas of the Nadesico. He joins a crew bent on avenging Mars that seems to be composed of only misfits, otakus, and ditzes; however, in reality, they are handpicked experts. They take their own private war back to Mars to face the harsh reality that life may not always be like a Giant Mecha series.

(Source: ANN)

Misumaru, Yurika Main

Kuwashima, Houko Japanese

Tenkawa, Akito Main

Ueda, Yuuji Japanese

Hoshino, Ruri Supporting

Minami, Omi Japanese

Daigoji, Gai Supporting

Seki, Tomokazu Japanese

Subaru, Ryoko Supporting

Yokoyama, Chisa Japanese

Maki, Izumi Supporting

Nagasawa, Miki Japanese

Amano, Hikaru Supporting

Kikuchi, Shiho Japanese

Reinard, Megumi Supporting

Takano, Naoko Japanese

Uribatake, Seiya Supporting

Tobita, Nobuo Japanese

Fressange, Ines Supporting

Matsui, Naoko Japanese

Greenfield, Matt Producer, ADR Director

Ikeda, Shinichi Producer

Satou, Tatsuo Director, Storyboard, Planning

Tanaka, Hideyuki Sound Director

Reviews

Jun 13, 2009

Beatnik

Recommended

This show works on so many levels it can whizz right past viewers heads because of its frenetic pace and glorious slapstick behaviour, but make no mistake there was plenty of thought put into the script of this 90's classic.

Nadesico is a love letter to the space/mecha genre, both laughing at it and along with it with the same level of panache as Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann.

It parodies the genre with clichés, and honours it by keeping to them itself. For example, Nadesico lampoons over the top sacrifices via its in-show 70’s/80's inspired mecha anime ‘Gekigangar 3’ then does the same thing itself anyway, ... revelling in the genre trope. It has a young adult unwillingly thrust into a mecha on an almost daily basis, yet his mecha is pink for crying out loud.

It’s actually a smart comedy because beyond the love for the mecha genre they're playing with, the writers are self-aware enough to acknowledge the details that a serious story would tackle, such as the (contractual) consequences of a corporation funding a military ship, funerals for the deceased, the effects of anime on viewers, and the different cultures of Earth, but never stopping the laughs along the way. They even justify the sillier stuff in the show such as having such an airhead for a captain, by again satirising corporate tendencies. (the concept of tailor-made captains because of technology handling the rest of the ship)

The backbone of this show, the factor that keeps it from descending into meaningless skit show histrionics is the attention to detail, on both a narrative level and thematic level. It has the enthusiasm for sci-fi so much that it goes to lengths to explain many of its technologies using nano-machines, cyber-networking and boson particle manipulation and any number of concepts that any avid reader of hard sci-fi will automatically recognise. Bear in mind this was released in the mid-90s before nano technology had hit the mainstream media as it has today, in the way it’s overridden nearly every mainstream sci-fi story as an explanation for fantastical stuff occurring on screen.

On top of that, the show for the most part avoids one of my own little pet peeves, that of ships in space taking hits from lasers and not blowing up instantly, as if they were back on Earth and only got hit by a few stray bullets. This little annoyance is avoided by the usage of actual force fields bouncing lasers off of the hulls. The animators even show waves in the ocean peeling backwards as the Nadesico hovers above.

It's this trivial, yet much welcomed, attention to detail that helps elevate the anime above mere comedy. It's not just about making you laugh, but immersing you in its world with consistency and delivering a genuinely engaging story. Rather than be a gimmick, the Gekigangar anime actually becomes more and more relevant to the main story in interesting ways that are better left unsaid in a review.

The story flows between cliché and creativity every five minutes constantly surprising you. Individuals who in no way belong on a ship are brought together anyway, characters who look like they'll be in main roles are dispatched speedily, enemy ships get progressively stronger, generic alien bad guys are revealed to be not so faceless or generic after all, a brilliant time-jumping Memento-esque episode that riffs on Evangelion's psychoanalytical finale in a humorous (yet always honourable) fashion also pops up, it’s just a complete mix.

And every single character on the Nadesico gets some level of development, which is no mean feat considering the comedic nature of the show. Even Nadesico's successor, TTGL, didn’t develop every character to any kind of level (Leeron for example), so when Nadesico goes out of its way to give a little detail to the past of a random pilot who you figure is only there to give bad puns, well you really appreciate it.

The actual plot of Nadesico when you strip everything else away is actually pretty interesting, which is why the anime works, it’s built on a good foundation. What starts as a generic ‘faceless aliens invading Earth’ story ends with the characters and viewer not wanting a victory for either side at all. The Nadesico ship itself belongs to a corporation, hence justifying the motley crew of misfits and the airhead of a captain. Because their superior technology is mostly automatic the captain was chosen for her looks, tailor-made for the crew's emotional wellbeing. It’s crazy, it’s cynical, but you just know corporations could be that stupid to do such a thing one day, obsessed as they are with end results and not the methodology to get there.

The mega corporation responsible for the Nadesico ship is also a brilliant way to force conflict and danger upon it, from both Earth's self-defence forces who don’t like the idea of corporations messing with military matters, and of course the invading aliens who don’t like the Nadesico for its pesky meddling. This is much more interesting than having a generic plotline where a military ship goes 'rogue' for the billionth time in a sci-fi tale. (ok, that happens later as well) As the threats to Earth get larger, and more time passes, uneasy alliances are formed, love triangles are formed then imploded, revelations are uncovered, suppressed memories are, well, unsuppressed.

The first three episodes are perfection, throwing you headfirst into its pitch-perfect comedic tones with hilarious stuff involving humour on both a physical and meta level. The voice acting is oldschool 90's assured goodness. Nadesico has some of the best and funniest ‘Engrish’ I've ever heard in anime. The soundtrack is also very decent; nothing too memorable except for the OP music, but the soundtrack isn’t too generic either.

So as stated earlier, Nadesico shares much in common with TTGL for its skill in blending irreverent humour with its homage to a very popular genre of anime, but a key difference between the two is that TTGL is not afraid of leaping outside the box and tossing physics to the side to bring almost-abstract comedic imagery, whereas Nadesico is always weighed down by consistent logic whether in physics or narrative.

This is to say, no matter what crazy stuff happens in Nadesico, unlike in TTGL, there's always a reason behind it. In TTGL Kamina's sword can stretch to infinity for no reason other than to make you laugh. In Nadesico, for example, there’s a reason why only certain people can boson jump, it’s not used for convenience’s sake. Nadesico is actually a better homage in that it uses meta-humour with the Gekigangar TV show, not for a gimmick but as part of the actual plot. Nadesico is actually a decent analysis and commentary on anime. The latter half of the show ups the drama and emotion, and pretty much blatantly celebrates the very medium itself with bold proclamations that are infectious.

Nadesico is an essential anime for sci-fi/comedy fans. Observe a young guy with suppressed memories get pushed around the solar system by a blue-haired witless captain of a White Base-ish ship blowing up insect-looking baddies while watching mecha anime in his spare time. The ending is far from cliché, however much it will leave some viewers disgruntled for its unresolved story, the fact is that everything of importance in the narrative actually IS resolved; it’s a cliché-avoiding ending that doesn’t resort to what Gekigangar, the mirror of most mecha anime, does.

It doesn’t force an ending on you with cheap happy shortcuts, Nadesico is better than this, going at its own assured pace always treating story and characters with respect. If you’re the type that just has to have every single plot point wrapped up and a more ‘complete’ ending, then there is the subsequent Animage Grand Prix Award-winning movie Nadesico The Movie awaiting you, though the movie is a separate beast entirely, different in tone from the series.

So there is only one Nadesico folks, one specific combination of humour, drama and space hijinks that hits the right spot each time. “Gekiga In!”

Reviewer’s Rating: 10

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Oct 21, 2024

Gsarthotegga

Mixed Feelings

This is probably the best mech parody anime out there, and even when my enjoyment wanes, I can at least admire it for its ambition. The aesthetic is fair enough but not on par with an OVA or film, of course, and it pales in this respect compared to Evangelion from a few years before, RahXephon a few years later, or just about any Sunrise mech series with a decent budget. The scripting is surprisingly solid, and it manages to balance solemn moments to keep it from becoming too overwhelming in its absurdity, yet it has a great balance to where the humor prevents sad ... and dramatic moments from becoming sappy or hammy. There's even a fair amount of characterization and development for the relatively large cast by comedy standards, and despite how goofball the show can be, there are some rather emotional parts, much to my surprise.

Absolutely squeezes the piss out of mech series while simultaneously honoring them in the spirit of all the best parodies. Far better and more deserving of fame than Gurren Lagann, a series that enjoys a large following, and was most likely influenced by Nadesico. The relationship between Akito and Gai even bears a lot of similarity to Simon and Kamina, with the spirit of Gai living on through the device of the ubiquitous Gekiganger show, which reinforces themes, acts as a source of comedy, hope, and even possesses a bittersweet note. Gekiganger has far more nuance, conflict, and deconstructive elements than the basic bitch binary of believing and not believing, and the parallel and similarities between Gai and Tsukumo, from the opposing side, with them both being offed by the status quo or some other less pure or idealistic individual, lends this a touch of cosmic tragedy. What lead to me being annoyed in GL was actually kind of endearing here and surprisingly more even-handed, despite this being more on the parodic side than GL.

Unfortunately, I find it kind of loses steam in the middle section, and it is an anime comedy, which caters to highly specific sensibilities and doesn't always translate well to global audiences. I'm not sure why it worked for me so strongly at first but a larger amount falls flat as it goes on. Maybe it's front-heavy (I had this at 7/10 initially, dropped to 6/10, and it was firmly at 5/10 for a while, finally concluding with 6/10). The main disconnect for me probably has to do with length and occasional slow pacing. A number of scenes and episodes feel a bit extraneous, and this series could have been tighter and better by shaving off several parts. Other factors are the average aesthetic quality.

Pop culture/anime comedy is the type of niche thing that will be hit or miss for many, and comedy is where things can most easily be lost in translation, not hit right in English (or whichever language), or simply be swamped by a deluge of obscure references and in-jokes. Still, for every moment of indifference, there are a few laughs here and there for most tastes into anime generally and mech series specifically.

Part of my problem might be that I watched this dubbed. Even when dubs are good (and I find comedy dubs in your native language are usually better than the original so long as it's not an overly moe series), there are usually some sections where they simply sound less professional or lose sight of the original vision in favor of flavoring and Americanization. I did watch a few scenes (not a great way to make a determination since the series is 26 episodes long and may not vary much at all in some areas and heavily in others) in both Japanese and English to compare and see what I might be missing, and they were typically about the same in terms of the dialogue, and I found the English to be an improvement for the humor of these scenes. Yet it's doubtless there were many localizations, some of them being equal or even better and others missing the mark. In some cases, the tones may have been completely different in each version, and I reckon the English cast might have mixed the drama and comedy more than the Japanese cast. Whether that's to better or greater effect is left to your own judgment. Adapting comedy, low or high brow, isn't easy. One day I'll have to try the subtitled version for a while to have a better frame of comparison.

Though the middle part has some tedious or awkwardly placed episodes, the plot twist around episode 15 renewed it's flirtation with conspiracy and human drama a bit, which tends to support the humor better than when we're aimlessly wandering through outer space instead, featuring not much more than a string of battles and comedy segues. There are a lot of small moments used to great effect, combining humor and drama (or the former taking the piss out of the latter, perhaps), such as Megumi's disappointment with the MC being paired with her handing over the recovered stash of Gekiganger DVDs and memorabilia, and the absurd amounts of Gekiganger worship, spanning the galaxy. While anime has always had off-the-walls bonkers, ritalin-laced humor, at least during the '90s it was possible to have some balance. Hardcore mech fans into the 1990s' style will get a lot more out of this than anyone else, and it's probably not the best title for those who aren't familiar with most of the tropes and references, so watching a few of the most popular mech titles would be a wise prerequisite.

Anyway, Nadesico is a pretty decent series, and I'm glad to have watched it, in spite of the mixed feelings. While I could have sworn I heard the ending was weak because of a quick Ruri voiceover to conclude and not much being explained and many questions left unanswered, it was a satisfactory ending for a rare mech title choosing to end in some way other than an epic battle and was a touch more introspective or thoughtful, with this occasionally showing more complex post-Evangelion tendencies. The cockpit scene between the lovebirds in particular was a solid scene close to the end.

Akito's dialogue about his sort of love-hate relationship he develops toward Gekiganger, upon finally seeing the last episode, and Minato's despair when she's watching the convenient ending of that series, both pair well together. She wonders how anyone could be so passionate towards such a childish series, with the characters absurdly using a dated cartoon like reading from a book of prophecy. There's a sense in which these simple stories act as a driving force that can easily be positive or negative, depending on context. Nadesico takes this influence to its most absurd negative conclusion with the Jovians, as these old hokey shows are so commonly battles of absolute good versus evil, when it's rarely an accurate reflection. Clearly, Gekiganger is a contrived and dated series, and Akito works through it like a coming of age, seemingly having grown past it by the end but still appreciating and being inspired by aspects of it. There are parallels in Gekiganger to be found in a lot of mech and shonen anime, and Nadesico thankfully goes in another direction with its eventual plot developments and conclusion.

Themes are rarely enough on their own to hold a series together, and the amount of enhancement they provide is highly contingent upon everything else, acting as an extra dimension to the various layers. If the pacing is a slog and you don't like the aesthetics, story, characters, etc., then no amount of deep or well-executed themes are likely to win you over. However, the base found here is good enough, and the way the themes were integrated here elevate Nadesico above where many other comedy series would fall flat. It's amazing how effectively the writer and director use the Gekiganger framing device as thematic glue to add humor, emotion, and depth to the series.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Oct 19, 2010

kekekeKaj

Not Recommended

I heard rumours that this was once voted by Japanese viewers as the best anime ever.

Why????

"Martian Successor Nadesico" follows the crew of a battleship named, er, Nadesico, as they travel through space while battling alien forces. Having watched this show, it's quite clear that it's the inspiration behind "Vandread" - you can see that just from the strikingly similar character design styles with their ultra round eyes . "Martian Successor Nadesico" itself also seems to be derived from "Super Dimensional Fortress Macross". Perhaps it's trying to parody that classic anime, but it's hard to tell, since I don't find "Martian Successor Nadesico" to be very ... funny despite its best attempts at comedy. The comedy is the kind that I loath. Occasionally, some parts did made me laugh, and most of these involve the anime's parody of old, cheesey mecha anime from the 70's and 80's. I remember one scene in particular where a bunch of guys are scrutinising one such anime called "Gekiganger 3", and one of them made a side-splittingly funny comment on the fact that the pilots are constantly shouting out the moves they use. Man... what a classic line that is, so I won't spoil it for you here :P Other than its piss taking of old mecha anime, most of the rest of the comedy is pretty rubbish. Most of the jokes fail miserably, and in fact sometimes I didn't even realise that a joke has been attempted till a few moments afterwards because the punchlines are so understated.

The production of "Martian Successor Nadesico" is not great. It has such a strong outdated early nineties/ late eighties feel to it that I couldn't believe my eyes when I read that it's a show from 1996. The animation looks old-ish, the audio is a bit on the quiet side and sounds slightly muffled most of the time, causing the voice acting to sound flat. The worst thing though, is that everything seems to happen in such a casual manner, and there is no emphasis on key events when they occur, resulting in most of them flying straight past me without me noticing. The story feels like it has a lot going on, but I found it difficult to follow, partly due to the aforementioned under-emphasis on important moments, and partly because I found things were often moving too fast for me to pick up what was going on. It's a good example how NOT to build up and execute twists in the plot. All of this adds up to a rather lacklustre, detached viewing experience for me, as though I'm watching it from afar and not really feeling engaged with the anime.

I sense the characters has some substance, but the constant slap stick comedy makes it hard to tell, since you need to cut through such a thick layer of crap just to get a better idea. And in Ruri they have another one of those stereotypical anime girl with a deadpan voice that usually bugs the hell out of me. But wait! This one actually has a reason for being the way she is, and so I'll overlook this small annoyance in the her case. In fact, the episode uncovering Ruri's past is arguably one of the finest in the series.

On the whole, I found "Martian Successor Nadesico" to be a laborious task to watch. The whole thing feels dull and amateurishly put together, and even though the last few episodes are relatively exciting (key word there being "relatively), the plot is even more difficult to follow in those episodes. If this series is more exciting, like "Last Exile", then I might be more motivated to try and work out the story, but in the case of this "Martian Successor Nadesico", that just feels like a waste of time - why try and work out something you don't particularly care about? At the end of the day, it probably says a lot that I rather have watched that "Gekiganger 3" anime that the crew of Nadesico was watching than "Martian Successor Nadesico" itself - at least the former looks like it's rather entertaining, and it reminds me of the likes of "Getter Robo" which I used to love when I was young. As for "Martian Successor Nadesico", I'd have to be tortured before I'd watch it again... in fact watching it itself can be considered a torturous activity.

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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	Poll: Kidou Senkan Nadesico Episode 26 Discussion Beatnik - Jun 13, 2009	37 replies	by evileivind »» Dec 5, 2:59 PM
	Poll: Kidou Senkan Nadesico Episode 14 Discussion cantius - Mar 30, 2009	13 replies	by Timeline_man »» Oct 31, 11:23 AM
	Poll: Kidou Senkan Nadesico Episode 11 Discussion gohdan - Aug 27, 2011	7 replies	by Timeline_man »» Oct 28, 12:36 AM
	Poll: Kidou Senkan Nadesico Episode 9 Discussion gohdan - Aug 25, 2011	15 replies	by Timeline_man »» Oct 4, 9:18 AM
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