Review Statistics

Times Read

550

Comments

2

Reviews

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Plot Synopsis

No plot synopsis or other information available for Martian Successor Nadesico

Story & Characters

Please note, this review only relates to the TV series. A separate review for the movie (Prince of Darkness) is here: http://reviews.minitokyo.net/1282/martian-successor-nadesico/

Martian Successor Nadesico is, essentially, a parody or satire on other science-fiction shows. The storyline blends a number of disparate and not individually original situations into a relatively cohesive, if quirky, sci-fi show. The diverse situations include, but are not limited to: a romantic triangle between three main characters; a hero-worship element; the wavering motivations of a character who is unsure as to his role or position; political conspiracy and intrigue; conflict and war; and so forth. While some commentators may suggest that such an approach may be questionable from the outset, this series pulls it off remarkably well due to the inherent relationships of the characters and the fact that the script does not take itself seriously in the slightest. As a consequence of this light-hearted approach, all sorts of remarkable and implausible situations arise that the crew responds to in varying degrees from bizarre to outrageous to seriously funny (for example, can you imagine the captain dressed up in a cute rabbit costume helping to explain the workings of the ship).

The story can also be broken into three arcs: the first being the sortie to Mars and back; the second being a series of discrete episodes on Earth; and the third being the final confrontation with the Jovian lizards. The first and third arcs focus on the storyline, the underlying conflict with the Jovians, and the teamwork of the crew in response to their situations. The second (episodic) arc often focuses more on individual character development within the respective episodes. In addition, the third arc promotes the conspiracy themes and finally reveals the background of the Jovians along with the technology behind the Nadesico. It should also be noted that the storyline in the anime bears little resemblance to the manga version of the same name (by Kia Asamiya).

One of the key attributes with this series is the relationships between the characters. The primary brief of the person tasked with getting the crew together was to get the best possible crew. Naturally with a parody, the results of that task will be an incredibly diverse crew with with varying backgrounds, skills and motivations. The test is then to figure out how to get such a diverse crew to work together. Fortunately, the outcome is handled rather well with a strong dose of comedy relief, and the fact that the story and situations are not taken seriously. Each main character (i.e. Akito, Yurika, and Ruri) has a decent level of background explained and development opportunities throughout the series that, in turn, change and enhance their relationships with each other. Additional (minor) characters are introduced at the beginning of each story arc to provide further opportunities for interaction and ongoing development of the main characters. As suggested earlier, each character brings their own distinct flavour to the series and the result is a wholly enjoyable light-hearted series.

Rating

8 (good)

Art

The original show was produced in 1996, with subsequent release in the US in 2000 (Australia in 2001). As most of the series is set in space, a lot of attention has gone onto the detail of the ships, mecha, and individual characters. Basically, the ship and mecha designs bear a strong resemblance to the manga versions (by Kia Asamiya), but the character designs (by Keiji Goto) are markedly different. The ships and mecha are fairly generic in their overall appearance, compared with other shows of a similar genre. That said, if one takes into account that this is more of a satire or parody, then such an approach is not overly surprising. Characters, particularly the female ones, are nicely designed (thanks to Keiji Goto) with large rounded eyes and generally voluptuous proportions.

The overall video presentation on the DVD is vibrant and no problems were observed with the original footage. The major criticism I have with the video, which has been prominent in many other reviews of this series, is the overlays that ADV Films used mainly for computer displays were clearly out of step with the original video. They were basically obtrusive and detracted strongly from the show. While I can appreciate why ADV wanted to provide translated graphics, the results were less than satisfactory and, ironically, in most situations the audio track was often explaining the context of the graphics at the time as well (which made such a response generally redundant). This was the only shortfall in an otherwise well-presented series. Fortunately, ADV did apparently learn their lesson and, while I accept this was one of their earlier releases, subsequent use of overlays was either limited or undertaken in a much more sympathetic manner to the original video. One can only hope that ADV may consider re-releasing the series either with more sympathetic overlays or, better still, without them altogether.

Points are awarded in favour of the pleasant-looking characters (both male and female) and the decent space combat scenes that did not (surprisingly) have the look of being overly recycled. Points come off for the unsympathetic video treatment by the overlays. [EDIT 27/06/2007 - I understand that ADV is re-releasing Nadesico without the overlays or revised use of subtitles to redress this issue.]

Rating

6 (average)

Sound

Primary listening to the audio was, as usual, in the native Japanese. Upon hearing Spike Spencer's unmistakable voice as Akito (and Shinji Ikari from Evangelion) on the English track, the choice to flip back to the Japanese track was a no-brainer. The Japanese cast fitted the individual characters far better, in my view, than the choices of cast for the English language version and conveyed a number of subtleties and nuances that were not picked up (or picked up badly) in the English track. I would attribute this to, again, being an earlier release for ADV Films and the generally limited stock of English voice actors willing to undertake an anime title at that time.

The audio was a solid Dolby Digital 2.0 mix for both Japanese and English tracks and no technical issues or problems were observed there. Music was well chosen for the respective situations, including an on-ship talent contest (!), with some nice vocal songs that matched nicely to the various characters singing. It is fortunate that the original Japanese lyrics were used on the English track, rather than any attempt to translate.

Rating

7 (above average)

Presentation

With Nadesico being one of the earlier commercial sci-fi anime releases here in Australia on DVD (released around the same time as Evangelion and Bubblgum Crisis 2040), I went in with an open mind thinking it would be a typical science fiction show. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was definitely science fiction and anything but typical with the strong elements of comedy and satire prevalent throughout. The strong emphasis on humour and lack of seriousness made a pleasant change to many space battle series. While there are times where the show takes a serious turn, it isn't overdone to the point of distracting viewers from what is essentially a space comedy.

The varied relationships forged between the equally diverse characters was a key highlight to the series and contributed significantly to my enjoyment of the show as a whole. The show has a PG (Parental Guidance Recommended) rating here in Australia, which means it is generally suitable for most audiences (from younger teens upward) as any violence is generally implied, rather than explicit. Finally, this show would require only a moderate level of concentration as the storyline is not overly complex, but does expect you to leave any thoughts of a serious space drama at the door.

Rating

7 (above average)

Final Verdict

7.17 (above average)

Reviewed by davidh01, 1y 3wk ago