JB

Giant robots. Space wars. Love triangles. Plot twists. Comedy. Drama. Action. Martian Successor Nadesico seems to have it all. It doesn't. Well, not quite anyway.

Following the exploits of Aktio, a young cook turned pilot who gets caught in a war between the Earth and the mysterious Jovian Lizards, Nadesico mixes comedy. romance and action to form a spoof-esque show. Akito joins the Nadesico, a battleship captained by his childhood friend, Yurika. Akito reluctantly becomes a pilot and finds himself hounded by women as the Nadesico heads on a crusade to save the victims of the Jovian attacks.

The story progresses quite smoothly, with some interesting plot twists along the way, and manages to keep the viewers interest right up to the ending. Being set on a battleship means there is a large cast of characters, but despite this, the show develops the characters of almost everyone to some extent, enhancing the atmosphere of a battleship run by a rag-tag team. The love triangles (and other shapes), and action scenes also help to make the show more interesting, although the over-acting during these scenes can be a little grating at times.

One nice thing about this show is the representation of otakus. The main charachter is an otaku, as are some others, from the fanatic to the casual. The attitudes of non-otakus are also well represented: some take a slight interest in anime while others dismiss it as childish tripe. To back this up, the producers even made a 'mini-show' that is watched by the characters frequently.

Unfortunately, this becomes the show's downfall. This 'mini-series' becomes more and more important to the story, to the point where it seems quite ridiculous. Yes, anime is great, but not so important as to trigger a space war. This turns the show into a cheesy, jokey mess, but it is at this time that it takes itself quite seriously, cutting down on the intentionally bad jokes and 'talk-to-the-audience' moments. This ultimately ruins the show, but fortunately, this is downplayed near the end, so it does not end as badly as it could have.

Anyway, I'll cut to the point. Nadesico is a decent show, with decent animation, decent mecha and interesting, if not sometimes poorly executed storylines. It's a good watch, but once again, the hardcore action fans will be disappointed. Better suited to casual entertainment than pure watchability.