Post by Blu on May 28, 2004 18:52:02 GMT 10
Blast from the Past!
Martian Successor Nadesico is an anime from quite a few years back that doesn't seem to get too much a mention from what I've seen. And to be quite frank, I LOVE IT! (and am very sore about being outbid on E-Bay for the entire series on DVD by one dollar...)
I'll just overview the first episode...
Some 200 years from now Mars is attacked by an unknown alien force, The Jovian Lizards using what is known as Chulips to launch an attack against Earthlings with unmanned units equipped with much superior technology that wipe out an Earth Fleet pretty easily; proceeding then to taking Mars. (that's the first few minutes)
Our story starts with Akito Tenkawa, an aspiring chef, he is on Mars at the time of the attack. He was born and has lived on Mars his entire life. He is in a shelter when the colony, Utopian Colony (I think) is attacked, (a Chulip was rammed and landed there). Grasshoppers (unmanned "rideon lawnmower"-sized mechanical units) attack. The Grasshopper overwhelm everyone and everything just stops...
On Earth a year later.
Akito Tenkawa is a stir-fry cook in a little restaurant somewhere. We learn it's a year later from news reports. He freaks out whenever there is an attack (with the fear of the Grasshopper ingrained in his mind). Anyhow, he is fired from his job, and riding a bike with all his stuff, he manages to get a faceful of suitcase and undergarments from a car whose boot burst.
He meets a girl, and after she leaves with her stuff he realised who she is... Yurika, a girl from his childhood. Somehow in the process of chasing her, he ends up the Space Battleship Nadesico to which Yurika is its ditsy captain. Enlisted as a temporary pilot and chef, he stays aboard and we are taken on a ride through this anime full of thrills, spills and heartracing emotion.
On a whole it's got comedy, it's got romance and it's got depth, but as with all anime, it's ending is a little lacking, the lacking however, isn't on the scale of that of Evangelion.
It's a good fun series that pokes a little fun at these type of Action-Sci-fi animes at times also...
I'd give it a 8.5/10 losing half a point for its ending.
There are some loveable characters and those you'll hate in this series, but it looks much better than the Manga I say.
