{"id":622,"date":"2014-01-15T16:16:32","date_gmt":"2014-01-15T21:16:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/?p=622"},"modified":"2014-01-15T16:16:32","modified_gmt":"2014-01-15T21:16:32","slug":"some-early-thoughts-on-space-dandy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/some-early-thoughts-on-space-dandy\/","title":{"rendered":"Some Early Thoughts on Space Dandy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Space Dandy<\/i> has been grabbing a lot of attention this season, and it\u2019s not difficult to see why.\u00a0 It shares some major creative staff with Cowboy Bebop<\/i>, and offers a similar sense of sci-fi stylishness.\u00a0 On top of that, it\u2019s airing in English on American TV in sync with the Japanese broadcast.\u00a0 But is it any good?\u00a0 With all the hype surrounding its premiere, I should hope so.<\/p>\n

\"DandyTitle\"<\/a><\/p>\n

It’s a dandy show… in space.<\/em><\/p>\n

In terms of sheer style, Space Dandy<\/i> is certainly delivering so far.\u00a0 It eschews the laid-back \u201ccool\u201d of Bebop<\/i> in favor of a brighter, louder, more colorful presentation.\u00a0 Between the visual style and the impressive animation, I\u2019m reminded of the recent film Redline<\/i>.\u00a0 The first two episodes of Dandy<\/i> have been something of a sensory overload, a reminder of what happens when a series combines big names and a big budget.<\/p>\n

Once you get past the impressive sound and fury, things get a bit more uncertain.\u00a0 It\u2019s natural to compare Dandy himself to Spike from Cowboy Bebop<\/i>, but the result isn\u2019t entirely promising.\u00a0 Spike quickly came across as a charismatic rogue with plenty of secrets, but the high-energy comedy of the new show has left Dandy feeling a bit more cartoonish.\u00a0 He\u2019s more Johnny Bravo than Clint Eastwood.\u00a0 The supporting cast presents plenty of question marks, with their development left by the wayside in favor of establishing the show\u2019s pace and tone.\u00a0 There\u2019s still plenty of potential, but it hasn\u2019t been realized just yet.<\/p>\n

\"Dandy2\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Nothing but high art here, ladies and gentlemen. Yes, indeed.<\/em><\/p>\n

As far as plot goes, there have been hints of a big picture, but little else.\u00a0 Of course, much of Bebop<\/i> followed an episodic format as well, so there\u2019s hardly cause for concern here.\u00a0 What worries me is that a show built around jumping the proverbial shark can only top its own antics so many times.\u00a0 Dandy<\/i> will have to give viewers something of substance soon if it wants to be more than a comedy in space.<\/p>\n

Setting aside my gripes about the series, Space Dandy<\/i> is impressive in terms of what it represents.\u00a0 To my knowledge, American audiences have never gotten both an English dub (on Cartoon Network) and the original subtitled audio (through Funimation\u2019s website) as a show airs in Japan.\u00a0 That\u2019s a pretty massive feat of logistics, and it speaks volumes that the producers would even consider attempting it.\u00a0 As an American anime fan, it feels like we\u2019re being acknowledged as a significant part of Space Dandy<\/i>\u2019s audience.\u00a0 A bit of an ego trip, perhaps, but it\u2019s a nice feeling nonetheless.<\/p>\n

\"Dandy1\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Did I mention how good this show looks? Well, I’m mentioning it again.<\/em><\/p>\n

I have very high hopes for Space Dandy<\/i> based on its pedigree, and it hasn\u2019t quite convinced me that it\u2019s going to scale that mountain of expectation.\u00a0 Still, there\u2019s quite a lot to like about it, and I suspect that finding out where this show\u2019s going will be one heck of a ride.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Kawaii Overthink is written by Paul Jensen. You can follow his ramblings about anime on\u00a0Twitter<\/a>.<\/address>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Space Dandy has been grabbing a lot of attention this season, and it\u2019s not difficult to see why.\u00a0 It shares some major creative staff with Cowboy Bebop, and offers a similar sense of sci-fi stylishness.\u00a0 On top of that, it\u2019s airing in English on American TV in sync with the Japanese broadcast.\u00a0 But is it [Read more…]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[10],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/622"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=622"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/622\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":630,"href":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/622\/revisions\/630"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=622"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=622"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=622"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}