On paper, it's understandable why 2014's "Space Dandy" had a lot of hype before it aired on Japanese television. It was primarily directed by Shinichiro Watanabe, with music by Yoko Kanno, and animation by Studio Bones, each revered artists in their own right, but not having worked together since 1998's "Cowboy Bebop," one of the few anime universally agreed to be a classic. It was a science-fiction comedy about a bounty hunter, also recalling memories of "Bebop." And as international streaming of anime became for mainstream, "Space Dandy" would break new ground thanks to Funimation and Adult Swim's Toonami channel block: not only would the show premiere in America (BEFORE Japan), it would premiere with an English dub before Japanese. This would pave the way for "broadcast dubs," something that would be somewhat taken for granted in the years that followed, but really a trick of incredible teamwork by production teams both in Japan and the USA.While "Space Dandy" does have elements in common with "Bebop," it is mostly played for parody. "Space Dandy" is a comedy set in space, not a gritty action western. It's lead character is about Dandy. Space Dandy. Who is he? He's a dandy guy... in space. The cheesy narrated intro at the beginning of every episode reminds viewers about how he "combs the galaxy like his pompador" searching for rare aliens. Not to kill them, but to take them in for registration with the galaxy's government, collecting them like a Pokemon trainer for money ("Woolongs," the same currency name as seen in "Bebop" as a clever easter egg). Dandy's a cool guy modelled after sci-fi heroes from the 1960's, a handsome man in a clean space suit with the attitude of a California surfer. But just as such a character might fare in real life, Dandy isn't particularly good at his job, coming across as a bit of an idiot as he wanders aimlessly through the stars in his old spaceship (complete with decals of women on the side), spending most of his time dressed in a sports jacket and hanging out at "Boobies," a galaxy-wide chain of "Hooters"-style restaurants. Dandy doesn't work alone: he has his trusty but outdated robot QT as the voice of reason, and a stray cat-like Betelgeusian named "Meow" that hangs around lazily as Dandy's unofficial wingman for food and girls. Meanwhile, there's a secondary plot involving mad scientists hunting Dandy as the only foil preventing them from domination of the universe, although Dandy seems unaware of them until the final episode.Personally, I am not particularly fond of science-fiction, as few of its genre take advantage of the setting, simply telling a drama with a starry sky as the background. And comedy can be a hit or miss with anime, much in part to cultural subtlties lost in translation. Believe it or not, I didn't have high hopes going into "Space Dandy," but that's largely due to poorly representative promotional materials. I did not expect what I got."Space Dandy" at least manages to be consistently interesting, since every episode is essentially stand-alone. Given all the fourth-wall breaking and absurdist humor, continuity is not at the top of the creators' minds. To take advantage of this, the show goes so far as to have a unique episode director, script writer, animation director and storyboard writer, for every episode. While there wasn't much hype before the show aired, it definitely became one of the biggest highlights fans talked about as each episode was posted. Ever hear of Sayo Yamamoto ("Yuri on Ice!!!")? How about Masaaki Yuasa ("Mind Game")? Maybe Hiroshi Hamasaki ("Steins;Gate")? Dozens of seasoned and new artists got a chance to make each episode their own, with guidance from Watanabe to see that the bare-bones characterizations were at least recognizable. It's a treat if you recognize any of their names, and if you are new to the industry, you're bound to discover a new favorite director or writer.
Every episode feels completely different, making "Space Dandy" much more of a variety showcase of short stories than simply a comedy. One episode follows Dandy and Meow on a quest to find ramen from another dimension. Another episode is about plants that mutated to become intelligent lifeforms on their otherwise baren planet. Another episode is about Dandy's adventure with a war commander who dreams to be a rock star. Not every story works perfectly, and too often you can tell the writers struggled to make their story fit within 24 minutes. But it comes away better than most other anthologies, with an appropriate mixture of action, adventure, drama, romance, philosophy and humor. Especially humor. The weird and zany humor is always entertaining. Dandy and his crew die at the end of most of the episdoes, only to be perfectly fine the next week. I never get tired of that. And one of the most underrated aspects of "Spacy Dandy" is the animation. Oh my goodness, the animation! Most of the time, it barely comes across as average to anime standards, and alien worlds and designs don't look particularly memorable. But in nearly every episode, there is at least a short burst of eccentric animation, either in a chase or fight or flight. The characters shift and bend with wild lines and hightened frame rates, and it looks great. Sure, overall that's less than 5% of the show's total animation that warrents any attention, but in anime, that's a lot! This show has more impressive animation in one episode than another show would have in its entire season! The second season of "Space Dandy" lets loose even more, allowing other animation studios to help define an episode's style. I know some people won't appreciate the variety, but for me, it is THE reason that I think everyone needs to watch the series. Had promotional clips and trailers highlighted this better, I would have watched the show a long time ago!Which is not to say it's absolutely perfect. Even with the style-defining soundtrack and acting, the variety without a clear direction can make "Space Dandy" feel a little repetitive, and when a particular story feels a little confusing or boring, it's noticable. That the show swears by Dandy's "go-with-the-flow" mentality feels more lazy than inspried. It is very much the variety in the visuals, animation and stories, and the unfiltered sense of fun, that make "Space Dandy" worth watching. But boy, those are great reasons to watch an anime.