Martian Successor Nadesico (機動戦艦ナデシコ), sometimes referred to as simply Nadesico (ナデシコ),[3] is a 1996 science fiction comedy anime television series produced by Xebec and directed by Tatsuo Satō, with manga artist Kia Asamiya providing original character designs, Keiji Gotoh serving as chief animation director, Mika Akitaka being the main mechanical designer and Takayuki Hattori composing the music. A manga adaptation by Asamiya was published by Kadokawa Shoten from July 26, 1996, to December 26, 1998, before the premiere of the anime. The manga, licensed in North America by CPM Manga, has many significant changes from the anime.
The series aired from October 1, 1996, to March 24, 1997, with a total of 26 episodes, and was replaced by the Pokémon anime in its timeslot.
In 2005, Anime News Network reported that plans for Nadesico 2 were scrapped, citing an entry on Stellvia director Tatsuo Sato's blog.[4]
Plot
The series takes place in the year 2196. Earth is at war with a race of alien invaders called the "Jovian Lizards". A company called Nergal Heavy Industries designs a space battleship, the ND-001 Nadesico. While the ship is powerful and its crew consists of the top civilian experts in their fields, these individuals tend to have "some slight personality disorders".[5]
The primary protagonist, Akito Tenkawa, is a boy with a mysterious past; once a resident of Mars' Utopia colony, he escaped its destruction by the Jovian Lizards and arrived on Earth, with no memory of how he got there but a terrible fear of the invaders. He hates fighting and only wants to be a chef. However, he is constantly called on to act as a pilot of one of the Nadesico's Aestivalis - humanoid combat robots. While on board the Nadesico, Akito has more problems to deal with than just the Jovians; nearly all the female members of the crew, especially the vessel's captain Yurika Misumaru, seem to be head over heels in love with him, though all he wants to do is cook and watch his favorite anime, Gekiganger III.[5]
Production
The series features an energetic juxtaposition of comedy and drama, as the characters engage in lighthearted antics in between facing the drama of war. Many of the characters are themselves anime fans, and there is often comparison between the campy, sanitized war of the anime within an anime Gekigangar III and the much harsher reality that the crew of the Nadesico faces. The show intentionally includes a number of science fiction anime clichés, including time travel and alien invaders, but turns these concepts on their heads by the end of the series through a number of plot twists. All of this takes place within the grand framework of a space opera.[6]
There are numerous self-referential anime references, particularly to the series Space Battleship Yamato (the name Nadesico is a play on the phrase "Yamato nadeshiko", which represents the traditional Japanese ideal of femininity, and also the name of a flower).[7] E.g. one of the characters was a voice actress before joining the crew (and in fact is a parody of a specific voice actress, Megumi Hayashibara),[8] another is a
Media
Anime
The Martian Successor Nadesico anime was directed by Tatsuo Sato and produced by TV Tokyo, Xebec, and Yomiko Advertising, Inc. The series aired on TV Tokyo from October 1, 1996, to March 24, 1997. ADV Films announced they had licensed Martian Successor Nadesico in May 1998 at Project A-Kon 9;[11] the company released the series originally on 12 VHS tapes. Later, the series was released on a total of six DVDs. On September 24, 2002, ADV Films released a box set containing all of the DVDs entitled Martian Successor Nadesico: Complete Chronicles and, on January 1, 2008, a collection of all the episodes entitled Martian Successor Nadesico: Perfect Collection. At Anime Expo 2011, Nozomi Entertainment announced that they had re-licensed the series, following ADV's closure in 2009. They re-released the series, along with the movie and the Gekiganger III OVA, in 2012.[12]
Reception
There have been mixed reviews to the series, although most reviews have been positive. One review written when the series was released on DVD gave it average ratings, commenting that while the show was dubbed into English poorly, it commented positively on the use of characters saying, "Despite his heroic calling as a robot pilot, Akito is remarkably approachable—after all, what could be more down-to-earth than a cook? Yurika, the world's most unlikely starship captain, may seem like a troublesome ditz at first, but demonstrates resolve and emotional depth as she learns the art of leadership. The characters may be billed as goofballs, but they also provide some of the most touching moments in the show. The Nadesico mindset shows that heroism and self-sacrifice are still respectable virtues, and that nobody needs to hear whining about why you can't or won't pilot a giant robot."[16] Los Angeles Times writer Charles Solomon praised the series, calling its action and hi-jinks on par with Rocky and Bullwinkle.[17]
Other reviews have been generally positive, with one saying, "Nadesico is one of those rare series that has something for everyone. Comedy, action, romance, drama...you name it, this series has it (well, almost). What's even more astonishing is that Nadesico keeps everything tied together in a neat little coherent package, so much so that you'll hardly even notice the blend of genres. It's a pretty cool little package, too."[18] Another review praised the English dub, saying "I first watched this show multiple times in Japanese, but eventually gave the English dub a try and found I loved it. The cast is excellent, with Jennifer Earhart's Yurika being especially noteworthy. Even minor characters, such as a Jovian pilot played by Jason Douglas, give great performances. His reading of 'If only the humans appreciated life as we do, I would not have to kill so many of them' is brilliant."
See also
External links
References
- Andrew Osmond. Nadesico and Food Wars Released Monday Anime News Network, August 26, 2017, retrieved May 2, 2019^
- Zac Bertschy. Martian Successor Nadesico Blu-Ray - Review Anime News Network, April 5, 2017, retrieved May 2, 2019^
- Martian Successor Nadesico