The New York Times. The Atlantic Monthly. The two last places you’d expect to see critical reviews on a show with “breasturants” as a major plot point.
Space Dandy, airing on Adult Swim, Funimation, and Hulu, has gotten more mainstream Western hype than any other anime (excepting Hayao Miyazaki films) in literal years.
But, have you actually watched the pilot? Space Dandy is entertaining enough, with bombastic dialogue, plenty of fanservice, and explosive fights. But is there anything truly new or exceptional about it?
At least the New York Times gets that it’s trying to be a parody of everything it seems to be at first, but comments that perhaps that gets lost in translation. I agree; I’m not sure that excessive fanservice actually translates as parodying fanservice as a concept.
It’s pretty early on, but I’m not sold on Space Dandy being anything special, not an anime we’ll still be recommending to new fans a decade from now. I wish the New York Times had instead covered Psycho Pass, which stretched the genre’s boundaries of intellectual depth. Or Attack on Titan, whose high-stakes storytelling rivals that of Lost or 24. Or Kids on the Slope, which has a genius musical score and an equally impressive production team.
Seeing those all get passed over for Space Dandy makes me cringe and wonder if my non-anime-watching friends are going to think I’m some kind of breast-obsessed perv.
So why is Space Dandy being covered while other shows get ignored?
- The cable effect. In the same breath that newspapers tell us more people are “cutting the cord” than ever, they’re still reviewing cable shows over Internet-exclusive ones. There’s still a bias that more people watch a show if it’s on cable, and that a show aired on TV is somehow more legitimate than a direct-to-streaming one.
- A star-studded production team. Space Dandy may be a light comedy, but its being directed by Shinichiro Watanabe, the mastermind behind anime classics Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo. And, scrolling through the credits, his probably isn’t the only big name you’ll recognize.
- It’s really, really weird. What are the parts of Space Dandy that have been most hyped? Its Engrish trailer that called him “a dandy in the space!” Breaking the fourth wall! Dandy’s weird obsession with boobs and butts! Kooky aliens everywhere! Westerners love “Weird Japan” and this is second helpings of the stuff. Like reality TV, it’s just as much something to make fun of as it is something to be entertained by.
- It pioneered a new release model. My Twitter feed confirms that while Space Dandy may not be the first anime ever created with a US audience in mind or released first in the US before Japan, it is the first to release an English dub before a Japanese sub. More than any other show airing today, Space Dandy was designed first and foremost for an English-speaking audience.
Altogether, it’s its own built-in hype machine with multiple angles for a news article that’s just as crazy and entertaining as the show is. And you can’t blame hit-conscious, overworked reporters for going for something like that.
33 Comments.
“I’m not sure that excessive fanservice actually translates as parodying fanservice as a concept.”
I’m in the same boat. There comes a point where, if you’re not careful when trying to make fun of something, you end up becoming the very thing you were mocking. You can’t mock fanservice by providing it; you need to actually make fun of why people want it in the first place.
I did wonder myself why “SD” made the “Times”, and I realize it’s probably because FUNimation has managed to get their attention of such news outlets much more effectively than it did in the past. Anime in theaters turns up from time to time in such places — “Wolf Children”, the perennial “Akira”, both FUNi-distributed tites — but rarely TV anime. I’m not sure this is a marker of progress, though.
I think you nailed the fan service thing, Serdar, with “You can’t mock fanservice by providing it; you need to actually make fun of why people want it in the first place.”
While ‘Kill La Kill’ can said to be full of fan service, I think they also, at times, do a nice job of mocking it through the actions of the pitifully lecherous male members (including the dog) of the Mankanshoku family. Personally, I see that as saying, “Look? Look!? That’s what people who *need* fan service look like when they get it or think they are about to get it.”
At least Business Insider had some sense in talking about the presence of Attack on Titan at New York Comic-Con, with regards to the cosplay gathering there.
Wanted to look that article up, so thoughts I’d give anyone else interested the link to it:
http://www.businessinsider.com/nycc-what-every-teen-is-wearing-2013-10
Just wish the article hadn’t painted cosplayers as being all high school aged teens. At least that’s the take I brought away from it.
Those folks need to interview Dr. Andrea of Under the Mask, who did that amazing survey on cosplayer demographics.
Do you have a link by any chance? I’d like to see that myself. :)
Also, regarding the cable effect, the Netflix original series (House of Cards, Orange Is the New Black, etc.) seem to be doing fine and the NY Times have covered both.
Though this is more of the fact that cartoons are still treated as kids’ stuff here.
This is a good point but I think that has to do with Netflix being a media darling. It is also hard to argue that Netflix is less popular then Cable when Netflix has passed HBO with 40 million subscribers.
Of note Space Dandy is on also on Hulu which is also another big name service, and might lend it some media credibility.
There’s a lot of other anime series on Hulu, but I do think the FUNimation promotion/hype adds to that credibility.
Another thing I just realized is that Space Dandy is a cartoon comedy, which tends to be the most accepted type of cartoon for adults in the West.
I would love to see the NYT’s tackle ‘Psycho Pass.’
I, oddly, hadn’t even been aware of it until I read about it hear recently. Loved it, still thinking about it a couple weeks after finishing it and recommending it to friends.
I agree, the way Western mainstream media generally frames anime and Japanese culture, (and sub-culture), always focuses on accentuating its “otherness.” You nailed it on the head when you said, “Like reality TV, it’s just as much something to make fun of as it is something to be entertained by.” This might be a symptom of the fact that these sites want as many clicks and eyeballs as possible for ad-revenue, so they prefer the “Weird Japan” story rather than anything too deep (despite the fact we’re talking about the NYT and The Atlantic). Funimation knows this, hence they selected Space Dandy over other shows.
I’m reminded of the recent debacle of how TLC went out to find people who wear Lolita fashion for footage of an episode of My Strange Addiction. Apparently, the people were not informed they were going to be on the show. This person posted screenshots of the contract, which doesn’t mention anything about MSA. In fact, the language of the contract suggests it was going to be a new show altogether (verbiage like “potential television pilot” doesn’t suggest that the footage was going to an already airing reality TV show). Clearly, some deception was used to take advantage of regular people at the expense of mocking Lolita fashion as an “addiction.” Truly pathetic, if you ask me.
Yet another example of a Western media entity totally exploiting a subculture for laughs and profit. Unfortunately, it looks like Space Dandy might be lumped in a similar category…
(BTW, I totally forgot about to watch the premiere, as I was marathoning Kill la Killinstead).
Several comments on the Space Dandy treatment has had on the media in his country they seem correct, however, I feel it is too early (was only last an episode to air) say that
“more than any other show airing today, Space Dandy was designed first and foremost for an English-speaking audience.”,
since the path Watanabe consider it even with the example to be closer (Cowbow Bebop) to a global audience.
While Samurai Champloo played with that aspect as unlikely to develop frames as the European diplomat love for sexual freedom of an ancient and fictional Japan, or as the young couple who practiced graffiti. If to this we add that perception I have read on Twitter and some blogs that SD and KLK are “a kind of mutual antithesis in his narrative and genre in which they develop”, came to a conclusion:
I think it’s too early to make judgments as posed above : While one just issued its first episode on Adult Swim (even with filtration Australian Madman Entertainment that had the episode in torrents a day before its release in North America), the second will continue history from January 9, plus announced an OVA.
I think apart from what has stood out for you (which highlights the hype a couple of the editors of The New York Times and The Atlantic), so far no more to say.
PS: Sorry if the English in which I wrote this read wrong. I used Google Translate because I handle the language fairly well. Greetings from Mexico.
I’m not sure up to what extent comparing the coverage of Space Dandy to shows from last year like Psycho Pass and SnK is valid, starting from the exact point that, well, those shows were from last year, and the fact that all anime series get coverage when they start broadcasting through their first episodes makes it not that brain numbing in my opinion.
And sure, Psycho Pass is an awesome series, but let’s be honest, most people dropped the ball on it BECAUSE of Attack on Titan, which ended up being single-handedly the most popular anime through all the continent, so I find it objectively hard to say SnK got ignored.
It seems the author answered herself with her last paragraph: Space Dandy is a spiritual successor of sorts to Cowboy Bebop, Outlaw Star and Trigun, all of them crowd favorites in the US, and it seems to be made with this kind of audience in mind, therefore this show getting a huge push in the west (NYT coverage being an example) is a no brainer. Simple as that. If anything, I would call this article “why the media should cover anime series like Space Dandy while letting all other pretentious stories alone to get to their niche audience”.
Does anyone want to see what true blow-up coverage and overhype is? you will have to look no further than Sword Art Online’s second season. We can wait until it’s released and talk about it.
Before I even read this post I agreed that something was amiss with Space Dandy. You’re totally right, I’ve yet to see much original content with this show. Media hype is good for grabbing attention, but attention doesn’t make good shows.
http://www.anime-guardians.com/2014/01/space-dandy-jurys-still-out.html
@Nelson, just saw your post. Glad to be your homegirl!
[…] a fan of Lauren Orsini‘s work at the Otaku Journalist, but I was quite surprised when I read this piece explaining the reasons Shinichiro Watanabe’s Space Dandy is getting widely covered in […]
Lauren, don’t be so quick to judge. If there’s anything to be said about Space Dandy, it’s that we have no idea what it’s going to become yet. Give it time, and let’s see what develops. Granted it’s wacky and crazy, but damn if I don’t love it for that. Maybe you should have a bit more of an open mind for it.
I am a huge fan of space dandy, but to add disclaimer, I have a wide variety I watch and also enjoy many of the animes mentioned in this thread. Here’s why I love this show: it is a psychedelic acid trip through space. Period. Adult swim caters to all the midnight smokers, and this show is a perfect example.
And it’s a bones production! I adore all their stuff.
Well I mean, if you look at Sao, SNK and those anime you’ll realize something. They all fall short. Why? It’s not anything against them, they just don’t live up to what they were meant to be. While SAO is still continuing it’s not as great as people are making it out to be, but it’s far from being terrible. Same with SNK, while there are interesting plot twists, it’s very predictable. At least, I found it predictable.
Space Dandy uses its “Crass humor” and its “boobs and butts jokes” to get across a deeper meaning. The fact is, Space Dandy is exploring new artistic fields for Wantanabe, and for the episodes themselves, if they were as dark as they were intending, the show wouldn’t be much fun to watch.
I really commend Wantanabe for doing this show, because it actually goes beyond just boobs and butts, if you watch passed the first episode you’ll understand that.
Did you see “Even Vacuum Cleaners Fall in Love, Baby”? It was pretty good, well at least enough to get me into the series.
You need to think deeper and think outside the box to find the genius of Space Dandy. It’s not the parody or comedy that makes is amazing. It looks simple and dumb to the casual audience but there are lot of interesting things to discover on this show.
Mhmm. Thats deep brother
right on brother, space dandy is affecting my life in a manner i cant quite explanation but its mystical all right
Space dandy has affected me in the way I look at things. The show conitnually gives me new perspectives on old ideas, that’s why I like it. Plus its so creative how with each new planet and experience of the protagonist there is a little bit different style of anime thrown in with it.
Attack on Titan is shonen bullshit and I’m tired of people acting like it’s something intellectual.
Space Dandy has more depth and literally half his lines end in baby.
You clearly haven’t watched the series as a whole- not that I’m trying to undermine any of the great alternate anime that you suggested. However, the full depth of the show is not made clear until the last episode of the series. For instance, one of the recurring plot devices is Dr. Gel’s constant pursuit of Dandy on behalf of the Gogol empire. The Gogol empires motivations for chasing Dandy are not made clear throughout the series, so this aspect may be perceived as a shallow or poorly thought out story driver. But, the reason the Gogol empire wants Dandy is that he is a unique, omnipresent being that exists in any and all possible time lines. This is especially important once Dandy explains that what they call “warping” in this series is not moving through space at an accelerated rate, but rather transferring an individuals consciousness into a whole new universe that happens to be the same in all regards except that it is further along in its respective timeline.
This explains why the many times Dandy and crew were killed (the first episode!) or zombified, etc, etc, the next episode seemed back to normal. It was simply a new universe with another alternate Dandy ( there are infinite universes he exists in because of his unique powers). If this were not the case, and the series just disregarded these continuities arbitrarily and got on with it I’d agree that it lacked depth. But it simply isn’t true!
The story goes on: Dandy also possesses many hidden skills. Surfing, piloting, singing and dancing, a deep understanding of physics. These aren’t just random talents carelessly gifted to the protagonist. This is also because of his insurmountable experiences gained from infinite realities.
Even the narrator is not just a narrator… “Originally a Chameleonian, a rare shape-shifting alien that the Aloha Oe crew unknowingly happen upon and became a victim of his own deception while posing as Dandy, he transcended from the physical realm into the God of the known universes. The Narrator observed the Dandys’ misadventures, sometimes telepathically interacting with the characters. In the finale, beginning to fade away as the universe is undone, the Narrator attempted to have Dandy replace him as the God of the new universe. But is shocked when Dandy refuses before being shot and completely fading from existence.”
Wow. That’s some intense stuff for what early on in the series appears to be a typical wild goose chase between Dandy and a mysterious empire, a non-continuous plot, and normal old narrator.
I’ll admit the Boobies jokes can be a bit over the top but hey, it’s a comedy series isn’t it? And for that it has all the depth you could ask for. I don’t know that it deserves to be as popular as it was, but the points you criticized weren’t very accurate. I wish you had focused your discussion toward the qualities of those other shows rather than shooting down Space Dandy without a deeper grasp on some of its subtler elements.
Cited:
“Space Dandy.” Wikipedia. 8 Jan. 2015. Web. 5 Feb. 2015. .
@disqus_Oks2Cn0gyk:disqus great, well argued comment, but check the date of this post – more than a year old. You’re right, I had not seen the series as a whole yet, and in fact, nobody had! Now that I have, maybe it’s time for an update.
That would be cool if you took time to do that, BABY!
Thank you Lauren! I realized that but I was also commenting for the benefit of those who weren’t yet sold on watching SD. An update would be awesome- I was disappointed when I realized the series concluded but discussion about it doesn’t have to! I’d like to hear your new thoughts.
Even disregarding the full story, check out episode 5 of the first season, even if you’ve seen it already. I re-watched it a couple days ago, it still had me crying like a baby, baby. It’s also a great example of the music score. I am still hoping they revisit that episode. ;_;
Also, I have to say, in 10 years I think it will be far more likely Attack on Titan will have fallen into obscurity while Space Dandy will not have. AoT was amazing, but it’s been buried by Kill la Kill and Dandy IMO.