| Martian Successor Nadesico | |
 The cast ofMartian Successor Nadesico | |
| 機動戦艦ナデシコ (Kidō Senkan Nadeshiko) | |
|---|---|
| Genre | |
| Manga | |
| Written by | Kia Asamiya |
| Published by | Kadokawa Shoten |
| English publisher | |
| Magazine | Shōnen Ace |
| Original run | September 1996 –February 1999 |
| Volumes | 4 |
| Anime television series | |
| Directed by | Tatsuo Satō |
| Produced by | Noriko Kobayashi Naoya Nakazawa Shinichi Ikeda Tōru Satō |
| Written by | Shō Aikawa |
| Music by | Takayuki Hattori |
| Studio | Xebec |
| Licensed by |
|
| Original network | TXN (TV Tokyo) |
| English network |
|
| Original run | October 1, 1996 – March 24, 1997 |
| Episodes | 26(List of episodes) |
| Related | |
 Anime and manga portal | |
Martian Successor Nadesico (Japanese:機動戦艦ナデシコ,Hepburn:Kidō Senkan Nadeshiko; lit. "Mobile Battleship Nadesico"), sometimes referred to as simplyNadesico (ナデシコ,Nadeshiko),[3] is a Japaneseanime television series produced byXebec and directed byTatsuo Satō, with manga artistKia Asamiya providing original character designs,Keiji Gotoh serving as chief animation director, Mika Akitaka being the main mechanical designer andTakayuki Hattori composing the music. Amanga adaptation by Asamiya was published byKadokawa Shoten from 1996 to 1999. The manga, licensed in North America byCPM 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 thePokémon anime in its timeslot.
In 2005,Anime News Network reported that plans forNadesico 2 were scrapped, citing an entry onStellvia director Tatsuo Sato's blog.[4]
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, theND-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 slightpersonality disorders".[5]
The primary protagonist,Akito Tenkawa, is a boy with a mysterious past; once a resident ofMars' 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 achef. However, he is constantly called on to act as a pilot of one of theNadesico'sAestivalis - humanoid combatrobots. While on board theNadesico, Akito has more problems to deal with than just the Jovians; nearly all the female members of the crew, especially the vessel's captainYurika 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]
The series features an energetic juxtaposition ofcomedy anddrama, as the characters engage in lighthearted antics in between facing the drama ofwar. Many of the characters are themselves anime fans, and there is often comparison between the campy, sanitized war of theanime within an animeGekigangar III and the much harsher reality that the crew of theNadesico faces. The show intentionally includes a number of science fiction anime clichés, includingtime travel andalien invaders, but turns these concepts on their heads by the end of the series through a number of plot twists.
The show has been also described as aspace opera.[6]
There are many anime references, particularly to the seriesSpace Battleship Yamato (the nameNadesico is a play on the phrase "Yamato nadeshiko", which represents the traditional Japanese ideal of femininity, and also the name ofa flower).[7] 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 afangirl who likes to draw her ownshōnen-aidoujinshi, and a third is anotaku who bases his entire life onGekigangar III.
In an episode late in the series, the ship holds an anime convention complete with a viewing marathon ofGekigangar, people engaged incosplay, and tie-in merchandising. Another episode makes a parody of theMacross anime, as the crew celebrates a Miss Nadesico contest to decide a on new captain and public figurehead, in which all the female crew members participate. The contest includes aswimsuit competition and singing.[9]
TheGekigangar anime show is in fact an homage (andparody) of manysuper robotmecha anime of the 1970s and 1980s, most particularly theGo Nagai/Ken Ishikawa collaborationGetter Robo.[10] The battles between Earth and planetary colonies featured throughout the show is a reference toGundam, while the assortment of odd-ball characters on the ship who prefer to choose their own battles, rather than take sides, is a nod toHarlock. In addition, writers from previous popular science fiction mecha shows occasionally get announced in teasers for various episodes ofNadesico.
TheMartian Successor Nadesico anime was directed byTatsuo Sato and produced byTV 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 licensedMartian Successor Nadesico in May 1998 atProject A-Kon 9;[11] the company released the series originally on 12VHS tapes. Later, the series was released on a total of six DVDs. On September 24, 2002, ADV Films released abox set containing all of the DVDs entitledMartian Successor Nadesico: Complete Chronicles and, on January 1, 2008, a collection of all the episodes entitledMartian Successor Nadesico: Perfect Collection. AtAnime 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 theGekiganger III OVA, in 2012.[12] Anime Limited later acquired the series in 2017 on Blu-ray.[13]
Martian Successor Nadesico's opening song is "You Get to Burning" byYumi Matsuzawa. The main ending song is "Watashi Rashiku" (私らしく; "Being Myself") byHouko Kuwashima, with episode 26 featuring "Itsuka...Shinjite" (いつか…信じて; "I Believe... Someday") by Kazumi Matsumura as its ending.
A manga series loosely based on the anime with a whole new story line and written for a mature audience.
AGekigangar III compilationOVA was also released.
A sequel movie calledThe Prince of Darkness is a 1998 anime film written and directed by Tatsuo Sato. The story is a direct sequel toNadesico: The Blank of Three Years, a video game for the Sega Saturn that takes place immediately after the TV series ends, and before the movie begins.
Four games based on the series were released in Japan. The first game, released for theSega Saturn in 1997, is entitledMobile Battleship Nadesico. It is adating sim game with a few mecha elements included. A second game, also for theSega Saturn, was released in the following year under the titleMartian Successor Nadesico: The Blank of Three Years. It is an interactive story of the events which occurred in between the television series and the movie. Released on theDreamcast in 1999,Martian Successor Nadesico: The Mission, continues the story fromPrince of Darkness. Finally, amahjong variant game was released for theGame Boy Color entitledMobile Battleship Nadesico: Ruriruri Mahjong.Nadesico also appears in games in theSuper Robot Wars andAnother Century's series, where the setting is combined with other mecha series' such asGundam,Mazinger,Full Metal Panic!, andTekkaman Blade.[14][15]
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. TheNadesico 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 withRocky 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 thatNadesico 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."[19]
The series quickly became popular. The film won theAnimage Grand Prix award in 1998.[3] In other polls conducted byAnimage in the same year, Akito was voted the ninth most "Favorite Male Character of the Year",Ruri Hoshino was voted second andYurika eighth most "Favorite Female Characters of the Year" and the TV series was vote the third "Favorite Anime of the Year".[20]
