Anime Reviews

Martian Successor Nadesico

Director: Tatsuo Sato
Studio: Xebec
Genres: Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Mecha, Science Fiction
Format: 26 Episodes

Live Action Anime Rating: ****

Love. War. Giant Robots.

Martian Successor Nadesico is one of Japan’s most popular anime series, based around the eponymous Nadesico, the most formidable fighting vehicle ever conceived by mankind.

Characters:

Akito Tonkawa - assistant chef and a man brought up on Mars, but left when it was destroyed by Alien Invaders (known as the Jenovian Lizards), he fills in as the backup pilot for the crew when needed.

Yurika Misumaru - captain of the Nadesico, and childhood friend of Akito. She’s obsessed with Akito, and always tries to bring him into a relationship. Despite her scatterbrained personality, Yurika is a very capable captain and is very loyal to the crew and ship.

Ruri Hoshino - Ruri is very cold and extremely knowledgeable of many things and doesn't like getting into the things that most crew members do. Rather she enjoys sitting back in front of the monitor regulating the Nadisco and communicating to Omoikane, the ships computer.

Gai Daigoji - the ship’s starting pilot, and a massive fan of the anime “Gekigangar”, which involves giant robots. His infatuation with the show brought out his ferocity in battle, and begins to build a friendship with Akito over their beloved Gekigangar.

Plot:

When Earth's colonies on Mars are suddenly attacked by alien invaders referred to as the Jovian Lizards, civilian contractor Nergal decides to come to the Earth's aid by constructing powerful space battleships, the first of which is known as the ND-001 Nadesico. A crew is selected from among the top civilian experts in each field, however, these individuals tend to have "some slight personality disorders".

The main character, Akito Tenkawa, is a man with a mysterious past; once a resident of Mars' Utopia colony, Tenkawa somehow 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 cook, however, he is constantly called on to act as a pilot of one of the Nadesico's Aestevalis - humanoid combat robots. While on board the Nadesico, Akito has more problems to deal with than just the Jovians; pretty much all the female members of the crew seem to be head over heels in love with Akito, but all he wants to do is cook and watch his favorite anime, Gekigangar- The anime within an anime.

Review:

+ Funny characters and jokes.
+ Good plot, amazing battle sequences.
+ “Love. War. Giant Robots.” It’s a formidable combination…
- There aren’t enough hours in the day to watch this fantastic 26 episode series.



Picture:

The cast of Martian Successor Nadesico

Links:
AMV Centred around Gai

By: Kendall