Mike Flanagan
Connector Contributor

“Space Dandy” has big space boots to fill. The new anime series that premiered on Adult Swim’s late-night animation block Toonami in January is the newest show from beloved anime director, Shinichirō Watanabe – creator of the popular anime series, “Cowboy Bebop” and “Samurai Champloo.”

The series is a notable milestone for the American anime market due to efforts by Adult Swim – hoping to capitalize on Watanabe’s American popularity – to simulcast new episodes, dubbed in English, the same day they air in native Japan.

“Space Dandy” follows the stellar exploits of Dandy, an intergalactic bounty hunter with the looks of Elvis Presley and the coordination of Buster Keaton, his out-of-date robot companion QT and the bi-pedaled cat creature and professional lay about, Meow, as they traverse the stars in search of new alien species in an effort to make a quick buck.

It is difficult to view “Space Dandy” divorced from its pedigree.  Tacked on to every trailer for the series is some permutation of “from the creator of Cowboy Bebop.” – “Cowboy Bebop” is one of Watanabe’s earlier works to make a big splash in America. The series, oddly enough, also follows the exploits of an intergalactic bounty hunter. So it isn’t much of a surprise that many fans of Watanabe’s work are going to expect a series on par with Bebop. What they are getting however, is an entirely different species.

With “Cowboy Bebop” the series played it mostly straight, with comedic elements sometimes finding their way into the plot. The show was a blend of western, crime noir, and space odyssey. “Space Dandy,” on the other hand, is a non-stop comedic joy-ride.  It very rarely takes itself too seriously and often attempts to poke fun at the many tropes of popular anime.

Here is where I fear that “Space Dandy” trips over itself.  One of the prevalent tropes of Japanese animation is gratuitous, sexually exaggerated characters – most being female. SD plays this up tenfold.  For those that are privy to the tropes of anime, they may be in on the joke. But SD’s overuse of this may be lost in translation and alienate Western viewers.

Instead of presenting the gratuity in a satirical light, SD just throws it in your face at every chance. This sometimes comes off as shallow rather than smart. For example, the series prominently features an intergalactic chain of restaurants akin to Hooters – called Boobies. Do you see the level of cleverness we’re working with?

This isn’t to say that SD is without its charm. Watanabe always has a knack for blending disparate, anachronistic, genres into something awesome – Like Bebop’s Jazzed up soundtrack with spaghetti western imagery, or “Samurai Champloo’s” blending of Edo period Japan with Hip Hop overtones.  SD goes for the same formula by melding a sci-fi world on the scope of “Star Trek” with a mix of Elvis’s Hawaii phase and a funky psychedelic vibe.

And when I say psychedelic I really mean it. “Space Dandy” is a visual assault of colors, with space battles and action sequences often exploding into a cacophony of color. This visual style really sets “Space Dandy” apart from other anime commonly shown in the US.

“Space Dandy” is a show that is fated to live in the shadows of its predecessors; any fan going into the series expecting Cowboy Bebop 2.0 is sure to be disappointed. But if fans can adjust expectations accordingly, and allow “Space Dandy” to find its footing, I believe that it has the potential to become a beloved anime staple. `