REVIEW: Space Dandy Picture Dramas

So it turns out there's a whole bunch of extra Space Dandy eps I never knew about! The Space Dandy Picture Dramas are short-form mini-episodes with simplified animation - more like motion comics. There are only five of them and mostly clock in at under ten minutes, so it works out as equivalent to roughly two proper episodes. These were apparently only ever made available on the Japanese complete series Blu-Ray release, so know wonder I hadn't heard of them.

Fortunately, some lovely person has uploaded them to a playlist on YouTube so we can all enjoy them. Naturally, these are only in Japanese, which is a shame as I adore the English dub performances, but there are subtitles on all of them. A wonderful Tumblr-er called "futuristic-roomba" (that's QT, right?) posted about them, and I've taken the titles from her post, even if they are apparently a bit questionable. Although I've Dandied them up a bit!

They're a mixed bunch and I've written my brief thoughts below. If you want to avoid spoilers, go click on the link above and watch them first.

1. BooBies Pair Adventure, Baby!

This short is a great start to the little series, although it's an oddity in that Dandy is barely in it, showing up for a few seconds at the end (he's been rendered indisposed by a bad case of the trots). This instead focuses on Meow and QT on their own adventure with Honey and Candy. If you don't remember Candy, don't feel bad; she's barely been in it before, briefly appearing in ep. 1-2, “The Search for the Phantom Space Ramen, Baby." She's fun though; I like her just as much as Honey and she has cute hair,

This is good fun. It's close to the standard art style of the series, just with less animation, which is an easy way in but makes it visually less interesting than the other shorts. Seeing two BooBies waitresses trying to become alien hunters is an entertaining way to spend nine minutes, especially as they seem to be completely amoral. (Judging by what we've seen over the series, Dandy and co. are probably the most ethical alien hunters out there.)

I Know This Planet, Baby: Planet Daga is an unreal world where anything you imagine becomes reality - but only within the space of the planet.

2. It's a Launderette from Hell, Baby! 

This is my favourite of the five shorts. The art style is appealing, a sketchbook style with dark, moody hues, which suits the story and the still-art nature of the shorts. This is a full-on Dandy heavy adventure, showing him at his most heroic as he rescues the Ugglies from indentured servitude. It's a pretty serious one, really, dealing as it does with people trafficking and modern slavery. I do love the idea that every launderette/laundromat in the universe links to this one planet and everything is actually washed by hand.

We're Alien Hunters, Baby: The Ugglies are rotund, fish-faced creatures with huge lips and teeth. They come from the Planet Uggly (pronounced to sound like "kiss" which clearly only works in Japanese). They can't write but they can sure fight.

3. Cheerful Wake Me Up, Baby! 

Another great little episode, a QT-focused one which works as a follow-up to 1-13, "Even Vacuum Cleaners Fall in Love, Baby." It gives an insight into QT's existence, as part of a mass-produced line of robots that are visually indistinguishable and can be disposed of and replaced on a whim. It's really the second short in a row that deals with a form of slavery, but none of it gets heavy. 

It's pretty heartwarming, with QT showing how he's grown as an individual and starting to inspire his fellow hoovers, and Dandy showing that he can recognise him and values him. They're a crew, even if they spend most of the time bitching at each other. Nice, drawn-style artwork here, simple and colourful, which suits the story.

4. The Road to Debut is Harsh, Baby! 

I didn't like this one. I don't know, maybe I'm missing the point of it, but it just isn't very interesting or fun. The sloppy, hand-drawn, felt-tip artwork is a big step-down from the others. It's something different and makes this short stand out, but it just doesn't look good.

This one isn't really a Space Dandy story at all, more of a background story. It's all very meta, with Tohn Jravolta auditioning for a role in the series. He's just an ordinary looking guy here, nothing like the Jravolta in 2-9, "We're All Fools, So Let's All Dance, Baby." That guy was a gold-skinned, almost mechanical-looking alien. I guess that's him in costume, and underneath it is this guy. Regardless, this is pretty boring. I assumed the judging panel would turn out to be Dandy and co. but they're actually a bunch of dogs.

5. Let's Take a Bath Again, Baby!

Easily the most meta of them all, and given this is Space Dandy we're talking about, that's meta indeed. Set right after the final episode of the series, in which, lest we forget, the universe ended. Is this the new universe 14.8 billion years later, when we've come full circle? Seems unlikely, as everyone remembers what happened in the finale. 

Of course, that's a pointless question, when the characters are sitting around discussing the show. Incorporating the fourth short as well, we have fictional characters auditioning to play fictional characters, who then sit around discussing their fiction, in character.

Bringing back Space Trucker Dandy and Lady Meow is a nice touch, as they were the most Dandy-ish of the alternative versions appearing in 2-1, "I Can't be the Only One, Baby." I could've done without meeting Manga Hero Dandy again, though. He's just as annoying as ever, and turns out to be really rapey as well. At least he's seen off by the others. This short is a lot of fun, with a really effective artstyle, and makes for a nice final ending to the Dandyverse.

I Know This Planet, Baby: From the look of the plants and the moon in the sky, we might finally be seeing Dandy on Earth.

DANDY SPACE LOG 2-12 & 2-13

The grand finale of Space Dandy!

Season Two, Episode Twelve - Dandy's Day in Court, Baby!

Dandy stands trial for murder, as the Gogol Empire closes in.

He's Dandy, Baby: Dandy is on trial for the murder of the Lumeshian Guy Reginald on the planet Suburbia. Having heard about the presence of a rare Lumeshian on the planet at BooBies, Dandy travelled there to capture him. A DNA scan of Dandy comes up negative, but his Pyonium levels are increasing exponentially. Dandy sleeps through his entire trial.

He's Not a Space Cat, Baby: Dandy doesn't list Meow as a crewmember, and once tried to sell him to a petshop but they wouldn't buy him. Meow waited at the emergency exit during the supposed murder, and pretty quickly turns against Dandy, saying that he always thought he'd snap eventually. He spends most of the trial tweeting.

He's Just a Little Obsolete, Baby: QT is also called as a witness, along with Scarlet and Honey. QT was minding the ship at the time of the incident. Dandy wanted to buy "one of those R2-D2 type robots" but ended up with QT, and he was too much trouble to take back.


We're Alien Hunters, Baby:

Lumeshians: An extremely rare alien species, the registration of which would fetch a fine one million woolongs at the ARC. Judging by Guy Reginald, they are tall, blue humanoids. Reginald suffers from sleep apnoeia, and had entered a state of hibernation mistaken by the coroner for death due to his unfamiliar physiology. Reginald was formerly a notorious masked wrestler.

Sundry aliens: The prosecutor of the trial is a weird jackal-shark creature. The lead judge is a toothy whale creature with a hint of Vogon about him. They both speak with a Southern drawl. The counsel for the defense is a vaguely insectoid, green quadruped.

Let's get Our Asses to BooBies, Baby: Honey isn't pleased that on his last visit to BooBies, Dandy ordered a coffee and stayed for "like, five hours." Dandy was snuggling up to Rose Reginald, Guy's wife, a tall, beautiful and very chesty humanoid.

I Know This Planet, Baby: The planet Suburbia is five thousand parsecs from planet Turbo, home to two baseball-playing, Twitter-obsessed kids called Hiroshi and Skipjack.

Phenomenology, Baby: Pyonium, or Mega-Pyonium, is a recently discovered particle that bends time and space, allowing travel across dimensions, and theoretically contains incredible levels of energy. Intense emotional states can interact with Pyonium, potentially propelling matter across incredible distances or across dimensions, for instance, the bloodlust and fury Hiroshi felt at his "friend" Skipjack for blocking him on Twitter propelled his Pyonium covered baseball from Turbo to Suburbia, seemingly because of the magnetic effect of Dandy's own Pyonium levels.

Dr. Duran is the galaxy's foremost expert on Mega-Pyonium. He refers to it as the God Particle. (Professor Higgs will be pleased, he never liked people using that name for his eponymous boson.)

The Bottom Line, Baby:  A pretty average episode that mostly exists to clarify what Pyonium does and set up the grand finale. The furious level of in-jokes has long settled down by now, but the episode still finds room for references to Star Wars, Samurai Champloo, The Shining and Twelve Angry Men. The mad Dandy-esque space science is good fun. The ending is worth it, though: a thousand insectoid Gogol warriors appear outside the courthouse to capture Dandy, leading into...

DANDY SPACE LOG 2-10 & 2-11

I now have my hands on Space Dandy (thanks, Helen!) so I can finally complete my Dandy Space Logs. Here's the penultimate entry, with the two most romantic episodes in the Dandy canon.

Season Two, Episode Ten - Lovers Are Trendy, Baby!

To shake off her meathead ex, Scarlet hires Dandy to be her stand-in boyfriend.

He's Dandy, Baby: Dandy thinks he's worth way more than 750 woolongs per hour. He's a decent skier and a hell of a swimmer. He does have a tendency to get overexcited and steal things off nearby children, such as toboggans and binoculars, but he insists it's just borrowing. While on the beach with Scarlet he flirts with other girls, and later takes her to BooBies, where he flirts with Honey. On the other hand, he can be pretty gallant, offering to give Scarlet a piggyback home when her shoe is broken, fighting off an alien spider (and destroying her apartment in the process), and standing up to her ex. While he's with Scarlet, he's a lot luckier, catching a bunch of new aliens (see below), although it's actually Scarlet who captures the bunch at the ski resort.


The Scarlet Woman, Baby: Scarlet broke up with her hunky boyfriend Dolph months ago but she's been unable to shake him off, although Dandy points out that she hasn't been completely straight with him. Her solution is to take her paid holiday and hire Dandy to pose as her boyfriend. She draws up a contract and a rigid schedule of fun, and specified that there be no unsolicited physical contact (i.e. no kissing) initiated by Dandy. Although they continually aggravate each other, Scarlet and Dandy do start to develop feelings for each other. It's pretty likely she picks his outfits for the trip as well, unless he's secretly into the preppy, knotted sweatshirt look. Scarlet looks pretty amazing in her swimsuit (it manages to stay just the right side of fan service). Both Scarlet and Dandy are huge fans of a star called Chuck, who starred in such movies as Karate Kommandoes.

When Dolph turns up, he's flying a huge mecha, and blows up half of the orbital they're on out of jealousy. He also tries to hypnotise Scarlet, which is pretty damned evil. Fortunately, he's arrested on charges of assault and stalking, and is banned from going within ten thousand parsecs of Scarlet.

They're Sidekicks, Baby: Having spent a week hunting an alien on Dandy's say-so for no reward, Meow and QT basically bully him into taking Scarlet's job.

I Know This Planet, Baby: The planet Trendy is a moon-like rock, but it is covered in pressure domes that house different environments, including a ski resort and a beach. There are orbital stations as well, including Yamashita Colony, where you'll find Cafe Bar Crystal. There's also the Orbital Escay, an escalator that takes visitors into orbit to watch fireworks. Trendy has Trendy police, who are pretty trendy.

They definitely speak English in Dandy's universe (at least in the English dub, of course).

We're Alien Hunters, Baby:

At the ARC, we catch a glimpse of a gigantic metallic alien from nebula M78. As well as being a real nebula in Orion, this pegs the alien as being an Ultraman.

Dandy also catches a giant cuttlefish alien which goes for 5000 woolongs, and a bunch of aliens at the ski resort that look like a snowman, an oni and even Santa Claus.

Scarlet is freaked out by a spider in her bathroom.. which is fair enough, because it's the horrifying head-spider-thing from The Thing.


The Bottom Line, Baby: A very sweet, heartwarming episode, although those closing scenes on Yamashita are a gutpunch. Everything is back to normal at the end, of course, although you can't watch this without desperately wanting Dandy and Scarlet to get together.

DANDY SPACE LOG 2-8 & 2-9

Season Two, Episode Eight - A World With No Sadness, Baby

In this unique and haunting episode, Dandy visits a world on the boundary between life and death. The episode begins with Dandy's body floating down a mysterious river, arcing up into the sky...

He's Dandy, Baby: Dandy wakes up in his funeral barge holding a mysterious cube. He has amnesia, with no idea where he is or how he got there. To begin with he is mostly concerned with finding something to eat, only realising later that he hasn't actually felt either hungry or tired since he arrived on the planet. Apart from a creepy old lady and her talking cat, very little in this world truly phases him; Dandy takes things in his stride much as he usually does.

Eventually it becomes clear that Dandy is dead and on a planet of ghosts, having been killed crashing into the main console of the Aloha Oe approaching the planet. He lacks a reflection and will never age or change. Given the choice between an existence without sadness or strife, and real life with the sadness that allows happiness to exist in relief, Dandy chooses life. After all, what's the point of existence without being able to enjoy food or boobs?

Dandy speaks to the spirit of the planet (see below), but she is unable to send him back. However, she remarks that he is "The One," and is able to send him sideways, into a reality where he averted death, so that he may continue. She reveals she is in love with him, to which Dandy, with his usual modesty, expresses no surprise whatsoever. Someday, he returns to the planet to see her.

They're Sidekicks, Baby: With Dandy alone in Limbo for most of the episode, we hardly see Meow and QT. We see in flashback that the three of them approached the planet hunting the rarest of rare aliens. Neither of Dandy's friends would even notice if he died straight away - they'd just think he was asleep. Meow suffers from "starvation hairballs."

I Know This Planet, Baby: The planet Limbo: a huge rock in space, protected from visitation by an impenetrable dark nebula. The Limbo world was once an ordinary planet, but its inhabitants wiped themselves out in a huge, stupid war, leaving only a world of ghosts behind. Now, lost souls from all over the universe gravitate towards the planet. It's a weird place, with buildings open to the air, chandeliers hanging from the sky, and a cable car that carries souls to the heavens. Once lost souls accept that they are dead, they are able to pass onto the next world, although many of them choose to remain to help new arrivals. Souls tend to go through the motions, still trying to eat and sleep, before accepting their new existence. The food on the planet includes ramen that evaporates into dust, and living candies.

The spirit of the planet manifests in multiple forms. The Curiosity of Limbo is personified as an angelic young girl, who has existed in isolation for aeons, the only truly living being in a world of ghosts. The Logic of Limbo manifests as the Night Porters, a swarm of flying, jellyfish-like creatures, led by a frightening being with no face, but an eye on one hand and mouth on the other (kind of like the Angel of Death in Pan's Labyrinth).

The Alien Registry records that Limbo holds no life, but QT detects something, leading the team to believe whatever's down there must be ultra-rare.

We're Alien Hunters, Baby: Limbo is populated by some very strange creatures, including a pink motorcycle that is actually a spirit; huge, snatching bird-creatures; and a vast snail-like creature with a single eye, that leads a choir of worm-like things. There are a Lord and Lady on the planet, probably unaware that they are dead; he has a crocodile's face, while she has a china mask hiding a body comprised of tentacles. Dandy's guide on the planet is Ferdinand, a hulking, ogre-like being who keeps Dandy safe by enveloping him in his torso.

It's Tech in Space, Baby: The cube Dandy wakes up with is his own black box, containing the memories of his last moments of life.

The Aloha Oe has a broken radar. QT gets by as a pilot by looking out the window.

Don't Quote Me, Baby: "Whether I'm alive or dead, I'm still pretty Dandy!"

The Bottom Line, Baby: The last of Space Dandy's surrealist episodes, this is bizarre and beautiful. Although other episodes play with tone and content in the series, no others stray so far from the series' usual vibrant, colourful style. Even Dandy is more contemplative than we'll ever find him again, ruminating on the necessity of sadness and hardship in life. Curiosity's offer to shift Dandy between dimensions, and his identity as "The One," is a huge revelation as to his true nature, which will pay off in the finale. Dandy could have died and returned to life via another timeline many, many times, offering a way to make sense of the series' baffling and contradictory continuity. The story comes together, a piece at a time.

DANDY SPACE LOG 2-6 & 2-7

Season Two, Episode Six - The Gallant Space Gentleman, Baby

Scarlet falls in with a handsome alien aristocrat; Dandy is having none of it.

We're Alien Hunters, Baby: 

Cloudians: a rare humanoid species. A Cloudian generates a cloud around himself, comprised of all the memories and data he has accumulated during his travels. If a Cloudian should lose his cloud, it is considered shameful. Dandy and crew have been tracking a Cloudian for six months, only to stumble across him when he stops by to pick up Scarlet. Cloudian men are known to home in on sad, lonely women, show them a good time and then dump them. Sir Gentle Nobra, though, seems more genuine than that, and is truly looking for love. He's quite naive and old-fashioned, as well. A Cloudian's cloud reacts to their mood, displaying rain when they are sad and lightning when they are angry. Dandy tries an on-the-spot registration of Sir Gentle but Scarlet dismisses him; a Cloudian without his cloud is no Cloudian at all.

Ambienceans: disembodied entities that supposedly at a little atmosphere to a place. Sir Gentle bought two, named Atmo and Sphere, to cheer up his abode, but they just giggle and manifest as a living laugh track.

He's Dandy, Baby: After six months of tracking the Cloudian with no results, Dandy is skeletally thin from hunger, dehydrated and becoming erratic. He's lovelorn too, although how much of this is how he actually feels, and how much is his delirium is uncertain (he starts going on about how he is love). Meow he was less thrashed when he was a zombie, which is a very weird moment of continuity between episodes considering this can't possibly follow those events.

On planet C'est la Vie, Dandy refuses to look for rare aliens on the basis that he could ruin someone's romance by capturing their potential mate. He's galvanised to action when it becomes clear that Scarlet has gone off with a Cloudian. He doesn't seem jealous but cares enough about her not to want to see her used by him.

The Scarlet Woman, Baby: She's lonely and hasn't much of a lovelife. She considers herself overly suspicious because of her work. Convinced to go out with her coworkers, she has a pretty dreadful time until she's swept off her feet by Sir Gentle. However, she soon realises what he is and is too proud for his advances. She starts to warm to him again, and is girlishly thrilled at the prospect of Gentle and Dandy fighting over her, before they are sidelined by the rescue of Honey. She proceeds to get drunk with Meow. Her best friend at the ARC is a statuesque, curvy alien woman named Pine-Pine.

You're my Candy Girl, Baby:

Honey loves wrestling and biking. When she's not working at BooBies, she bikes across planets to go see her favourite wrestler, Misawa, and she's got some pretty mean moves herself. She's definitely not the airhead she appears to be; she's capable of outwitting Dr. Gel and fighting her way off his ship. When Gel tries to make a copy of Honey's brain in order to build up a database on Dandy, his equipment overloads due to insufficient capacity. It turns out that Honey is half-Cloudian. Her real name is Lady Nobra, and she's the half-sister of Sir Gentle. Although she could generate a cloud, she doesn't carry it with her (probably because she's smarter than him and knows people would be hunting her down for it).

He's Not a Space Cat, Baby: He's so hungry, he dreams of chicken wings. He is but one of several male characters in this episode who falls for Scarlet.

He's Just a Little Obsolete, Baby: A robot comes onto QT and he doesn't quite know what to do. He feels deeply sorry for Scarlet, realising how sad she must feel.

It's Tech in Space, Baby: Sir Gentle's ship is named the Edinburgh, and is a floating castle and courtyard in space, surrounded by the pink haze of his cloud. It has no weaponry or defences.

The Aloha Oe runs out of fuel due to the crew's cashflow problems, and has to be pedal powered by Meow.

I Know This Planet, Baby: 

Planet C'est la Vie: hosting a meet night/all-you-can-eat buffet, free for ladies only. Dandy and Meow talk their way in by demanding that they're women and that you shouldn't judge by appearances. (In the Japanese subs, Dandy actually says "Everyone has a fault or two," which could be a paraphrase from the end of Some Like it Hot.) A giant snail comes onto Pine-Pine; presumably, the snail got in for half price.

Honey goes biking across a desert planet with two suns. It just might be Tatooine.

There's Bad Guys Too, Baby: Dr. Gel kidnaps Honey in order to use her knowledge to capture Dandy. He's actually very apologetic and gentlemanly towards her, bearing her no ill will. Gel comes across as pretty decent, if a little naive. He falls for Honey, which she uses to her advantage, running rings round him and sending out an SOS, with him believing it's a trap for Dandy.

Admiral Perry summons the Seventh Fleet to capture Dandy, orders Honey's death and has no qualms about Gel being killed in the process. "Screw him!" are his exact words.

The Bottom Line, Baby: Scarlet-focused episodes are always good, and there aren't enough of them. This is the beginning of the rather sweet Scarlet/Dandy romance that will be followed up in episode 2-10, "Lovers are Trendy, Baby." Honey also gets some brilliant development, proving to be more than a match for the boys. The two characters complement each other nicely, with Scarlet showing her softer side and Honey her hardass side. The episode develops into a... love quadrilateral?.. and ends in a suitably action-packed and emotional climax.

DANDY SPACE LOG 2-4 & 2-5

Season Two, Episode Four - The Transfer Student is Dandy, Baby

In the musical episode, Dandy enrols in a space highschool in order to find a rare alien.

He's Dandy, Baby: He never went to high school. This probably has something to do with why he wants to go to Baberley Hills so badly, although it's more to do with his desperate attempts to chat up the girls (just how old is Dandy?) He has limited musical ability but levels up with a Rocky-styled montage. During the big sing-off, he sings about asses. Which is pretty much a sure thing for a chart-topper these days.

They're Sidekicks, Baby: Neither Meow nor QT get to do a great deal this episode. Meow kicks off the plot by following the Cliponian on Twitter. They later sneak into the school dressed as janitors.

It's Tech in Space, Baby: Baberley Hills exists in a biodome within a huge space station in orbit of a planet. It's security is provided by a gigantic android. In the school, the social order is determined by singing ability. There are plenty of other classes, though. One professor, who looks like the Fly, is experimenting with matter transmitters (he looks like the classic Fly, but his equipment is taken from the 1986 remake). The use of superpowers is forbidden on campus.

We're Alien Hunters, Baby:

The Cliponian: An extremely rare inhabitant of the planet Clip-on. Cliponians are humanoid but are distinguished by a plant that grows out of their heads, which only blooms when the Cliponian is in love. Dandy completely fails to realise that the Cliponian is his prom queen, Freckles. He thinks she's plain, until he realises she has booty. He's wrong. A geeky redhead with a killer ass? You should fight for that.

Baberley students: There are a lot of different life forms enrolled at Baberley Hills. The elite students are slim, elfin girls and huge, meat-handed jocks. Three jocks can morph together to become a gigantic green hulk (catchphrase: "Isaac smash!") The various aliens making up the crowd are almost Dadaist in their bizarre variety. One of them looks like a gigantic tapeworm, which is fairly unpleasant. Perhaps it can sing. More unpleasant is the plant creature that ejaculates something all over Dandy when he asks her/it to prom.

Brodo Asogian: One of the jocks is a hench version of ET. Which, by logical extension, means this is in the same universe as Star Wars.

There's Bad Guys Too, Baby: By this stage, Dr. Gel is basically stalking Dandy for its own sake.

Don't Quote Me, Baby: "Nobody puts Dandy in a corner!"

The Bottom Line, Baby: It's Glee in space, obviously, and while that might be fun if you're a Glee fan, it's otherwise a rather average musical episode. There's nothing wrong with a singsong, but the songs have to be good. Even the climactic number isn't anything special. Freckles looks cute in her prom dress.

DANDY SPACE LOG 2-2 & 2-3

Season Two, Episode Two - There's Music in the Darkness, Baby

Dandy is invited to a party on an alien planet by his biggest fan. It does not go as he'd hoped.

We're Alien Hunters, Baby:

The Ukulele Man: A truly bizarre alien, the Ukulele Man is the only one of his kind. His species is born from a tree on a jungle planet, only one of them existing at any time. Physically, he appears as a skeleton with a wooden face, incapable of expression. The Ukulele Man is desperate to show people the joy and laughter in his heart. By playing his ukulele, he puts his victims into a trance, capturing their smiles forever by turning them into statues. He keeps them in his "smile collection," and occasionally tries on a body to see if the smile suits him.

Capybarians: Humanoid capybaras native to the Ukulele Man's planet. They like to chew, but they seem pretty reasonable.

Mantisians: Vicious insectoids that hatch from pods and chase Meow and QT while they're looking for Dandy.

Wiggians: Even odder aliens that chase the duo, Wiggians look like living toupees and emit bolts of electricity as they hunt for a scalp to call home.

Phenomenology, Baby: The River of Time flows from past to future through the upper atmosphere of the Ukulele Man's planet. A pororoca is a huge wave, caused by tidal forces acting against the flow of a river (the Amazon is prone to these). A large, red "satellite planet" acts upon the River of Time, causing a pororoca in its waters that reverse the flow from future to past. Harnessing the pororoca can allow travel back in ones own timestream.

He's Dandy, Baby: Doesn't take kindly to being made fun of when he misunderstands things, and flounces off when Meow and QT enter him into the Misunderstanding Grand Prix. Which, unbeknownst to him, he wins. He receives a party invitation from the Ukelele Man, who has decided Dandy has the greatest smile in the Galaxy after seeing a picture of him at BooBies. He also misunderstands that, immediately assuming the sender must be a beautiful woman. He does, however, understand the implications of the River of Time, and, enraged by Ukulele Man's treatment of his friends, surfs the pororoca to take them back to a point before they were petrified. Even after battling the Ukulele Man, he shows compassion for him in his last moments.

He's Not a Space Cat, Baby: Starts out the episode in a stupid argument with Dandy over a song rhythm, and then gets distracted long enough for him to leave in the Little Aloha. Once he realises Dandy is gone, he and QT go searching for him at considerable peril.

He's Just a Little Obsolete, Baby: His internet seems to be working well now. He's also seemingly fixed the teleporter - and it has a remote control. Both QT and Meow are captured and frozen by the Ukulele Man.

There's Bad Guys Too, Baby: Dr. Gel is infuriated by Dandy's continual escapes, and decides to use the River of Time to turn back the flow of history and capture him at an earlier point, turning a defeat into a victory. He really just misses his mum, though.

The Bottom Line, Baby: The perfect balance between strange, funny and touching, this is a cracking adventure with a memorable one-off villain. One of the best episodes of the second season.

DANDY SPACE LOG 2-1

A merry companion is a wagon in space, baby - and there's no better companion than Space Dandy, that Dandy guy in space. Not before time, I'm restarting my episode guide, covering the second season!

Season Two, Episode One - I Can't Be the Only One, Baby

After pulling on a cosmic string, Dandy and crew are thrown into a series of parallel universes where they meet multiple versions of themselves.

They're Dandy, Baby: The prime Dandy claims to have been a space trucker long before he hunted aliens, although he admits his memories are fuzzy. One of his many alter egos in the multiverse is (still) a space trucker, a big guy with a tan and a blond perm who has much the same outlook as the prime Dandy. He gets on a lot better with this Dandy than the first one he meets, a blue-haired show-off (even by Dandy standards) who's an incomparable alien hunter with a 100% capture rate. This version lives in what looks like a Studio Gainax/Evangelion styled universe.

Among the other millions of Dandies in the multiverse there are:

Manga Hero Dandy - an insufferable, hyperactive lunatic who screeches like Michael Jackson and appears to have stepped out of DragonBall-Z. (He rides a cloud like Sun Goku from DragonBall, or, if you're of an older vintage like me, like Monkey from Monkey, or further, all the way back to Journey to the West.) Except he's fighting the Demon King by hunting for people with star-shaped birthmarks, which seems to be a reference to the epic JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.

Mobile Suit Dandy - clearly a parody of the Gundam series, this Dandy is a pilot for a giant mecha suit.

Space Ninja Dandy - a Gatchaman/Battle of the Planets science ninja styled Dandy, whose team use Naruto-inspired attacks.

Big Dandy - a gigantic Dandy in a hat, riffing on the Titans from Attack on Titan (but not as grotesque).

Triangle Dandy - things get weird with Dandies that aren't even vaguely humanoid appearing, including this one, which is copied from the illustration of a Master from The Tripods, as painted by Wayne Barlowe in Barlowe's Guide to Extraterrestrials.

A boy genius Dandy who is the first version who get a handle on what's going on - in fact, he expecting his alter egos to turn up.

There's also Space Inspector Dandy, She-Dandy, Bear Brick Dandy, Mascot Dandy and many others. Finally, there's the depressed Emo Dandy, who's version of QT and Meow have driven him to existential despair.

It might be significant that the first cosmic string that appears is poking out of Dandy's pompadour.

They're Not Space Cats, Baby: As with the infinite Dandies, there are infinite Meows, including, but not confined to, a giant armoured Meow (who travels with the successful alien hunter); a woman with a cat's tail (who was returned cargo of Space Trucker Dandy); a pink and blue pig, for some reason (with Manga Hero Dandy) and one who is a Schrodingerian (see below). Emo Dandy is plagued by a Meow who is a cyborg that simply repeats the same electronic mew noise over and over again.

They're Just a Little Obsolete, Baby: And thus, with QT. Most of the QTs are robots, but not all. Space Trucker Dandy's QT is green and was unlabelled cargo. Boy Genius Dandy is protected from his version of the Gogol Empire by a QT that is comprised of two gigantic robot skeletons. Finally, Emo Dandy is plagued also by a QT who is a fat old man in a pink unitard who insists he's a robot.

The Scarlet Woman, Baby: Scarlet takes exception to Dandy trying to pass of a regular cow as an alien, and takes the team aside for a chat. She suggests they try looking for a new line of work, and gives them a copy of Space Career Change magazine (naturally, most of the jobs require a degree). Frustratingly, we never get to meet any of Scarlet's alternative universe selves.

Let's Get Our Asses to BooBies, Baby: When all the Dandies arrive in one universe, they naturally all go to BooBies. Honey can tell there's something somehow Dandyish about them all, and thinks they must be siblings. Alternative Honeys include the girlfriend of the super successful Dandy (who has impressive underboobs), and one who is a ninja in the Space Ninja team. As the multiverse begins to collapse, BooBies becomes staffed by muscular hunks in tiny outfits.

There's Bad Guys Too, Baby: We briefly see the alternative versions of Dr Gel and Bea who are hunting Boy Genius Dandy. Dr Gel is an actual gorilla and Bea is a carrot.

We're Alien Hunters, Baby:

Schrodingerians: Aliens that look like cats but have a quantum defense mechanism. They hide in a box and you can't tell if they're alive or dead until you look. Boy Genius Dandy's Meow is a Schrodingerian.

The Gorillian Empire: Boy Genius's universe's version of the Gogol Empire.

A Cow: Just a cow.

Phenomenology, Baby: A cosmic string, or dimensional fray, is a crossover point between realities in the multiverse. Every point in space is an intersection point with another point in space so cosmic strings can potentially be quite common. Unlike the string that Dandy pulled in the first episode, pulling the strings here pulls him not across space, but into alternative universes. When trying to take Boy Genius Dandy and his crew along with him, Dandy's pulling of the string causes all the Dandies met so far to appear in his own universe. More and more appear, causing the gradual collapse of causality and reality, with inconsistencies appearing everywhere. Even the Narrator is duplicated (which, given later revelations, is curious). Ultimately, Dandy repairs the multiverse by returning all Dandies to their respective realities; however, Emo Dandy is left as the star of the series.

Don't Quote Me, Baby: "I assure you, we have no intention of touching your balls."

The Bottom Line, Baby: Even for a show so full of references, this is something else. "I Can't Be the Only One, Baby" is basically made of references, and as such what I've listed above is only the start of it. Even checking my thoughts up against TV Tropes, I simply don't know enough about anime to even guess at how many shows are being parodied and referenced here. Even so, this is a tremendously fun episode, and easily a favourite. It also paves the way for the cosmic revelations concerning Dandy in the final episode. 

DANDY SPACE LOG 1-12 & 1-13

Oh my stars and garters, there's been so much on that I almost forgot to finish up with season one of Space Dandy, Here's the final two episodes, with season two to follow in the near-ish future.

Season One, Episode Twelve - Nobody Knows the Chameleon Alien, Baby

Dandy and co. attempt to capture a shapeshifting alien for a huge bounty.

He's Dandy, Baby: If he makes a 100 million woolongs, he plans to eat at BooBies three meals a day, and then live off the accrued BooBies points so he can eat there even more. He's not really bright enough to realise that a Chameleonian is not the same as a chameleon. In times of danger, his Dandy sense tingles. Dandy finds a huge-lipped female alien strangely attractive, which even Meow thinks is gross. He's not terribly good at catching aliens, and has only been bringing in worthless specimens. Eventually he gets himself banned from the Registration Centre for trying to catch Scarlet. Dandy is especially easy for the Chameleonian to imitate, because his thought processes are so predictable. Eventually, he becomes so unsure whether he is the real Dandy or not he suffers an existential crisis. His favourite sport is the ladies' hundred metre breaststroke.

He's Not a Space Cat, Baby: If he makes 100 million woolongs, Meow plans to just sit in the sun, drink beer and lick himself all day. He enjoys octopus popsicles.

He's Just a Little Obsolete, Baby: QT enjoys himself this episode, unexpectedly discovering the joys of fishing and becoming quite obsessed with it for a period. He spends so long fishing that the three of them forget what they were originally hunting for.

We're Alien Hunters, Baby:

Chameleonian: Worth a wopping 100 (cha-)million woolongs at the Alien Registration Centre, the Chameleonian gets its name because it can change its appearance, although there the resemblance to chameleons ends. Although, presumably the sophisticated shapeshifter could turn into a chameleon, though. Nobody knows what they really look like, although the one we meet does take on an amorphous, blackish form between shapes. The Chameleonian is cunning and very hard to trap. It's brought onto the ship because it was disguised as a tsuchinoko and got caught by QT when fishing, which was a stroke of luck, really.

The Chameleonian is a bit of a dick, really. When it changes into a humanoid form it hides on the ship, coming out at night to use Dandy's toothbrush and look at porn on QT's phone. In the course of the episode it turns into Dandy, QT, Meow, Scarlet and Dr. Gel, before it's finally revealed that it was, in fact, the Narrator all along. Which doesn't really make any sense, especially given what we eventually discover about the Narrator's true identity.

Baranian: A purplish, crab-like creature, worth 128 woolongs.

Pelorian: A pink, flabby creature, worth 64 woolongs.

Rakendrian: Worth 32 woolongs. Looks kind of like a lipstick with an eye on it.

Unnamed alien: A flat creature that Dandy brings in only goes for a measly two woolongs.

Tsuchinoko: A legendary creature in Japanese folklore, a sort of fat serpent with ill-defined powers. Clearly the tsuchinoko exist in Dandy's universe, and live like fish on certain planets. QT is thrilled to catch a black one, but it is not what it seems.

The Scarlet Woman, Baby: Scarlet really has had enough of Dandy and his gang's incompetence in the alien catching business. She doesn't take kindly to being mistaken for a Chameleonian.

There's Bad Guys Too, Baby: Dr. Gel has completed work on the ultimate weapon, the Hyperdimensional Magic Hand, a system so sophisticated it can find its target anywhere in the universe of time and space. Unfortunately, it can't tell the real Dandy from the Chameleonian. Dr. Gel gets into a fight with this interloper, that ends with them both yelling "Who is the Doctor?!" at each other in a deliberate Doctor Who reference.

Don't Quote Me, Baby: "Man, I can't believe I put my butt on it."

The Bottom Line, Baby: A good, fun episode, although the fishing aside goes on a bit too long. The quiz to determine the real Dandy, as well as being a riff on Who Wants to be a Millionaire ("Is that your final Dandy?) was done before, possibly better, in the Red Dwarf episode "Psirens," though. There are some nice Aliens nods in the episode too.

DANDY SPACE LOG 1-10 & 1-11

Season One, Episode Ten - There's Always Tomorrow, Baby

It's the Groundhog Day episode, and our first look at Meow's home planet, Betelguese, where Dandy and co. are forced to make a landing in order to get the Aloha Oe serviced. It should only take a couple of days...

He's Not a Space Cat, Baby: Meow's not keen on going back to Betelgeuse, but at the end of the day (a very long day), he's glad he goes home. His family are thrilled to see him, from Li'l Mamma to his dad, who is in fact very proud of his son, in spite of his not following him into the family business (making parts for an unknown appliance at Screw Industry). When he's not chasing rare aliens, he's playing Galaga. He had an old sweetheart named Katie, who now works at the bar his dad drinks at after work; sadly for Meow, Katie is gay. Despite all his protestations to Dandy, most everyone calls him Meow (or Mew), not Mrrwmewmew. When Meow finally cottons on to the fact that he and everyone is living the same day over and over, his immediate conclusion is that they've all developed superpowers.

He's Dandy, Baby: Totally bonds with Meow's dad over their shared love of boobs. Dandy has trouble believing that they're caught in a timeloop, and just thinks that life on Betelgeuse is so incredibly boring that it just feels like the same day over and over. Even when he is convinced, he doesn't really care until it's pointed out to him that the Aloha Oe will never get fixed and therefore he'll never get to BooBies. He tries to steal a spacecar but it explodes, killing him - until the day starts over again.

He's Just a Little Obsolete, Baby: It's QT who first notices the day has been repeating itself - after 88 iterations. Dandy's complete nonchalance means no one pays it any mind until the 100th iteration.

There's Bad Guys Too, Baby: The Gogol and Jaicro Empires are still at war, battling for control of the universe. Both sides have potentially monstrously destructive weapons of war. The Jaicro have huge Gundam/Ideon style mechas for battling in space, while the Gogol have the CORE - an unstable weapon that requires the rare element Pyonium to function. When Admiral Perry orders Dr. Gel to activate the CORE without the requisite levels of Pyonium, it explodes, sending a discharge of pure Pyonic energy through space.

Phenomenology, Baby: The Pyonium energy travels to Betelgeuse and hits the calendar in Meow's family's house, twisted space-time into a Moebius loop and forcing everyone to repeat the day over and over. The effect is only stopped once Meow's dad uses his metalworking skills to cut the affected page from the calendar.

I Know This Planet, Baby: In real life, Betelgeuse is, of course, a star. Also called Alpha Orionis, it's a red giant lying approximately 700 light years away (assuming it hasn't already collapsed). In Dandy's universe, however, it is the name of a small blue planet, in close orbit with a much larger red planet, which hangs heavy in its sky. Much of the surface is water, and the region we see is experiencing a temperate summer. So not unlike Earth, really. The native Betelgeusians are catlike creatures, although the females tend to wear wigs and make-up that make them look more human-like (which is actually a little disturbing). The area we see looks very much like rural Japan with a touch of downtown Tokyo.

The Bottom Line, Baby: A great episode. Meow finally gets some much needed focus (QT will get his turn soon), and learns that sometimes, you have to go home in order to start afresh. It's a fine character piece and a great bit of sci-fi. Obviously, Groundhog Day is the immediate point of comparison, but it has more in common with the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Cause and Effect." In any case, time loop episodes are ten-a-penny in science fiction, but rarely are they done with as much humour and heart as this.

DANDY SPACE LOG 1-8 & 1-9

A slacker human, an anthropomorphised cat, a robot designed for cleaning - add a neurotic hologram and Space Dandy would practically be Red Dwarf. This time, they even end up on a garbage planet with a link to Earth. Has someone been reading Better Than Life?

Season One, Episode Eight - The Lonely Pooch Planet, Baby

He's Dandy, Baby: Dandy makes way to an uncharted planet in search of unregistered aliens, but all he finds is a single, lonely dog. Initially he believes her to be an alien who just looks like a dog, but he doesn't stick to that hypothesis for long. He bonds with the dog quickly, and names her PUP - short for Precious Upsidedown-coconut Pie, inspired by an item on the BooBies menu. All Dandy really needs to make his life that bit more worthwhile is a dog. He's pretty harsh on Meow here, even before he starts hating on PUP, and doesn't care much for the Betelguesian's feelings when he immediately invites the dog to join the Aloha Oe crew. Sadly, PUP is dying, and Dandy is genuinely heartbroken when she goes. He uses the robotic version of the Little Aloha (seen back in episode four) to build a "rocket coffin" for the dog, to launch her back into space.

He's Not a Space Cat, Baby: He's a big licker. He initially takes against PUP, but secretly becomes very fond of her, and is upset when she dies. Meow actually speaks dog, and while he tries to use this to badmouth the pooch (it doesn't work, because Dandy's universal translator manages to unpick the doggie dialect), he's taken by her because she likes his hat. As a furry creature, Meow becomes the host for the two alien parasites that have been living on PUP all this time, which leads them onto the Aloha Oe. Meow actually discovers an unknown alien species on the planet, but accidentally eats it before he can help himself. He has a free unrecorded alien app on his phone, which leads them to the junk planet.

He's Just a Little Obsolete, Baby: His historical records aren't exactly accurate; he identifies PUP as belonging to a breed of dog called a Laika. Which is partway to the truth, of course. Being a machine, QT is susceptible to the Machinians' influence, and is possessed by the vengeful last surviving creature. He's excited - even aroused - by the heaps of space junk that make up the surface of the planet.

We're Alien Hunters, Baby: 

The Machinians: Tiny, almost microscopic creatures who live like fleas on the backs of hairy creatures. They are micro-humanoids with human heads and flexible, springy skeletons. QT's database identifies them as a Graviton and a Gravitino (actually hypothetical boson particles in the real world), beings long thought extinct who have the ability to manipulate machines and bring metal devices together under gravity. The Machinians are depicted in pretty racist Native American cliches, going on about their sacred land and so forth. The Le Flea brothers have been living on PUP's back and are probably the last surviving members of their species. One suffers death by comb on Dandy's pompadour while the other is stepped on. Goodbye reward money.

The blue mold: Some kind of alien organism that is discovered by Meow inside an old fridge on the junk planet. This, in fact, marks the episode out as a direct sequel to the Cowboy Bebop episode "Toys in the Attic," an Alien pastiche in which the same fungoid alien attempts to infect the characters before being launched into dead space in the fridge. Presumably, the fridge drifted in space for thousands of years before being absorbed into the junk planet... proving once and for all this is the same universe as Cowboy Bebop.

I Know This Planet, Baby: The planet Machinia, on which the episode is set, is comprised entirely from old space junk, bits of satellites and old appliances and so forth. Drawn together under gravity and the influence of the Machinians. Only the Machinians' power is keeping it stable, and once they are dead, the planet collapses under its own gravitational force into a black hole. It is (was) located in an "Andromeda-like galaxy."

It's Future History, Baby: So, PUP is Laika. Even without the Narrator spelling it out, of course she's Laika. Launched into space by the Soviet space programme and recorded as dying on reentry, Laika was the first terrestrial animal ever to leave the Earth. In Dandy's universe, she drifted aboard Sputnik 2 until she, somehow, arrived on the junk planet in a distant galaxy. Presumably she drifted through a wormhole or something to explain how she is still alive so far from her home time and space, or maybe she was flung out at relativistic speeds... whatever, it's Laika, she was abandoned and alone and died for our science.

There's Bad Guys Too, Baby: Bea has upgraded the Gel's music system (it plays the BooBies music!) but it has the side effect of launching the ship's missiles. Dr. Gel doesn't like this because Admiral Perry is a cheapskate and keeps complaining about interplanetary damage claims. Dr. Gel and Bea are back on the trail of Dandy, but are killed when they're sucked into the black hole while the Aloha Oe warps to safety. Dr. Gel does get to do the "next episode" voiceover, where he bitches about continually getting killed off and missing episodes.

Don't Quote Me, Baby: "Say what you will about me, I can always spot a bitch."

The Bottom Line, Baby: A moment of silence for Laika, please. God, this episode is a gutpunch. Even the Narrator blubs. It's weirdly structured, though; the first half builds to a heartbreaking ending, then it carries on with over-the-top alien shenanigans. Still, this is a desperately sad episode. Indeed, it's the second most upsetting animated science fiction dog-related episode in history (the most upsetting being Futurama's "Jurassic Bark," which I cannot watch).

DANDY SPACE LOG 1-6 & 1-7

Season One, Episode Six - The War of the Undies and Vests, Baby

Dandy and co. are drawn into a eternal war on the planet Eden.

We're Alien Hunters, Baby: Eden is home to two related alien races, the Undies/Undians and the Vestians, both unregistered. They're not very pretty, and look like they developed from sea creatures. The Undians have crab-like heads, red and white flesh and long, flexible arms, while the Vestians are purplish-blue, with hammerheads and bulbous forearms. Both species have a chest cavity in which they can store weapons. The biggest difference between the races is their polarised cultural mores. While the Undians cover only their nether regions and consider it obscene to go bottomless, the Vestians let it all hang loose and think the topless Undians are disgusting. They've been warring over this intractable schism for the last ten thousand years. The Undie and the Vestie we meet in this episode are the last of their kind, and by the time the episode is over, they're extinct.


I Know This Planet, Baby: Eden was a real garden spot ten millennia ago, but blown to smithereens in the war between the two factions. Now little more than a debris field with a single moon, it is still a war zone. Each survivor has made a base on a fragment of the planet, and are fighting over the dominance of the moon, protected by automated missile systems. The moon also erupts with dangerous geysers.

He's Dandy, Baby: Dandy spends much of this episode making wild claims that he was a surfer ace before he became an alien hunter. QT and Meow are pretty taken in, before he reveals that he pulled the whole thing out of his ass. That said, when the desperate space surf to safety happens at the climax of the episode, he holds his own. Captured by the sole surviving Undian, he happily parades around in his tight underpants and rapidly takes against his former friend Meow, on the opposing side. He reads Playbay (sic).

He's Not a Space Cat, Baby: Meow is recruited by the suriving Vestian, due to his dressing in nothing but a loose top (although he thought it was some kind of sarong). While he is just as easily radicalised as Dandy, even he can agree that getting the two aliens to be registered is a good moneymaking idea, and will require them to make peace. Also, there's promise of BooBies at the end of it.

He's Just a Little Obsolete, Baby: QT is revealed to be a very resourceful robot. Not only is he capable of repairing the Aloha Oe after it takes heavy damage in the missile attack, he also proves to be an adept diplomat. Sadly, he takes it all a little too far, and his strict adherence to protocol leads to the Undian and Vestian once again fighting. No better than his crewmates, he is quite willing to leave Meow and Dandy to die in the conflagration until he comes up with an idea to surf to safety.



Don't Quote Me, Baby: "I'd be dead if I'd gone commando!"

The Bottom Line, Baby: Classic sci-fi, really, a tale of the stupidity of war in the vein of Jonathan Swift, although to my mind, it is reminiscent most of the classic Star Trek episode "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield." The joke wears thin after a while, but it makes its point. The game Spore has an influence on the visual and sound design of this episode, although the English dub makes the aliens sound a little like Yoda. The ending is very Dark Star.

DANDY SPACE LOG 1-4 & 1-5

"These are the spectacular adventures of Space Dandy and his brave space crew... in space!"

Series One, Episode Four - “Sometimes You Can't Live With Dying, Baby”


It's the zombie episode! Everyone dies. Everyone in the universe.


We're Alien Hunters, Baby: The Stiltonians are a species of greenish alien slugs with manipulating tentacles. They are characterised by fast movements and quick reflexes, but are gentle and friendly. Unlike the one that Dandy and crew capture, because it is a zombie Stiltonian, that starts the whole zombie pandemic by biting Meow. There are many, many different species in the Galaxy Hospital, from the green, beaked doctor, the elfin nurses and what looks like some kind of horrific walking anus.


He's Not a Space Cat, Baby: Meow falls deathly ill, although only QT notices. He's strangely more content to follow Dandy's orders when undead.

He's Just a Little Obsolete, Baby: At least QT is observant enough to see that something is wrong with Meow. It's pretty unlikely Dandy would have survived any time at all without QT to keep an eye on him. Dandy repays him by stuffing him into a marauding zombie beast's mouth. In fairness, Dandy reasonably believes that robots can't be zombified; he is, however, mistaken, and QT joins the ranks of the undead.


He's Dandy, Baby: Basically brushes off any concern for Meow until QT manages to convince him to take a trip to the Galaxy Hospital, whereupon Dandy is very happily surrounded by numerous nubile space nurses. None of them have any interest in him, not that this discourages him in any way. Neither illness nor imminent zombification are enough to quite put Dandy off the quest for space nurses. At least he likes chicks who are “both hot and smart,” so it's not like he doesn't have standards. It really does take a lot to phase Dandy, but a hoard of zombies does freak him out.


Dandy displays some pretty ninja moves when battling the twin threats of bounty hunters and zombies, and is able to escape from Galaxy Hospital via helicopter. Unfortunately, the pilot is a zombie. After zombification, Dandy and crew's un-lives carry on much as they did before, only more dead. They still go to BooBies, after all. After a few months, Dandy remembers a life insurance policy he took out when he was trying to bang a saleswoman, and cashes in.


There's Bad Guys Too, Baby: Dr. Gel is still on Dandy's trail on the behest of Admiral Perry, who has employed some bounty hunters to help track him down. The mercenaries are a mixed bunch of aliens, led by pink arachnid with a Scottish accent. As ruthless as they are, they're not prepared for the zombies. Later, Dandy and co have to contend with hired assassins employed by the insurance companies to take out the zombies, which are bankrupting them.


Being Dead is Hard, Baby: Zombification leads to an emotional cycle of despair and the urge for raw meat. It is, however, preferable for a zombie to eat yoghurt, which is full of helpful bacteria. Zombies can communicate using a series of surprisingly subtle moans and grunts. Bright sunshine is also helpful in maintaining freshness. Many zombies have an inexplicable desire to spend time in the mall. Eventually, all life in the cosmos is zombified, and finally, universal peace is achieved.


The Bottom Line, Baby: Romero references abound in this episode, from the mall gag to the trio sitting down to watch one of his movies at the very end. Ridiculous fun, full of bizarre aliens, zombie cheerleaders, zombie babies, zombie fridges... Even the Narrator, who has a much larger role to play once the episode becomes otherwise dialogue-free, ends up zombified (a pretty odd turn of events, considering later revelations). I have been watching all these episodes with the English dub, rather than in Japanese with subtitles; whatever purists might say, the English script is fantastic and the performances, especially by Ian Sinclair as Dandy, are worth it. This is, however, one of those episodes when subs are needed as well, since much of it is in Zombie-ese and this isn't dubbed for some reason.

DANDY SPACE LOG 1-2 & 1-3

He combs the Galaxy like his pompadour on the hunt for aliens... both friendly, and not...

Series One, Episode Two - “The Search for the Phantom Space Ramen, Baby”


The first episode to feature the wonderfully named Colleen Clinkenbeard as Scarlet, this sees Dandy, Meow and QT embark on a quest to find the fabled phantom ramen, said to have a flavour truly of another dimension. They visit every ramen restaurant in local space: the Ramen Galaxy, Ramen Nebula, AndRamenDa, Full Metal Noodleist and (ra)Men in Black. And BooBies, of course. Meanwhile, Dr. Gel and Bea continue their pursuit of Dandy.


He's Dandy Baby: He's got a secret stash of ramen hidden on the Aloha Oe for when the alien-hunting has been slow and money is tight. At least, until he discovers Meow has eaten it all, at which point he tries to flush the creature out of the airlock. He easily becomes convinced to dedicate himself to finding the ultimate bowl of ramen, despite having no money to pay for any of it. In Ramen Nebula, he moonwalks up to Scarlet and tries charming her. It almost looked like he was getting somewhere until he asked her to get his tab. He might be an ass man, but he's a boobies man too. He thinks nothing of jumping head first into a wormhole to see where it leads. He seems genuinely moved by the ramen chef's story. He offers him a ride out of his dimension... but maybe he's just thinking of the unregistered alien bounty.


He's Just a Little Obsolete, Baby: He's basically a vacuum cleaner with add-ons. He's the only one to stay behind in the main universe, monitoring the link while Dandy and Meow are visiting the Ramen Dimension.


He's Not a Space Cat, Baby: He reckons he's a ramen connoisseur, having heard tales of phantom ramen on his travels; it's the only thing that distracts Dandy long enough to stop him getting thrown off the ship. Dandy is being pursued by the Gogol Empire (although he doesn't know why), yet Meow checks in online at every restaurant and shrugs it off as the troopers just getting lucky. He can't run while carrying ramen.


The Scarlet Lady, Baby: Scarlet is the no-nonsense registration officer who invariably deals with Dandy's alien submissions, and almost invariably dismisses them as absolutely worthless. She eats as Ramen Nebula, and doesn't take kindly to being hit up for woolongs. Easily the most proficient fighter we see in the the series, Scarlet absolutely kicks the Gogol troopers' asses.


It's Tech in Space, Baby: The best way to find your way around the Galaxy is using Gogol Galaxy Streetview. The final ramen cafe gets its ramen delivered from offsite, through a combined dumbwaiter/interdimensional transporter, which uses an unstable wormhole to bridge the divide to the Ramen Dimension. In this swirling realm are myriad island asteroids, upon one of which is the phantom chef and his ramen stand.


We're Alien Hunters, Baby: Dandy brings an Andromengero to the Alien Registration Centre. It's a purplish brown blob, extremely common and utterly valueless. There are 58.6 billion registered Betelguesians, so Meow really is no good as bounty. Dr. Gel sends Gogol battlesquad troops after the heroes; they're spindly green creatures but armed to the topknots. The ramen chef is an ancient, shrivelled, hunchbacked, roughly humanoid creature, who's been hiding out on his asteroid for ten thousand years, making his ramen and sending it through the wormhole. It's unique salty taste comes from his tears of loneliness. He learned of ramen when he crashed in Japan as a young extraterrestrial on the run. Dandy offers him a way out of his exile but he declines.


The Bottom Line, Baby: The phantom ramen chef's story really is kind of moving, in a bizarre, food-obsessed kind of way. Dandy's at his best when he's on some kind of quest, pointless or otherwise, but the highlight of the episode is the introduction of Scarlet, who'll be more important as the series goes on. The Ramen Dimension is spectacular. There are some fun Star Wars references in this episode too; Scarlet's apology to the proprietor of Ramen Nebula brings to mind the the Mos Eisley Cantina scene in the original Star Wars, and there's a brief reference to Tatooine when Meow is tweeting.

DANDY SPACE LOG 1-1

This is the first installment of what will be my guide to all twenty-six episodes of the magnificent, idiotic, ingenious anime Space Dandy! The entire series is available on Netflix in the UK and US, both in the original Japanese with subtitles and in the English dub. This is a guide to the dubbed version, although there are episodes where sticking the subs on reveals some more information that's been lost in the translation to the brilliant English script.

Space Dandy's English-speaking cast include Ian Sinclair as Dandy, Alison Victorin as QT, Joel McDonald as Meow, J. Michael Tatum as Dr. Gel and R. Bruce Elliott as the Narrator.


Space Dandy is a dandy guy... in space!



Series One, Episode One - “Live With the Flow, Baby”

It is Space Century 0014. We Meet Dandy and QT, and they meet Meow, while they search for new aliens at their favourite hideout, BooBies. Meow promises them he knows a planet that's full of mysterious alien species, so they set out in the Aloha Oe, but when accidentally engaging the malfunctioning warp drive, they burst through the outer dimensions, a continuum criss-crossed with cosmic strings. Dandy, of course, pulls on one, becoming dragged across space/time via the fabled element of pyonium. They are pursued by Dr. Gel of the Gogol Empire, but, stuck on a deadly planet inhabited by terrifying aliens, Dandy elects to engage the supernova device. Everybody dies. The End.

He's Dandy, Baby: His name's Dandy but you can call him Space Dandy. He's an ass man, as all right-thinking men are. An “elite” alien hunter, Dandy hunts for undiscovered species and returns them to the Alien Registration Centre for payment. He visits BooBies regularly, ostensibly because it's an alien hangout, but also because the drinks are cheap, the ladies are lovely and because he has one overriding mission: to visit every branch of BooBies in the Galaxy. Dandy goes with the flow; that's his pure philosophy. When confronted by the interdimensional majesty of a cosmic string, Dandy's first reaction is to yank on it. He doesn't really think his plans through, and gets himself and his crew killed.


He's Just a Little Obsolete, Baby: QT is a service robot Dandy picked up cheap on some backwater planet. His drives are out of date, he can't update his programmes because his operating system is too old, and he needs to consult the Alien Hunter's Guide to supplement his database. His battery life is terrible, and he gets pretty thick when he's in power save mode. He's not impressed by Dandy's attempts to educate him in the finer things in life.


He's Not a Space Cat, Baby: Meow – short for Mrrrmmrrrmmrrmmwww – is a Betelgeusian, an alien species that looks like a cat. But he's not a space cat, OK? He's hanging out in BooBies, perving on the girls and taking snaps of their assets. Why a feline alien wants to perv on humanoid girls is anyone's guess, but he's come to the right place. Initially, QT thinks Meow might be an unidentified alien due to an unusual mark on his cheek. It turns out this is a sticker he won for ordering the Gilgamesh tequila. He knows some obscure planets but really doesn't know how to navigate.

Let's Get Our Asses to BooBies, Baby: Where zero-g meets double-D, BooBies is a breastaurant, like Hooters or Twin Peaks, but in space! A space station shaped like a magnificent pair of bosoms, it is indeed an alien hangout, and has many beautiful waitresses, from every species with boobs. Truly, the appeal of the breasticles crosses the divide of culture and species. We meet our favourite recurring waitress, Honey, a blonde bombshell who is pretty easily distracted.


Tell My Story, Baby: The story is narrated by an mysterious voice, who is, strangely enough, audible to Dandy and QT. He pretty much phones it in though. I think he's only in it for the fourth-wall-breaking.


It's Tech in Space, Baby: Dandy has all manner of nifty gizmos for catching aliens, including a bola balls, a laser fishing rod, and of course, his trusty spaceship, the Aloha Oe. The warp drive is on the fritz, and in any case, Dandy doesn't like using it – he's heard too much warping makes your hair fall out. The ship's matter transporter is also out of date; it takes an age to warm up and a good five minutes to beam someone off a planet. Dandy's ultimate weapon is a surfer doll that sends the ship's drive into overload and turns everything in the vicinity supernova. Only an idiot would use it.


We're Alien Hunters, Baby: There are many varieties of alien life in the Galaxy, from humanoids to cat-like Betelgeusians to huge pink blobs. The planet the Aloha Oe is drawn to is inhabited by gigantic wyrms, in various flavours: fire-breathing, lightning-throwing and composed of water. There's also a huge green robot guy who comes out of the ground, and those are just the less weird ones.


I Know This Planet, Baby: The planet promised by Meow is an absolute dive. It even begins collapsing under Dandy and Meow's feet. Damned space cat.


There's Bad Guys Too, Baby: The Gogol Empire and the Jaicro Empire are at war for the fate of the universe. The Gogol 7^th Fleet of the Galactic Force is headed by Admiral Perry, a mighty villain with a flaming skull (not unlike the dread Dormammu, although his outfit is like Nightmare's from the Kirby games). Admiral Perry is after Dandy, for he, apparently, holds the key to the universe. He sends his agent, Dr. Gel after him. Dr. Gel is a hulking green primate, who flies a ship shaped like the Statue of Liberty, biting down on a ball gag. He is supported by his diminutive assistant, Bea. Neither survives the pursuit of Dandy.


Don't Quote Me, Baby: “Nothing trumps the rump, my friend; anyone who thinks otherwise is either blind or a fool.”



Bottom Line, Baby: It's just the introductory episode, of course, but this displays all the trashy, over-the-top absurdity of Space Dandy at its finest. There are hints of the greater mysteries to come, but from the off, it shows a joyous disregard for continuity and consistency, killing off every major character before drawing attention to the fact that this makes no sense whatsoever. Even the first episode is chock-full of references to other productions, from the warped Planet of the Apes inference of Dr. Gel and his Liberty ship to the monsters cribbed from Galaga. Not to mention that Space Dandy almost certainly takes place in the same universe (multiverse?) as Cowboy Beebop, starting with the use of Woolongs as currency. Some people hate the, well, boobiness of the whole thing, but it's a parody of the shameless fan service that many more popular anime series display (and a lot less graphic than some). It's puerile, ridiculous and over-excitable, but it's the foundation of what will be some truly intelligent science fiction in episodes to come.