Martian Successor Nadesico

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Martian Successor Nadesico
The cast of Martian Successor Nadesico.
機動戦艦ナデシコ
(Kidō Senkan Nadeshiko)
Genre Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Mecha, Science Fiction
TV anime
Directed by Tatsuo Sato
Studio XEBEC
Network JapanTV Tokyo
United KingdomSci-fi channel
Original run 1 October 1996 – 24 March 1997
No. of episodes 26 TV Episodes, 1 Movie

Martian Successor Nadesico or Mobile Battleship Nadesico (機動戦艦ナデシコ Kidō Senkan Nadeshiko?) is a science fiction comedy anime TV series, and a subsequent manga series by Kia Asamiya. The series takes place in the year 2196. The manga, published in English by CPM Manga, is significantly different from the anime.

Contents

[edit] Plot overview

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

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 boy 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, especially the vessel's captain Yurika, seem to be head over heels in love with Akito, but all he wants to do is cook and watch his favorite anime, Gekigangar III (a play within a play).

[edit] Review

The series features an energetic juxtaposition of comedy and drama, as the characters engage in lighthearted antics in between facing the drama of war. Many of the characters are themselves anime fans, and there is often comparison between the campy, sanitized war of the anime within an anime Geikigangar III and the much harsher reality that the crew of the Nadesico faces. The show intentionally includes a number of science fiction anime clichés, including time travel and alien invaders, but turns these concepts on their heads by the end of the series through a number of plot twists.

There are many anime references, particularly to the series Space Battleship Yamato (The name Nadesico is a play on the phrase "Yamato Nadesico," which represents the traditional Japanese ideal of femininity). One of the characters is a magical girl seiyuu before joining the crew (and in fact is a parody of a specific seiyuu, Megumi Hayashibara), another is a fangirl who likes to draw her own lemon shounen-ai manga doujinshi, while a third is an otaku who bases his entire life on Gekigangar III. In an episode late in the series, the ship holds an anime convention complete with a viewing marathon of Gekigangar, people engaged in cosplay, and tie-in merchandising. Another episode makes a parody of the Macross anime, as the crew celebrates a Miss Nadesico contest to decide a new captain and public figurehead, where all the female crew members participate. The contest includes a swimsuit competition, and singing.

The Gekigangar anime show is in fact an homage (and parody) of many Super Robot mecha anime of the 70s and 80s, most particularly Go Nagai's Getter Robo.

The TV series ran for 26 episodes. A Gekigangar III compilation OVA was also released, as well as a sequel movie called Martian Successor Nadesico: The Prince of Darkness that takes place several years after the main series.

Four games based on the series were released in Japan. As of 2006, none of them have been released in the US. The first game, released for the Sega Saturn in 1997, is entitled "Mobile Battleship Nadesico." It is a dating sim game with a few mecha elements included. A second game, also for the Sega Saturn, was released in the following year under the title Martian 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 the Dreamcast in 1999, Martian Successor Nadesico: The Mission, continues the story from Martian Successor Nadesico: The Prince of Darkness. Finally, a mahjong variant game was released for the Game Boy Color entitled "Mobile Battleship Nadesico: Ruriruri Mahjong."

[edit] Nadesico 2

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Stellvia director Tatsuo Sato has stated on his website that plans for the Stellvia sequel, as well as any possibility of a sequel to Nadesico, are now impossible. He does not explain further.

2005/08/10 (WED) 　 　昨日の今日ですみません。

　あれから各方面からメール・電話をいただきまして、企画が頓挫したとはいえ“永遠に無くなった”はということはこの業界ではあり得ないから希望は残しておいた方が…というご意見をいただきました。確かに過激な表現だったかもしれません。というわけでこういうことにさせて下さい。

　「宇宙のステルヴィア」の続編は不可能になってしまいました。かねてから準備していた「宇宙のステルヴィア２」の企画も中止、「機動戦艦ナデシコ」についても同様です。

　心配していただいた皆様、ありがとうございます。 　この先の動きはこれからどうなるかまだわかりませんが、きちんと発表できるようになったらまた改めてここに書きたいと思います。それでは──

"The continuation of Uchuu no Stellvia had become impossible.* All the pre-planning for an Uchuu no Stellvia 2 came to a halt. The same applied to Kidou Senkan Nadesico."

(*) The word is not 無理 (muri, "unfeasible"), which is normally used to indicate a situation that is locked, but possibly solvable, but 不可能 (fukanou, "impossible") - it's a much more definite term.

This is a part of the nadesico article from the Jwiki:

物語自体は、激化する戦争の結末や古代火星文明の謎等、結局描かないまま終了。戦争の結末は、その後に公開された劇場版やゲームで補完されてゆく事になるが、謎は謎のままで残った部分も多い。その謎の部分を解明するための続編を望む声も多かったが、結局『宇宙のステルヴィア』の続編共々制作不可能という事態に追い込まれてしまった。詳しい理由は明らかにはされていないが、佐藤竜雄のウェブサイトの日記の記述などから『蒼穹のファフナー』や『魔法先生ネギま!』といった作品の品質的な破綻によるスターチャイルドとXEBECの関係悪化が根強い噂として囁かれている。

The last sentence of the article meantioned a rumour that is based on Tatsuo Sato's web diary about why the sequels got scraped. It basically say that the relations of Star Child and XEBEC got bad because they released some low quality anime.*

(Information provided by the Anime News Network and translation by babel fish and ANN forum members)

[edit] Characters

Akito Tenkawa
Anime - Born on Mars and orphaned after his parents died in an apparent military coup, his dream to become a cook stemmed from the quality of the raw food available on the planet. Though he has a nanomachine controller enabling him to pilot machinery, he refuses to become a military pilot; his first time in an Aestevalis was an accident, though he quickly showed capable piloting skill; because of the lack of pilots on the ship, he was officially made one for the duration of the tour. A Gekiganger fan as a child, his devotion to the series is rekindled by fellow pilot Gai Daigoji.
Manga - The manga version isn't all that different except Akito is a bit more open and not as dorky. His form in the other dimension is powerful and destructive.
Yurika Misumaru
Anime - The captain of the Nadesico and childhood friend of Akito Tenkawa, she is infatuated with him and gets very jealous when other girls show interest in him, though he considers her crazy; she is also very scatterbrained at times, misinterpreting comments made by others as words of inspiration/devotion, and forgetting or twisting around events from her and Akito's childhood. Nonetheless, she is a very capable captain, and a constant source of cheerfulness and inspiration for the rest of the crew.
Manga - Yurika hands over full control to Ruri. She spends most of her time moping around after that and ends up kidnapped by Inez who works for the mirror Akito.
Ruri Hoshino
The "Electronic Fairy", she keeps the ship's computer (Omoikane) running and slowly bonds with it, asking it numerous questions about society and human interaction. Ruri is a child prodigy and somewhat distant from the rest of the crew, whom she considers "fools" (Japanese ばかばっか baka) or 'idiots!' in the English dub; also, she is occasionally referred to as "Ruriruri" by Minato, another member of the bridge crew. In addition, she co-hosts the "Naze Nani Nadesico" segment, and is the narrator at the beginning of each episode of Nadesico, recapping previous events while adding her own opinion of the situation. 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 communcating to Omoikane. She does have her spontaneous moments like when during the pageant she dresses up in a bathing suit and sings (however, out of embarrassment, she drops out of the standings).
Manga - Ruri is full captain of the Nadesico. She seems not much different but she is given almost all the attention rather than just half. The mirror copy of her is the same and acts completely the same along with the fact that she is also captain of her ship. Both Ruris seem to also have an internal problem and cough up blood when under extreme stress.
Gai Daigoji
Born Jiro Yamada (an average name), he insisted that Gai Daigoji was "the name that belongs to (his) soul", and angrily asserted his "true" name whenever someone used the "other" one. A rabid Gekiganger otaku, he was an official pilot and arrived three days ahead of schedule when he learned they would be piloting actual robots like in the anime. Fueled by his devotion to the show, Gai had a fierce intensity in and out of battle, and was angry and resentful towards Akito for being the first one to engage the enemy, stealing "(his) destiny", even though he had a broken leg and was unable to fight. The two were soon able to bond over Gekiganger, although Gai couldn't understand why Akito would rather be "a dumb cook" than a robot pilot. Although it was Gai's wish to die heroically in battle like one of the characters, he was unceremoniously shot and killed during an escape of prisoners held aboard the Nadesico; Akito took his death very hard, and devoted himself to Gai and the ideals of Gekiganger.
Megumi Reinard
Former voice actress and communications officer of the Nadesico, she is a very kind-hearted and devoted person. She was also the first to have Akito return her affections, though he did not feel as strongly for her as she thought, to her great sadness.
Jun Aoi
The first officer of the Nadesico, Jun has no small infatuation for Yurika, leaving a position in the Earth's military to join her crew and "look out for her". She is clueless of how he feels and considers him her "best friend", though the rest of the crew realize his feelings. A common running gag is Jun's misunderstanding of Yurika's special efforts, such as preparing food--he believes it is for him, but it always ends up being for Akito, with him being passed by.
Inez Fressange
Developed the Nadesico's Phase Transition system for Nergal on Mars before it was invaded; when the ship returned to the planet, she came aboard, stating that the surviving colonists refused to leave, believing the ship would soon be destroyed; however, an attack immediately afterwards forced the grounded Nadesico to raise its shields, crushing the underground colonists and leaving her the only survivor. She hosts the "Naze Nani Nadesico" segment as a technical consultant along with Ruri and Yurika in an attempt to teach the crew about the ship's workings, as a way of atoning for what happened.
Ryoko Subaru
Aestivalis pilot, she escaped from the L2 space colony when it was destroyed by the Jovians, salvaging four Aestevalis suits and fellow pilot Izumi Maki. The most fiery and combative of the three, but a surprise attack from the enemy left her terrified and crying out for help from Akito; this was noted and would be mercilessly brought up by Izumi and Hikaru many times, to her great embarrassment.
Izumi Maki
Aestivalis pilot, brought in a storage container from the L2 colony by Ryoko. Quiet and reserved, though an incurable punster, cracking up at her own jokes.
Hikaru Amano
Aestivalis pilot and rabid Gekigangar III fangirl, she was ejected from the L2 colony in a capsule which crashed into the Nadesico; making her way through the air ducts, she was directly over Akito's room as he was watching a tragic episode of Gekiganger. Moved to tears, her wailing could be heard through the overhead vent, right before she fell out of it and onto him.
Nagare Akatsuki
This person came into the picture after the Nadesico escaped from Mars; a skilled Aestivalis pilot, Nagare rescued Akito during battle as the latter was in a state of panic and unable to move. He was soon assigned to the Nadesico, bringing along Erina Won, who he had a mysterious relationship with. Nagare disparaged Akito for his devotion to the simplistic ideals of Gekiganger, but the two were still able to get along well enough.
Minato Haruka
The main helmswoman for the Nadesico. She gave up her job as the secretary for a large companies president so she could join the Nadesico crew. Her reason being that it sounded much more interesting. She has a mixed-up relationship with Goat Hoary. She helps Tsukomo and falls in love with him after a fight with Goat that ended their relationship.
Erina Won
Erina joins the Nadesico at the same time as Nagare and proves to be just as irritating to the other characters. Her official post is co-helmswoman, but she ends up bossing everyone around, even the captain.
Mr Prospector
We never learn Mr Prospector's real name, but he seems to not only be some sort of Nergal accountant, but the recruitment officer for the Nadesico.
Seiya Uribatake
Ace mechanic Seiya joins the Nadesico to get away from his wife and child, at the same time chasing around various young women. Most noticeable among them is Hikaru, who he almost has a relationship with.
Goat Hoary
A serious man of few words, Goat seems to be the crew's guardian. He is very big and very strong, capable of carrying Megumi and Ruri, one on each arm, and is quite accurate with a gun.
Howmei
Head chef on the Nadesico, Howmei is responsible for making sure everything gets cooked correctly, even if it involves teaching Akito about the variety of spices and flavourings available on Earth. Given the very nature of the Nadesico's mission... and the fact that some of them might not live to see another day, Howmei want to make sure that every meal the crew eats is as good as they want... because it may be their last meal.
Tsukumo Shiratori
Tsukumo is a commander of the Superior Jovian Male Forces and a mecha pilot. He is similar in appearance and personaility to Gai Daigoji.
Yukina Shiratori
Yukina is Tsukumo's younger sister, and is horrified to find out that her older brother has fallen in love with an earth woman. She promptly leaves for the Nadesico to assassinate the woman in question.
Itsuki Kazama
Itsuki came on as a replacement pilot when Akito left the ship with Megumi during the Christmas return of the Nadesico to Earth. She is known as a great team player and an excellent pilot. During production, she was unnamed, so she was referred to in-series as "Newbie" and "Seelie" (by Ryoko both times). She was originally named Sayuri Terasaki, but this name was retconned by her appearance as one of the lead characters in the Blank of Three Years video game.

[edit] Episode listing

  1. To Go Like A Man
  2. Leave the Blue Earth To Me
  3. A Goodbye That Came Too Soon!
  4. Charmed by Aqua Space
  5. Ruri's Navigation Logs
  6. Sort Of Like A Fateful Decision
  7. The Song That You Will Sing One Day
  8. The Lukewarm "Cold Equation"
  9. The Miracle Operation Of "The Kiss"?
  10. The Dangers Of "Femininity"
  11. Finding Yourself In A "Routine Plot"?
  12. Those Unforgettable Days
  13. There Is No Single Truth
  14. Let's Go With Hot-Blooded Anime (clip show)
  15. The Significant Other From A Star Far Away
  16. The Beginning Of Nadesico's War
  17. A Reunion That Came Too Late
  18. Echoes Of Self, Echoes Of Water
  19. You're The Next Captain Of The Nadesico!
  20. Run Silent, Run Deep
  21. The Meadows We Once Ran Across
  22. Protect The Visitor?
  23. A Place We Call Home
  24. Ubiquitous Righteousness
  25. Being Myself, Being Yourself
  26. For The Lady We Will Meet Someday

[edit] Theme songs

  • Opening
  1. "You Get to Burning" by Yumi Matsuzawa
  • Endings
  1. "Watashi Rashiku [Being Myself]" by Houko Kuwashima
  2. "Itsuka... Shinjite" by Matsumura Kazumi (Episode 26)

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

Martian Successor Nadesico
Series
Akito Tenkawa | Yurika Misumaru | Ruri Hoshino | Gai Daigoji | Megumi Reinard | Jun Aoi | Inez Fressange | Izumi Maki | Ryoko Subaru | Hikaru Amano | Nagare Akatsuki
Other Info
Nergal | ND-001 Nadesico | Gekigangar III | The Prince of Darkness
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../m/a/r/Martian_Successor_Nadesico_4558.html"
In other languages