I was planning something a bit special this week so I am forgoing reviews this week to do...
A TOP TEN SPACE DANDY EPISODES!
To get hyped for the final episode airing tonight I'd figured I'd do one final salute to a series that was honestly easy to make a top 10 episodes list for. Before we get into a it a slight disclaimer, rankings and what appears on the list come down to a matter of humor. While I was debating this throughout the week my top 5 consisted of 3 'comedy episodes' and 2 'drama episodes', a category I try to keep separate but considering the show's structure I have no choice but to mush them on the same list. Also, as a comedy focused series some considerations are taken into mind. Humor is subjective so I tried to pick episodes that made me laugh the hardest or got a strong emotion out of me. That being said a ton of the humor also relies that you are a HUGE anime fan and fan of 80's/90's culture as many of the punchlines require these in context. I will be reviewing each episode that made it into the top ten individually so I will try and elaborate why each and everyone made it into that position in MY top ten. Feel free to disagree with me and make your own. Without further ado the TOP 10!
10. Space Dandy: Episode 12
Nobody Knows the Chameleon Alien, Baby
"Who cares, baby?"
A profoundly, silly episode. Team BBP must find an alien who is so good at mimicry that even the alien itself may confuse itself with the target it has copied. Everyone gets a great line in this episode, especially Dandy. The Dandy Quiz is priceless and highlights why we love Dandy as a character. It even gave a member, Zonic, their new avatar. "Hey there, sexy." It made number 10 because while it did bring the laughs it wasn't quite as funny as other episodes on this list and didn't have the emotional impact or talent put into the other episodes. But sometimes just being Dandy is good enough.
9. Space Dandy: Episode 13
Even Vacuum Cleaners Fall in Love, Baby
"...And now a story, one that lasts 23 days and depicts the events that led an ordinary AI vacuum cleaner to drink a cup of coffee."
QT's episode was sweet. I think that succinctly describes my feelings of this episode 'sweet'. QT is often the 'kid' of the team and this episode cements him as a character when he falls in love with a coffee machine and goes through any lengths to make her happy. It even spawns one of my favorite scenes in the series, this
sequence. Music hit all the right notes, animation was amazing. It almost made you forget QT was being NTR'd all episode...almost.
8. Space Dandy: Episode 5
A Merry Companion Is a Wagon in Space, Baby
"Like I said, kids are brats, every last one"
The first drama episode in the series, this episode really goes a long way into establishing Dandy as a character. Sure he can be a philandering asshole but deep down he is a big softie and this comes into play heavily in stronger episodes of the series. The alien in this episode was especially interesting and every moment of Dandy in the penguin doll is pure gold. A couple nice music montages as well. Sadly, I can't bring myself to rank it higher because deep down I personally feel this episode is good, not great. If that makes any sense. Part of the problem stems that the girl (for now) is a one off character and the payoff of the ending isn't the same as, say, Ed's payoff in Cowboy Beebop.
7. Space Dandy: Episode 20
Rock 'n' Roll Dandy, Baby
"Hey lady, you don't have to have a lonely night. Space lady, just come with me and I'm gonna treat you right."
Any episode that is JoJo in its core is a win in my book. I love the art in this episode and the tune was indeed legendary. Truly the one hit wonder to end all one hit wonders. This episode ranks so high for two reasons. One is it captures the feel of being in a band in my eyes between the struggle to come up with a song to the creative differences. Second, it is another highlight of why the VA's for Space Dandy are so good which is especially highlighted in song. Everyone gets a good line in, Meow is on bass, and one kick ass song. My only complaint is a I wish the episode was a tad funnier.
6. Space Dandy: Episode 10
There's Always Tomorrow, Baby
"And thus, the heroic battle for tomorrow began between man and paper calender"
One of many times Dandy has made me laugh pretty hard, this Meow focused episode brought the laughs and had a great emotional undercurrent to make it one of the best episodes. It has even more layers when you realize the gundam parody hidden throughout the episode. This episode provides great insight into Meow as a character. We get a great rap from his friends and the reveal of his crush has me rolling every...single...time. It also is a subtle first hint on why Dandy is so special as well. It would have ranked higher if the other episodes just weren't so good.
5. Space Dandy: Episode 4
Sometimes You Can't Live with Dying, Baby
"We're not rotting, we're fermenting!"
This episode had me literally in tears from laughing so hard. From a robot catching zombie to 'capping their benefits'. This episode really highlights what an asset the narrator is to this series as his deadpan delivery and explanation is more or less what sells the last half of the episode and that last half is GOLD JERRY, GOLD! I could go on but I would just be explaining why each scene is hilarious. All in all a nice silly tribute to George Romero and one of the funniest takes on zombies I have seen in a long while. I also find it hilarious this universe shares a strange continuity considering how everyone is zombified by the end.
4. Space Dandy: Episode 23
Lovers are Trendy, Baby
*Thanks Gucci*
"This is Plant Trendy, a popping joint where you will find the hippest couples in the universe dropping it like it's hot. If you want to show your bae that you da man, then you best turn up here. Er'body in the place be swaggin'. Don't matter whether shortie like hangin' outdoors or getting crunk in da club. If you got the scrilla, Planet Trendy got yo back."
Scarlett is unlucky in love. A long running background character, Scarlett and Dandy shine this episode as a relationship set up out of convenience actually starts to brew into a romance when the two start sharing some onscreen chemistry. I am not going to lie, this episode made me a shipper. Normally I joke about it but I really wanted to see those crazy kids get together. FUCKING TRAAAAAAINS! Back on topic, the imagery of a stalker Gundam was silly enough and so was the great sequence with the spider from hell. Previous episodes with Scarlett payoff this episode since we better understand why an asskicking woman has such an asshole stalking her. Scarlett can't catch a break. Love the Chuck Norris references as well and props to the VA for Dandy, Scarlett and the Narrator for selling their material.
3. Space Dandy: Episode 14
I Can't Be the Only One, Baby
"I wanna die."
Oh my god, this episode. Just...oh my god. It is like it was written for me. So many anime references from Dragonball to JoJo and Michael Jackson sprinkled in there for some reason. The animation of this episode is bonkers and I could fill a page with gifs from it. The fact that each of the voice actors voices their alternate selves is mind bendingly amazing and they deserve all the praise in the world for the work they put in. I was in tears from laughing this episode and I was dead by the time Emo Dandy showed up. Add to the fact this is the opening episode after a long hiatus and it is the first sign the second season was going to be stronger than the first.
2. Space Dandy: Episode 17
A Transfer Student is Dandy, Baby
"Hold on, you've got something these other chicks will never have. It's your beautiful...booty...booty...booty."
Believe in the backside. This is Space Dandy firing on all cylinders. So many reference, it moves along at a lightning fast pace, the animation is amazing and the singing. My god the singing. Big props to all the VA's for this episode for going all putting on great performances for the show stopper "Viva is all". I was in tears laughing at the Hulk suddenly appearing, the fly teaching a teleportation class
AND PROM IS TOMORROW. This episode is by far one of the most entertaining episodes I have seen in anime in a long time and to this day I am still humming Viva All at work. I have must have watched that sequence literally a 100 times now. It never gets old. Great stuff.
1. Space Dandy: Episode 20
A World with No Sadness, Baby
"I just realized something, honestly it kinda doesn't matter where I go. Whether I am alive or dead, I'm still pretty Dandy."
My god, this episode is the sole reason I am buying this series on Blu-Ray. At first it just seemed to be one of the 'weird' episodes of Dandy like "Plants are Living Things Too, Baby" but the last half turned it revolutionary. Suddenly we begin to understand who Dandy is in one of the biggest hints the series has dropped so far. This episode oozes with style from head to toe and the gut punch to the feels at the end is well earned. The music is top notch and a big thanks to Ogre You Asshole for the soothing ending tune. This really should have been the penultimate episode since I think it explained Dandy's place in the universe and why the Gogol empire is seeking him pretty well with subtlety which is rare in a show.
Honorable mentions:
These shows just missed the cut because they had some flaw structurally, were too experimental for my tastes and not much else, or JUST missed the list. If you want me to emphasize why I didn't include the episode I will comment it on a later post. In no particular order:
- A Race in Space is Dangerous, Baby
- Plans Are Living Things, Too, Baby
- We're All Fools, So Let's Dance, Baby
- Slow and Stead Wins the Race, Baby
- The Big Fish is Huge, Baby
SPECIAL, WORST EPISODE:
Space Dandy Episode 25
Dandy's Day in Court, Baby
"Why do you think Dandy, hasn't said anything so far?"
It came down to this versus "The War of the Undies and the Vests, Baby". While I would argue there is no truly terrible episode of Space Dandy to each episode at least having a saving grace, I would argue this episode made the greatest sin. Episode 6 of Space Dandy at least had Stardust pipeline and a ton of Dandy himself but this episode had Dandy literally asleep the whole episode. Worse it spoon feeds the audience about Dandy when, I feel, other episodes have done a good job indicating what Dandy actually is. Meow and QT also act a little to vindictive for my tastes. The baseball sequence was neat at least but it was the only thing I liked about the episode. It is a shame we got such a dud after so many good episodes in this series but the finale should prove to be amazing none the less.
And that is it! Questions, comments, is there an episode I should have mentioned? What do your top 10's look like? Hope you enjoyed it. I will be reviewing Dandy and Beware the Batman in their entirety later. See you tonight you bunch of dandy guys!