Overall, Worse Than Season 1

Space Dandy Season 2 (Space☆Dandy 2nd Season / スペース☆ダンディ 第2シリーズ) is more of a second cour than a second season. There’s not a real break between the 2 seasons in terms of content. And, there was only a 3-month gap between them airing.

Still, as you can tell from the title of this section, I didn’t think Season 2 was as good as Season 1. But, it would appear that I’m in the minority for thinking this. Apparently, most people rated Season 2 higher than Season 1.

I do see what people like about Season 2, though. It was more interesting visually. And the episodes were a lot more unique than any in Season 1. But, the big flaw with Season 2 is that it’s boring.

There’s not really an overarching plot in Space Dandy. The episodes are pretty random, even in Season 1. But, Season 2 took that randomness to the extreme. It felt like every episode was completely disconnected from every other episode. And many of these random episodes felt more like filler than anything else.

For example, there’s Episode 4, pictured above. In this episode, Dandy enrolls in a high school and the entire thing is a musical. It was a struggle to get through that episode. And the episodes on either side of that one are about as different from it as you can get.

In Season 1, the focus of the series was comedy. We saw Dandy, QT, and Meow in wacky situations because they were funny (for the most part). Season 2 takes a different approach. The episodes are even weirder, but they’re no longer funny. Instead, they try to tell unique stories in 22 minutes — and it doesn’t work.

There Was Definitely Potential

As I’ve already mentioned, there were good things about Space Dandy Season 2. It looked good and some episodes were more stylized than others, which made them stand out. Episode 3 may have been the most visually distinct. But, Episode 5 was my favorite.

Another good thing Season 2 did was get Honey and Scarlett involved more. We actually get to see Honey in situations outside of Boobies. And there’s even an entire episode dedicated to Scarlett. That’s something I wanted. Though, this season fell short of actually adding either of them (Honey) to the Aloha Oe crew.

We also got some new characters who I thought were pretty good. Johnny is a new recurring character I liked. He’s the Commander of the Jaicro Empire, which is the rival of the Gogol Empire. Johnny also dreams of becoming the biggest rock star in the universe.

There’s also the best character of the series, Ton Javrolta. He was only in one episode, but he definitely made an impact. Here’s the thing, though. Every episode in Season 2 introduces a new featured character. And because of that, none of them are around long enough for me to care about them.

If this season had a bit more continuity, it could have been better than the first season. I would have been fine with more Johnny and less of the random puppet guy who wears people’s skin. And, of course, Honey should have played a bigger role.

Something else this season almost did right was how it used the Gogol Empire characters. Dr. Gel and Admiral Perry had real roles at the end beyond failing to capture Dandy. But, it came too late. It was only in the final episode that they were anything more than gags.

It Wasn’t Episodic, After All

In the end, it turns out that the series wasn’t episodic, after all. And, there was actually an explanation for why the episodes were so random. It’s because Dandy has the ability to travel between dimensions. This is something that came up multiple times in this season.

The first episode of the season explores this idea. In it, Dandy and his crew jump from dimension to dimension and meet their counterparts in each one. Later, there’s an episode about Dandy dying and going to the afterlife. He’s able to come back to life by jumping to a dimension in which he’s still alive.

And, of course, this explains how the Aloha Oe crew died at various points in Season 1. They did die, and then we jumped to a different dimension in which they were still alive. This explanation ties everything together.

As cool as it is that everything came together in the end, it still doesn’t make up for the journey. At the end of Season 2 Episode 13, the universe is reset and we end up back at the start of Season 1 Episode 1. That’s neat. But I was still bored watching most of Season 2.

There are 2 ways I can view the conclusion of the series. Either it was a band-aid solution to the problems of Season 2. Or, it was the cause of all the problems of Season 2. Neither is a good option.

Something I do want to point out is that this is kind of normal for Shinichiro Watanabe anime. Look at both Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo. They were largely episodic and had episodes that felt like filler. And then, in the end, everything got tied together and there was some real plot.

Conclusion

In the end, I’m giving Space Dandy Season 2 a 6/10. It was fine — there were good parts, and there were bad parts. And if we combine that score with the score I gave Season 1 (8/10), Space Dandy gets a 7/10 as a whole.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button down below. Also, follow me on your social media of choice — links are in the footer.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman and JasonHK for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. And I’d like to thank Key Mochi for supporting at the Senpai tier. To learn more about how you too can become a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

Series Overview

Space Dandy (Space☆Dandy / スペース☆ダンディ) is a sci-fi comedy anime from the same team that brought you Cowboy Bebop. It’s also the team that brought you Samurai Champloo, which I think is better than Cowboy Bebop. But, Space Dandy is a bit different from both of those series.

Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo both have their comedic moments — Champloo more so. However, comedy is what Space Dandy is all about. So, just because Space Dandy takes place in space doesn’t mean it’s anything like Cowboy Bebop. It’s not.

One thing Space Dandy has in common with those other 2 series is that it’s episodic. There isn’t an overarching story — at least not in the first season (which this review is about). Instead, Dandy and his crew go on wild adventures in each episode that are unrelated.

It’s possible that the second season could try to tie everything together into a single story. But, that’s going to be pretty hard to do. You see, a lot of the episodes of this series don’t end in ways that allow for the story to continue after them. Dandy and his crew don’t always survive the episodes.

Could this series take place in a multiverse where we’re seeing different Dandys? Sure. But if that’s the angle you’re going for, I think you’re reading too much into it. At the end of the day, it’s an anime that’s fun to watch because of the characters and the situations they get into.

I should also mention that Space Dandy is for mature audiences. It’s not an ecchi series. But, it does have what I would consider a small amount of uncensored ecchi content. Because of its designation as being for mature audiences, I expected there to be more.

The Aloha Oe Crew

Dandy is the titular character and captain of the Aloha Oe spaceship. He works as an alien hunter, but that doesn’t mean what you might expect. I thought it would mean he tracks down and kills rogue aliens. Instead, it means he finds unknown aliens and registers them with the government.

Through their job of alien hunting, Dandy and his crew don’t make that much money. But, what they do make, Dandy makes sure to spend at his favorite restaurant, Boobies. Boobies is basically the restaurant Hooters but in space. It’s full of waitresses wearing skimpy clothing.

QT is the first mate of the ship. He’s a vacuum cleaner robot who doesn’t do all that much in terms of helping capture aliens. Instead, his role is primarily to take care of the Aloha Oe. QT is the one who cleans and maintains the ship.

While none of the Aloha Oe crew members are particularly smart, QT is the smartest of the group. He’s usually the voice of reason on the ship. However, that’s a pretty low bar considering the other two. At the very least, as a robot, QT isn’t prone to acting on impulse.

Meow, or Mymyamo, is the final crew member. Dandy and QT originally captured him in a Boobies restaurant thinking he was a rare alien. But, Meow is actually a Betelgeusian, which is a very common cat-like alien. Even after finding this out, Dandy keeps him around because he thinks Meow might be useful.

As it turns out, Meow isn’t useful at all. He spends the majority of his time online — usually on his smartphone. He also eats all of Dandy’s food on the Aloha Oe. And his room is so messy that even QT gave up trying to clean it.

Better than Cowboy Bebop?

Is Space Dandy better than Cowboy Bebop? Most people don’t seem to agree with me, but I think so. Cowboy Bebop is definitely a good anime. But, Space Dandy is more fun to watch. And I get it, Space Dandy is a comedy, so it being more fun makes sense.

However, I also think the format of the series works better in Space Dandy. Both series are episodic for the most part. Yes, Cowboy Bebop actually gets a plot toward the end. But, a lot of the series isn’t much more than filler (cue the angry comments).

With Space Dandy, the episodic nature of the series doesn’t hinder it at all. Each episode is funny in isolation. And because there’s not really a main story, the episodes can do even crazier things. For example, the crew (and everyone else) die and become zombies in one episode.

Episodic anime that are serious are kind of a thing of the past. A lot of older anime were like this. I don’t know why. Maybe they thought it would be hard for viewers to follow the story every week. But, that’s something I’m going to hold against Cowboy Bebop in this comparison.

What I’m trying to say is that I prefer Space Dandy because it’s more flexible in what it can (and does) do. Sure, the characters might not be quite as deep and there’s nothing in terms of a main story. But, that’s kind of the point.

Now, before you let me know why Cowboy Bebop is the best anime ever made in the comments, watch Space Dandy. Even if watching it doesn’t change your mind, there’s a good chance you’ll enjoy it. Or, you might find out that it’s not for you. But, that’s okay.

Conclusion

So far (season 1), Space Dandy is an 8/10 from me. I’m hoping the second season is even better, though. I’d like to maybe see another main character introduced. Perhaps even a female character.

Also, I want to say that both the OP and ED of this series are great. Though, I’m not sure which of the two I prefer. The song of the ED may be better. But, the OP’s visuals are better.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button down below. Also, follow me on your social media of choice — links are in the footer.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman and JasonHK for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. I’d also like to thank Key Mochi for supporting at the Senpai tier. To learn more about how you too can become a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

My review of Season 2 is Available now.