Retro Review: Martian Successor Nadesico (1996)

The giant robot genre is an anime staple, mainly associated with emotionally challenged pubescent pilots with family issues. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a wonderful thing, and I’ve made it quite known I’m a fan of the genre. Series like the Mobile Suit Gundam franchise, Yamato, Escaflowne, and even the old-school titles like GoLion/Voltron, Mazinger Z, and Voltes V, still grab my attention even now. But sometimes you need a break from the melodrama and the over the top stories with … more over the top stories and melodrama, this time with a comedic twist. This is Xebec’s Martian Successor Nadesico. It is the year 2196 and Earth is at war with aliens known as the Jovian Lizards from the planet Jupiter. Our hero, 18 year old fry cook Akito Tenkawa, grew up on the human colony on Mars where he gets caught up in the aliens invasion. Having mysteriously survived the invasion, he finds himself back on Earth, getting pulled into the battle via a chance encounter with his childhood friend Yurika Misumaru, now captain of the space battleship Nadesico. The Nadesico is the product of the civilian company Nergal Heavy Industries, and armed with advanced weaponry and science that surpassess even E...