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Favorite space opera anime? (Recommendation Thread -- Specific/Unique Modifiers)




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Hellsoldier



Joined: 21 Jun 2013
Posts: 752
Location: Porto,Portugal,Europe,Earth,Sol
PostPosted: Fri Jul 31, 2015 12:44 am Reply with quote
Out of all Space Opera anime, I only watched Martian Successor Nadesico, and started digging on the vast fields of Gundam. I intend to watch Crest of the Stars and Banner of the Stars, Legend of Galactic Heroes, more Gundam, explore the Macross universe, Outlaw Star, Space Battleship Yamato 2199, Space Dandy, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, Toward the Terra (Terra e...), Starship Operators, Stellvia of the Universe, and more.

So, what are your favorite space opera anime? You may also make reference to live-action space opera, if you'd like. My favorite live-action show of all time is Babylon 5. The only +100 episode show I successfully watched (in a month, by the way).

Edit: I should explain (as per rule), why I love the space opera I mentioned (Nadesico and Babylon 5 (Not anime, but I'll do it anyways):

-Martian Successor Nadesico is the perfect blend of comedy, parody and drama, from episode 1, with some of the most engaging characters you will ever see. It transitions from romantic comedy to actual war drama in such a way that you can't tell, you don't feel the bump (contrarily to Knights of Sidonia Battle for Planet Nine). There's even foreshadowing in the most unexpected of ways, from the most unexpected of characters. And we only get to know who our real opponents are midway... and things are not the same from there. If by them you aren't already hooked... You will be after that point. Of note is also the film. A great film, I contend. The sequel of Nadesico. You may want to read the story of the tie-in game that was released around the time of the film, but only in Japan. It explains the time-gap between the series and the film. It is available at the Nadesico Wikia.

-Babylon 5: As I mentioned, this one is not an anime. But I would love to mention it regardless. It was made back then to bring an adult tone to Space Opera. Over 100 episodes of a series that was planned before production, unlike many shows. It was writen as a 5 year lasting Novel, and as you can guess, it has 5 seasons. Mythological references, historical ones, and chock-filled with themes and some of the most memorable characters of all time. I barely ever say anything good about a live-action show... But I'll ditch that rule for this one.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babylon_5#Themes For anyone curious about the themes of B5.


Last edited by Hellsoldier on Fri Jul 31, 2015 9:45 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Errinundra
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Joined: 14 Jun 2008
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 31, 2015 4:28 am Reply with quote
Hi, Hellsoldier.

As asked of you in your other thread, please provide more than just a list of your favourites. Please let us know why you like those series.
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louis6578



Joined: 31 Jul 2013
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 31, 2015 8:17 am Reply with quote
Wouldn't really consider Outlaw Star a Space Opera, bud. It's in the same category as Bebop, but less serious. Sci-fi and a Space Opera are two different things.

As for me, my absolute favorite space opera is from the 1970s, AKA the anime age of Space Opera. It is Space Pirate Captain Harlock. Harlock is an inspiring character, and his relationship with Mayu actually makes me tear up and smile, despite the fact that, in the end, she's really just a generic nice girl. Something about their dynamic really speaks to me though. Not only that, but Harlock is what every war hero should be. Just look at him. The way he speaks, acts, plans his actions, and the way that he commands his crew. How can you not love this guy? The music is also beautiful, the Japanese acting is great, and the limited animation never bothered me much (even compared to most 1970s shows, which I don't usually mind). Out of all the shows from that decade that I've seen (Cutie Honey, Lupin the 3rd, Gundam 0079, and Galaxy Express 999), THIS is my absolute favorite. I finished it all in two days. If any pre-90s show needs a modern day reboot, it isn't Space Battleship Yamato, Macross, Fist of the North Star (though I'd appreciate one, a la Jojo's Bizarre Adventure style), or even Lupin (who gets WAY too much attention these days), it's the often overlooked, Leiji Matsumoto masterpiece.
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Saffire



Joined: 25 Nov 2007
Posts: 1255
Location: Iowa, USA
PostPosted: Fri Jul 31, 2015 8:47 am Reply with quote
My favorite is Irresponsible Captain Tylor, a comedic (satirical?) take on space opera involving Tylor, a lazy smooth-talker who waltzes into the military. He's unreadable, so it's often impossible to tell if he's just getting lucky or is actually reading the situation and playing dumb, but he resolves pretty much every situation by doing nothing but talking and confusing everyone around him. Sadly, the show (26 TV + 10 OVAs) is incomplete and ends just before the climax...RightStuf's release does include liner notes that offers a bit of closure.

anime#160
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Touma



Joined: 29 Aug 2007
Posts: 2651
Location: Colorado, USA
PostPosted: Fri Jul 31, 2015 10:05 am Reply with quote
louis6578 wrote:
Wouldn't really consider Outlaw Star a Space Opera,

But some people do. It is on a wiki list of space opera that I just found.
I have seen only the first few episodes of Outlaw Star and based on those it looks like space opera to me.
And the spin-off series Angel Links is space opera.

Quote:
Sci-fi and a Space Opera are two different things.

Not exactly.
Space opera is science fiction, but not all science fiction is space opera. Also there is no official, universally-accepted definition of space opera.

Kiddy Grade is one of my favorites, and one of my favorite anime of any type.
It covers a lot of different science fiction elements, including some epic space battles.

I think that Vandread would qualify as space opera, but it has been a long time since I watched it. If I am remembering correctly the second season would be more of a space opera than the first.
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louis6578



Joined: 31 Jul 2013
Posts: 1857
PostPosted: Fri Jul 31, 2015 12:14 pm Reply with quote
Saffire wrote:
My favorite is Irresponsible Captain Tylor, a comedic (satirical?) take on space opera involving Tylor, a lazy smooth-talker who waltzes into the military. He's unreadable, so it's often impossible to tell if he's just getting lucky or is actually reading the situation and playing dumb, but he resolves pretty much every situation by doing nothing but talking and confusing everyone around him. Sadly, the show (26 TV + 10 OVAs) is incomplete and ends just before the climax...RightStuf's release does include liner notes that offers a bit of closure.

anime#160


Captain Tylor! A classic! He's one of my favorite characters ever! The greatest magnificent bastard in anime (or is he?).
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zawa113



Joined: 19 Jan 2008
Posts: 7357
PostPosted: Fri Jul 31, 2015 8:20 pm Reply with quote
Oooh, I just ADORE space operas! I can give a good big ol' list on this one!

First, for anyone who hasn't seen Martian Successor Nadesico you should, because it's brilliant. See, everyone on the ship is obsessed with this fictional 70s super robot show called Gekiganger III (which of course got its own hilarious OVA, which is in the recent Nozomi rerelease of this series that alone makes it more worth it to pick up that version), and anyway, that show totally spoils the main series, but in such a way that it never flat out spells it for you, but after it happens you go "oh god, that was so clearly foreshadowed!" The show itself is a combo of comedy and drama in just the right amounts with good characters that interact well together.

Onto the Macross universe then. The original is just a classic, always has been, always will be, and even the Robotech edits can't take this away (if it's the only way you can see it, I still say go for it, since I do love the Robotech dub).
Macross Plus is probably easier to get than original Macross though and has a lot of the same themes boiled down into an awesome 4 part OVA. Back in the day of VHS anime, this must've been a holy grail, plain and simple, I'd love to see it get a blu-ray release over here too. And Manga Ent gave it an amazing dub (Walter White is the main character, yes, he used to do anime dubs for like, 4 things or so)

Of course, in Japan, Macross was also spiritually related to two other series. Southern Cross is ok, it starts off really damn slow though. And Orguss got licensed by Discotek and should be released soon. I'd probably suggest Orguss over SC, ORguss is imaginative and fun, and not even starting to meander around the halfway point quite killed it for me.
And I hope they or someone else gets Orguss 02 as well, which is often seen as better than original Orguss, and yeah, in its own way, it kind of is (Bryan Cranston does another voice on Orguss 02 as well btw)

And in America, Robotech got its own various spinoffs too because why not? Genesis Climber Mospeada though is honestly better in its Robotech incarnation if you ask me. The only one of the three actually improved under the Robotech banner, I found the Japanese one to be way more dry and boring and Mint/Annie to be way more annoying than the already annoying English version. Overall, it's merely an ok series though.
Megazone 23 was also forced into Robotech banner (part 1 at least) but on its own, it's fun scifi too. Part 2 is also often liked, and part 3 isn't, but I kind of had to watch it anyway.

Legend of the Galactic Heroes's recent license announcement made me just weep for joy though. I've seen it before (fan subs used to be the only way, naturally) and it's a series that, at its basic, asks "is it better to live in a bad/failing democracy or a good and thriving autocracy?" but it doesn't give an actual answer to the audience, it's for them to decide. In the meantime though, you'll get plenty of fantasy politics, fantasy terraist organizations (yes, a group that believes Earth should still be the center of the inhabited galaxy despite being on the fringes now), epic space battles, awesome fleet commanders (including a dude who controls his entire fleet using nothing but hand gestures and Bittenfeld, who seems to believe that having his spaceships be red increases their speed), and lots and lots of arguments for why alcohol is humanity's best and most ancient friend. But while I certainly listed some of the funnier aspects (without even going near Olivier Poplan), it's still a serious series that demands your undiverted attention and gains it. Like, if you watch Game of Thrones and enjoy the scenes where everyone is secretly backstabbing each other with their words in king's council room with nary a boob in sight, it's kind of like that. The most intimidating thing about the series is clearly its length. But ok, if you've watched all five current seasons of Game of Thrones, that's equivalent to about the length of LoGH in terms of episode lengths/overall time (it's maybe a tad behind LoGH, but season 6 is a-coming). Just start with season 1, its a 26 episode thing, right? Then get addicted and watch 12 eps a day for a couple of weeks like I did.

Ryosuke Takahashi did a number of space epics back in the 80s, almost all made of awesome (except Panzer World Galient, no series with centaur mecha with chest lasers should be that boring). But that's ok, because he also made Armored Trooper VOTOMs! Which follows a super mecha pilot, his mecha itself isn't special, it actually is him. But he's suddenly found himself made the enemy of his own damn army and now he's on the run from them. It also has the badass standalone spinoff OVA Armor Hunter Mellowlink, which follows a guy (Mellowlink, obviously) who is out for revenge against the jerks who put him and his squad out on the front lines with outdated anti-mech rifles to basically die. And sure, he can pilot a mecha, but he's going to take them down with the rifle, it's a matter of principle.
And I really hope someone (Discotek?) gets Fang of the Sun Dougram, which follows a privileged kid who discovers maybe he shouldn't be so privileged and joins the resistance and brings his giant mecha with him. Though this mostly takes place on just the one westerns-influenced planet (though it's established other planets and planetary travel exist).

Gunbuster is the classic example of a short OVA of epic space opera and mecha proportions. In episode 1 you go from high school to the vastness of space by episode 6 and it somehow feels a natural progression is the weird part. Gunbuster 2: Diebuster definitely has more of the modern Gainax feel in it and since it takes place so long after Gunbuster 1, planetary travel is a lot more common and better defined in their universe too. And it's really easy to see how both of them (but especially Diebuster) would go on to influence Gurren Lagann. Definitely a more comedic and over the top badass take on space opera, but I'd still argue it is one.

Crest of the Stars pretty much is about two characters, how they meet, and how they bond. Good stuff, but for more space opera tropes, those come out more in Banner of the Stars 1 and 2, which may be why I personally preferred them in some ways.

Tekkaman Blade is probably where I'd look to for the early 90s for serious space operas though. The first 11 eps or so are mostly monster of the week, but worry not, it'll get plenty depressing and heavy as it goes on, only becoming better as it does so. Though I wouldn't recommend the Americanized Teknoman in this case, aside from being 7 eps shorter (4 of which would've been recap eps, but doesn't explain the other 3), also removes the amazing OST and inserts terribad puns during the fight scenes no matter how serious. Rather kills the mood.

The 70s and 80s though had a lot of classics. Toward the Terra was even lucky enough to get a redone series in 2007, and a damn good one at that. This is probably going to fall more in line with classic definition you may be thinking of "space opera", except there are lots of physics and stuff too (it was a thing in 70s shojo scifi). And lots of time skips, lots of characters changing over the years, epic fight for the planet Earth, and an amazing OST.
On the more fun loving side though, Space Adventure Cobra is pretty damn awesome. It's pretty much just the badass Cobra (with his signature psycho-gun in his left arm, tech looks pretty damn good in the future as the hand he puts over it functions 100% normally, and that gun can hit anything Cobra wants it to, lack of straight lines be damned) and his robot Lady Armaroid, and a lot of women who seem to think bikinis are always appropriate attire (for everything from beekeeping, to skiing in blizzards), both on the good and bad guy's sides.
To more 80s espers, Locke the Superman, an immortal esper who views and influences humanity over time. Discotek's movie choice was quite good, I do approve, it's its own short story, as a lot of his stuff seems to be.

And I think it would be remiss of me not to include the manga only 2001 Nights. The style was based on 1001 Nights, so it's made of interconnected stories of humanity's evolving space travel. So yeah, we'll start on the moon, but we'll get warp jumping eventually too. Each story is standalone, but they do often connect to other stories too. It's a shame it's so damn hard to find.
The future chapters of the Phoenix manga often function like this too. Though both past and future chapters will be connected, the future chapters often feel a lot like space operas.

There are other series I'd love to elaborate on, but am not sure how "space opera" they are, like Planetes. Or Dirty Pair, just pure fun comedy scifi, but not perhaps a "space opera", in part due to being episodic I'm sure. And I feel like personal favorite Outlaw Star falls into the "fun scifi that happens to take place in space" more than a full out "opera" so to say. Or more, it's clearly a "space western" if anything.
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Hellsoldier



Joined: 21 Jun 2013
Posts: 752
Location: Porto,Portugal,Europe,Earth,Sol
PostPosted: Fri Jul 31, 2015 9:24 pm Reply with quote
errinundra wrote:
Hi, Hellsoldier.

As asked of you in your other thread, please provide more than just a list of your favourites. Please let us know why you like those series.


Understood. Right away. Still getting used to this. Smile

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

louis6578 wrote:
Wouldn't really consider Outlaw Star a Space Opera, bud. It's in the same category as Bebop, but less serious. Sci-fi and a Space Opera are two different things.

As for me, my absolute favorite space opera is from the 1970s, AKA the anime age of Space Opera. It is Space Pirate Captain Harlock. Harlock is an inspiring character, and his relationship with Mayu actually makes me tear up and smile, despite the fact that, in the end, she's really just a generic nice girl. Something about their dynamic really speaks to me though. Not only that, but Harlock is what every war hero should be. Just look at him. The way he speaks, acts, plans his actions, and the way that he commands his crew. How can you not love this guy? The music is also beautiful, the Japanese acting is great, and the limited animation never bothered me much (even compared to most 1970s shows, which I don't usually mind). Out of all the shows from that decade that I've seen (Cutie Honey, Lupin the 3rd, Gundam 0079, and Galaxy Express 999), THIS is my absolute favorite. I finished it all in two days. If any pre-90s show needs a modern day reboot, it isn't Space Battleship Yamato, Macross, Fist of the North Star (though I'd appreciate one, a la Jojo's Bizarre Adventure style), or even Lupin (who gets WAY too much attention these days), it's the often overlooked, Leiji Matsumoto masterpiece.


Hum, what other Matsumoto worksdo you think I should try out?



{Combined serial posts. ~nobahn}
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louis6578



Joined: 31 Jul 2013
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 01, 2015 12:18 am Reply with quote
Hellsoldier wrote:
louis6578 wrote:
Wouldn't really consider Outlaw Star a Space Opera, bud. It's in the same category as Bebop, but less serious. Sci-fi and a Space Opera are two different things.

As for me, my absolute favorite space opera is from the 1970s, AKA the anime age of Space Opera. It is Space Pirate Captain Harlock. Harlock is an inspiring character, and his relationship with Mayu actually makes me tear up and smile, despite the fact that, in the end, she's really just a generic nice girl. Something about their dynamic really speaks to me though. Not only that, but Harlock is what every war hero should be. Just look at him. The way he speaks, acts, plans his actions, and the way that he commands his crew. How can you not love this guy? The music is also beautiful, the Japanese acting is great, and the limited animation never bothered me much (even compared to most 1970s shows, which I don't usually mind). Out of all the shows from that decade that I've seen (Cutie Honey, Lupin the 3rd, Gundam 0079, and Galaxy Express 999), THIS is my absolute favorite. I finished it all in two days. If any pre-90s show needs a modern day reboot, it isn't Space Battleship Yamato, Macross, Fist of the North Star (though I'd appreciate one, a la Jojo's Bizarre Adventure style), or even Lupin (who gets WAY too much attention these days), it's the often overlooked, Leiji Matsumoto masterpiece.


Hum, what other Matsumoto worksdo you think I should try out?


After Harlock? Galaxy Express 999 is probably your next best bet. If you like both, just check out more of his works at random.
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Space_Number_1



Joined: 29 Jul 2009
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PostPosted: Sun Aug 02, 2015 8:54 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
Megazone 23 was also forced into Robotech banner (part 1 at least) but on its own, it's fun scifi too. Part 2 is also often liked, and part 3 isn't, but I kind of had to watch it anyway.


I actually liked part 3 better than part 2.
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Jose Cruz



Joined: 20 Nov 2012
Posts: 1767
Location: South America
PostPosted: Sun Aug 02, 2015 9:18 pm Reply with quote
classicalzawa wrote:
Legend of the Galactic Heroes's recent license announcement made me just weep for joy though. I've seen it before (fan subs used to be the only way, naturally) and it's a series that, at its basic, asks "is it better to live in a bad/failing democracy or a good and thriving autocracy?" but it doesn't give an actual answer to the audience, it's for them to decide. In the meantime though, you'll get plenty of fantasy politics, fantasy terraist organizations (yes, a group that believes Earth should still be the center of the inhabited galaxy despite being on the fringes now), epic space battles, awesome fleet commanders (including a dude who controls his entire fleet using nothing but hand gestures and Bittenfeld, who seems to believe that having his spaceships be red increases their speed), and lots and lots of arguments for why alcohol is humanity's best and most ancient friend. But while I certainly listed some of the funnier aspects (without even going near Olivier Poplan), it's still a serious series that demands your undiverted attention and gains it. Like, if you watch Game of Thrones and enjoy the scenes where everyone is secretly backstabbing each other with their words in king's council room with nary a boob in sight, it's kind of like that. The most intimidating thing about the series is clearly its length. But ok, if you've watched all five current seasons of Game of Thrones, that's equivalent to about the length of LoGH in terms of episode lengths/overall time (it's maybe a tad behind LoGH, but season 6 is a-coming). Just start with season 1, its a 26 episode thing, right? Then get addicted and watch 12 eps a day for a couple of weeks like I did.


LOGH for me is the only true space opera. Very Happy Anything else feels so small and insignificant by comparison to not be a true space opera. Laughing Though the animation is absolutely awful in LOGH, the writing and the worldbuilding are among the most impressive I have ever had the pleasure of experienced. The characters are larger than life immortal heroes, they feel like idealized historical figures in fact, like Napoleon and Alexander the Great. Worldbuilding itself is incomparable, no other movie, OVA or TV series (animated or not) that I know about is comparable to LOGH in terms of worldbuilding. It deserves all hyperbole it can get, because it is a truly special series, one of the major monuments of anime.
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Set1229



Joined: 30 May 2012
Posts: 146
Location: Pittsburgh
PostPosted: Sun Dec 20, 2015 1:22 pm Reply with quote
I am fairly new to space opera shows, so keep in mind that my descriptions of what to not show me might not make perfect sense.

I am really liking the original Captain Harlock from the 70's. The tone of the story is surprisingly balanced, considering the government corruption in early episodes.
I only finished about about 1/3 so far. The characters are all unique and Harlock seems very cryptic in a way that is not too pretentious, which I like.

I also loved Lost Universe (does that count?). The theme of hope and fear (that I was not familiar with at the time) as opposites in a futuristic setting was a real mind-opener for me. Heck, it even helped me deal with trauma not once, but twice through the visuals and storytelling.
Sure, the goofiness distracted from the main story in the first dozen episodes, but Kane, Canal and Millie were very realistic.
Heck, I'd even say that the warmth in the design of Canal's adult form is the most heart-warmingly lovely character design I have ever seen. It's like that feeling when a child sees a person in a mascot costume of their favorite character, that beautiful.
Dark Star genuinely looked scary, considering that he is supposed to represent fear with only mild exaggerations needed to make him truly look like fear as a person.

I did start Starship Operators, but it seems to slow-paced so far. (I only have the first Geneon DVD)

As I said, I am fairly new, so my restrictions might not even make sense. As long as it's not all, "let's wipe out the entire omniverse," or "the show is a bad idea for people with severe depression," I'm fine.


As you can tell from my loving Harlock, the time frame it came out originally does not matter.
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Space_Number_1



Joined: 29 Jul 2009
Posts: 34
PostPosted: Sun Dec 20, 2015 8:13 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
Onto the Macross universe then. The original is just a classic, always has been, always will be . . .


Everyone knows that Macross is just a cheap rip-off of both Gundam and Harlock.

http://myanimelist.net/reviews.php?id=28306
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nobahn
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 20, 2015 8:58 pm Reply with quote
Space_Number_1--
Oooh, now that's harsh! Sad
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