Forum - View topicBodacious Space Pirates (TV).
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infiltration.cru
 Posts: 321 |
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All in all the last episode was a good one although I don't like these "almost everything is back to normal"- endings.
Glad to see that Hatake Kakashi made a mark during his guest appearance. I've really had my quarrels with this series. Much love for the first "introduction" arc, mucho amore as well for the finale. Everything in between felt kind of like filler episodes. Sure, there was no real overarching story line until now but a lot of the episodes felt like unnecessary fluff. I can really see this show going places with a consistent plotline(and maybe without the princesses but that's an impossible wish) and I hope they opt for that in the very obviously coming second season. |
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HaruhiToy
 Posts: 4118 |
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Episode 26 -- Finale
Finally, a sexy outfit for Marika -- her pirate boarding pressure suit. I wish we could have seen more of her in it. And I must say that seemed to be quite the loving up-and-down pan with the dialog "You're quite flashy." I finally figured out what the singular attribute of BSP is that causes the wide variance of reactions to it, including misunderstanding what it is. None of the characters -- most notably the lead role Marika -- ever experience or display an extreme emotion regarding anything. You never see Marika show great fear, anger, love, lust or anything else. She has a few reliable modes -- goofball, ingenious, determined. Always good natured. Nothing else really. This is true for all the characters but of course the character that comes closest to breaking this is our pal Chiaki. Either chagrin in humiliation or lust for chocolate parfaits and of course that is when she is the most fun for us. This is why she is generally more memorable than the leading lady. So the question is does anyone think BSP would have been better if they wrote more serious drama into the script? Personally I can't decide. In any case I'm glad I watched this and I will add it to my collection if it ever comes out in BD. |
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walw6pK4Alo
 Posts: 9322 |
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If the movie is actually about something for a change, where stakes matter, then it could be cool. But this series has always felt like it was skirting along an awesome concept but never wanted to commit to it. 6/10, nice ideas but it doesn't hold together and it's too slow too often. And by slow, I mean it's not mood building or character building in the slow parts, it's just slow and uninteresting completely bereft of tension or excitement.
If you want space pirates, stick to Harlock. |
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DuskyPredator
 Posts: 15457 Location: Brisbane, Australia |
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Bodacious Space Pirates, complete. The last episode was quite the show that we were expecting, and the reveal of a movie puts me in hopes that it won't just be summary of the series.
Did anyone catch that one of the old guy's ships was called the "Love Machine"? Well a bit of ridiculousness was always a fun part of the series. But I did not notice that the show never had any angst, perhaps it is a way of showing that an anime can be good without having characters fall into angst. Marika was definitely a treat for her character. Lets talk about outfits (that is important) spoiler[Marika had a flashy new boarding suit. And as for the Yacht Club, them in sailor suits works a lot better, with the graduates in sexy officer uniforms, and Gruier in pirate captain garb.] Now it would be nice for there to be some sort of explanation as to what was really happening, what did they mean about things changing for the pirates. I don't really expect anything very soon, but it would be nice to see it eventually. |
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Blood-
 Bargain Hunter Posts: 23752 |
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Very enjoyable finale (and series). I appreciate that this title doesn't fall into the same trap that a lot of other shows do which is spoiler[showing the good guys getting the crap kicked out of them for an a ridiculously extended period of time before triumphing.] I really hate that.
Anyway, like I said before, I'll buy this title eventually. |
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Gewürtztraminer
 Posts: 1028 Location: Texas - Its like whole other country. |
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Loved this series. Stupid grin on my face the whole time.
This also is a buy for me, and if no dub, no big loss. I do not feel there is much to be added there. |
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Key
Moderator
 Posts: 18177 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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Very interesting observation, and I think you're probably right. (Except maybe about Chiaki; her appeal goes beyond just that.) Maybe that's why the first word that comes to my mind about the series is "pleasant." Looked at as a whole, it takes itself just seriously enough to (usually) avoid being outright goofy, allow for clever and genuine-feeling tactics, and give itself some occasional weight and intensity without every playing things up to melodramatic extremes. It makes for a refreshing - and, unfortunately, not-often-seen - middle road between crazy fare like Nyarko-san and dark, heavy angst-ridden fare like Fate/Zero or Dusk Maiden of Amnesia; in other words, I find it to be a great complementary series to what else we saw this season. And I agree with other comments made that spoiler[seeing the good guys execute a smart plan which has them on top of the situation, rather than struggling and improvising to come back from seeming defeat, is a refreshing change of pace.] I almost always enjoy series where smart people succeed by doing smart, well-planned things.
I would like to see this dubbed, although I kinda think Marika might be hard to cast well. Mikako Komatsu (who, to my surprise, has Joey from Heroman listed as her breakthrough role) gave Marika such a distinctive tone that I'm not even sure who I could see playing her. |
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HaruhiToy
Posts: 4118 |
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Johnny Yong Bosch could probably pull it off. (just kidding). Rachel Lillis comes to mind, although I think she's retired. Laura Bailey would be good in a variant of her Maka (Soul Eater) voice. Also Brittney Karbowski who played a boy in that same show. A dub with a talented voice director would be awesome for BSP. |
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Gewürtztraminer
Posts: 1028 Location: Texas - Its like whole other country. |
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I would love Laura Bailey as Marika, but it is not a deal breaker for me. My comment was that this series was a physical purchase for me regardless of dub status. |
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infiltration.cru
Posts: 321 |
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So true. It might indeed be what kept me coming back on a weekly basis. No matter how fluffy the fluff, no matter how conveniently everything is resolved and how little consequences the events have(other than spoiler[cutesy dutesy princesses transferring into the protagonist's school and everyone being best friends] ), it is a fact that- when the show finally decides to get down to business- it manages to make it's cast look very smart. It's a shame though that spoiler[SUPER TECHNOLOGY] is about the only really challenging feat any antagonist can muster up. |
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Polycell
 Posts: 4623 |
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Agent355
 Posts: 5113 Location: Crackberry in hand, thumbs at the ready... |
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I love this show because all the female characters are treated with respect. In a meta way, Marika and her classmates are allowed to be smart, silly, childish, capable, athletic, "girly," fun and even in love with another girl without being ridiculed or sexualized in any way. Not one of them based her opinion of herself or her peers on a relationship with a man. This show passed the Bechdel test with flying colors in every. single. episode. That is all too rare in any type of fictional medium and I do not take it for granted (it's also why I appreciated the "fluffy" episodes involving Marika's classmates more than most, although I liked some characters more than others. I really liked Lynn and Ai more than Grunhilde and Mami, for example). There is no way the show would have been the same if Marika was a boy. She earned her respect as leader in what is *still* (in a fictional, far off future) a "man's job." In the 25th episode, a character comments that Quartz doesn't belong at the meeting because there has only been one "girl" who has entered the pirate world recently-Kato Marika. I think it's telling that besides for Marika, only one other pirate captain in the allied fleet was female. They never made a big deal about it. They didn't have to, because Marika's gender had no bearing on her ability to do her job or gain respect from her crew or other pirate captains. They did a great job of making gender (and sexual orientation) a non-issue in the story, and it was a wonderful thing to watch.
Now down to brass tacks--the finale was exciting, and there were quite a few twists and turns there. I think we all saw spoiler[the reveal of Iron Beard as Gozaemon coming. I think he faked his death partially because he wanted to try something new with the Galactic Empire, and partially because he, or just as likely, Ririka, felt it was time that Marika be tested in the Captain's seat, and legally, he had to be "dead" for her to get a Letter of Marque. I understand why they are keeping it from Marika, but I wonder how she'll react when she eventually figures it out. She'll probably be upset about the legality of the Letter of Marque more than anything, and she might be thrilled that she actually has a chance to get to know her father. She doesn't seem the type to get upset over a little thing like being lied to about the death of a father she never knew!  ]
I agree that it was a bit disappointing that the final battle didn't have high stakes, but the old style pirates got to show the new ship manufacturers and Quartz what's what. All that technology means nada when you're facing an organized team with strong leadership and years of experience! They got their point across very well, and the government will probably lay off them...for a while. Character twists--I didn't realize that Coorie was the blond in the denim shorts seeking info until I read it here! I still don't know what Luca's flashback was all about, but it's always fun to see Ririka going Blaster on enemies. Luca earned that vacation. (and she pulls off a bikini well--who'd a thunk it?) The MacDougal Twins! Double your fanservice, double your fun!  Man, I wish we'd seen more of them together. We don't even know Kane's younger brother's name! I wonder if there's a fan out there that might put out a handy guide listing the scenes in which the younger MacDougal took his brother's place. I'm too lazy to go back and re-watch every Kane scene to try to figure it out. 
The ending gave me a real Marika/Chiaki ship vibe which I liked. I don't think I've ever shipped a yuri couple like I ship them. Chiaki still needs to soften up a bit, but they'd make a cute couple. Loved the OP and ED. They both had me getting up and dancing along! I'll miss 'em. Looking forward to the movie. I know it's unlikely, but I hope Crunchyroll gets streaming rights to the movie. |
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HaruhiToy
Posts: 4118 |
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Nah. Chiaki's girl-crush notwithstanding, they are BFFs definitely but they're both the type to fall for nobody until they fall hard for a guy. |
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Key
Moderator
Posts: 18177 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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I like the way you put this quite a bit and will keep these comments in mind if/when I eventually get a chance to review this. (I have considered reviewing the second half of the series, but I may wait and do the Blu-Ray release instead.) One later comment that needs to be corrected, though: spoiler[We can eliminate any possibility that Ririka was involved in planning this. She clearly was surprised to see Gozeamon in the one bar scene and IIRC back in episode one she made comment that she hadn't planned to tell Marika about the pirate stuff until she finished school.] |
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Agent355
Posts: 5113 Location: Crackberry in hand, thumbs at the ready... |
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You're probably right, HaruhiToy. and I'd be happy with Chiaki and Marika as Bffs, too. Marika's sexuality was never addressed in the show, which I found super refreshing. In any other show, she probably would have had a major romantic subplot (like...Legend of Korra *shudders*), but Bodacious Space Pirates didn't need that.
I went to all girls parochial schools growing up, and I just related to a lot of the schoolgirl antics really well. Sure, there were girls who dated, but romantic drama was never a big centerpiece of my high school experience. My friends and I were more concerned about grades, extracurricular stuff, having fun, whatever. For some reason, high school girls in fiction are usually depicted as caring about their love lives above all other concerns, and often to the detriment of their platonic relationships (especially with other girls). BSP was more to the tune of what an all girls school is like, IMHO. Thanks, Key! You're completely right about spoiler[Ririka being in the dark about Gozaemon's "death." I had forgotten about that scene. I wonder how many people on the crew knew, or if they were surprised by Iron Beard's hologram. Kane, of course, and probably Misa, but there wasn't enough focus on the other characters reactions to Iron Beard to pin it down.] |
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