Forum - View topicBodacious Space Pirates (TV).
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Yttrbio
 Posts: 3670 |
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Just caught episode 3. I'm rather digging the little touches of realism. The way Kane talks to the girls feels very real.
Then again, the touches of realism (spoiler[like reminding them to secure their hair and turn on their communications]) make the gaps a bit more jarring (spoiler[I didn't see anything resembling a tether or propulsion device on the suits... what keeps them from just floating away?]) spoiler[The locker room sexual harassment] is going to garner a bit of a "bleh" reaction from those happy about the lack of fanservice thus far, though. |
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Polycell
 Posts: 4623 |
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I love the show to death, but it always feels like it's getting ready for a halfway eyecatch when it ends. I'm liking this enough that I may just buy the Blurays and figure out how to make them work decently on Linux.
As for spoiler[the lack of tethers](is that really a spoiler?), I'm going to guess that spoiler[magnetic boots] are there in their stead. I freely admit I stole the idea from a Star Wars Galaxy of Fear book I read years ago(you'd think the subject would come up more in SciFi, but I don't recall reading anything else that mentioned them). |
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Blood-
 Bargain Hunter Posts: 24124 |
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I am slowly making peace with the relaxed pace of the show. It is what it is and there's no point bitching about it, I guess. What continues to work for me are the slick production values, pleasant if somewhat banal cast and the attempts at "space realism."
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supercreep
 Posts: 526 |
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I decided to drop it. It just seemed a little too precious, but not in the same way that Last Exile: Fam did before I dropped that.
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EmbraceMe
 Posts: 2017 Location: Growing old and jaded. |
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The show is finally growing on me. Maybe it's because they're actually doing something that interests me; spaceeeeeeeeeee! I mean, I enjoy the time taken to build up the characters a little but nothing really made me want to care about them. The slow pacing would be nice if I were marathoning this but it'd be pointless to argue about it.
The bits of realism were a pretty nice touch, though. It makes me wonder if the author of the light novel actually did research on the mechanics of space shuttles, ships, or whatever... I do question why or how they didn't drift off into space but the little realism is a very pleasant part of this episode, along with the glorious space background. I'll just let my suspension of disbelief do its work.
Space is enough fanservice for me.  There were minor "fanservice" scenes in prior episodes though, i.e., the boobie shot of the nurse which lasted a good two or three seconds. Oh, they also focused a bit on Marika's boobies in this episode when she stepped out of the ship. I don't mind the lack of anatomy fanservice in this show though since I can just see glorious tits and a pole dancing ED in High School DxD - gotta stop reading DxD as individual letters... and train my mind to read it as double D's.
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Melanchthon
 Posts: 550 Location: Northwest from Here |
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What really got me was the scene when the girls enter space, and its just quiet for an extended period, with the murmuring of electronics in the background. Scenes of such quiet really are rare in TV, and that real got me. And then they crest the ship and bam, there's the Orion Arm in all it's glory, and the music starts up, a classic waltz (I have no idea if that's a waltz, but waltzes are traditional for space) and it's just wonderful.
This is harder sci-fi than you normally see on TV, but is not hard sci-fi at all. I'm okay with this. They get a lot of the details right, but there some big problems that are skid by, like the lack of a tether or how microgravity doesn't mess up their hair. But I really don't care, I mean that's like complaining about the spaceships in Star Wars making noise -- realism ruins fun space stories. Besides. And there finally was the "Hello Nurse" scene. Loved it. That is the level of fanservice I prefer, just enough to whet the appetite. |
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DuskyPredator
 Posts: 15572 Location: Brisbane, Australia |
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So Marika's plan to stop the other group's cyber battle spoiler[actually worked in scaring the the attackers off, as well as identifying a solution to the mast thing.] She is not just a pretty face, or a good pilot, or a captain by birth.
When I saw the spoiler[suits] without spoiler[tethers] I was reminded of Dead Spaces spoiler[suits], but they did not realy have their spoiler[feet keep contact with the ship] for spoiler[magnetic boots] to explain it all. Perhaps we are meant to belive there is some high tech explanation spoiler[keeping them near the ship]. EDIT: There now you don't have to find out that spoiler[she obviously won], or see the super spoiler word spoiler[tether]. Last edited by DuskyPredator on Sun Jan 22, 2012 6:38 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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jsc315
 Posts: 925 |
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Thanks for the spoiler! Next time use the tags when you're talking about a new episode. Good to know you saw episode 3 |
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Key
Moderator
 Posts: 18424 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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Yes, let's do use spoiler tags.
I thought after ep 2 that this one looked to be pacing itself for Marika to spend several episodes building up/showing off an appropriate skill set and coming to terms with what it means to be a captain, and ep 3 sure backs up that suspicion. Certainly seems like Kane is testing her, doesn't it? Not that I have any problem with that, mind you. It will certainly make Marika more credible when she does finally don the signature hat. Comments made in this episode also seem to reinforce my earlier assertion that the Bentenmaru plays a bigger role in the scheme of things than just being a mere privateer. Still very interested to see where that goes. The electronic warfare scene at the beginning also seems appropriate and reinforces earlier assertions that most (including Chiaki, apparently) don't know what the Odette II really is. |
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Surrender Artist
 Posts: 3264 Location: Pennsylvania, USA |
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When they started talking about raising the spaceship's mizzenmast, I briefly panicked for some reason.
I forgot how long anime production cycles can be; this series was first announced nearly three years ago; amusingly, somebody tried to clue us in even back then. If Wiktionary isn't too dishonest, then a possible translation of mōretsu is 'extreme'. Extreme Space Pirates would probably be an even worse title and certainly no fun.
I concur on that; his behavior and demeanor feel plausible. I liked the touch of frankness when he explained what would constitute an situation to not communicate on the open channel.
That's been slightly worrying me too. I really liked those little touches that laid out some of the practical concerns of operating in spacesuits and the serious, old-fashioned science fiction feel of the entire scenario, but by making such realism and fictional technical consistency so prominent, it makes things like skirts in space feel more incongruous. I've been wondering about the lack of visible ways to control their position and movement in space since they were floating around the hangar in naught but their school uniforms in episode two. There are what might be nozzles attached to the backpacks of their spacesuits, but if those were somehow controlling their movements, it wasn't really shown. I'm still enjoying it all enough that it doesn't matter to me, but more consistent realism would do it credit.
I wasn't thrilled by it, but it was all done with pretty quickly and there wasn't any great effort on the part of the show to say, "lookee here, boys!" so I won't complain. I only really object to fanservice when it's really egregious or so conspicuous that the writing contorts itself around it. This was all pretty innocuous. I just hope the there are some scenes with Kane walking around shirtless, in the spirit of equality.
The pacing is part of why I like this series, but I'm one of those rare, mad devotees of Kōichi Mashimo's girls-with-guns-trilogy, so my opinions are suspect, and illegal in Florida. Sometimes the pacing almost feels cinematic; very slightly like we're watching a film that has been cut into separate episodes with some new animation to stitch them together. I suppose that the actual structure doesn't really satisfy that, but it's how it feels sometimes. I liked the music played as the Odette II left port; it would have been very typical in something about Horatio Hornblower or the like and seemed to work nicely here. I wouldn't want to buy the soundtrack for this by any means, but the music is doing its job.
I like how it's building Marika up as particularly competent, but not suddenly and absurdly prodigious. I could certainly imagine that she is being tested and that we're learning the results of those tests just as those administering them are. The series is taking a similar approach to the relationships between Marika and other characters. That kind of thing is less straightforward than demonstrating her suitability for a spacefaring life, but the bicycle-riding scene between Marika and Mami seemed to lay out the essence of their relationship. I hope that it become a little richer and deeper than that, but I though that it was a nice touch. There's been some of that with Chiaki too, but I'm a little uneasy about her part. It's nice that the series seems aware of the 'mysterious transfer student' cliche, but that won't excuse it from executing it badly. Some of how she and Marika interacted during the electronic warfare sequence hinted at satisfying chemistry between the characters and I hope that it elaborates on this. If the ending sequence can be believed at all, Chiaki and Mami might become pretty important characters, if so, I hope that the writers manage to make them an effective 'triple-act' with Marika. (Faint shades of Kirk-Spock-McCoy, but that's getting ahead of myself and the show) The style and pace of the series is a big part of why I like it, but it also leaves so much left unknown that there's room to worry. I really like the mechanical designs. The Odette II cuts a handsome profile, especially when seen from behind with its sails raised. This is at least a very good looking series. Ultimately, I still just feel very pleased when I'm watching this series and for all that I might write, pretend at analyzing or hem-and-haw about, that arbitrary, emotional response is what really matters and drives it all. As long as that's still there week after week, I keep watching. |
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Mits
Posts: 54 |
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Originally, the meaning of moretsu is such as extreme, intense, severe, vigorous etc. However, it does also have somewhat sexual meaning as you can see in this old commercial film. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5dgWaRsjI4 Not being an English speaker, I can’t get the accurate nuance of the word ‘bodacious’, though ‘bodacious’ seems not so bad translation of ‘moretsu’. The author of the original novel of this anime, Yuichi Sasamoto, has always been trying to blend slapstick and a hardcore science fiction together until his debut on 1984. He also wrote nonfiction scientific essays concerning spacecrafts and space developments. So, it is not strange at all that this show is relatively well-thought on physics compared to other sci-fi-ish anime. |
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Surrender Artist
Posts: 3264 Location: Pennsylvania, USA |
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I'm not sure what that was about, but I feel like I should buy it... I'm pleased to get some information from somebody who's in a position to know. I don't really know good sources for this kind of information about Japanese and its tricky to find for any language. The reason that so many English speakers balked at Bodacious Space Pirates is mostly because bodacious is perceived as a silly and very dated word that's associated with an sort of 90s surfer stereotype. Has Japan had the misfortune of knowing who Pauly Shore is? If so, I apologize on behalf of the American people and he's the sort of person that bodacious brings to mind.
That's interesting. There were definitely time when the show seemed to be trying harder than usual to make its portrayal of space travel more convincing than average; an author who wrote about the subject outside of fiction is consistent with that. The way that things are portrayed in the dialog seems fairly accurate with the inconsistencies mostly coming from how things are shown, so perhaps some of the apparent gaps in that realism were introduced by the animators |
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Mits
Posts: 54 |
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I didn’t know about Pauly Shore at all, and I think almost nobody know him here in Japan. But now, I partly understand why many posters here felt some sort of confusion to see the title.
The word ‘moretsu’ has always been tied with a miniskirt appeared in the commercial film above when it’s used in sexual meaning. So, when I heard the original novel’s title ‘Miniskirt Pirates’ is going to changed to ‘Moretsu Pirates’ for anime, I didn’t feel it strange. On the other hand, if the word ‘bodacious’ brings a certain comedian or a silly surfer stereotype in your mind, then yeah, that seems something is wrong. Seven books of the original novels series have been published (and the series is still running). I’ve read all of them, though I haven’t watched the anime yet. So, I really don’t know what you are saying by inconsistencies. In the original novel, there are so many super technologies that people are using without detailed explanation, and some of them are inconsistent with today’s physics, such as overcoming the velocity of light and controlling a gravity inside a spaceship. Of course, since this is just a light novel based anime show, the rule of physics isn’t necessarily too strict in the show. But portraying some limitation and knowledge of physics will make the show more convincible. Recently, the feasibility of solar sailing was confirmed by JAXA (http://www.jaxa.jp/projects/sat/ikaros/index_e.html) and the author definitely knew that this project was proceeding when he wrote this story. |
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hyojodoji
Posts: 586 |
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The somewhat old-fashioned stylistic feel of the title of Episode 1 'Kaizoku, Makaritōru' is kind of funny.
It reminded me of Surōnin Makaritōru, a jidaigeki TV programme which featured Mifune Toshirō (as Hinoki Sanjūrō in the last episode). |
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dirkusbirkus
 Posts: 699 Location: Manchester, UK |
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Immediately after finishing episode 3, my kneejerk reaction was to drop it, this plot is going nowhere fast. I also groaned inwardly at the locker room hijinks and the really rather voluptuous spacesuits. It seemed at odds with a show that seemed to be going to great lengths to show things being done 'properly'.
However. The quality of the production remains high in this episode. The story, despite being dragged out (in my humble opinion) does actually seem to be going places and there's interesting subplots. The lead is still pretty likeable, insofar as she actually has her head screwed on right and doesn't shy away at being made to take responsibility. I sat and had a good little think about it, and I came to the conclusion that the only thing that's actually grinding my gears here is the lack of perceived 'excitement'. I think the title (that seems to be garnering a lot of discussion!) is a little misleading. It puts me in mind of a good old fashioned pirate romp, albeit set in space. I think approaching the show with this preconception has skewed my expectations. It's not a bad show at all, far from it. Is it 'Bodacious'? Not especially. Is it well produced and interesting? Definitely. |
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