Being a 90’s kid comes with a lot of things; childhood nostalgia, exposure to the online world, graduating high school and going to college only to find yourself back at your parents place a year later because rent is too freakin’ high! (Like $1600 a month, bro! For what?! Extra roaches with a side of mice?! Nope!) Despite the many headaches that come with ‘adulting’ as a Millennial, being a 90’s kid did have some perks – one of which being Toonami. The GREATEST ACTION CARTOON BLOCK EVER CREATED; has brought me through some tough times growing up, and out of all of the shows that made their debut, there was something special (and weird) about this one in particular. Space Dandy made its way into the block around 2014, and when it comes to a show like this, just be prepared for some “what the hell just happened?!” moments in the series. Now it’s time for our One-2-One with the booty-lover himself, Dandy! 😉

If you told me that this series takes place in the same universe as Cowboy Bebop, I probably would’ve asked you what kinda drug trip are you on? But its true; Space Dandy does take place in the same universe, but at a much later time. So what is this show about? Well, its about Dandy being a dandy guy in space who happens to be an alien bounty hunter with his crew; consisting of an anthropomorphic cat, and a robot with T-Pain’s autotune. His mission is to visit all of the intergalactic locations, indulge in his fetish for booty (like most men), and chill at his favorite ‘breastaurant’ “BooBies” (or Space Hooters). Every episode is an adventure, and because I’m not one to spoil, you’ll have to watch the series yourself to see just how crazy and zany it is.

Part 1 – So What About Me, Baby? (Origin Story, I Guess?)

Honestly, there’s not much to his background other than the fact that he’s an alien bounty hunter who’s about 27-ish but could be older. As far as origin stories go; this is one of those “he’s just here now” situations, so there’s not much else to him. Sure, he’s got a hairstyle like Fonzie from Happy Days and talks like one of those disco dudes from the 1970’s, but despite his boorish attitude and lax disposition, Dandy can be…well, a dandy guy.

Part 2 – I’m Bad, And It Feels Good Baby! (Personality & Skillset)

Get this; Dandy is actually…an anti-hero protagonist. If you’re not surprised by that, don’t worry, we figured that out upon first glance. Dandy’s kinda lazy when it comes to menial tasks and usually dumps the workload on QT, and also complains about Meow (yes the anthropomorphic cat is actually named after the sound a cat makes) being useless. Dandy can be a jerk sometimes and contradicts himself, but he’s never above helping the opposite sex; and occasionally men if it helps with his interests. When it comes to combat, well…Dandy’s good at improvising. Dandy is capable of taking out large aliens that are bigger than his mecha pod; Little Aloha, and is also a professional surfer. (Didn’t know that was on his resume.)

Somehow Dandy knows the secret to warping, and due to his genetic makeup; may be the only person that has the power and capability to travel between universes while maintaining his form – human or otherwise. He also is aware of the many different ‘versions’ of himself across multiple universes. Yes, Space Dandy has a multiverse; Marvel, I don’t wanna hear it!

Despite his poor hand-to-hand combat skills, Dandy makes up for it everywhere else (including being a straight shooter during long-range combat) due to his godlike biology, and the ability to travel to different universes other than his own. Again, I’m not one to spoil, so if you want to know what happens with Dandy’s godlike ability, you’ll have to watch the show. (All two seasons of it.)

Part 3 – What’s The Verdict, Baby?

I think anti-hero anime protagonists are probably some of the most interesting characters in any anime genre. They don’t follow the same heroic protocol that your usual main MC would, and while their actions (some of the time) may be deemed ‘antagonistic’, they also aren’t fond of villains either. Anime anti-heroes have a specific goal (or goals) that they’re trying to achieve, and if any hero or villain gets in the way of that goal, they are dealt with in the most ‘loose cannon’ way possible. In Dandy’s case, he just wants to indulge in his booty fetish while hanging out at “BooBies”. His mission to visit other locations around the galaxy was just molded around that.

Dandy is just one of those guys where at first; he’s a dim-witted moron who’s lazy, serviceable at best when it comes to his alien hunting job, and only cares about booty, but can be a hero when he wants to be. He’s not a deep thinker, but he’s self-aware of his ability to travel through different universes, and when he sets his mind on a specific goal, there’s nothing that’s gonna stop him from achieving it. I guess when you look at it we’ve all got a little Dandy inside of us; there are moments where we may be lazy, lax, and boorish, but there are moments where we spring into action to help out our fellow man (or woman). Dandy’s just a dandy guy in space just trying to live life to the fullest; whatever that ‘fullest’ may be, but at the end of the day, he’s Dandy. Whether he’s fighting aliens and saving maidens from certain doom, or complaining about Meow’s freeloading behavior, Dandy’s just being…well, dandy.

That’s it. There’s not much else I can add. That’ll d it for this One-2-One on Dandy, so until next post, stay nerdy my friends! 😉