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! 😉

Listen. For every anime title deemed “overrated” by a fraction of the fandom, there’s at least 10 titles that a majority of the fandom deems “underrated”. Such as the case for these unsung heroes of anime; as they’ve been “Luigi’d” (overshadowed) into the background to make room for the ‘A-listers’ (or “Mario” titles of the world). Even when some of the story arcs from the popular titles are low-balling it, they’re still shared among the fandom; and still praising the overall experience of the product and its franchise.

While many don’t see that as a bad thing, you kinda miss out on potential diamonds hidden in the rough. That’s why for this One-2-One character analysis, I’ll be looking into a series that is REALLY underrated. Kirito and Asuna aren’t the only sword-welding couple in anime; because there’s another! Get ready for the scorching-hot crimson-haired beauty with a fiery tongue to match known as Stella Vermillion from Chivalry of a Failed Knight!

Honestly this series doesn’t get talked about enough. When it comes to sword-welding anime maidens, many of them have a personality as sharp as their blade. (Other times they’re either Tsunderes or Yanderes with weapons. I’m lookin’ at chu’ Future Diary!) Stella may seem like the ‘high-and mighty’ type upon first glance, but in reality she’s actually quite the skilled swordswoman.

So Chivalry of a Failed Knight is a 12-episode series about the main male MC known as Ikki Kurogane, as he attends a school for students with extraordinary skills known as Blazers. Basically he and the other students are either modern-day knights, samurai, archers, or spellcasters; and participate in a tournament to select the top-tier fighters to be in the Seven Star Sword Art Festival. On paper it seems like just another generic anime school-life action/fantasy drama, but the reason this title hits different…is because of the character development of the two main characters; Ikki and Stella. There’s SO much more to Ikki, but we’ll cover him in a later post.

Part 1 – The Origin Story: Why Should You Care About Stella?

So what about Stella? If she’s an A-rank Blazer and the second imperial princess to the Vermillion Family, how did she get this strong and this skilled? Well that answer to that is…she was born with it. I’m not kidding you, Stella was literally born as a prodigy; having 30 times the base level of magic most Blazers have, which means that during her childhood she had to work extra hard to even master any type of control over her abilities. Being the second princess of the Vermillion Kingdom, and the daughter of Sirius and Astrea Vermillion, Stella is pretty much living the dream. However, after mastering her abilities she left her country and made her way to Japan because she didn’t want to be labeled as a ‘genius’ by the people around her. Sure, Stella may have been born as a prodigy and given the life of luxury, but its quite humbling to know that she’ll never really flaunt it nor boast about it because she genuinely doesn’t want to be labeled. And many of us know what that feels like…

Part 2 – Skills and Personality

Stella has a feisty and hot-blooded personality, as is the case with many red-haired anime girls. In this case however, its because of her sheltered upbringing. This is seen in the first episode of the series when Ikki walks in on her changing; not even realizing that he was her roommate. Though her temper was hot in the beginning, Stella later admits her mistakes and even starts becoming much friendlier around others and wants to be the one to make Ikki happy. She loathes being called a prodigy; stating that everything was given to her and never had to work hard for anything, and wants to prove that there’s more to her than meets the eye – and sword.

Also because of her sheltered life, she never got to experience what a man’s body looks like. Which explains that she has a bit of a perverted side when it comes to Ikki. (Not that I’m judging or anything.) Her relationship with Ikki was a bit platonic at best in the beginning, but eventually they became girlfriend and boyfriend. I’m not gonna spoil too much because there’s more going on in their relationship than what I’ve told you so far, so let’s get into Stella’s moveset!

Stella is a freakin’ powerhouse when it comes to her moves; as she has an immense amount of durability and strength due to her magical powers being 30 times that of a normal Blazer. Her base level of magic is on the same caliber as Kaio-ken x30 Son Goku. She is a Master Swordsman and has the Imperial Sword Style as her main method of offense and defense. Her device (or sword) is called Laevateinn and is used as her main weapon in battle. She has a noble art known as Dragon Breath, as it covers her in a flame barrier to protect her from projectiles and incoming attacks (as seen in the third episode of the series). Her other technique; Dragon Fang, allows her to strike her opponents from long-range with a flame-like serpent. Many of her attacks are flame-based and resemble the flames of a dragon, so its no surprise that she has a fiery personality to match her fiery skills! (If you read the manga, Stella actually has a LOT more moves.)

Part 3 – Overall Analysis

Stella is an individual who despite coming from a noble family, doesn’t believe anyone should get treated differently or ostracized because they don’t have family wealth. She herself doesn’t like the idea of being called a ‘prodigy’ or a ‘genius’ because she was naturally strong, instead she saw who Ikki was during his battles. She knows what it like to strive for a goal and to work hard at something, which is why she hates that people treat Ikki like he’s worthless; like he’s nothing compared to her. There’s more to Stella than just her beauty and looks, as she’s one of the most humbling main heroine characters in anime.

Although she wasn’t too fond of Ikki when she first met him, she saw a little bit of herself inside of him. While he didn’t have the same level of magical prowess that she did, she saw the driving spirit deep within him. To her; Ikki was more than just her boyfriend (and eventually fiancee), he was a man who wasn’t gifted at all, and was cast aside by his own family accept for his sister Shizuku, who sees him as more than a failure. Stella would be the kind of person to stand up for the weak and fragile, and has a hatred for cowardly acts of violence. (As shown in the third/fourth episode of the series.)

Ikki and Stella’s dynamic is something rarely seen in anime, and represents two sides of the same coin; what it means to be gifted and deemed by others as a ‘prodigy’ in a particular field, while the other was shunned for not having any sort of talent or gift at all. Some parents even raise their children the same way; with one of them being the successful one while the other is the ‘black sheep’, or even suffer the ‘middle child curse’ if there’s three or five children. Chivalry of a Failed Knight is a love story centered around Ikki and Stella’s challenges, relationship, and what they strive to accomplish together. Stella never saw Ikki as less than, instead she saw him as a part of herself that wants to prove that she’s more than what others saw about her. When its all said and done, Stella and Ikki are one in the same.

That will do it for this One-2-One, until next post stay nerdy! 😉

What if. Those two little words have created scenarios and situations beyond anything our minds can fathom. Stories we never thought were possible, are possible. Dream alliances that we only thought of in the subconsciousness of our minds, are now reality. Crossovers we’ve always wanted or never knew we wanted, are happening! When I think of this particular show; it kinda reminds me of the first time I was introduced to Super Smash Bros. thanks to the 1999 commercial. (If you saw it as a kid, then you know what I’m talkin’ about.)

There have been crossovers in just about every nerdy fandom you can think of, but what about the anime fandom? Other than that one movie where Lupin the 3rd and Case Closed crossed over, there hasn’t really been an ACTUAL anime crossover series – until now! Even though it is the most saturated genre in all of anime history, Isekai has a place in all of our geeky little hearts. Sure, some of the characters may be as useless as Aqua; as Tsundere as Tanya, as sweet as Rem, or as crazy as Albedo, but NO one thought that we would see the day where all four of these women (and potential waifus) were in the same show. This is the Smash Bros. equivalent of isekai anime titles; Isekai Quartet.

Just like the tagline for Smash Bros. Ultimate, everyone…is here. Isekai Quartet takes the main characters from some of the most popular isekai titles out there, and throws them into a ‘School Life’ scenario. Who would’ve thought we’d see the day where Subaru and Kazuma are friends – only to find out they’re basically the same guy based on how they got “isekai’ed”. The series took them out of their element of the show(s) that they were in, which caused them to try and adapt to the new environment around them.

The plot and premise of the story is quite simple; the main cast of Saga of Tanya, Konosuba, Overlord, and Re:Zero, find a red button in their worlds and end up pressing it. thus portals open up and they land in school, and are now in a ‘school life’ scenario. That’s it. There’s nothing more to it than that. Keep in mind when you watch this series, all of the characters are NOT going to be in the forms they were on their shows. Instead, they are chibi versions of themselves; because to make them in their original form would cost the studio way too much money. (Tanya in her chibi form looks soooo cute!)

With two seasons and a movie on the way, I think Isekai Quartet is the crossover anime series that fan fiction writers have always dreamed about; now realized into existence. They got both Texas and LA voice actors to reprise all of the roles of the characters from their original shows; now a part of this crossover series. Who knows; maybe Isekai Quartet IS the Super Smash Bros. of anime titles, and in terms of popularity, it just might be the best crossover anime of all time. To be 100% honest, this is probably just the tip of the iceberg in terms of which isekai characters will be introduced next. The Rising of the Shield Hero main cast is there, and Cautious Hero made a cameo appearance. Maybe That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime might be next, and maybe even How Not To Summon A Demon Lord. The sky’s the limit with a series like this, and if they wanted to (and possibly pull a page out of Sakurai’s handbook), they could turn this series into the greatest anime crossover franchise of all time.

One and only hope, but until then, keep watching the show or check it out on Crunchyroll if you haven’t already. Until next post, stay nerdy my friends! 😉