If you want an all encompassing general introduction to MARTIAN SUCCESSOR NADESICO, be sure to check out our feature article back in EX 3.1. I will not even come close to the depth of that preview here, but instead will concentrate on a look at this first tape of A.D. Vision's release in North America.
This first volume runs at a fast pace in order to set the stage for the Earth as well as the diverse and eclectic crew of the Nadesico. The Jovians invade Mars, and the audience gets to see how helpless the Earth forces were in repelling that attack. Then, we fast forward to the creation of the Nadesico, as Nergal, a private corporation, builds its own advanced battleship and quickly staffs it with a talented mix of civilians.
Akito, our reluctant protagonist, gets swept into the story by accident when he meets up with Yurika after losing his job as a chef. Recognizing her as his childhood neighbor, and believing that she might lead him to discover who killed his parents, he follows her to the Nadesico. Events eventually lead to him serving as a temporary decoy robot pilot during an enemy attack.
The next two episodes deal with the fallout from the most powerful battleship being run by civilians instead of the military, and its departure to Mars instead of protecting the home planet causes the military no end of grief. Inside the Nadesico, power struggles and character conflicts abound, and we get to see a lot of GEKIGANGER 3 as well.
The production values of these episodes are surprisingly good for a TV series, as the character designs remain very consistent and the action sequences look great as well.
Unfortunately as a NADESICO veteran, I have some problems with at least this dub version. In order to attempt to translate the multitudes of Japanese info screens that pop up frequently in the show, A.D. Vision attempted to outright replace many of these with redone English versions. These however are jarringly apparent CG hacks that convey the information, but they also unfortunately lack the same production values of the originals. Even the main title of the show has been redone with a new style of lesser quality. On the other hand, they also left screens with their original Japanese titles and standard subtitles. I think this is a lesson against going halfway on a translation: in my view either spend enough time and effort to properly redo the screens in a consistent style, or leave it as it was and simply subtitle it. The opening and credits songs were left in their original Japanese, although I must wonder what A.D. Vision will do for the talent contest later in the series.
The English cast, however, on average is a good fit. Most of the main actors fit into their roles (especially Gai), and with future volumes I expect they will be even better. I was surprised how well some of the complicated scenes with over five voices arguing simultaneously worked. My only complaints in this department ride with many of the extras (unnamed soldiers, civilians, etc) who sound rather out of place, and Ruri whom I admit is a difficult role to fill. Ruri, unfortunately, comes out too old and the attempt to portray a lack of emotion comes out as a poor performance in my opinion.
So what is my stance on NADESICO as a series? I generally give it a thumbs up recommendation to any standard anime fan. Its balance of humor, combat, politics, relationships and even drama is an odd mix that hit the right chords for me, and the inside jokes on many aspects of the anime genre were not lost either. Do not let the minor mistakes I found with this dub review stop you from checking this out for yourself, though I would suggest to any DVD fans (or potential buyers in the future) to be patient and wait for a proper DVD version. Now all I have to do is get that GEKIGANGER theme song out of my head...

English Version Produced by A.D.V. Films Inc. VHS, 90 min
dubbed: VHSND/001D $19.98
subtitled: VHSND/001S $29.95
Available now in North America
Where to buy