Space☆Dandy x 2: Episode 6 and 7 [Recaps]

Aloha Dandyites, (that’s what I’m calling you, but probably never again), and apologies for another delay. But hey, that just means another double dish of Space Dandy, and who can say no to those levels of righteo-tude? You don’t have to actually answer that. Spoilers ahead.

Episode 6, “The War of the Undies and Vests, Baby,” starts with our crew aboard the Oe, Dandy lounging like a lizard while QT tries to spiffy up the joint, much to his chagrin. Soon enough Meow is thrown into the mix, and the space feline notes one of Dandy’s killer boards. Surf boards, to be precise. The pair of sidekicks proceed to bringing the big guy low, slapping a tag on him reserved for the lamest of the lame. Shoobie. A wounded pride sparks one of those stupidly profound Dandy monologues, and before you know it, the crew is touching down on a new space local.

As it turns out, the Undieans and the Vestians, who live on Eden’s moon (Eden being a planet that was apparently blown up a very long time ago) have been locked in a bitter war for the past 10,000 years. With this war comes a no fly zone around the planet, and the Aloha Oe gets shot down, crashing onto the moon’s surface. Meow and Dandy head out to investigate the planet’s surface, and before you know it, they each get captured by a pair of bug eyed, half naked gangly aliens who sport some goofy duds. These guys are the Undiean, a red alien who only wears underwear, and the Vestian, a blue alien who only wears a vest. It is this difference in wardrobes that is the reason for the millennia of blood shed that has reduced each side to just a sole survivor. As illustrated by a delightful fresco.

Gif by LesSean Thomas/Tumblr

This is one of the things that Space Dandy does so well, hiding a meaningful message beneath a heap of madness and nonsense. There is nothing but pride and stupidity behind the war of these two alien species, which have battled to the point of their own extinction. Dandy and Meow even get caught up in the ridiculous conflict, a stripped down Dandy fighting for the Undieans, while the vest sporting and pantless Meow fights for the Vestians.

As often is the case with war, no one really knows what they are fighting for, certainly not the soldiers. After pointing out the flaws in their conflict, our crew brokers a peace between the warring parties, but this quickly falls through, and the two aliens proceed to their final, and hilarious bout.

Guns pop out of their chests, and a wicked beat pumps as they blast away trying to kill one another. When that fails, they start throwing rocks at each other. With no side able to defeat the other, both aliens decide to blow the moon to smithereens, leaving our beloved heroes in quite the bind. Cue cheesy 80’s inspired J-pop theme and space surfing, giving way to a spectacular animation sequence, where Dandy rides the waves of planetary annihilation through the stars. It was pretty friggin cool.

Gif by LesSean Thomas/Tumblr

Episode 7, “A Race in Space is Dangerous, Baby,” is quite the ride. We start off at our favorite breastaraunt, Boobies. The girls of Boobies seem to be particularly excited for our Hero’s arrival, but we soon find out that Dandy isn’t the cause for their immediate fanfare. Enter Prince, the space racing ace with lustrous locks, and the power to sparkle, endlessly. Of course, being the dandy dude that Dandy is, he isn’t about to take things lying down, and so he declares himself an out of this world speedster. What follows is an episode of Wacky Racers meets classic Japanese space operas, tossed in a bowl of Outlaw Star, with Honey playing the part of Penelope Pit Stop. It was wonderful.

We are introduced to a few key racers, each sporting their own stylish space whip, and cartoony crew. There is a pair of monster twins, BDSM twi’lek Crusher Girl, and the enigmatic Masked Racer. And then there is Prince and his crew, Squeek the mouse lawyer, and Zed, his high tech robot ally.

You already know the set up. Dandy and crew are the mysterious rookies, who, through shear grit and determination, will eventually end up winning. This is, Space Dandy after all. Using a myriad of last resorts and special attacks, Dandy slowly claws his way to the lead. Each step getting wilder and wilder as the other ace pilots bust out their secret weapons. All to the beat and eerie whines of a funky race tune that puts you on the edge of your seat, as the cosmic chaos that is Dandy continuously puts him back in the race.

Gif by LesSean Thomas/Tumblr

Even the Hawaii Yankee makes a wicked appearance. But it is not only the ridiculous action that keeps revving things up, it is also the cartoony antics of Squeek and Meow, clear throwbacks to Tom and Jerry, and the other Hannah Barbera inspiration that seeps through this episode. I mean, Squeek is like the evil mix between Mickey Mouse and Jerry, with a splash of Scratchy, spicing the bubbling broth of animation that is the show. And right when you think things can’t get any crazier, that the animators and directors have reached the limits of their imaginative minds, the people at Bones studio go one further.

There is no sense or reason to the show, when it wants to cut lose; it takes a sword to that thread of reason holding everything together, and things suddenly get cosmic, and most certainly funky. The more you try to understand what’s going on in the scene, the harder it pushes against you. You can’t stop to think about what’s happening on the screen, I mean, there is a crazy bird plant alien thing with boobs announcing the space race. A giant squid busts out of the depths of some distant planet, while one racer’s special move ends with them smashing into oblivion. Not to mention they break the sixth space velocity and split a planet in half,  all of it adding up to one pretty heavy ending. The instant you go against the current, you end up drowning in the sea of its indifference. But damn, it makes for one fine ride.

Oh yeah, and the Gogol Empire is back too.