Star Blazers

I remember this series only too well. It was only slightly cut for American audiences, leaving out only the actual deaths of characters (Mostly redshirt types, excepting Captain Avatar) when they were shot, blown up, or other. The characters were exceedingly well realized with backstories and CHANGES to the characters as their characters developed. Compared to the pitifully slaughtered 'Battle of the Planets' (Gatchaman, later re-translated into G-Force which managed to be better) or anything American animated series were planning on doing (He-Man, Bravestarr, etc ad nauseum), this series really shone. Only the 'Robotech' series came close, and that one suffered from trying to combine 3 Japanime series into one.

Looking at the coming attraction scenes made me realize that some editing was done in the last episode of the 1st season. In it, a Gamilon was rushing into the cargo bay where Nova was trying to activate the CosmoDNA (The Gamilon boarding party was using a radioactive gas) Starsha had given them and Sandor was protesting that it might not be safe. In the actual ep, Sandor and Nova both turn to see the Gamilon enter, but we never actually see him, and Nova ends up wounded for no readily apparant reason other than the aforementioned gas. I am certain that Sandor shot the encroaching Gamilon, but too late to prevent Nova from being hit.

There were several episodes where bodies were seen, if not the causes for their deaths. This marked it apart from anything else being shown 'for children' at this point. Considering that American animation seemed to be following the same rules that American comics were following (No death, sex, excessive violence, excitement, things of interest, plot development, etc) it isn't really a surprise that so many of us rushed home to watch it. (While at a meeting for my high school band, I came across several of the 'cool kids' singing the theme song together.)

In my area only the first 2 seasons were shown, but my wife reports that she not only got just the first, but it didn't include the final episode where they return to Earth, never mind the whole Comet Empire season. After hearing that, I didn't feel so bad about missing the 3rd season.

Just as a clarifying point for my faithful readers, though one of the crewmembers reported that Sgt. Knox had returned in another fighter, it was dubbed in. He died destroying the power center on the Comet Ship (In fact, none of the Marines they brought aboard survived the season). According to a later movie, Orion the engineer also died in the final ep of the 2nd season (Much to my sadness, I liked him). Also the chief pilot, Conroy died fighting the Comet Empire, but was replaced by his identical younger brother in the 3rd Japanese series, though the American series considered him to be the same character. (Nevermind that he was using a urinal when he spotted the Andremeda coming after them in the 2nd season's 5th episode. I wouldn't expect American TV to show that).

I hope that the various petitions are successful in returning Star Blazers to television. While there are several interesting animated shows, with the exception of Roughnecks; the Starship Troopers Chronicles, that are merely interesting, Star Blazers was actually engrossing.

With the exception of bell-bottoms on their uniforms, Star Blazers is one of the greatest, most eclectic stargazing sagas of all time. In an era when animation depicting technological advances was still in its infantile stages (late 1970s), the producers of Star Blazers have done such an excellent job of keeping the viewer fixed on the characters, dialogue, story plots, and vivid battles scenes. I remember watching the series when I was 10 years old, and I am still watching videos today. I would love to see a remake of the series, with clean, crisper episodes; in reality, if the episodes are ever shown again on prime time, little changes need to be made to the original series. It is just that good.

This was the best animated series of its time. Star Blazers was made at a time when American cartoons were trite junk like "The Super Friends" and "The Brady Kids." When Star Blazers hit syndicated TV in America in the early 1980s, it was still categorically more engrossing than any American cartoon, any American science fiction... heck, it was better than 90% of American TV period.

In case you missed the plot summary: hostile Aliens (the Gammalons) attack Earth and defeat all of her military might. The Gammalons then proceed to launch a years-long nuclear attack against Earth which renders the entire surface unfit for life. Cowering in caves, humanity awaits its final extinction...

Until a message is received from the Planet Iscandar, offering aid. Iscander can provide "Cosmo DNA," which can resuscitate the Earth's entire ecosphere. Iscander also provides the blueprints for a powerful interstellar propulsion system: the wave motion drive. Desperate beyond measure, Earth refits one single starship, the Argo, with the wave motion drive, and sends her and her brave crew to cross 100,000 light years of Gammalon territory to reach Iscandar.

Right away, one can see that this cartoon has a much more intelligent plot than any shows intended for kids and adolescents. It is also notable that this series is a serial: each episode is part of a larger, evolving story. It would be decades before any American shows that are not "soap operas" would develop this format (like Buffy the Vampire Slayer). The plot is also dead serious: the world is ending, and ending in a way that was plausibly frightening to Japanese kids in the wake of Hiroshima and American kids in the wake of Three Mile Island. This didn't so much scare me as a kid, but it made the show totally riveting.

On top of the smart and emotional plot, the series had some other virtues. The "cinematography" was great, with good drawing and well-composed scenes. The lessons of the episodes were more serious and adult than typical kids shows, focusing on duty, loyalty, teamwork, and honor. The episodes themselves got a bit formulaic in the middle of the first season, usually ending in a desperate battle with Gammalon ships which can be won only be use of the wave-motion gun.

Sorry to be so long winded. If you like anime and you like sci-fi, you should watch at least the first season. Its better than a lot of anime than came after, and much more original than most anime. The second season was very good, too, although it was even more serious.

The show was a refreshing break from all cartoons about critters dropping pounds of TNT on one another and assorted silliness. It rode the heels of the popularity of Star Wars and Battlestar Galactica, despite the fact that, in Japan, it preceded them.

The greatest flaw was that it was not properly marketed, and has been confined to a niche category.

Disney made an attempt a few years ago to resurrect and modernize the property, but it seems to be stuck in dev-hell. From what I understand about the script, it should stay there until a better script makes its way through the bowels of Hollywood.

I've got to say that this is a spectacular show. The animation may seem trite now, but 20 years ago, it was incredible. I do have to say that it absolutely kills today's Dragonball Z... (what a waste). What really sets this show apart is the realism. During the first movie/series, the original Captain dies, but the series goes on AND references their dead leader throughout the show. Well done. This happens throughout the series, causing the viewers to feel the remorse of what is happening on screen.

Being young and impressionable, I suppose I was sucked in by the glamour of being in outer space, fighting aliens and saving the day. But, as I look back, the drama was good enough that I would want to see it all again, nearly 20 years later. And, in the spirit of that, I've found that you can currently watch the 2nd season of Star Blazers on Cartoon Network under the Toonami/Reactor section.

It's just as good as I remembered...